No Marriage Of Convenience - No Marriage Of Convenience Part 30
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No Marriage Of Convenience Part 30

"Oh, how terrible of me to forget," she said. She started to rise to go retrieve the tray Belton had left on

the small sideboard, but Aggie raised his hand to stop her."My fair Felicity, I couldn't have you lower yourself to such a task. Please allow me."Riley took a page from Beatrice and snorted. This was a first. She'd never seen Aggie lift a finger to serve anything, unless it was to lift someone's wallet or a pilfered playing card.

Her partner sighed dramatically. "You must excuse my ward. She has always been a challenge."

"I am not your ward," Riley told him, as he crossed the room to fetch the tea service.

He shook his head. "Such are the trials of the generous of spirit."

Out in the hall the bell at the door jangled, and Riley glanced over at Mason, who had the same look of

alarm. "Lord Delander?" she whispered.

Mason shook his head. "No. There is a horse auction this afternoon, and he was determined to obtain apair of bays that he's had his eye on. I can't imagine who it is."As Riley considered the worst option-Lady Delander making another surprise call-Bea solved the mystery quite handily.

"Cousin Felicity," the girl whispered. "Are you forgetting what day it is?"

"What do I care what day it is," she said, waving her handkerchief at Bea, her adoring gaze fixed on

Aggie.

"But Cousin, it is Thursday," Maggie said, jerking her thumb at the clock. "And it is half past four."

Riley watched Mason's eyes grow wide, and then a smug smile spread across his face. "Oh, this ought to

be interesting," he muttered.

Riley leaned toward him. "What is going to be interesting?"

"It's Thursday," he said, as if Riley should know the significance of the day.

"And?" Riley asked.

Mason leaned over and whispered, "On Thursdays, Lord Chilton always comes for tea."

Riley smiled. Perhaps there was justice in the world.

The arrival of Lord Chilton may provide Aggie the chance to realize his fondest wish. Before the day was

out, her partner may just find himself in the duel he'd always longed for.

And Riley felt like offering her services as second to see the deed done correctly.

Second to Lord Chilton, that is.

If Mason thought that his usual afternoon tea would return some semblance of order to his house, he should have known by now that time spent in Riley's company was anything but conducive to routine.

Even in this common enough setting, she stirred his heart, brightening the salon with her smile and shimmering green eyes.

And it wasn't just her looks which gave him pause anymore-it was the lady herself. While Mason couldn't shake his dismay at the notion of a five-year-old Riley being sold like a piece of chattel, he found himself even more amazed and filled with awestruck admiration for the woman who'd risen above her circumstances with raw determination to become so filled with grace and poise.

Those were lessons, Mason realized, they could all gain from her.

How could he have ever considered her an unfit companion to his nieces?

Even her rapscallion partner, Mr. Pettibone, added a measure of levity that he realized now had been

missing from their lives for far too long. And now it would be interesting to see if Lord Chilton found

Aggie's presence in their midst as amusing."You've started without me, Lady Felicity," Lord Chilton said, an indignant flush rising on his cheeks.The man blustered into the room and took his place on the sofa next to Cousin Felicity, as he had doneevery Thursday for more years than Mason could recall.

Despite the baron's reluctance toward marriage, Mason still found Lord Chilton to be a decent and generally kind fellow. And most importantly, Mason knew Cousin Felicity was deeply fond of him.

But today the normally placid man looked about ready to burst with agitation.

"Whatever is wrong, my lord?" Cousin Felicity asked. Even after all these years, the pair maintained a formality that bordered on quaint.

"I was robbed!" Lord Chilton announced.

"Robbed? Oh my!" Cousin Felicity said. "Were you hurt?"

"Was it a highwayman?" Louisa asked.

"Or a real devil of a cove?" Bea grinned at the very idea.

Lord Chilton held up his hands. "No, no, no," he told them. "I am fine. But my adversary was a rare

bounder, I tell you. I've spent the day trying to find this cheating fellow and set things right."

"What happened?" Mason asked, hoping Chilton would get to the point.

"I was cheated out of a fortune, I tell you," the Baron repeated. "It happened last night while I was

playing piquet. I was tricked by some aging popinjay masquerading as a gentleman."

He heard Riley cough, and when he glanced over, she looked like she was bracing herself for a disaster.

At this opportune moment, Mr. Pettibone chose to turn around from the tea service and announce,

"Piquet? Did someone say piquet?"

