Love Is a Rogue (Wallflowers vs. Rogues #1) - Lenora Bell Page 0,26
themselves. It was Mr. Castle’s private interest and he . . . oh dear. Please don’t let this affect your decision to keep the property. Now come back to the parlor and finish your tea. It’s getting cold.”
“Weren’t you worried about being closed down by the authorities, Mrs. Kettle?” asked Miss Mayberry.
“Not a bit, love. The authorities placed special orders, they did. Our constable has a taste for the memoirs of saucy serving maids.”
Lady Beatrice groaned. “Alack. I fear this changes everything.”
“It does complicate things,” said Miss Mayberry. “A bookshop of this nature isn’t the most ideal location for a respectable clubhouse.”
“I’d be happy to take a few of the books off your hands,” Ford offered. “Those sea voyages can be long.”
Lady Beatrice gave him a murderous look. “You’re not helping, Wright.”
“You’re the one who invited me.”
Miss Mayberry fastened her bonnet over her dark blond hair. “This has been a most interesting and edifying afternoon, I must say, but I have an appointment to keep. Wright, I look forward to reading a full report on the feasibility of renovations, if Beatrice decides to keep the property.”
He bowed and she gave a little mannish bow in return, instead of curtsying.
Lady Beatrice pulled her aside, and Ford couldn’t hear what they whispered, except for the words scandalous, naughty, and carpenter.
He approved of that combination of words.
Miss Beaton thanked Mrs. Kettle for the tea and said that she was expected at music lessons very shortly and she would accompany Miss Mayberry out. “I might just take one of these, for research purposes.” She plucked a naughty book from the shelf and slipped it into her reticule.
The two ladies left, the shop bell tinkling as it closed again.
“Do you want me to finish the inspection, Lady Beatrice?” he asked.
“Yes. I’d like to make an informed decision.”
“I have an appointment on the docks, but I’ll take a quick look around.” They made their way to the staircase. “Why were your friends looking at me like that?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“They were staring searchingly. As if they knew something about me, as if you’d already described me to them.”
“I may have mentioned you in my letters from Cornwall.”
“You told them how handsome I was.”
“More like how arrogant and obstructive to my work.”
“Admit it, you told them I was distractingly virile.”
“Humph. You have an inspection to make, Wright.” She walked ahead of him up the stairs, and he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the curve of her backside—well, at least he imagined her curves under all those layers of petticoats.
Duke’s sister. No trespassing.
“I hope your brother returns soon,” he said as they climbed the curving central staircase. At least the staircase was in good repair. “My ship leaves in a fortnight, and I must speak with him in person.”
“You said it was something about Gibbons?”
“I believe he’s embezzling from your brother.”
She stopped walking at the first-floor landing and faced him. “Really? That’s a serious accusation.”
“I have proof.” He patted his pocket. He’d pilfered a receipt from Gibbons’s desk that showed the discrepancies in the bookkeeping.
“Then my brother needs to know immediately upon his return. He trusts Gibbons completely and has granted him wide latitude to make decisions on his behalf.”
“I don’t want my father implicated in any way when the theft is uncovered.”
“I’m sure my brother will return any day now and you may present your evidence.”
The landing led on one side to a drawing room stuffed with mismatched furniture, and on the other to a small back room with well-scrubbed walls, sparse furniture, and several bookshelves. The room was light and airy with none of the clutter evident in the rest of the house.
Lady Beatrice entered the room, her eyes lighting with approval. “A reading room. This must be where Mr. Castle kept the more rare volumes of his personal collection.”
Ford bounced on a few floorboards. “Seems safe from damp.”
She walked to the window, the light teasing the flames in her hair to life. “And there’s a view of the Thames!”
He moved to stand beside her. “A view of coal barges.”
“You see coal barges, I see a river undulating into the distance. The perfect view for writing. I’d place my desk right here by the window.”
Please don’t talk about desks. “So you will keep the property?”
“My mother told me that she’d heard rumors of scandal attached to the shop, and she assumed it was because Aunt Matilda had taken a lover. She has no idea about the bawdy books, or she never would have