A Kiss of Spice by Andrea Darif

Author:Andrea Darif
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2004-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The viscount surveyed the crowded ballroom, feeling decidedly out of tune with the lilting laughter and lively music. Making polite conversation or capering through the figures of a country dance was not how he wished to be spending his evening, but Taft had suggested that a discreet questioning might elicit some useful information on Fleming and Rundle from one of the expected guests.

Davenport certainly hoped that would be the case. His day had been spent traipsing in what had felt like aimless circles around the Wapping docks. Despite blistering his toes, he had stumbled on nothing, save for towering crates of pottery, endless bales of tobacco, and mountainous sacks of rice. Hardly incriminating evidence that Fleming and Rundle was engaged in aught but respectable trade, or that Grisham and Blake was transporting aught but legal goods.

The weak arrack punch did little to wash the taste of frustration from his mouth. It was likely that any interrogation of the gentleman from the East India Company was going to prove just as great a waste of time.

And time was not a commodity he could afford to waste.

Still, he was here. With a scuff of impatience he turned for the card room. Perhaps Mr. Warrington was engaged in a hand of whist, or…

“Lord Davenport!”

The viscount’s head jerked up as the flounce of a hem grazed his foot.

“La, I thought that was you! How delightful to see you again, sir.”

He vaguely recognized the lady as a passing acquaintance of his aunt, though it had been several years since they had been introduced in the Pump Room at Bath. Her name was…Norris…Nettles…Nellerton…

“You do remember me, sir, don’t you?” she said coyly. “Lady Nerringer. And this, as I am sure you recall, is my daughter Adelaide.” A wave of her hand indicated a petite blonde standing demurely by her side. “Your dear sister and Addy became bosom bows during our visit to York last summer.”

“Yes, of course.” Davenport forced a smile as he regarded the twists of artfully arranged curls framing a heart-shaped face. “Of Turnbridge Wells,” he added, hoping he wasn’t confusing the chit with someone else. On hearing a nervous titter in reply, he doubted Cara would consider the young lady a good friend, but there was no denying her mother’s choice of adjectives was in some ways fitting. He couldn’t help but notice that the pale-yellow gown, cut slightly lower than befitted her age, was designed to show the chit’s frontal endowments to full advantage.

The mother looked immensely pleased at his recalling the tiny detail. “Oh, and I was so afraid you might think me encroaching.” Her glove came to rest lightly on his sleeve. “But as we happened to bump into each other just now, it would have been quite ill-mannered of me not to come and offer a greeting.”

He murmured some pleasantry in response, wondering how to shake off her attention without appearing overtly rude.

“Surely, you were not trying to sneak off to the card room with all the older gentlemen,” she went on.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.