Alyssa Everett by A TrystWith Trouble Read Free Book Online

glove. “We have to get a look at it.”
    I’d been thinking the same thing. “When Helen goes up to her room tonight, I’ll make some excuse to join her, then find a way to get my hands on the message.”
    “Good. Does your bedroom overlook the street or the mews?”
    “The street.”
    “Then I’ll wait out front. As soon as you know what the message says, you can signal me from your window.”
    A little thrill went through me at the thought of leaning out of my bedroom window in the dark, whispering down to the robustly handsome son of a duke. It smacked faintly of Romeo and Juliet.
    Unfortunately, Beningbrough was no Romeo. “Just don’t keep me waiting too long. I have better things to do than cool my heels in the street.”
    Honestly, was there ever a more conceited ass? “I’d hate to put you to any trouble, Lord Beningbrough, especially over something so trivial as a murder. Perhaps I could send some refreshments out to you while you wait? A feather pillow?”
    The sarcasm must have gone right over his head, for he simply gave me a sharp look and said, “Thank you, no.”
    “Are you sure? We could even spare a lackey to lick your boots, if you think it would make the time pass more quickly.”
    He was not as thick as I’d feared, for an unwilling smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “That won’t be necessary, Lady Barbara. But since we’re both determined to straighten out this coil, perhaps we might dispense with the formalities. Lord Beningbrough is rather a mouthful. Call me Ben.”
    “Very well, then...Ben.” Belatedly, I realized how odd it would look if I called him Ben while he was still addressing me as Lady Barbara. People would say I was being too familiar, even chasing after him. I could almost see the new caricature in the Times. “In that case, you must call me Barbara,” I said with some reluctance. “We’re going to be connections of a sort anyway, once your cousin marries my sister.”
    “Barbara.” With a curt nod, he left to talk with his uncle.
    Despite my best intentions, I watched him as he crossed the room. He might be infuriatingly full of himself, but he certainly had a pleasing swagger.
    Ben
    “Shall we drive you home, Ben?” Uncle Daventry asked as the four of us—Teddy, John, my uncle and I—left Leonard House together. “Or did you come in your own carriage?”
    “I came by hack,” I answered as we descended the front steps. “But if it’s all the same to you, I believe I’ll go home on shank’s mare. It’s not far, and the walk will give me a chance to think.”
    “I doubt your mother would approve.”
    “Yes, yes, I realize as much. The night air is unhealthy, and I could meet up with felons or low women with the pox, to say nothing of the possibility that a hitherto-undiscovered volcano might suddenly erupt and bury me in ash before I reach Piccadilly.”
    Uncle Daventry strained to hide a smile. “She means well, Ben. And whom else does she have to fuss over, except you?”
    “I know.” I nodded wearily. “And I do my best to be patient, truly I do. But you have no idea how trying it is to be perpetually coddled and wrapped in cotton wool.”
    Unexpectedly, Barbara’s taunts popped into my head. Perhaps I could send some refreshments out to you while you wait? A feather pillow? We could even spare a lackey to lick your boots , if you think it would make the time pass more quickly . At least one person wasn’t the least bit worried about my hardiness. The thought actually made me smile.
    “Walking home sounds good to me too,” John said. “You don’t mind if I leave you and Teddy to keep each other company, do you, Papa?”
    “No, I don’t mind. Just don’t stay out too late. Teddy could use our support, and we don’t know yet how soon the coroner will convene the inquest.”
    “As if I would fail him!” John set one white hand dramatically over his heart. “Teddy knows he may count on me.”
    I resisted the urge to roll my