Page 21 of Tempting Her Viscount

Chapter Nine

“No. That’s not her,” Kit said in disappointment from his seat in Gray’s coach. “And why must we skulk about watching women come and go? I feel the worst kind of lurker.”

“The moment someone finds out we’re looking for someone named Selene they will be thrusting them upon us. We’ll be up to our ears in Selenes.”

“Since we’ve spent the last two mornings hunting for my Selene with no luck, I’d much prefer a pile of them to sort through as this is taking much too long,” Kit complained. Why he thought Graham, of all people, would be able to help he didn’t know.

“Perhaps the longer it takes, the more likely you will be to see the woman is not to be your bride,” Gray said, his face pulled up in distaste.

“Are you purposely delaying my finding my Selene so I won’t marry? You are the very worst kind of friend.” They’d been at this ruse since early that morning. He’d missed breakfast and was dearly longing for luncheon. His hunger was now fueling his irritation with his friend.

“Or the best friend ever. Time will tell.” Gray winked. “But no. We’ve not been delaying. The sooner we find your French seductress the sooner you will see the truth of her and can put the search aside for more entertaining pursuits.” He wiggled his brows.

“Quite.” Kit rolled his eyes. As if Selene was his only hope for finding a wife and he’d give up if she wasn’t found.

“I have an idea.” Gray stepped out of the conveyance to have a word with the driver and soon they were on their way again.

“Whatever are we doing here?” Kit asked when they pulled up in front of a familiar house on Berkley Street. Familiar because he’d been here just three nights before. The night he’d met Selene.

“Lady Harrington no doubt knows the woman if she invited her to the masquerade.”

Kit’s mouth fell open. It wasn’t like Graham to be so intuitive, but this idea was bloody brilliant. He slapped Gray on the back in approval.

Kit practically pushed Graham out of the carriage in a hurry to get to the woman and learn the truth. Though it was late in the afternoon by the time they arrived, Lady Harrington greeted them in her dressing gown looking as if she’d just tumbled from bed. From the smile on her face, it was clear she’d not been alone in that bed.

“Gentleman. What brings you here at such an ungodly early hour?” she asked while pouring them a brandy.

Gray looked at Kit expectantly. Right. It was Kit’s search. He should be the one to explain.

“As you may recall the night of the masquerade, you called on me to be of service to a woman by the name of Selene.”

The woman leaned forward from her lounging position and Kit could see down the gaping gown to her rosy nipples. He looked away recalling the darker shade of Selene’s. “Did she steal something of yours?” the lady inquired.

“No,” Kit said at the same time Gray muttered, “His peace of mind.”

“No,” Kit went on. “But I feel the lady and I made a connection. When we parted, we agreed to leave things in Fate’s hands as to if we would see each other again.”

“But now you find yourself impatient with Fate’s schedule?” The woman said before taking a sip of her drink and licking her painted lips.

Kit smiled, glad she understood. “Yes. Very much so. If you know her direction so I might find her, I would be most grateful.”

The woman nodded. “I’d like nothing more but to assist you in finding true love, but alas, I do not know who she is.”

Gray moved to the edge of his seat and leaned in. “But you invited her to your masquerade. Even if she didn’t remove her mask, you must be able to consult your guest list to determine who the woman is. How many Selenes could there be?”

“I’m afraid I didn’t invite her. It’s not uncommon for my guests to pass their invitation off to another. I’ve even heard of my invitations being used as payment for gambling debts, so coveted as they are. I’ve had to turn people away even if they held an invitation if they were not of the… proper standards as my other guests.”

Kit understood that to mean if the person were not titled or beautiful.

“But Lady Selene was of those standards so you allowed her to stay even though you didn’t know who she was?”

“Yes. And because I saw her innocence and her wish to have away with it. I would never hinder a woman from exploring her desires and learning what she needs in order to find her way in the world. It is quite silly that a woman is to be married off as a virgin to a man who may or may not see to her pleasure. How does one truly know what one is getting in a husband unless they’ve had the opportunity to try them out first?” She trailed her fingers along Graham’s leg and he leaned closer to the woman.

Kit coughed and tugged at his cravat. He couldn’t say he didn’t agree with the woman’s suggestion, but to speak it aloud was another matter.

He also knew many married couples did try things out first. That’s what he supposed had happened with Hale and his duchess as well as Julian and Elaina.

Gray let out a breath and hung his head for a moment. “I suppose we’re back to combing the streets to find the woman.”