A Lady's Guide to Kiss A Rake: Misadventures of the heart by Tanya Wilde Page B

interest at the two of them, moved to take a seat on the settee.
    “Now that, Jo,” her friend said as she gazed at Damien as if he was a reptile to be stomped on, “is a good question.”
    Astutely, he must have sensed he had stepped into murky waters because he took a step back, although the hardness never left his eyes as they bore into her. “This isn’t over, Josephine.” 
    “I beg to differ, my lord.”
    Jo watched Damien take his leave with a distant sense of detachment. After they rescued Lady Constance, she planned to depart for the country for a much needed reprieve from temptation. 
    “Well that was...interesting,” Belle murmured.
    “Interesting would not be the word I’d use to describe this mess.”
    “I’m sure it wouldn’t,” Belle said, her smile knowing. “You and St. Aldwyn appeared pretty intimate.”
    “We kissed,” Jo admitted on a sigh, and when Belle only lifted a brow she continued, “After he caught me kissing Craven in the gardens.” Jo left out the part where he vowed he would seduce her. 
    Her friend’s eyes lit with intrigue. “You won the wager and kissed St. Aldwyn?” 
    “You don’t need to sound so pleased,” Jo muttered. 
    “Of course I am pleased! You are far too solemn with all your projects.”
    Jo shrugged. She preferred her projects over petty flirtations. Her eyes flicked beyond Belle where James’s broad shoulders filled the doorway. With a gasp Jo hurried forward, motioning him to enter and shut the door.
    “Are you mad? You are not supposed to be seen,” Jo admonished.
    James returned her rebuke with one of his charming smiles. “I became tired of lurking behind the tree in your back yard. If I’m not mistaken, that’s your method.”
    “One of the servants may have spotted you.”
    “Oh hush, Jo,” Belle joined in, “I’m sure we can provide a distraction for him to slip out unnoticed.”
    “Let us hope so. I doubt a distraction big enough exists to hide a mountain. If my brother returns, he will notice a huge hulking form tip-toeing around the halls.”
    James nudged Jo playfully. “I’ll put on my best charm if we are caught.”
    Jo shook her head and turned to Belle. “Have you managed to retrieve Lady Constance’s schedule?”
    Belle nodded. “Not an easy task, but I managed to learn some of her activities. She rarely ever leaves the house without her husband and when she does, she is always accompanied by two lackeys, but it is also rumored two more men always follow in the crowd, unseen.”
    “Damnation. So it’s true,” James muttered.
    “There is, however, one moment when she is alone…at the dressmaker’s shop. They don’t accompany her inside, but wait outside and watch the entrance.”
    James’s eyes held wonder as he gazed at Belle. “How did you manage to retrieve all that information?”
    “I have my resources.” Belle lips twitched in an impish manner.
    “Then perhaps,” Jo murmured distractedly, “we should snatch her in the dressmakers shop.”
    “That can work, but the men will see you enter. We cannot take that chance,” James said with a shake of his head.
    “They won’t see us because we will already be in the shop, posing as shop girls.” Belle’s eyes twinkled as she caught on to Jo’s plan.
    Jo nodded, her eyes alight with excitement.  “Yes, we can wear wigs to cover our hair. Our only concern will be to sneak her out of the shop without being detected.”
    “What about a commotion on the street?” Belle asked.
    James shifted on his feet. “With all due respect, Lady Belle, your distractions never work.”
    Belle gasped in mock outrage. “How rude of you to point it out, but I believe you have mistaken me for someone else. I am an expert at orchestrating commotions.”
    “She’s right, James. Moreover she never fails, being remarkably good in everything she does,” Jo admitted.
    “Very well, what did you have in mind?” 
    “I propose my cousins assist with distraction,” she