A flirtation? Is that what he meant to steal her away for? She snorted. “What is it you do, Mr. Tidsdale? Lawyer? Physician? Archi?—”
“I do what you do, Mrs. Dart.”
She stopped walking again, and this time he did, too. His eyes twinkled as he looked down at her. Thank goodness for her bonnet, which hid the confusion no doubt written all across her face. When she’d mastered it, she met his gaze.
“You do the same thing I do?” Lie to everyone about being a widow? Live independently wealthy though her employer did not know? Pine after Lord Andrew? “Run an agency for educators?”
He nodded. “A small one yet, but I plan to grow. As your employer does. I must confess… my interest in the same location as Lord Andrew is no coincidence. I’ve been studying his business arrangement to copy it. No, to improve upon it.”
“But… how? Why?”
“Your agency sent my family a governess a few years back. For my younger sister. We had a”—his grin returned, more wolfish than charming this time—“brief flirtation, and I learned much during that time. Namely that my parents were paying her a pretty sum for her efforts molding my sister, and that only a small bit of that went to the agency who had connectedher with us. I thought… what a shame. That agency stands to collect so much more if they split the profits a bit more evenly. That’s where your employer has got it all wrong. The men and women he hires are desperate. They’ll work for much less than he negotiates for them. And they don’t have to know how much he’s making.”
The man was disgusting. Time to be done with him. She marched forward.
He jogged to catch up. “Objections, Mrs. Dart?”
“Many, but I will not bore you with them.”
“Please do. Enlighten me.”
Why not. He appeared to stick to her side like a burr, and perhaps he’d benefit from a lecture.
“First,” she said, holding out a single finger, “you had a flirtation with a woman in your father’s employ. Disgraceful. She may have felt obligated to give in to you.”
“Not a chance, Mrs. Dart. She liked it.”
Amelia shivered. A cad, he was. “And second”—she held out a second finger to join the first—“it is because our tutors and governesses are desperate that we never take advantage of them. They trust us.”
“We, Mrs. Dart? Are you and Lord Andrew awe?”
“We are a team.”
“You could be on my team.”
“Certainly not.” She’d like to stomp on his foot, though. That would be terribly nice. Not that it would solve a thing. She turned on her toe and started back the way she’d come.
He followed, jogged after her. “Think about it, Mrs. Dart. I need someone at my side to get my agency off the ground, someone with experience. You have that. And with the greater profitsI’mmaking, I’ll be able to payyoumore than Lord Andrew ever could.”
“I have no need for money.”
“You need something else, then? Widows know what it is to miss a man in their beds. Are you lonely, Mrs. Dart? If there is nowebetween you and Lord Andrew, perhaps you might considerme.”
She turned to face him, drawing herself up tall. Oh, she itched to plant him a facer. She clutched her fist at her side and kept it anchored there. “Leave me right this instant. I do not wish to hear from you again. Do you understand?”
He laughed. “I’m teasing you.” She opened her mouth, closed it. He laughed again. “Apologies, Mrs. Dart. It was more than a tease. A test. I cannot let immoral individuals into my agency. See, that is to be the defining difference between your Lord Andrew’s firm and my own. I have never worked. He has. I have never kept my unmarried, widowed proprietress under my roof. He has.”
“I do not care for your insinuations.”
“I know nothing happened. One look at the two of you, and it’s clear as day. He doesn’t see you. I do. And what I’m offering is more than he ever can.”
She couldn’t help herself. She had to know. “And what is that?”
“Marriage. We will run my agency as husband and wife.” He sighed. “I see I’ve shocked you with too much today. Think on it. I do not expect an answer now. Here.” He pulled his hand from his greatcoat pocket and handed her a square of paper sealed with wax.
“A letter?” She raised a brow. “What more can you say that hasn’t already been said, in the worst possible way?”
“You’re feisty, Mrs. Dart. It’s quite attractive.” He raised a hand toward her face, and she dodged his unwelcome touch. His hand dropped. “Read my letter. Consider my offer. I look forward to hearing from you.” He grinned, winked, then turned and walked back toward Hyde Park.
