Page 17 of Charming the Accidental Suitor
“You don’t sound silly, but you do sound naive. This is not a game, Felicity.”
“Exactly. So do not ask me to run and hide when I can help.”
“There’s nothing cowardly about staying safe.”
“And there’s nothing foolish about protecting those I love,” she shot back.
He frowned at that.
She tilted her head so she could meet his gaze better as she lowered her voice. “If Everson is so shameless as to run a smuggling ring right under all our noses, what’s to stop him from taking investment money from unsuspecting gentlemen like my uncle and disappearing with it?”
Albright’s eyes grew dangerously hard. “I won’t let that happen.”
But Felicity spoke over him. “If he has half an inkling you suspect him, he must be making a plan to run. The fact thathe hasn’t yet tells me that perhaps he has loose ends or cannot access his funds?—”
“You’re leaping to conclusions.”
But she wasn’t wrong. She knew she wasn’t. And he had to know there was at least a chance she was right. She hurried on, her voice little more than a whisper as another couple drew close. “Either way he’s only going to grow more desperate and therefore more dangerous unless we stop him.”
He was silent for too long. And then finally, “You’re far too clever for your own good. Has anyone ever told you that?”
She sighed. “My mother says it all the time.”
“First I sound like your chaperone and now your mother.” He gave a little grunt. “I cannot say I enjoy these comparisons.”
She clasped her hands before her. She was close to getting her way, she could feel it. And some part of her still felt full to bursting after his little speech about her usefulness. “Albright, my uncle could be hurt if Everson is not stopped.”
“Felicity—”
“No, don’t use that tone with me. I know you think little of me, but you must admit I’m right in this, at least.” She planted her hands on her hips before remembering where they were and all the eyes on them. She dropped her arms to her sides but lifted her chin. “And as I mentioned before, he could very well set his sights on me for courtship. Or worse, some other young lady.”
His eyes darkened. “Why is that worse?”
“Because some other young lady might not be able to save herself.”
The side of his mouth hitched up ever so slightly before he squelched it. He tipped his head to the side. “Is that the only reason you want to help? To save your uncle and any other potential victim?”
She hesitated for only a moment before admitting, “No.”
He’d never come around unless she was completely honest.
She sighed. “I also despise boredom. And Albright, I am soverybored.”
At this, his face…contorted. His cheeks sucked in and his eye twitched, and it truly looked rather painful before he finally stopped trying and let out a laugh that had them the center of attention once more.
She smiled at the guests around them. “I don’t see that it’s so amusing,” she murmured. “It’s the truth.”
“And that is why it’s so amusing,” he said. “Your candor is…”
“Shocking?”
“Refreshing,” he finished. And then he added, “On occasion.”
She smiled. He returned it.
“So then, where do we start?” she asked.
He turned to pointedly look upon the crowd. “Not here. Not now.”
