Don't Look Back (8 page)

Whatever else I am, Lavinia thought, including a so-called paragon of the sort of female who can live by her wits, I am no angel.

"Really, sir," she said briskly, "it is not my opinions of marriage that we are discussing. This is about Emeline's future."

"And Anthony's as well."

She sighed. "I know. They have developed a tendre for each other, haven't they?"

"Yes."

"Emeline is so young."

"So is Anthony."

"I fear neither of them can possibly know their own heart at such a tender age."

"You could not have been any older than Emeline when you married. Did you know your own heart?"

She straightened in her chair. "Of course I did. I wouldn't have married John if I had been the least uncertain of my feelings on the matter."

She had, indeed, been sure of herself, but looking back she knew that her feelings for John had been the sweet, pale sentiments of an innocent and very romantic young woman. If John had lived, no doubt their love would have matured into something stronger and deeper and more substantial. But as it was, her memories of her gentle husband were wispy, thin mementos that she kept tucked away in a pink-and-white keepsake box somewhere near her heart.

Tobias's mouth curved in a wry smile. "You are nothing if not strong-minded and extremely certain of all your opinions, regardless of the subject, are you not?"

"Mine is a decisive and forceful personality, sir. Perhaps that is due to my early training as a mesmerist."

"More likely you were born with a strong will, madam."

She narrowed her eyes. "I suspect the same could be said of you, sir."

"Isn't it interesting to discover how much we have in common?" he asked pleasantly.

The following afternoon, Tobias emerged from his club and pulled his watch out of his pocket to check the time. It was only just going on two. He was in no hurry and it was a fine day to walk.

He ignored a passing hackney, and with the ease of long familiarity, he made his way through a maze of lanes and streets. His goal was the bookshop where he had made arrangements to meet Lavinia. He planned to treat her to a dish of ice cream and then, if luck was with him, to persuade her to retreat to the crumbling ruin in the park for some extended lovemaking in the spring sunshine.

With that last thought in mind, he cast a wary eye on the heavens. The sun was indeed shining, but there was a nip in the air and he sensed clouds gathering in the distance. He could only hope that the rain would hold off until he could complete the interlude with Lavinia in the park. A fortnight ago they had been interrupted at the crucial moment by a cold shower from the heavens that had done nothing to enhance the romantic ambience.

The business of having to search out suitable locations for their trysts was fast becoming a nuisance, he reflected. A man of his years was not supposed to have to steal away to remote sections of the park or fumble in a closed carriage in order to enjoy his lady's affections. He ought to be able to enjoy said affections in a proper bed.

But beds were extremely hard to come by when one was engaged in an affair.

He was a block away from the bookshop, toying with the notion of taking Lavinia off to a country inn for a day or two, when a vision in spring pink stepped out of a milliner's shop and nearly collided with him.

"Mr. March." Celeste Hudson smiled brilliantly at him from beneath the brim of a charming confection fashioned of palest pink straw and intricately laced ribbons. "How delightful to see you again so soon."

"Mrs. Hudson." He grasped her elbow to steady her. "A pleasure. Is your husband about?"

"Heavens, no. Howard has no patience with a lady's shopping."

Her laughter was light, almost bubbling. Damned near a rippling brook, he thought. But it had a brittle, false quality that made him think of brightly colored artificial flowers and the pleasure-garden mirrors that reflected distorted images. He was profoundly grateful that Lavinia never laughed like that.

"I cannot say that shopping is one of my favorite sports," he said.

Celeste opened her little fan and looked at him over the edge in a flirtatious manner that he knew she must have practiced.

The leaf of the fan, Tobias noticed, was exquisitely painted in an unusual and quite dazzling pattern.

There were a number of bright, shiny beads attached to it. The sparkling bits and bobs were arranged in an intriguing pattern that caught the light and attracted his eye. The thing appeared more suited to the ballroom than the street, he thought. But, then, he was hardly an expert on matters of female style.

"Where is Mrs. Lake?" Celeste asked in throaty tones. "Or are you alone this afternoon?"

