A Little Bit Scandalous Page 0,56

“Why would he bring boys with him and then leave them so carelessly on the street?”

“I suspect we’ll know that in a moment,” Roe said. He pointed to the group of men who were coming out of the gaming hell. They stood on the side of the street, trying to hail hacks. A few walked up the street and one went in the alleyway. The two smaller figures appeared. The taller one began to exchange with the other men, starting some sort of conversation.

“Did you see that?” Roe asked.

“What?”

“Watch the smaller one.”

She did as he bade and saw the smaller boy get close enough to slip his hand into one man’s coat pocket. He withdrew something, then went onto the other man, all the while the taller boy regaled the fellows with some tale that had them laughing uproariously.

“They’re stealing,” Caroline whispered. “Do you suppose Mr. Lamb brought them here to do that very thing?”

“Yes,” Roe said.

A hack stopped and picked up the remaining men on the street leaving the boys alone.

The taller one stepped forwards toward the road to look down a ways and the light caught his face.

Caroline gasped. She knew those big green eyes. “Those are not boys. That’s Gretchen and Fiona. He has brought those poor girls out here to steal from those men. What if they’re caught? What if someone tries to hurt them?” She put her hand on the door to leave the carriage.

He stilled her from moving. “Might I remind you they are not the only ones dressed as a boy tonight. You are safer in here and we shall stay right here until they leave. If anything untoward happens, I shall get out and rescue them,” Roe said.

He might claim he wasn’t a hero, but he was certainly acting in such a fashion.

“Thank you.” She watched the girls, her heart pounding for them. “That man is a monster.”

“Yes, it does appear that Mr. Lamb is a very naughty boy. On many levels. I should think we’ll need to discover some proof before we can do anything about these injustices,” Roe said.

“And how do you suggest we do that?”

“I believe our first step is calling a meeting with the rest of the board members. Rest assured, we’ll catch him and make certain that he isn’t in a position again to use children for his personal gain.”

Caroline’s heart fluttered. Damnation if she wasn’t falling in love with Roe—and this time she wasn’t a foolish young girl.

Chapter Twelve

They rode in silence back to Roe’s townhome and Caroline made a decision. It was time to seduce Monroe Grisham. She’d wanted him for years and keeping her distance wasn’t appeasing her desire. Perhaps the only way to rid him from her mind—and heart—was to make love to him. Once she’d had him, the illusions about him would certainly be shattered and she could go back to her regular self, the Caroline who had plans for her family’s townhome, a plan that would take her out of Roe’s life for good.

But before any of that could happen, she needed to seduce him. She bid him goodnight and went up to her bedchamber. She had to get her plan in line and then go to him.

She stood in front of the mirror and finished unpinning her hair. She raked her fingernails over her scalp. She’d taken so many deep breaths, she was surprised she hadn’t floated to the ceiling. She knew what went on between a man and a woman in the bed. She was not ignorant of the facts. She’d read a book on the subject once. One couldn’t read only mathematical texts.

She tucked and smoothed her hair back into a presentable nature, and didn’t bother changing her clothing since he’d made comments earlier about how the trousers molded to her legs and bottom. He seemed fascinated with the length of her legs. Tonight she could show him precisely how long they were.

“You can do this,” she said to her reflection. The look in her eyes wasn’t one of confidence, but rather uncertainty. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and turned away.

There on her bed lay an envelope. Curious, she didn’t usually receive anything in the post. She opened it and withdrew the letter inside. It was from Mr. Murdock. The letter went on to say that he was sorry he’d caused her any inconvenience, he had located another place to live, and wouldn’t need her townhome after all. There was also a signed document