Smirking, he crossed his legs in front of himself. “I do not even know your first name.”
“Let us keep it that way.”
“I doubt, miss, that it would take too long to discover it.” With mock seriousness he mimicked a pensive expression. “Let me see… Sophie? Too girly. Katherine? No, too much alliteration… Perhaps…”
The tea tray arrived, and the maid did not leave having brought it in, instead she stood shyly smiling at Langley.
“Thank you, Samson,” Miss Keating said to the maid, and the sigh she uttered as she tasted her tea was heartfelt. “You can go and check on Miss Elspeth as she finishes packing.” When the maid departed, Miss Keating fixed Langley with a gimlet eye. “As I was saying, there might be some merit to you staying here, my lord.”
“How is that, Miss Keating?” His curiosity might be roused, but he doubted that was what she was leaning towards.
“Those Runners did not pay me any heed. I am used in Berwick-upon-Tweed to being listened to, up to a certain extent, at least. My father holds a position of respect and authority, and I am his eldest daughter. But I see in London that counts for nothing. Until Ashmore’s heir arrives, there is little I can do.”
Briefly, Langley wondered what it was her father did, but he did not press her as Miss Keating was continuing.
“If, and only if, I asked for your help.” She slowly drew from the pocket of her dress a sheet of paper and laid it down on the table between them. He was fairly sure this was the item she had mentioned last night. “Would you help me?”
He leant forward, his hand coming to rest on the paper, but all the while, Langley kept a close watch on Miss Keating. Taking in her features as if he were a card sharp reading each and every one of her tells.
“What would it involve?” Langley was not disgusted by the idea. Yes, it would give him time with Miss Keating, which he knew he wanted. But there was also the matter of Lord Ashmore. Langley hadn’t known the old braggard well, but he wouldn’t stand for a neighbour and a member of thetonbeing shot. If Miss Keating thought he could aid in this, Langley’s interest was caught. “I certainly have some caveats.”
“I do too,” Miss Keating said. “First and foremost, I want a list of who was present last night. Then?—”
“Let us cover mine first,” he cut her off. “What precisely does this show?” Langley tapped the torn page.
“I believe it to be a map of London.”
Squinting now, Langley leant closer. At first, he could not make hide nor hair of it, but he realised it had been torn jaggedly in half, and by Jove, Miss Keating was right: it was London, or at least part of it. The only bugger was it was dotted with little red marks. Before he could study them more closely, it was whipped away from him. “What do the marks symbolise?”
“On that I would have to trust you a great deal more than I already do. I merely wish you to take me to these locations when I ask.”
The bald-faced nerve of the woman in front of him had Langley sitting back and emitting a laugh. “You don’t have people saying no to you very often, do you?”
This at least drew a faint smile to the bow of her lips. “Not often, no,” she admitted.
“If I do this, then I want to know the truth of what you’re looking for, the truth about you, and how you are connected to Ashmore… and finally—” His gaze swept her imperiously. “—a kiss. Freely given.”
Miss Keating blanched. He was not sure which of the requests quite spooked her the most, but it seemed as if she was very naive, isolated, or just did not know his reputation at all. If anything, the mere request for a kiss was a relatively minor ask, given what he might have requested…
“I think it would prove disappointing.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
For a moment, he thought he had flustered her enough, but Miss Keating snapped back, “Perhaps I meant I would be disappointed in the experience.”
To this reply, Langley could not help laughing. The idea was absurd. He stretched out his hand, dangling the bargain in frontof her. “Do we have a deal? I will not rush for the three requests, and they can come in any order you like…”
Miss Keating froze, her face tense, and then she leant forward and took his hand, giving it a brisk shake. “Very well. But I want your help throughout it all. I know you weren’t the killer, but if I find out you’ve helped him in any way…”
Before she could break away, Langley leant down and brushed his lips over her knuckles, enjoying the gasp of surprise that slipped from her open mouth.
It was in this pose that the door banged open, and in waddled a wide, bright haired matron that Langley knew fleetingly as a Mrs. Bowley. She let out a screech at seeing them so. He watched as Miss Keating hastily jumped up and pocketed the map.
Mrs. Bowley charged towards them, her piles of blonde hair shaking on her head, a neat little blue hat in place, pinned there with netting, and with a rounded, pretty face the matron reminded Langley of a well-fed and indulgent Siamese cat. There was a great deal of lace on Mrs. Bowley, both on her neckline and on her cuffs. All her elegant curls and fripperies were blended together seamlessly. She did not care for Langley’s reputation in the slightest. Hurrying forward, she grabbed Miss Keating’s hand and shook it fiercely both in greeting and as a way of pulling her further from Langley’s range.
“You must be Miss Keating. I am to be your chaperone, Mrs. Bowley. Hired by Ashmore to care for you. Oh dear. Oh dear. This man.” She levelled an accusatory finger at Langley before looking in shock at Miss Keating. “You are very new to Town, my sweet thing, and no one will tell me where Ashmore is. But this man…” She paused for dramatic effect and then said, her bottom lip wobbling as if she might cry, “is not to be trusted. The servants should have warned you a great deal better.” Turning, Mrs. Bowley glared at Langley. “My lord, really now… My charge is new here in society, and if anyone…”
Knowing that his interlude was done with the arrival of Mrs. Bowley, Langley gave them both a leisurely smile. “Now, now, Mrs. Bowley, I rather think you enjoy our yearly tête à tête over the debutantes. I like to make sure you are on your toes.”
