Page 51 of The Virgin and the Viscount

“If you’re not going to spend this time gossiping or telling me the benefits of having a wife at your beck and call, then I’m going to go find somewhere to get myself into trouble.” Malcolm stood, then nodded to Sullivan. “My condolences on your recent nuptials.”

Once Malcolm had left the club, Sullivan took another slow sip of his drink. “How are you not bothered by their activity in this organization?”

Oliver leaned back in his chair, crossing his huge arms over his chest, his cane propped against his leg. “Have you ever seen her do it? Any of them?”

“Yes, I saw Tilly on Bond Street stop a thief.”

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Fletcher asked.

“It’s bloody dangerous, is what it is.” Sullivan forked his fingers through his hair. “What the devil is wrong with the both of you? You speak of this nonsense as if you are proud of their escapades.”

“I can’t speak for Oliver, but I am proud,” Fletcher said. “Agnes not only has impressive skills with catching pickpockets, she also designs many of their weapons. All cleverly disguised within pieces of jewelry and other ladies’ accessories.”

“You are not concerned for her safety?” Sullivan asked, unable to believe these men.

“Of course I worry,” Fletcher said. “But it’s part of who she is. I can’t change that. Just like she can’t change the fact that her husband has the reputation of being the greatest lover in England.”

Oliver snorted. “Harriet adores her work with the Ladies of Virtue. She’s been so bored since that business with Lady X put their work on hold. She actually embroidered tiny flowers at the cuffs of several of my shirts. I accidentally spilled brandy on them, then tripped and dropped them into the fire.” He tapped his cane on his leg. “Bad leg, you know. Quite unsteady on my feet.”

Lady X. There was that name again. He hadn’t heard back from her since her last correspondence. He wanted to ask these men more questions but decided to wait to see if they’d provide more details. “We should make them quit. It’s far too dangerous.”

“You want us to forbid them from being members of the Ladies of Virtue?” Fletcher asked.

“It is our responsibility to protect them. They are our wives.”

Oliver barked out a laugh. “You’re a damned fool, Glenbrook, if you think you can forbid your wife from doing anything, least of all something this important to her.”

Fletcher leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the tabletop. “Have you discussed this with Tilly?”

“Of course. I told her she was to stop immediately.”

Fletcher chuckled. “How did she like that?”

A memory flashed through his mind…Tilly’s bare bottom spread across his lap, pink from his palms. The last thing he needed was to get hard while sitting in a room full of other men. “She disobeyed me.”

“Precisely. And she’ll continue to do that,” Oliver said. “You’d have to lock her away to prevent her from this.”

“That is unacceptable,” Sullivan said. “I thought if the three of us spoke to them together, we’d have more sway. Be able to convince them.”

Fletcher shook his head. “I’d never ask Agnes to quit.”

“Harriet and I already have an agreement. The minute she’s pregnant, she’s stopping until the baby is born, then we’ll reevaluate the situation.”

“Listen, Sullivan,” Fletcher said. “You can’t protect people from everything.”

“I fought two battles in Burma, I think I know a little about not being able to protect people. But this isn’t war. It’s the damned streets of London and my wife. I should be able to keep her safe.”

He wasn’t getting anywhere with these two idiots. They were as mad as the rest of them. He’d have to think of yet another solution. He wanted that information from Lady X. He desperately wanted to prove Thomas killed their brother.

But more than any of that, keeping Tilly safe in the meantime was worth any anger she felt toward him. Because if something happened to her while she was on the street confronting common criminals, he’d never forgive himself.

Chapter Eleven

Tilly returned home after spending several hours with her friends walking Bond Street and the nearby shops. Their shopping excursion had been uneventful, except Harriet had received a new letter from their friend Iris. After she had married the Earl of Ashby, they had left England to travel the continent. But they’d decided to return earlier than planned because Iris was with child. It would be nice to see her friend again, but being around the women in her group of friends only reminded Tilly about how very different her marriage was compared to theirs. They all had love matches, husbands who adored them.

Did she even want that? Did she want Sullivan to love her? Her stomach knotted and her heart sped at the mere thought. But it was a moot point. He would never love her, which meant she could never allow herself to feel too much for him. He tempted and tormented her body already. If he had her heart, too, she would lose the last part of herself that was wholly hers.

Tilly’s mind was so clouded with such thoughts that when she entered the library, it took a minute for her mind to register what she was seeing.

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