Duncan Sisters Trilogy - The Bride Hunt Part 10

"Perhaps not," he agreed amiably. He took her coat from the waiter, who had returned, and helped her into it. He put on his own heavy overcoat and driving gloves as she tied her scarf around her head.

"The night's quite chilly," he commented as pleasantly as if that acerbic exchange had not taken place. "There's a lap rug in the motor." He escorted her down the stairs to the hall, one guiding hand lightly clasping her elbow.

The vehicle stood, engine already running, at the curb. He tucked the rug over her knees when she was seated and took his own place behind the wheel.

"I'll see you and your sisters in my chambers at eight-thirty tomorrow morning," he stated, guiding the motor expertly through the crowded streets. The Opera House was disgorging its clientele and hackney cabs jostled for s.p.a.ce with private vehicles awaiting their owners.

"Eight-thirty!" Prudence exclaimed. "That's the crack of dawn."

"I have to be in court at ten," he said. He glanced across at her. "Believe it or not, Prudence, I do have other clients, all of whom at present are neither pro bono nor contingency cases...not to mention barter arrangements," he added with a touch of acid.

He was such an arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He was treating her offer as if it was no more than a joke...and a feeble one, at that. Prudence stared rigidly ahead, wishing she could tell him to jump in theThamesand take his conceited smugness with him. But then he'd have to take his legal expertise as well, so of course she couldn't.

"When you come tomorrow, I'll need you to explain to me how you're going to back up your accusations of Barclay's financial improprieties. I can't prepare a case until I have that evidence in my hands."

"I won't have the evidence tomorrow," Prudence said. "But we have a lead. I can explain that tomorrow."

"Then I suppose I must be thankful for small mercies," he said, drawing the car to a smooth stop at the curb outside10 Manchester Square. He turned sideways on the seat, and before she could respond he had taken her face between his hands and brought his mouth to hers. Prudence tried to pull back but he was holding her too firmly and he was kissing her with far too much authority for resistance.

He moved one hand behind her head, displacing the scarf as he held her head in his palm, his fingers working through the tight bun at her nape. She tried to put her hands on his shoulders to push him away, but he was holding her too closely to give her the freedom of movement. She pushed her head back against his palm, trying to turn her mouth aside, but his lips merely moved to the corner of her mouth, his tongue lightly stroking her lips. She was breathless when finally he raised his head and smiled down at her. Her face was hot, flushed with anger, and for a moment she was speechless. Not so Gideon. "Well, that satisfies my curiosity," he said. "I've been wanting to do that ever since you stormed back into my chambers this afternoon."

"How dare you?" she demanded, outrage throbbing in her voice as she tried to tidy her disordered hair, pushing loosened pins back into the russet bun. "Without even asking ? What gave you the right to a.s.sume that I wanted it?" She glared at him, and even through the thick lenses he could almost feel the sparks of rage in her eyes. He could certainly imagine them.

"What did you think you were doing?" she continued with the same fury. "Taking payment for your services?"

"Oh, you are so sharp, you could cut," he said with a soft laugh, pulling her back into his embrace. He kissed her again, his closed mouth hard against her lips, then released her as abruptly. She caught her breath on a gasp and was momentarily silenced.

"Actually," he said gravely, although his dancing eyes belied his tone, "I thought it might help you to know what kind of woman just might suit me when you commence your search. And it might be helpful for any prospective candidates to have some idea of the kind of lover I might make. You could probably make a more informed a.s.sessment of both issues now." He got out of the motor and came around to open her door, offering his hand to help her out.

She remained seated and said with icy deliberation, "You are a cad, Sir Gideon. We do not accept as clients men who ride roughshod over women. Men who a.s.sume that they can sweep a woman off her feet with some absurd attempt at mastery are of no interest to me...I mean us," she amended hastily. Ignoring the hand, she stepped down to the curb.

"There's a time and a place for every approach," he said without the blink of an eye. "And sometimes surprise is the essence of a successful campaign. Good night, Prudence." He raised her hand to his lips in a courtly gesture that shocked her almost as much as the kiss. "Don't forget. Tomorrow at eight-thirty sharp in my chambers."

She took back her hand with a jerk and without a word of farewell turned to the steps, infuriatingly aware of his soft laugh at her back.

He stood on the bottom step until she had let herself into the house, then returned to the motor. As he drove home, he began to wonder just what in h.e.l.l he thought he was doing. He was not a man of impulse. Never had been. He'd agreed against every judicial instinct to work with the woman. Then on a pure impulse he found himself kissing her. What in h.e.l.l's teeth did he think he was doing? He was beginning to have the unnerving sensation of loosing his moorings, casting himself adrift on a sea of blind compulsion.

