Page 26 of Seduced By a Scoundrel

“I am,” Jeremy said, glancing at him with a puzzled but still pleased look. “I cannot account for any of it.”

Derrek chuckled. His dove truly was inexperienced in the ways of affectionate companionship.

“I suppose it is because I enjoy the work Clary and I are doing,” Jeremy went on, taking a deep breath and smiling around at the countryside as they neared the edge of their woods. “I have been astounded to discover a seamstress as talented as Clary so far from London. I asked why she never thought to move to London to ply her trade and she told me that she’d no idea how one started down that path. I have half a mind to hire her myself, though she is a seamstress and mine is a tailor’s shop.”

“Could you not expand your business?” Derrek asked with a shrug. “Has anyone ever offered a shop that serves both male and female customers?”

Jeremy looked horrified at the suggestion, which was all the answer Derrek needed.

“It simply is not done,” Jeremy said gravely. He was quiet and thoughtful for a moment as they walked on before saying, “I suppose it could be accomplished through some sort of clever means, such as purchasing or leasing two buildings that abutted each other in back, where workshop space could be shared, but each with a public face on opposite streets.”

Derrek stopped paying attention at “abutted each other in the back”. He could not keep the mischief out of his expression as images of Jeremy holding onto the corner post of their bed while Derrek abutted him in the back filled his imagination.

“It could be advantageous to share one, large workroom between two businesses,” Jeremy went on, oblivious to the direction Derrek’s thoughts had gone in. “Talented stitchers could work on both ladies’ gowns and men’s jackets.”

The rest of their walk into the village was filled with Jeremy thinking aloud about the possibilities of a business combining ladies’ and men’s tailoring needs. Derrek let the finer details float over his head in favor of listening to the sound of Jeremy’s voice and smiling at his dove’s enthusiasm. The fortnight that the two of them had spent together so far had softened him more than he’d anticipated, but he wasn’t certain he minded.

Joseph would have adored Jeremy. So much so that Derrek found it hard to summon up the guilt he knew he should feel about letting his heart lean toward another man. The two of them would have found endless matters to discuss, and both would have put the needs of those less fortunate than them ahead of their own. On the one hand, it was a pity the two had never met. On the other, the idea of the two together and him having to choose did his head in.

“Well, here you are,” he announced once he’d walked Jeremy straight up to the door of Miss Jones’s shop.

“Here I am,” Jeremy said, turning to him and smiling. “And now you may return to the cottage to carry on with your gardening endeavors.”

Derrek laughed and clapped a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder. It was as close as he could come to parting from his dove with a kiss as was possible. Even that small gesture garnered attention from the grocer’s wife as she swept the stoop of her shop across the way from Miss Jones’s and a farmer who was passing through.

“I will be back to walk you home around sundown,” Derrek said before leaving Jeremy to his employment.

He turned away, glancing over his shoulder to make certain Jeremy made it into the shop without incident, then picked up his pace, heading toward the pub. He had not lied to Jeremy when he said that he spent time in their garden, setting the overgrown mess to rights, but that was not the only thing that had been occupying his days.

“Morning, Talboys,” Martin, the owner of the Three Bells, greeted Derrek as he strode through the front door into the mostly empty pub. “I received that message you were waiting for late last night, when one of the mail coaches from London passed through.”

As Derrek had discovered toward the beginning of their stay, while they were infrequent, mail coaches did pass through their small village three times a week. He’d sent more than a few messages into London by the mail that traveled through Aylesford several times a day, and he would have walked all the way up there or borrowed a horse to make the journey quicker, but his London contacts had instructions to send information to him where he was if at all possible.

“Many thanks, Martin,” he said, maintaining a casual mien, as he traded a coin for the folded rectangle of paper Martin had for him.

“Interested in a beer to start your day?” Martin asked, holding up one of the glasses he’d been cleaning as Derrek had entered the pub.

Derrek laughed. “It depends on the contents of this,” he said, holding up the letter.

He leaned against the counter and opened it while Martin returned to his work. Immediately, he saw that a beer would not be in his future anytime soon.

“I can confirm that Lord Albert Howard has been spotted in London,” the missive read. “Not only that, he has been seen on more than one occasion in the presence of Sir John Conroy.”

Derrek scowled as he read through the rest of the message. It contained a few more bits about where the two men had been seen as well as a short report about King William’s health and Princess Victoria’s activities. The important bit of information was at the beginning, though. Lord Albert was in England.

“Thanks again for this,” Derrek said, refolding the letter and holding it up for a moment before tucking it into his jacket. “No beer for me this morning, I’m afraid.”

“Suit yourself,” Martin said with a smile.

Derrek took his leave, heading straight back through the village to Maidstone Close. Not for the first time, he thanked whatever forces had brought Jeremy and Miss Jones together. He felt far easier with leaving his dove in the care of that formidable woman than he would have leaving him to fend for himself in the cottage.

The walk back to Maidstone Close was quicker without Jeremy but not nearly as sunny. Derrek was able to walk faster, but rather than returning to their secluded cottage, he took the main road that led all the way to the drive leading to the main house at Maidstone Close. It was something of a stab in the dark, but sometimes the quickest way to ascertain the sort of information he needed was to march right up and ask.

“Can I help you?” the confused and surprisingly young butler asked when he answered the door.

Derrek had information from his friend Moreland that most of the staff of Maidstone Close had left when Lord Linton and Howard had left for the Continent two years ago. Ashton himself had seen to the hiring of new servants, many of whom were younger men and women who hoped to have long careers as butlers or housekeepers, but who needed the experience before grander houses would hire them.

Derrek wasn’t above taking advantage of the young butler’s inexperience to get what he needed. “Might I come in, sir?” he asked, putting on as much affability as he could manage.

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