The Care and Taming of a Rogue (8 page)

He straightened again. “And you’ll have until then to decide whether you want to side with David Langley or with me.” Shaking himself, he backed toward the door and returned the knife to his boot. “I assume you don’t want to me staying here any longer. Good day, then.”

“Wait, Bennett.”

Bennett turned around again, his hand paused halfway to the door handle. “What?”

“Whatever your opinion of matters, a rift between us will not look well.” The marquis stood again. “Hayling!”

The butler opened the door. “Yes, my lord?”

“Show my nephew to the blue room.”

“But that’s the—”

“Now, Hayling. It’s our best room,” he continued, turning back to Bennett. “Give me the address where you’ve been staying, and I’ll send for your things.”

“For the sake of appearance,” Bennett said, inclining his head. He’d hoped that would be the marquis’s reasoning. And he also hoped that, regardless of where his uncle fit into all this, his warning about the journals would be passed on to Langley. He needed them to prove that he wasn’t the fool they made him out to be, and David would need to keep them in good condition to keep himself breathing.

Chapter Six

“I want that back,” Phillipa said. “And I wasn’t trying to impress him or anything. I was attempting to keep myself entertained.”

“There were six gentlemen there, and that’s not even counting Sir Bennett. You chatted with John.”

“John is my friend. The other men were there to see you.”

Olivia scowled, then gazed into the dressing mirror and smoothed out one of her eyebrows. “Even if that were so, Flip, you could still chat with them. How are they to know how wonderful you are if you never speak to them?”

“I do speak to them. I say, ‘She’s over there,’ and ‘No, I believe she already has a partner for this dance.’”

Her sister planted a kiss on the top of her head. “You should try harder. They aren’t all bad, but you’ll never see that with your nose buried in a book.”

Phillipa liked the way Livi said that, as though the decision to remain unattached was completely hers, and not because most men found her odd and more than likely a bit intimidating. Of course they both knew the truth, but it meant something that her sister never said it to her face.

“Well, if I should happen accidentally to knock some man to the ground while I’m reading, I’ll be certain to invite him to come calling,” she returned, though for a moment dark, shaggy hair and brilliant green eyes came to her mind.
Oh, for heaven’s sake
. It was simply because she admired him. Not because he’d helped her to her feet and seemed to have sought her out at the picnic.

After making reasonably certain that she wore two ear bobs and that they matched each other, she stood up and followed Olivia out of her bedchamber and downstairs to the morning room to await their parents. She picked up her book again, but couldn’t quite settle herself enough to read. What if Captain Wolfe decided to attend the soiree tonight? What if he asked her to dance?

“Come here, Flip,” her sister said, making her jump. Livi waved a piece of paper at her. “While we have a moment, help me decide who I should invite for the dinner and evening with Sir Bennett. That’s what I’m going to call it on the invitations, you know. ‘An Evening with Sir Bennett.’ Doesn’t it sound grand?”

Blowing out her breath, Phillipa set aside her book and took the list from her sister. “You can’t invite just men,” she said after a moment.

“I included Sonja.”

“Livi, you need even numbers. And in all honesty, I think your female friends will be more interested in dining with Captain Wolfe than will…Henry Camden, for example. Unless you were worried over inviting competition, someone else possibly to catch the captain’s eye.”

“I am not.” Clucking her tongue, Olivia took back the list. “Very well.” Frowning, she crossed out half the list and began adding names.

“And you can’t remove John. He’s the captain’s dearest friend,
and
he’s actually read the man’s books. Someone has to be able to ask questions other than how tall he is and what his favorite venison dish might be.”

“I’ve changed my mind,” her sister said. “
I’ll
decide who I should invite.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” Flashing her a grin, Phillipa rose as her mother walked into the room. “You look very nice, Mama. Are you certain you feel well enough to attend a soiree?”

“I won’t be doing anything more than sitting and watching my two lovely daughters dance,” the marchioness returned. “And I shall be happy to see something aside from the interior walls of my own house.”

“Yes, well, we will be watching you like hawks, Mama,” Phillipa returned. “At the first glimpse of a pale cheek, we are whisking you home.”

“At the very first glimpse,” their father said, entering the room to tuck a strand of hair behind his wife’s ear.

