Page 40 of When the Viscount Seduces
That was true. “How did you know who I was?” Gwen asked as Miss Harker fixed the first pin through the veil into her hair. “I mean, why did you assume it was me?”
“Because I was needling Somerton about his association with you. I thought he might actually have feelings for you.” She arched a brow at Gwen in the mirror. “Perhaps I was right.”
“He wanted to kiss me, and I wanted him to,” Gwen said. “That hardly signifies as ‘feelings.’”
Miss Harker shrugged. “That’s possible, given his reputation, but he gave me the sense that he at least liked you very much.”
Gwen’s mood rebounded upon hearing that. “How do you know him?” Gwen didn’t think Miss Harker was part of Society, but perhaps Gwen just hadn’t met her yet. She looked like a Society miss, with her fashionable dark coral evening gown that could have come from Bond Street.
Taking another pin from Gwen, Miss Harker replied, “My mother owns the Siren’s Call, and I work there most evenings.”
“You work at a gambling hell?” Gwen flinched as Miss Harker stabbed another pin into her veil—not because the pin hurt her, but because she’d probably just insulted her by calling her mother’s establishment a hell.
Miss Harker smiled. “Yes. Owned and operated by women.”
“Somerton is a frequent visitor?” Gwen asked.
“Somewhat.” Miss Harker took the final pin and set it through the veil. “Pull that down and let’s make sure it looks all right. We probably should have done that bit first. Particularly to guard against anyone else coming in.” She shook her head. “This was ill-advised, and I’m sorry for my part in it.”
Gwen pulled the veil over her face and surveyed her image in the mirror. “It looks good to me, but you are likely a better judge.”
“It is passable,” Miss Harker said. “It’s fortunate the hole could be moved.”
Smiling, Gwen turned to the side of the chair and lifted the veil so she could see Miss Harker more clearly. Just for a moment. “Thank you. Not just for helping me now and not telling anyone what you saw, but for securing an invitation tonight. This has been the most wonderful evening of my life.”
Miss Harker’s dark brow ticked up again and her wide mouth tipped into a smirk. “Because of Somerton or the literary conversation?”
Both, but Gwen didn’t know Miss Harker well enough to share that. She wasn’t even sure if she’d share it with her friends when they met tomorrow. Grasping the edge of her veil to pull it down once more, she met Miss Harker’s gaze. “Would you like to come to tea tomorrow? I meet weekly with some dear friends. Perhaps you’d care to join us.”
Miss Harker hesitated. “Why?”
Gwen just knew Miss Harker would fit in. Anyone who would help her attend a literary salonandkeep her secret about kissing a known rogue was someone worth calling friend. “Because after the way you helped me tonight, we are already friends. I should like to return your kindness, and I will have trouble doing that that unless we are in the same social circle.”
Laughing, Miss Harker fixed her with a curious stare. “You are unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I don’t think wecanbe in the same social circle. Not really. While I do attend certain Society functions—with my father—I have not had a Season and never will. I’d be judged too old at twenty-five. And while you are undoubtedly delightful, I am not sure I’d feel as comfortable with your friends.”
“Bah, of course you will. They are just like me. Except one is the daughter of a duke. And one is an actual duchess, but she won’t be there tomorrow as she’s recently become a mother. There will be a baroness and, this will make you feel more comfortable, a companion with absolutely no ties to Society save her friend—that’s the daughter of the duke, Lady Minerva.”
“Halifax?” Miss Harker asked. “The Duke of Henlow’s daughter?”
“The very one.”
“I know her brother—he also comes into the Siren’s Call. But then I also knowyourbrother. He’s become a frequent patron this Season.”
“That is not surprising. Because he’s now very good friends with Sheff and Somerton.”
“You call him ‘Sheff’? You must know him well.”
“Min is one of my closest friends. We met at Weston nearly two years ago. I’ve come to know her brother while we are all in residence there in August. The gentlemen don’t stay the entire month as we do, but they are there a week or so. This past August, we socialized more because one of the gentlemen—the Duke of Wellesbourne, married one of our friends.”
“That is the duchess, then,” Miss Harker concluded.
Gwen nodded. “You’ll come tomorrow?”
Miss Harker shrugged. “Why not?”
Smiling, Gwen lowered the veil and stood. She gave Miss Harker the time and her address. “Now, you really will need to guide me to the drawing room, or I will likely walk into the wall.”
Miss Harker offered Gwen her arm. “I hope the kiss with Somerton was just that—a curiosity that will not be repeated. You seem a nice person, and I would hate for him to break your heart.”
