Never Wager Against Love (Kellington Book Three) by Maureen Driscoll Read Free Book Online Page B

been
awakened from a nap.  And was none too pleased with the intrusion.
    “What do you want?” the man yelled at them, once he’d opened
the door and stared at them for a good long moment.  He was without any hair at
all on top of his head, but had a fringe of gray extending all the way around
the back at ear level.  His white eyebrows were bushy and looked to account for
half his weight.
    “I’m Vanessa Gans and am here to see Professor Dumbarton.”
    “If you’re a chit, why are you dressed like a lad?” asked
the butler, blocking their entrance.
    It had been a long day and Arthur had no desire to spend
even one more moment of it outdoors.  He gently pushed the man aside, motioned
for Vanessa to enter, then followed her inside. 
    “See here, now,” said the fossil.  “You hooligans can’t just
barge in here.  I’ll set the watch on you, I will.  See if I don’t!”
    “Sedgwick,” said a man who entered the foyer from a nearby
room.  “Who are you calling hooligans?”  The man looked to be in his late ‘40s,
was of middling height and had brown hair flecked with grey.  He looked at his
guests for just a moment, before breaking into a smile and approaching Vanessa.
    “My dear Miss Gans,” he said as he bowed over her hand. 
“How delightful it is to see you again.  And at my home, this time.”
    Her face lit up with a radiant smile, setting Arthur on edge. 
Was there something between the two besides Home Office business?  The man
currently ogling Vanessa was nothing like the professor type Arthur had been
expecting.  He did have a bit of the absent-minded manner Arthur generally
associated with academics, but the way he was holding onto Vanessa’s fingers
for a scandalously long amount of time also lent him the air of a wolf.  Why
wasn’t Vanessa threatening to pull out her arsenal to use on him?
    Arthur cleared his throat to get their attention.
    Vanessa pulled back and motioned to him.  “Professor, may I
present Lord Arthur Kellington?  He’s assisting me in an investigation.”
    Dumbarton glanced briefly at Arthur, then once again turned
his attention back to Vanessa.  “And you must tell me all about your latest
work at supper, my dear.  But first, let’s get you and Kellington settled.” 
Dumbarton sent a pointed look in Sedgwick’s direction, which the servant answered
with a long, mumbled complaint that couldn’t quite be heard by his employer,
but whose meaning was clear.
    Sedgwick showed Vanessa to her room first, whose location
Arthur couldn’t help but commit to memory, then deposited Arthur in a room as
far from Vanessa’s as geographically possible.
    “I should like to have a bath, Sedgwick,” he said, as he
surveyed the room.  It was small, but surprisingly well furnished.  In addition
to the tester bed with green velvet hangings, the Aubusson carpet and ormolu
clock were of the quality seen in the finest homes in Mayfair.  To find them in
the lesser guest room of a university professor was unusual. 
    After promising that a bath would be sent up, but being
rather vague on exactly when that would occur, Sedgwick took his leave.  Arthur
unpacked his satchel and did what he could to make his clothing presentable. 
He’d never enlisted the services of a valet, in part because as one who made
most of his blunt from gaming, he never knew how flush he’d be from one month
to another.  He’d become quite adept at looking after his clothes himself, or,
in a pinch, paying Ned’s man Rigg when he needed something out of the
ordinary.  But, as he looked at his muddy boots, he realized there was merit in
being dependably wealthy, even if he probably couldn’t attain a fortune on his
own. 
    If he wanted more security than his inheritance provided, he
could marry for money.  Being the third son of a duke might not appeal to some
marriage-minded mamas, but there were plenty of fathers who’d earned their
fortunes in trade who were looking to buy into the