Phillipa watched the motion. Simple as it was, it bespoke affection. She’d liked it when Bennett touched her hand, even her skirt. Whether that was affection or some sort of jungle-induced lust she didn’t know, but the idea of either one excited her. Men didn’t desire her. They asked her to hold their hats while they flirted with her sister. Bennett, though, had barely glanced at Olivia.

She frowned. Why was that? And why had he spent so little time chatting with any of Livi’s pretty, charming friends? It didn’t make sense. And she liked for things to make sense.

“Do you think Sir Bennett will attend?” Livi asked as they all climbed into the Eddison family coach.

“I’m a bit confused,” Lord Leeds said, tucking a blanket around his wife’s knees. “Is he still a hero, or are we somewhat distrustful and disappointed to read that he may have exaggerated some of his previous adventures?”

“We’re being tolerant,” Livi answered before Phillipa could, “because he was so well respected before. And because he’s very handsome and he has five thousand a year from the Crown.”

“He does for now,” their father countered. “If he becomes an embarrassment to Prinny and the House of Lords, he’ll find himself studying ducks in Devon instead of crocodiles in the Congo.”

“Very nice alliteration, Henry,” his wife said, smiling.

“Thank you, my dear.”

“He’s not foolish,” Phillipa put in. “I think it’s perfectly obvious that Captain Langley exaggerated incidents because he believed Captain Wolfe to be dead. It’s as Marc Antony said, ‘The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones.’”

“Do you truly think he requires Shakespeare’s assistance?” the marquis said, grinning. “That seems rather…serious.”

She shook herself. “You know what I’m saying, Papa. Captain Langley took advantage. You should meet Bennett, Papa. He’s very witty.”

“‘Bennett’?”

“He asked me to call him that. I helped him find his monkey.”

“Mm hm. Well, there is to be no more monkey finding, whatever the devil that means.” The marquis scowled.

“You should both be wary of him,” their mother put in. “He’s been in savage places, and he more than likely intends to return to them. I don’t believe there are any soirees to be found in the Congo.”

“If he doesn’t attend tonight,” Livi went on, clearly oblivious to any warnings, “you’ll be able to meet him on Friday when he comes for dinner.”

“He at least knows how to use utensils, doesn’t he?”

“Papa,” Phillipa chastised, “Captain Wolfe doesn’t need rumors about that starting. He has enough on his plate, don’t you think?”

“Indeed, I do. No rumors about eating with sticks shall pass my lips.”

She stifled a smile. The image was rather amusing.

By the time she and her father found a comfortable chair for her mother inside the ballroom at the Fordham soiree, Olivia had already been swallowed up by her usual crowd of friends and admirers. Knowing that no gentlemen would come looking for her until every place on Livi’s dance card was taken, she sat down as well.

“You know Livi would be happy to include you in anything you wished,” her mother said, as her father went off to greet friends and look for a glass of Madeira for his wife.

“I know she would,” Phillipa returned, “but most of her friends make my head ache. They’re so silly.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a bit of silliness now and then.”

“I suppose not, and I like a good jest as well as anyone, but I don’t think I could titter or flutter and flirt if my life depended on it.”

The marchioness shook her head. “You can, I imagine; you simply don’t wish to. Yes, I know you have other pursuits you enjoy, but you won’t find a husband between the pages of a book.”

“I—”

“Good evening, Lady Phillipa.”

Phillipa stood up so hastily that her chair would have tipped backward if it hadn’t been up against the wall. “Captain Wolfe. Bennett. Hello.”

He still wore his scuffed boots. The rest of him, though, was decidedly more fashionable. She thought he might have borrowed clothes from John, but the captain was the taller and more broad-shouldered of the two by several inches. Perhaps he’d been able to find a quick-fingered tailor. Because the dark blue jacket, gray waistcoat, and tan breeches were exceedingly well-fitting. Exceedingly. Only his too-long hair and the uncivilized gleam in his green eyes branded him as other than a complete gentleman. Well, that and the vervet monkey on his shoulder. “Will you dance with me tonight?” he asked.

