One single nod to confirm.
“I thought there was something familiar about you. Why were you there? Were you following me, too?”
“No.” He sat back and crossed one leg over the other. “I’ve been investigating that club for some time.”
“Aren’t you also searching for the betting book?” The last words slurred a bit, which caught Selena off guard. Was she a bit foxed?
“Is the book in your possession?” Mortimer asked.
“No.” Selena shuffled into a more upright seating position. “Not anymore.”
He stared at her.
“What is with that gaze, Duke?”
“You are the first heiress to provide me that much information.”
She nodded slowly. “I am an heiress.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners, a faint hint of a smile. “You are.”
Her head fell back onto the rest of the sofa. “I want to be more.”
“Then be more,” the duke said. “Why can you not be? You seem to be more already.”
Selena shifted her gaze to Mortimer. “Very well, Duke. Let us both be frank. This club is rather elusive.” She took another small sip. “They want the book as well.”
He sat up straight. “They reached out to you?”
“Don’t look so surprised. Am I the only person in London who cannot fathom why I, and any other of the heiresses, did not receive an invitation to this secret club as soon as our scandal broke? They have been using it, after all. Why not include us?”
“You are still more pure than they are, Lady Selena. This is not an organization you can compare against White’s as a social organization. This is one that operates in the shadows. You yourself said you find it strange, given all the chaos perpetrated at your hands, why you’ve not been invited.”
“They must have their reasons.”
“Then, did you even wonder at the sort of women that are members of this club?”
“Ladies. Free spirits. Women of the future.”Thatwoman.
“Ladies, yes. But dangerous ones. With illegal business dealings.”
Truly? “Well now you want to make me join them more.”
“Forgive me for pointing this out,” he cocked his head, studying her, “but you do not look like you mean to join them.”
She blinked. “I don’t?”
“Your posture speaks of dejection. You did not bother to put on shoes. And this robe...” His observations turned speculative. “Is it your brother’s?”
Selena’s head snapped down.
Dear God. Was she still wearing Warrick’s robe? She sniffed at the neckline. His scent had already disappeared.
“This is myhouseclothing.”
The duke did not comment on it further. Instead, he went on, “Lady Selena, these women operate in the shadows for a reason. I cannot explain it clearly since part of the puzzle still eludes me and I’m inclined to avoid premature assumptions, but no good will come from giving them the book.”
“Very well, very well.” She pointed at the crumpled note. “An hour has passed since I was to meet them.”
