A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,42

to her.

Her head snapped up to look at him. She’d been inspecting her fingernails. “Why ever not?”

“You look like a damned chit,” he said, his words coming out in a growl.

“Only because you know that is what I am,” she said with a shake of her head. “You didn’t know it the first few times you saw me. There’s no reason to believe he’ll come to the same conclusion. I believe it was you who told me once that people see what they want to see. Mr. Lamb won’t be expecting a woman across the table tonight, and he’ll see me as a man.”

“You can tell by your damned arse that you’re a woman. Men don’t have arses like that.”

Her cheeks reddened. “I feel as if I should apologize, but that seems ridiculous. I shall be sitting so I think it’s safe to say no one will be looking at my arse.”

“And that.” He pointed at her. “Men don’t bloody well blush.”

“Of course they do. Men are ruddy, and they can be shy just as women can be.”

“I don’t like it,” Roe said. He crossed his arms over his chest and frowned at her.

“Yes, you’ve made that abundantly clear, but even you can’t suggest a better way to gather information on Mr. Lamb.” She smoothed her hands down her pants legs. “Besides, you might not like it, but after tonight perhaps we’ll have a better idea of what Mr. Lamb is all about. Consider that.”

He nodded, but remained uncertain. “If something happens to you—”

“Nothing will happen.”

An interruption he was grateful for, because he’d been about to say something he would have regretted, something that would show Caroline he cared for her far more than he ever let on.

“Boomer is meeting us there. All will be well.”

“So you keep telling me. You know I could have donned a disguise just as easily,” he said.

She let out a laugh. “That would never work. You are a duke. You walk like a duke, talk like a duke, look like a duke.”

His brows rose. “Is that so?”

“It is.”

“But you disguising yourself as a man, that’s believable?”

“More believable than you trying to pretend to be a commoner.” The carriage stopped outside of Rodale’s. “Any last words of advice?”

“Watch him carefully, but don’t speak to him. Now that he’s met you as Caroline, it will be more difficult to change your voice.”

“I can manage that.”

He grabbed her hand as she reached for the carriage door. “And win, Caroline, win every hand.”

She leaned in and kissed him smack on the mouth. “I can do that, too.” And then she stepped out of the carriage.

…

Caroline eyed her cards, then looked at the other men at the table. She was fortunate Mr. Lamb was already seated and playing by the time she arrived, so joining his table had been simple. He was losing. She couldn’t help but notice that the stack of coin in front of him had dwindled considerably since she’d taken a seat. Of course, she also noticed that Mr. Lamb was not a smart player. He often made very wrong choices with his hands, seeking another hand and soaring over the necessary twenty-one sum.

He wore very different clothing here than when she’d seen him at the orphanage. He was less tidy, with no tie at his throat, and his shirt appeared old and worn, whereas during the board meeting he’d worn a smart jacket and matching trousers.

“Grey, where you been hiding yourself of late?” Cabot asked. “Playing in the main room now?”

She gave him a slight smile. “Nah, just been busy.”

“Finley was in last night and told us all about the housekeeper next door, the one who’d had the affair. She got sacked,” Cabot said.

“Indeed.” Caroline had been curious about what had happened in that scenario, and she missed the men here. They felt, in some ways, like her comrades.

She eyed the rest of them, checked their hands. At the moment, Mr. Lamb had a nine showing and he’d already asked for one card. She winced when he asked for another, then saw his face fall when the dealer dropped an eight in front of him. Nevertheless, he reached into his pockets and pulled out another pouch of money, a seemingly endless supply, surprising when it seemed he couldn’t win any hand.

Caroline won her hand. She knew from watching Mr. Lamb that he was on edge. He moved his hands so much that she would have thought he was cheating, except for the fact that he