Prudence had barely closed the door behind her when her sisters came running down the stairs to greet her.

"Con, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Oh, Max had a division bell just as we were finishing dinner and had to go to the House of Commons for a vote. He might be there most of the night, so I decided to come back with Chas and hear what happened."Constanceregarded her sister closely. "You look a little disheveled, love."

"In the circ.u.mstance, that's not surprising," Prudence answered somewhat sharply as she took off her coat. "Let's go up to the parlor and I'll tell you all about it." She became aware of her sisters' incredulous stares. "Why...What's the matter?"

"That dress is frightful,"Constancesaid. "Where did it come from?"

"The old cedar chest. It was supposed to keep the barrister's mind on business," she added somewhat bitterly.

"And it didn't?" Chast.i.ty asked. "This is very intriguing, Prue." She followed her sister to the stairs. "But can you at least put us out of our misery and tell us if he agreed to take the case?" "Yes, he did, finally," Prudence answered, opening the door into their parlor, where a fire burned brightly in the grate. "But I'm beginning to think it's a very bad idea to get mixed up with Sir Gideon Malvern, KC."

"Couldn't you handle him?"

"No," Prudence said frankly. "I thought I could, but I can't...at least not alone."

Constance closed the door and stood leaning against it, her gaze rather anxious as it rested on her sister.

"You're all right, Prue?" "Yes, just about." She touched her lips, which still seemed to be tingling. "As well as can be expected after an a.s.sault."

"What?" Both sisters stared at her.

"What do you mean, Prue?" Chast.i.ty put a hand on her arm. "Who a.s.saulted you?"

"Oh, that's a bit melodramatic," Prudence said with a sigh. "It wasn't an a.s.sault, it was just a kiss. But it was unexpected and he didn't ask permission and I don't like being grabbed as if I have no say in the matter."

Her sisters untangled this and came to the correct picture. "He's the masterful type, then?"Constance said with some scorn.

"He certainly likes to think so." She changed the subject abruptly. "Are you spending the night, Con?"

"Yes, in my old room," her sister replied, leaving the door to take up the goblet of cognac she had abandoned when they'd heard Prudence's return.

"Doesn't Max mind? It's a bit soon after your wedding to abandon the marital bed, isn't it?" Prudence tossed her head scarf onto the sofa, following it with her discarded coat, aware that the teasing note she had been aiming for was somehow missing. Her voice sounded rather raw.

Constancesipped her cognac, still keeping her eyes on her sister. It was generally better with Prue to let her tell her story at her own pace, so she answered easily, "To tell you the truth, I didn't actually ask him if he minded. I just left him a note. But he won't be back until close to dawn, I imagine, so I'm sure he won't mind at all."

"Well, it's a good thing you are going to be here first thing in the morning," Prudence said, examining her disordered appearance in the mirror above the mantel. "Since we have to be at the barrister's chambers at eight-thirty tomorrow."

Her sisters exchanged a quick glance. The hostility in Prue's voice was unmistakable. "So, you said he's agreed to take the case," Chast.i.ty prompted, wondering which avenue would lead to more discussion about the unwanted kiss. Her sister was clearly disturbed, and the subject couldn't simply be abandoned.

"Yes." Prudence sat down and kicked off her shoes. She pressed her fingertips to her temples. "I have had too much wine."

"Where did you go for dinner?"

"Some supper club in Covent Garden. In the interests of privacy," she added. "Oh, and by the way, you were wrong, Con. His daughter apparently lives with him, not her mother."

"Oh," Constance said, sipping her cognac. "Well, he obviously has custody. He probably prevents the mother seeing her."

Prudence shook her head. "No, much as I'd like to agree with you, I don't think you can go off on one of your antipaternalistic diatribes in this instance. I don't know what caused the divorce, but he seems a rather enlightened parent. He sends her to North London Collegiate and allows her to read The Mayfair Lady with her governess and makes no objections to the governess's teaching the girl about women's suffrage."

Constanceraised her eyebrows. "Well, that's novel. But to get back to the case. He's agreed to take it, so how do we pay him?"

"His suggestion is an eighty-twenty split of any damages The Mayfair Lady might be awarded if Barclay's case is thrown out as frivolous. Sir Gideon will ask for recompense for damage done to the broadsheet's reputation, in addition, of course, to all our legal costs, which would include his fee. Of course, we have to win for all that to happen."

"Oh, that seems a very reasonable split," Chast.i.ty said.

"Eighty for Sir Gideon, Chas. We get the twenty."

Constancegrimaced, but shrugged. "We don't have any choice but to accept his terms."

