Page 19 of The Wallflower Ruse

Drat, how dare he make her blush? He wasn’t the least bit confused. It was all a game. “Perhaps we should avoid senseless confusion and stick to important matters.”

“That depends on what one considers important.” He sighed, turning to Cecil. “I have enlisted Lady Alice’s aid as an excuse to visit Mrs. Haraldson tonight.”

“Lady Alice Turlow is Restive’s aunt,” Dorothea explained. “She’s a patron of various worthy causes and is always eager for new and progressive ideas. Restive is known to escort her from time to time, so his attendance at a gathering of bluestockings will not seem so very odd.”

Bluestockings! What fun that must be. Lucinda’s mother had strictly forbidden any association with those odd women—their intellectual pursuits being dangerous, she believed, to the delicate female mind. Mrs. Haraldson, in particular, was to be avoided at all costs.

“Mrs. Haraldson is the ‘jolly wench’ of the message you decoded,” Cecil said, “which suggests that our best chance to work out what’s going on is by attending her salon.”

“Heavens,” Lucinda said, “what sort of people does she invite?”

“Mostly earnest women dedicated to every kind of reform,” Restive said. “Some of them are quite learned, which helps to relieve the tedium.” He cocked a brow. “One of your gowns, Dot? It couldn’t be more perfect—it’s the exact shade of Miss Belair’s eyes.”

Lucinda rolled said eyes. “Must you flirt? It’s so foolish.”

“I merely spoke the truth,” Restive said.

Cecil glanced at Dorothea, who nodded slightly. He turned to Lucinda. “Would you like to go with Restive and Lady Alice?”

Oh, how she wished she could. She had met Lady Alice once or twice and quite liked her...but she didn’t want to go anywhere with Restive. He made her uncomfortable, which she didn’t care for one bit.

How could she despise him as a libertine, yet respect him as a government agent? She simply couldn’t reconcile the boy she’d liked so much years ago with the unsavory man he’d become.

She opened her mouth to refuse.

“What an excellent notion,” Dorothea said. “You know you want to, Lucy. It will be fun, and you’ll be a great help. A distraction, as Cecil mentioned earlier.”

“There won’t be any dancing,” Restive said, “so you needn’t fret about unutterable boredom.”

Lucinda giggled, and choked on her wine. When she could speak again, she said, “I was so annoyed with you for asking me to dance.” She turned to the others. “This was years ago, when I first came out. I feared that because of Restive’s influence, other men would wish to dance with me, and therefore Mother would consider them as possible suitors, when all I wanted was to be ignored.”

“It makes sense now,” Restive admitted, “but I was equally annoyed, believe me.”

She giggled again. “I apologize, if I hurt your pride.” A flicker of something she couldn’t identify crossed his face. “Afterwards, I realized that you meant well, but I didn’t think you would understand if I explained myself.”

“I still don’t understand how you expected to find the, ah, right man if you avoided all of them,” he said sardonically.

“She wanted to take her time,” Dorothea interposed. “Young men are expected to be on the town for years before marrying, but women are rushed into it. Matchmaking mothers can be the very devil to deal with, for the daughters as well as the eligible men.”

“Thank you, Dot,” Lucinda said. “What would be my role at Mrs. Haraldson’s salon? I’m not sure I know how to be a distraction.”

“Just smile and be yourself,” Dorothea said.

“Rant a bit about the rights of women, and they’ll welcome you with open arms,” Restive added.

“He means speak fervently and intelligently about the subject,” Dorothea said.

“You needn’t even acknowledge my existence,” Restive said. “No one will imagine that Stallion Restive wants to seduce a woman with brains.”

“How horrid you are,” she said.

He smirked, and she wanted to slap him. “Meanwhile, you will keep your ears open in the hope of gleaning some information,” he said. “It’s a well-known fact that women can’t keep secrets.”

Perhaps, thought Lucinda, the best way to stop his nonsense was to ignore it.

“Even if they can keep their cackling mouths shut, they can’t conceal their suppressed excitement,” Restive said.

Lucinda realized she was clenching her fists. So much for ignoring him.