Candice Hern Read Online Free PDF Page A

issue of the magazine. Damnation. He thought he had protected against just such discovery by a complicated series of couriers. She smiled, as though reading his thoughts.
    “If I had not been so determined in my quest, Mr. Westover, I would have given up the chase after the second handoff. That was quite an elaborate ruse you set up. You must be quite desperate to conceal your association with the Busybody.”
    He was. But he had no wish for the tenaciousMrs. Tennant to make it her business to discover why anonymity was so important to him.
    “Tell me about your niece,” he said, hoping to steer the conversation in another direction, “and about her unsuitable suitor. It might help to know something more of the situation if I am to convince her to ignore my earlier advice.”
    “Belinda is my brother’s daughter. He is Captain Benjamin Chadwick of the Royal Navy and has been away at sea off and on for most of her life. I have acted as guardian to Belinda since her mother died five years ago. I’ve had to run a tight ship, as Benjamin would say. She can be a willful creature, and I have often regretted she did not have a strong father figure in her daily life.”
    “What of your husband?”
    “I am a widow, Mr. Westover.”
    Simon tried to look solemn, but felt inappropriately gleeful at this news. He could now, in better conscience, continue in his admiration of her mouth. Perhaps when he returned home, he would attempt an ode to her upper lip.
    “Belinda has always been a bit headstrong,” she continued. “She is quite beautiful and is used to having things go her way. When her father agreed to sponsor a Season for her, and Mrs. Poole agreed to introduce her to a higher level of society, I knew her beauty would attract a great many admirers. And a lot of trouble.
    “My cousin helped to bring Belinda to the attention of several eligible, and perfectly suitable, young men. But from the moment she set eyes on Geoffrey Barkwith she had no interest in anyone else. Do you know Barkwith?”
    “The name is familiar,” Simon said, “but I cannot recollect meeting him. Perhaps my mother knows him.”
    “I’m sure she would tell you he is a gazetted rake. Not only a libertine, but a gamester as well. He has a very unsavory reputation, and I have no doubt of his true intentions. I depend upon my brother’s goodwill, Mr. Westover, and I cannot imagine he would take kindly to me allowing his daughter to fall into the clutches of a man such as Geoffrey Barkwith. Besides, I am very fond of Belinda.” Her voice took on a more gentle tone. “I have no wish to see her hurt. I only want her happiness.”
    Her eyes shone brilliant with contained emotion. Simon knew in that moment he could trust her. If asked, he could not have explained why he knew this, but he did. She would keep her promise to him. She had no hidden motive that he must guard against. She was simply a protective hen guarding her chick. No, that was too mundane an image for Mrs. Tennant. She was no hen. A mother dragon, perhaps. An avenging fury. A warrior queen. Boadicea enraged by the violation of her daughters.
    Perhaps he would address his pen to those images rather than the delectable upper lip.
    The question at hand, however, was trust. He must, absolutely must, trust her to keep his secret. And Belinda as well. There was too much at stake. “Are you confident, Mrs. Tenant, that we can convince your niece to keep my identity as the Busybody secret?”
    “I believe so. She will be very disappointed, of course, to discover the Busybody is not the wise old woman she believes her to be. But I cannot think she would feel the need to proclaim the news all over town. She is an intelligent girl. She will understand your desire to keep it secret.”
    Simon hoped she was right. He had begun to compose what he would say to the girl when the carriage rolled to a stop in front of a modest town house on Charlotte Street. He helped Mrs. Tennant down from the