Page 36 of Introducing Miss Joanna (Once a Wallflower 2)

“Do you ride?”

“Yes. I hadn’t planned to in London. There’s no reason why I can’t hire a couple of hacks at the Hyde Park stables for Sally and me.”

“If you need my advice, or if something important occurs, send me a feather.”

She stared at him. “A feather?”

“I’m sure your hats can spare one. Best we meet before the fashionable hour. Let’s make it noon at the Brook Street gate.”

“Yes. Thank you, that has put my mind at rest.”

“And should you encounter Virden, or see him with your father, I want to hear about it.”

“My father doesn’t know…”

“We shall see.” He cut her off and took her arm. They returned to the ballroom. Her father was in his chair.

After Reade bowed and left them, her father frowned after him. “What were you doing on the terrace with the baron?”

Jo sank onto the chair, wrung out. “Just taking the air, Papa.”

“I don’t like it. That fellow worries me. He’s an unscrupulous rake, Jo.”

“No, he is not.” While she’d seen Reade flirt with other women, he seemed disinclined to do it with her. It was better he didn’t. He would make a terrible husband. She wondered why her father had such a poor opinion of him.

Jo debated whether to tell her father what she and Reade had discussed. She decided against it. It would only worry him when it wasn’t likely anything untoward would happen. And if she had to meet Reade in the park, her father would never allow it. Riding with him would be so wonderful, she almost hoped something would happen. How foolish she was about Reade. She heaved a sigh and searched the guests for Mr. Ollerton. She’d expected him to be here tonight. It appeared his interest in her had cooled. The possibility failed to disappoint her.

At Whitehall, the next day, Reade discussed the matter with Cartwright.

“It makes sense,” Cartwright said. “They abandoned the maid because people would make a fuss and hunt for her. Strange, though, that it was the Dalrymple’s maid.”

“That’s what worries me,” Reade said heavily.

“What do you think of Dalrymple? Might he be involved in this business?”

“I very much doubt it, although Virden might have wanted something from him. Running one of his scams, perhaps. We’ll keep an eye on him and step in if we must.”

Cartwright looked surprised. “You haven’t questioned him? Is it because of his daughter?”

Reade scowled. “It’s better not to alert him and possibly Virden that he’s under observation. I’m surprised you’d think I’d allow an attachment to a lady to affect my judgment.”

“No need to growl at me like a bear. You wouldn’t be the first man,” Cartwright said with a subtle wink.

Reade grinned. “I have had a degree of difficulty, I might add.” He pushed away the image of a soft, wide mouth, perfect for kissing. He’d been a whisker from doing precisely that in the Feldman’s garden. “But I have no intention of pursuing Miss Dalrymple.”

“While I admit to disappointment that you won’t court the pretty lady, I understand your reluctance,” Cartwright said. “We men cling to our freedom, and then once given up, we wonder why it took us so long.”

Reade cocked an eyebrow. “I realize that as a married man, you consider it your duty to persuade your bachelor friends to embrace the parson’s mousetrap.” Reade gave the hint of a smile. “But I don’t intend to marry for a while. I beg you to warn me should I appear to be in any danger of it.”

Cartwright nodded, a spark of humor in his eyes. “You can rely on me.”

“Brandon, I can rely on you to watch my back should we be facing a gang of footpads in an alley, but I don’t feel so confident in London ballrooms.”

Cartwright chuckled. “That would depend on the circumstances.”

Reade threw up his hands and laughed. “Going into politics soon?”

Chapter Eleven

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