"I'm on my way to meet Lavinia, as it happens." The manner in which Celeste manipulated the fan annoyed him. He looked away from it. "She is picking up a new volume of poetry at a bookshop not far from here."

"Poetry. How nice. I am rather fond of that sort of literature myself." Celeste twirled the fan in a clever movement that made the sunlight bounce on the glittering ornaments. "I have been meaning to pay a visit to a bookshop. Do you mind if I walk with you, Mr. March?"

"Of course not."

She slipped her gloved fingers under his arm with a graceful expertise that he could only admire, and continued to make the light dance on her fan.

"A lovely day, is it not?" she murmured.

"The good weather won't last long."

"Come now, don't be so pessimistic, Mr. March."

"It's not pessimism." It was difficult to avoid the damned fan, he discovered. Celeste managed to angle the thing in such a way that it kept snagging his gaze. He had a sudden urge to snatch the thing out of her hand and toss it into the gutter. "It's a statement of fact."

She tilted her head so that the pink straw bonnet framed her pretty features to excellent advantage. "I collect that you are a man who prefers to deal with the hard realities of life. Not one who allows himself to enjoy fantasies and dreams."

"Fantasies and dreams are for those who wish to delude themselves."

"I disagree, sir." She looked at him over the top of her fan again, her eyes as bright and intriguing as the shiny beads. "Some fantasies and dreams can come true. But only for those who are willing to pay the price."

"I think it far more likely that after handing over the required fee, one would find oneself left holding only a handful of sparkling bubbles that would soon burst and disappear."

Sparkling bubbles that would look very much like the glittering beads on the fan, he thought.

She smiled at him and, with a quick twist of her hand, made the fan dip and swoop. "Perhaps your problem is that you have never had the good fortune to actually encounter a fantasy or a dream. My advice is not to judge the value of the goods until you have had a chance to sample them."

"As I am not likely to be offered free samples, I doubt I shall have the opportunity to form any judgments concerning the wares."

"Ah, now, in that you are seriously mistaken." Celeste laughed again and squeezed his arm lightly, intimately. "I can assure you that there are free samples to be had if one happens to know the right place in which to shop."

"As I just told you, I am not particularly keen on shopping."

The fan fluttered in her hand. The tiny lights flashed.

"I can show you where to find some very excellent free samples, Mr. March," she said softly. "What is more, I can promise you that when you have had a taste of the wares you will be
completely
satisfied."

He looked down into her glowing eyes. "Would you mind putting that bloody fan away, Mrs. Hudson? I find it irritating."

She blinked, clearly startled. The fan stilled abruptly in her hand. The invitation and the promise faded in her eyes.

"Of course, Mr. March." She snapped the fan closed. "Forgive me, I had no idea that it bothered you."

"Mrs. Hudson,"
Lavinia called loudly from halfway down the block. "This is a surprise. Imagine meeting up with you and Mr. March here in the middle of the street."

Tobias smiled at the sound of her voice. It was a crisp, bracing tonic, a strong antidote to Celeste's cloying sweetness.

He watched Lavinia stride purposefully toward them, a small bundle that no doubt contained a newly purchased volume of poetry in one hand, a perky green-and-white parasol in the other. She was dressed in a deep emerald green gown and a striped-green pelisse.

Another one of Madam Francesca's creations, he thought. The gemlike hues set off Lavinia's red hair, which was bound up beneath a clever little green hat.

She came to a halt in front of him and gave him a steely smile.

"You're late," she announced.

She was not in a good mood, he realized. Beneath the wispy veil of the hat, her eyes glinted in a dangerous fashion.

"My fault, I'm afraid," Celeste murmured. She did not take her hand away from Tobias's arm. "We bumped into each other here on the street and fell to chatting. I trust you will forgive me for distracting your Mr. March for a moment or two?"

"In my experience, Mr. March is rarely distracted unless he wishes to be distracted." Lavinia gave Tobias another icy little smile. "I collect that the subject you were discussing was quite riveting?"

"I believe we were conversing about the pleasures of shopping," Tobias said. With a small but determined movement of his arm, he succeeded in dislodging Celeste's dainty little claws.

