The Discerning Gentleman's Guide. Virginia Heath

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СКАЧАТЬ to let him know that just yet. ‘Is that what your postponed speech was about?’

      ‘No. That is about the declining state of public health, another cause that the Commons prefer to ignore. I want Parliament to invest some money to clean up the slums.’

      ‘Does their foul stench offend your aristocratic nose?’

      ‘Actually, madam, the unnecessarily high death rate offends my aristocratic sensibilities. If the streets were cleaned, and the unfortunate residents were not forced to live in such squalor, I believe that fewer of them would tragically die so young.’

      Amelia was shamed by her own uncharitable assumptions. ‘Then I am sorry for what I said about your aristocratic nose.’

      A deep chuckle reverberated through him and then her, sending little tingles to the furthest corners of her body in a very pleasant way, and she found herself unconsciously leaning a little closer to him before she stopped herself. Amelia could not remember ever feeling quite so comfortable in such close proximity to another person, let alone a male person—a titled male person with big strong arms. Had she ever been so intimately held by a man? If she had, it clearly had not had such an intoxicating effect on her, else she would have remembered it. Yet it felt strangely comforting and strangely right.

      They rode in silence while he manoeuvred the horse around a crowd into a completely deserted street beyond. Frozen mist had begun to fall, giving the alleyway an eerie, otherworldly air that made everything else apart from them seem fuzzy. Even the noisy hustle and bustle of the rest of the city was muted. It felt as if it were suddenly just the two of them. All alone.

      ‘I did not know that you were familiar with our capital. How long has it been since you were last here?’ His soft, deep voice encouraged her to draw closer still, perhaps because they were in such close proximity that he barely had to speak above a whisper.

      ‘Just over a year ago now. I grew up here.’ Amelia winced at her candour. She probably should not have told him that. Lady Worsted had been quite specific in her insistence that Amelia should not make things awkward by mentioning her past to anyone. It made his next question inevitable.

      ‘Where?’

      Two streets away from you, in a grand house with servants. ‘From the age of twelve I lived in Cheapside with my mother.’ They had, for a very short while, while her father plotted and schemed to get his marriage to her mother annulled.

      ‘Does she still live there?’

      ‘She died a few years ago.’

      ‘Ah—I am sorry to hear that. I know how painful it is to lose a parent. My father died when I was fifteen. I still miss his guidance.’ That was a surprising admission from a man who was so stiff and reserved. He had feelings, then? She had wondered. ‘So that is why you became a companion? You were alone in the world?’

      How did one explain her odd situation? Technically, no. I still have a father, although he is determined to forget that he has a daughter, especially now that the law says that he hasn’t. The lie he had offered her was easier than the truth. The truth was so awful it made her angry just to think about it and Amelia had long ago promised herself that she would not give Viscount Venomous the satisfaction of rousing her emotions. ‘Yes. I went to work for your aunt. She has been very good to me.’

      Another intimate chuckle rumbled behind his ribcage, which played havoc with her pulse. ‘Aunt Augusta is a wonderful woman—although she can be a bit of a challenge. I think she has frightened off at least six companions since she was widowed. There has been a new one every few months. Apparently, you have proved yourself to be most resilient to have weathered almost a year. How have you managed it?’

      Amelia found herself relaxing again as this topic was easier to talk about. The rhythmic motion of the horse’s trot, the warmth seeping back into her bones and the gentle timbre of his soothing, deep voice was becoming hypnotic. So hypnotic that at some point she had rested the full weight of her back against his chest so that his body could form a protective heated cocoon about her. It might be a tad improper, but it felt far too good to move just yet. ‘Lady Worsted finds me amusing. She says that I am a breath of fresh air.’

      ‘You are certainly nothing like any of her previous companions. They were all very straitlaced and sensible—which is probably why Aunt Augusta frightened them off. Much as I adore her, she can be difficult, outspoken, and has a tendency to be naughty whenever she gets the chance. I never quite know what she is going to do or say next.’

      ‘I think that is why we get on so well. I also have a tendency to be a bit unpredictable. I act first and think about it later. I am not particularly straitlaced and sometimes I am not very sensible either.’

      ‘Hence you were out alone, in the dark, without a chaperon. I am sure if my aunt heard about this she would be angry that you had put yourself at risk.’ There was no irritation in his voice this time; it had been replaced by a gentler chastisement that was designed to appeal to her conscience rather than a direct order.

      ‘I will try not to do it again,’ she said, hoping he would believe her. She had another meeting to attend tomorrow with the factory workers, if she could get away, and they were always desperately short-handed at the soup kitchen.

      ‘That is not the answer I was hoping for. I want to hear the words I will not do it again.’

      ‘Now you are splitting hairs. That is exactly what I just said.’

      He laughed at her cheekiness. ‘I am a politician, Miss Mansfield. I know full well the power of words. The way something is phrased tells me a great deal about a person’s intent. Just now, for example, you specifically used the words I will try. There is a vast chasm of difference in the meaning of try and will; therefore that leads me to believe that you have no intention of listening to me at all on the matter.’

      ‘Perhaps...’

      ‘Another response that confirms your lack of commitment. Now I see why you and Aunt Augusta get along so well.’

      His easy sarcasm made her giggle. ‘Are you suggesting that I am...how did you put it? Difficult, outspoken and naughty?’

      Yes, he was and he quite liked those traits, bizarrely. Perhaps because she was a lady’s companion who’d grown up in Cheapside and was, therefore, completely off-limits. ‘You are certainly unconventional, Miss Mansfield; I will give you that.’

      She was also playing havoc with his nerve endings, cuddled against his chest, compliant for once and nestled in his lap; those nerve endings were getting lustful ideas again. The temperature might be close to freezing, the fog creating glistening ice crystals on the brickwork they passed, but Bennett was hot.

      Very hot.

      All over.

      ‘I shall take that as a compliment. I would hate to be considered conventional.’

      Her body trembled slightly with her laughter and it made him wonder if she would tremble with passion too. It had been a reckless and ill-considered decision to put her on his horse whilst he still sat on it. As a gentleman, Bennett probably should have offered the horse to her and walked home. He certainly should not have dragged her against him and shared his coat with her. What he had originally intended as an act of polite chivalry was now almost torture. Whatever had possessed him to do so when such things were simply not done, he could not fathom, aside from the fact that he had felt the most overwhelming urge to СКАЧАТЬ