Lord Chilton's face immediately went from its usually florid color to a deep shade of red that suggested

the man was about to suffer a fit of apoplexy. He jumped to his feet and turned toward Aggie. "You!

What are you doing here?"

"Having tea with my dearest Felicity." With that said, Aggie set the tray down in front of the lady and

settled himself back onto the sofa in the spot that had just been vacated by Lord Chilton.

The Baron huffed and sputtered for several seconds before he recovered his voice. "What is the meaning

of this...this...affront? Someone call the guard. Call Bow Street. Call for the watch." With his finger pointed at Mr. Pettibone's nose, he declared, "This man is a criminal."

"A criminal? How dare you make such an unfounded accusation," Cousin Felicity snapped at her

long-time suitor. "Mr. Pettibone is a welcome guest in this house. Now, sit down, my lord, before I call the watch to take you away."

Turning to Mason, Lord Chilton said, "I ask you, sir, as a gentleman to remove this scurrilous pestilence from your house."

Mason looked over at Riley, who sat with her face buried in her hands, as if she wished she were miles away from this scene.

And he'd been the one hoping for a bit of levity in their lives. But this? Before he could form a polite answer, Cousin Felicity launched a mighty defense for her newfound champion.

"Lord Chilton, if you cannot keep a civil tongue in your head, I will ask you to leave." She paused for a moment and then continued. "Mr. Pettibone is a guest in this house, and more important, he is my guest. If you do not like the company here, I would suggest you leave." With that, Cousin Felicity folded her arms over her bosom and turned her petite nose up in the air.

"And leave you in the clutches of this ne'er-do-well?" Lord Chilton sputtered. "Certainly not, my good lady."

"A ne'er-do-well?" Mr. Pettibone stepped to the forefront. "Who are you calling a ne'er-do-well? I'l have you know I am the direct descendant of-"

Before Mason could get to his feet, Riley jumped into the fray.

"-Aggie," she interrupted, placing herself between the two combatants. "This is neither the time nor the place to recount your lineage, as fine and noble as it may be." With her hands on her hips, she scolded Felicity's suitors further. "I would remind you both that there are young ladies present and I would be loath to acquaint their innocent minds with a scene that may verge on inappropriate."

Mr. Pettibone let out a great sigh, then straightened his coat. "How right you are, my dear," he said. He turned to Cousin Felicity. "Rather than challenge your allegiance to this...this...man, my dear lady, I will make my adieux." Aggie bowed to her and then to the girls, before he made an exit worthy of his forty years on the stage.

Just then Bea started to cough uncontrollably. Waving off Cousin Felicity's offer of tea, she rose from her seat, sputtering out an "Excuse me" as she hurried out of the room.

With the door closed behind her, Bea hustled after their departing guest. "Mr. Pettibone," she whispered. "Mr. Pettibone."

Her quarry turned around in the empty foyer. When he spotted her, he made an elaborate bow. "Lady Beatrice."

She rushed to his side. "Oh, Mr. Pettibone, is it true? Are you truly a sharpster at piquet?"

"My dear girl, where have you heard such lies, such deceptions, such falsehoods?"

Bea bit her lip. Perhaps she had gone too far this time. "It's just that Lord Chilton never loses at cards, and to have beaten him-well, you must have..."

Mr. Pettibone's gaze turned flinty hard and Bea thought for sure she had overstepped her bounds, but just as quickly, a twinkle appeared in those same eyes.

"Lady Beatrice, you are not a woman to mince words, so let us be honest with each other." He lowered his voice. "Will you promise not to say a word to Riley?"

She nodded.

"Good girl. Riley's got a heart made of gold, but she's a stickler about card games." He leaned closer. "If you must have the truth, then here it is: I cheated Lord Chilton out of every farthing I won from him last night and then some."

She knew she should be shocked, but the words were like a magic balm to her heart. "Oh, Mr. Pettibone, that is glorious news."

He laughed a bit and then scratched his head. "Well, that is hardly how most people would describe my rather abominable misdeed, but I am glad you find it so intriguing. Now tell me, why do you want to know?"

Bea took a deep breath and then let her story spill out in a hurried rush, and ended it with one breathless question.

"Oh, Mr. Pettibone, can you teach me to cheat at piquet?"

The man grinned from ear to ear. "For such a noble cause, I would be honored."