"I suggested a different arrangement," Prudence said, and explained.

"That's a brilliant idea, Prue!" Chast.i.ty exclaimed. "What kind of person would suit him?"

Her sister gave a short laugh. "More to the point, what kind of woman would put up with him? You won't like him, I'll tell you that much. He's arrogant, conceited, imperious, rude." She shrugged. "You name it, he's it."

"And he has a habit of grabbing women and kissing them against their will,"Constanceprodded.

"He didn't hurt you, though, Prue, did he?" Chast.i.ty asked anxiously.

Her sister shook her head and tried for a rea.s.suring smile. "Only my pride. I don't like being manhandled. I wish I'd slapped him, only he took me so much by surprise I could only gape at him like a gaffed fish."

"Is he really all bad?" Chast.i.ty pressed. "Is he attractive, at least? Or even interesting in some way?"

Prudence frowned. "Don't take this the wrong way, Con, but he reminds me of the way Max was at the beginning. You thought he was the most arrogant, supercilious b.a.s.t.a.r.d ever to walk the streets of London."

"I still do think that sometimes," her sister responded. "But the good qualities far and away outweigh the bad. Besides," she added with brutal candor, "I'm no angel myself. I can be every bit as obnoxious in the right circ.u.mstances. It makes us rather a good match." She laughed slightly. "Surely this Sir Gideon must have some good qualities."

"So far I haven't seen any," Prudence declared. "I find him detestable. But I believe he's a brilliant lawyer, and that's all that concerns us. I'll just have to try to keep my antipathy from being too obvious."

Chast.i.ty cast her sister a shrewdly speculative glance. Was there a hint of overprotest in Prue's voice? She asked, "Does he think we have a chance in court?"

"At first he said absolutely not. Because we won't take the stand."

A short silence fell as they contemplated the ramifications of this. "It is difficult, I can see that,"Constance said after a minute. "Is there a way around it?"

"He must have some ideas or he wouldn't bother with us," Chast.i.ty pointed out.

Constanceregarded Prudence with raised eyebrows. "You said at first. Something made him change his mind? Do you know what it was?"

"Not really," her sister said. "Perhaps persistence paid off. Perhaps I wore him down." She shrugged. "Whatever the reason, he agreed. We got what we wanted." She wondered why he had not been in the least perturbed by her angry response to his kiss. Quite the opposite, he had actually laughed at her indignant rejection. Odious creature.

She leaned her head against the back of the sofa and yawned. "I'm exhausted and we have to have our wits about us first thing in the morning." She stood up with a groan. "And I warn you, we'll need all the wits we possess. Our barrister doesn't miss a trick, and he's already warned me that he's going to be asking some very personal questions."

"I don't suppose you warned him that we have a tendency to bite if someone crosses our boundaries," Constancesaid, rising to her feet with her sister.

"I thought we'd let him find that out for himself," Prudence returned, managing a smile. "Breakfast at seven? I'll leave a note for Jenkins." She went to the overburdened secretaire and scribbled a few words, setting the paper beneath her sister's empty cognac goblet, where the butler would find it first thing in the morning.

"Into the breach once more." Constance linked arms with her sisters until they separated at their own doors.

Chapter 8.

Constance awoke a very few hours later in the gray light of dawn. She wasn't sure what had woken her

until she heard the door click shut. She peered blearily into the dimness and smiled, brushing hair out of her eyes as she struggled up against the pillows.

"Good morning, Max. I a.s.sume it is morning. Why aren't you fast asleep in your own bed?"

"That was rather the question I was going to ask you," her husband said somewhat aridly as he set a tea

tray on the dresser. "I get home to find a cold and empty bed and a scribbled note from my wife telling

me she's returned to the bosom of her family."

"Only for tonight...I mean last night,"Constanceprotested. "I didn't think you'd mind, as you'd be working most of the night."

"Well, as it happens, I think I do mind," he declared, pouring tea. He brought two cups over to the bed

and sat on the edge, handing her one.

"Oh, come on," she said. "You know you don't really." She sipped gratefully of the steaming brew. "Did you make this yourself, or is Mrs. Hudson up and about already?"

"Jenkins made it. He said you'd left a note saying you wanted breakfast at the crack of dawn, so I

thought I'd wake you myself."

"That was very thoughtful of you,"Constancesaid. "But I'd have liked a good-morning kiss before the tea."

He took the cup from her and set it, with his, on the bedside table, then leaned over and kissed her,

murmuring against her mouth, "Not that you deserve it, deserting me like that."

"Good morning, Con-oh, Max, are you here too?" Chast.i.ty spoke even as she opened the door and came in, followed by Prudence, carrying a tea tray.