It bothered him, somehow, mentioning the Imperial to Georgiana, and he was glad he’d moved forward so quickly with the strategy he and the earl had discussed that morning. The sooner Lola Valentine was out of his life again, the better.
He waited until the cab had turned the corner, then he turned and started up Maiden Lane in the opposite direction, heading toward his offices. He turned onto the Strand, and as he passed the Savoy Hotel, it occurred to him that it might be wise to inform Jacob of the Imperial’s change in ownership, however temporary that change might be. If he was lucky, he’d find the director still in the restaurant, lingering over his dessert.
Careful to avoid the broughams, hansom cabs, and other vehicles circling the Savoy’s U-shaped courtyard, he entered the hotel and crossed the lavish foyer to the dining room.
“Lord Somerton,” the maître d’hôtel greeted him as he paused inside the door. “This is an honor. May I show you to a table?”
“I’m looking for Mr.Roth. Is he still here?”
“He is, my lord, but...”
The other man paused, a curious reticence suddenly entering his heretofore unctuous manner, and Denys looked at him in some surprise. “Is something wrong, monsieur?” he asked, as a dull red flush crept into the maître d’hôtel’s cheeks.
“My apologies, my lord. I had not been informed you would be joining Monsieur Roth for luncheon today.”
“I shouldn’t think you had,” Denys answered. “He doesn’t know I’m here, but I daresay he won’t mind if I join him.”
The maître d’hôtel, accustomed to giving way to the aristocracy, capitulated. “Of course,” he said, and began leading Denys between the crowded tables toward the far corner of the room. “I ask your lordship’s pardon, for I did not mean to be impertinent. It is only that Mr.Roth is not alone today. He is having luncheon with a lady, you see.”
“A lady?” Even as he spoke, Denys felt a sinking feeling in his guts, and when he followed the footman, he was not surprised to find Lola sitting with the director of his next play, looking far too intimately acquainted with the fellow for his peace of mind.
She smiled at the director, the same heart-stopping smile that had enthralled not only him, but also most of his friends, Henry Latham, and audiences from Paris’s cabarets to New York’s Madison Square. Denys knew how much havoc that smile could create, and he cursed the fateful night in Paris when Nick and Jack had first dragged him to theThéâtre Latin.
Chapter4
Lola knew the crucial moment was at hand. Mr.Roth’s stomach was full, his second glass of wine and his dessert had been consumed, and his gaze was warmly admiring. It was time to make her move.
“Mr.Roth, I understand the Imperial’s first play of the season is to beOthello?”
“Yes, indeed. I myself shall be directing.”
“Really?” She gave him her best look of amazement. “Why, how wonderful. You see...” She paused, leaning forward in a confiding manner. “I have always wanted to act in drama—”
“I don’t know why,” a wry voice cut in. “You always seem to have plenty of drama in your private life.”
Damn. Lola caught back a groan. She’d known, of course, that once he learned she didn’t intend to sit idly by, he wouldn’t either, but she had hoped it would take him longer than a mere three hours to discover what she was up to.
Still, she was a partner now, and by finding her here, he knew she intended to act like one. “Lord Somerton,” she said, pasting on a smile and tilting her head back to look him in the eye. “How lovely to see you again so soon. What are you doing here?”
One dark brow lifted. “I might ask you the same question.”
She shrugged and took a sip of wine. “Is it so surprising? I’m staying at the Savoy.”
“And dining with my managing director, I see. How fortuitous.”
“Wasn’t it, though?” she agreed, choosing to ignore his implication of her opportunism. “Here I was, having my lunch, when who should I find being seated at a table right by my own?” She paused, gesturing to the man opposite. “None other than Jacob Roth, London’s most lauded theatrical director.”
Denys, however, was no fool. He smiled at her. “Bribed the waiter, did you?”
She laughed as if that were a joke, and, fortunately, Mr.Roth did the same.
“Really, Somerton,” the director reproved, “you do MissValentine little credit. I doubt she would have to resort to bribery to have her way with any man. One of her smiles,” he added with a little nod to her, “would be more than enough persuasion to give her whatever she wanted.”
Lola could only hope he meant that.
“And in any case,” Roth added, “it was I who initiated conversation, breaking all rules of etiquette, I am sure. It was my idea that we dine together.”
“It’s amazing,” Denys murmured, “how often someone else’s idea also happens to be just what MissValentine wants.”