"Shopping?" Lavinia raised her brows. "Not one of your favorite subjects, as I recall." She turned back to Celeste. "Speaking of shopping, I saw your fan just as you were folding it, Mrs. Hudson. Most unusual. May I ask where you purchased it? I should like to find a similar one."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Celeste dropped the fan into her reticule. "I made it myself."

"You don't say." Lavinia's eyes widened admiringly. "I am extremely impressed. Unfortunately, I possess no artistic talents whatsoever."

"I'm sure you have other talents, Mrs. Lake."

There was a distinct edge to Celeste's voice now, Tobias noticed. The rippling-brook effect had vanished entirely.

"I like to think that I do have one or two humble skills," Lavinia said with patently false modesty. "Take shopping, for instance. I consider that I have a distinct talent for being able to spot cheap, shoddy goods at a glance."

"Indeed." Celeste stiffened, but her condescending smile remained firmly fixed. "I, on the other hand, have always had a knack for identifying frauds and charlatans. I suspect such individuals are something of a problem in your new line, are they not?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

Celeste raised one shoulder in a delicate shrug. "Evidently just
anyone
can set herself up as an investigator and make claims of expertise that cannot possibly be verified."

"I beg your pardon?"

"How on earth is a potential client to know whether or not he or she is dealing with an individual who is actually qualified to make private inquiries?" Celeste asked innocently.

"If one is wise, one selects an investigator the same way one selects a practitioner of mesmerism," Lavinia shot back smoothly. "One relies upon references."

"You can provide references, Mrs. Lake? I am astonished to hear that."

It was time to intervene, Tobias decided. He did not relish the notion of stepping into the middle of this skirmish, but his duty as Lavinia's occasional partner was clear. He dared not stand by and watch her get drawn into a loud and embarrassing scene right here in the middle of the street. She would never forgive him for allowing her to humiliate herself in such a public fashion.

"Speaking of business matters, Mrs. Hudson," he said just as Lavinia opened her mouth to respond to Celeste's latest goad, "I assume that you and Dr. Hudson have several excellent references from your time in Bath."

"Yes, of course we do." Celeste glared at Lavinia. "Howard gave therapeutic treatments to only the most exclusive sort. I made certain of it."

"I doubt if your clientele was any more exclusive than ours," Lavinia shot back.

"Indeed?" Celeste gave her a pitying look. "I think it is highly unlikely that you can count such distinguished gentlemen as Lords Gunning and Northampton on your list of clients."

Lavinia opened her mouth to retaliate. Tobias took her arm in a firm grip and squeezed just hard enough to get her attention. She shot him a disgruntled look, but she closed her mouth.

"Impressive," he said quickly. "Unfortunately, Mrs. Lake has not yet acquired any titled clients, but perhaps she will be lucky enough to do so one of these days. Meanwhile, you must excuse us. We have an appointment."

"We do not have an appointment," Lavinia said.

"Yes, we do," he said. "You have obviously forgotten it." He smiled at Celeste. "Good day, madam." • Celeste switched her attention back to him. The sparkling look returned to her eyes, and her voice became warm and husky once more. "Good day, Mr. March. It was a pleasure meeting up with you. I trust that we shall bump into each other again in the very near future. I would very much like to continue our discussion of how one may obtain free samples of certain very special wares."

"Indeed," he said.

He turned, and dragging Lavinia with him, walked swiftly away.

There was a short moment of silence. He could feel Lavinia vibrating with outrage on his arm.

"You do realize," Lavinia said, "that she was attempting to put you into a trance with that silly fan."

"It occurred to me, yes. It was an interesting experience. Especially in light of the fact that she made a point of telling us the other day that she had no talent for the art of mesmerism."

Lavinia sniffed with undisguised disdain. "I doubt if she does have much genuine ability. But she has been working with Howard for a year, so it is possible that she has picked up a few rudimentary skills."

"And chose to practice them on me? I wonder why she went to the trouble."

"Don't be ridiculous. The answer is perfectly obvious, if you ask me. She intended to seduce you and thought to use her poor mesmeric techniques to accomplish her goal."