A Gentleman's Kiss by Kimberley Comeaux Read Free Book Online

George Canterbury, but have not been able to find out where he might be. Would you happen to know him?”
    Reverend Holloway scratched his chin then nodded his head. “I have heard of a Canterbury, but I don’t recall where.” He paused again then shook his head. “He may be connected with one of the charities along the riverfront. Quite a few feed the poor and administer other helps. Most of them are worthwhile charities, but I cannot refer you to any. The riverfront is a dangerous place for a young woman,” he added, but Claudia was too excited by his first statement to worry about his warning.
    “Oh, thank you, Reverend. Perhaps the one you are thinking of is a relative who can further my search,” she said eagerly. “I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Good day,” she said quickly then turned and hurried out of the room, not even giving the vicar the chance to say good-bye.
    Once she was outside she began walking the short distance to her grandfather’s house. Claudia’s mind was racing, contemplating how she could get down to the riverfront without being noticed.
    Surely the waterfront couldn’t be that bad, could it? she wondered. There had to be a way of going down there without being noticed as a gentlewoman and remain safe.
    She’d have to rent a hack, of course, for her grandfather would never allow her to take his carriage down there and would lock her up if he thought she was planning to go there herself.
    And she most certainly needed a disguise. If only she could think of a way to conceal her identity. . . .
    A young boy sitting by the road in ragged clothes caught her attention—and gave her an idea.
    ❧
    That same afternoon on the waterfront Cameron exited the large warehouse and walked to his two-wheeled buggy, whistling a happy tune. Everything he’d been working toward had finally come together.
    His shelter for women and their children was birthed upon his arrival back in London. He’d spoken to several clergymen, and they’d told him their biggest problem was women who had lost their husbands or fathers in the war or by some other calamity. They often had no income and no way to support their children. A few churches tried to help them, but the need was so great and their funds often not enough.
    So Cameron, along with his butler, George, who acted as the front man for the charity, purchased one of the old warehouses along the wharf and made it habitable. The bulk of his money came from his own pockets, but he’d also managed to procure donations from his closest friends—the ones who would keep his identity private.
    Cameron wished he could be more open about his project, but he knew his parents—namely his mother—would oppose it vehemently, declaring it might hurt her standings within the ton. Society might understand his donating money, but they would not accept that he worked at the shelter, overseeing the whole operation.
    So, for the time being, he worked discreetly. He let George be the one who spoke to employers about work for the ladies and arranged for food and material to be donated to them from local markets.
    Cameron drove along in his buggy and scanned the people who were walking, as he always did, in case he saw women or children who might need the shelter’s services. He had come to one of the many public houses along the wharf when he spotted a youth stumbling along the path, apparently lost.
    Cameron slowed the buggy. Something about the boy troubled him, and yet he didn’t know what. His tattered and soiled clothes seemed to swallow his thin frame, and a dirty cap was pulled down so low it almost covered his eyes. Cameron wondered if he was hungry and decided he must try to get him to the shelter. “Hey! You there! Boy!” he called out, and the youth kept walking.
    But then he turned and looked up. Cameron’s heart nearly stopped when he recognized those very blue eyes.

Five
    Frozen with disbelief, Claudia found herself staring into the eyes of Cameron