Excitement shivered through her. “Certainly.” At a bump against her ankle Phillipa started, glancing back to see her mother looking at the new arrival, one eyebrow lifted. “Oh. Captain, this is my mother, Lady Leeds. Mama, Captain Sir Bennett Wolfe and Kero.”

The green gaze left her face and turned to her mother. “My lady,” he said, taking her hand.

“Captain. Welcome home to England.”

“Thank you.” He returned his attention to Phillipa. “I wish a waltz,” he stated.

The waltz. The dance where partners weren’t separated, and where she had to seek the lengthiest amount of inane conversation to share. “I—”

“Give me your dance card.” He held out one hand.

“You know the waltz?” she asked, belatedly fishing her dance card and a pencil out of her reticule.

The corners of his mouth lifted, amusement lighting his eyes. “The waltz didn’t begin in London, you know. I may even have invented it. By accident, of course, while attempting to escape the grasp of a very friendly princess in Vienna.”

She chuckled. “When were you in Vienna?”

“On an assignment during the war,” he returned, taking her card and penciling in his name. He took another place, as well, and began to write his name a third time.

“Stop that,” she muttered, taking the pencil from him. “Everyone will want to dance with you. I cannot monopolize your attention. And besides, two dances is…is nearly scandalous. Three is unheard of.”

He leaned closer as he handed her back the dance card. “You already monopolize my attention,” he said almost soundlessly, then smiled. “And I hate wasting time.”

That made her smile back at him. She couldn’t help it. “Wasting time with what?”

“With c—”

“Will Kero be joining you on the dance floor?” her mother interrupted.

Bennett cleared his throat, straightening again. “I believe she’ll be willing to spend a short time eating a houseplant.” He flicked a finger against the monkey’s tail. “Or hanging from a chandelier, if that fails.”

Still grinning, Phillipa reached out a finger to the monkey. Kero hummed at her and grasped it in a miniature handshake. “I would suggest the plant. Lady Fordham is very particular about her crystal chandeliers.”

“Duly noted.” As the other guests began to notice his presence and crowd in, he nodded again. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Phillipa seated herself again as he walked away, dozens of guests trailing him and all talking at once. Mostly it seemed to be surprise that he was alive, or confirmation that they’d already heard of his miraculous return. Farther back, where he couldn’t hear, she made out the speculation about whether he’d read Captain Langley’s wonderful book and whether he knew he was more popular now because of his income rather than his adventures.

She frowned. He had to know what was being said, but she had no idea how he might counter it. Standing up and reciting equations or discussing flora species in the Congo would seem too self-serving, as though he was trying too hard. It might even give credence to the book’s characterization of him.

“I can see now why Livi is so taken with him,” her mother said after a moment. “That is one very handsome man.” She took Phillipa’s hand and tucked it between hers. “So you only admire his mind, do you?”

“I admired his mind long before I met him,” Phillipa countered, her cheeks warming. “But I’m not blind. He is quite…striking.”

“Yes, he is. Please don’t let him come between you and Livi. You are sisters and friends, and that must be considered. Bennett Wolfe is a…well, a feckless adventurer.”

Her mother left the second part of that sentence unsaid, but Phillipa heard it anyway.
And you are not an adventurer. You are a book reader
. “I would hardly call him feckless,” she said aloud, shifting. “He’s already won his fame and fortune; his journey to Africa was done with an eye to discovery, not income.”

“There you are, my dear,” her father said, returning to hand the marchioness a glass of red wine. “Was that imposing fellow Bennett Wolfe, by any chance?”

“Yes. He begged a waltz of Flip. Two dances, actually.”

“He asked, not begged,” Phillipa corrected, though he hadn’t actually given her a choice about it.

“True enough,” her mother conceded. “He doesn’t precisely seem the begging sort, does he?”

“Oh, bother,” the marquis broke in. “Are you infatuated as well, Venora?”

Lady Leeds chuckled, gripping her husband’s arm. “He is beautiful, in an untamed, roguish sort of way.”

“That settles that. I shall have to plan an expedition somewhere so my own family will notice me.”

While her parents continued bantering, Phillipa looked across the dance floor. Women practically threw their dance cards at Bennett, and he wrote his name on several of them. Once. Not twice on the same card. Nor was there any attempt at a scandalous trio.