A Talent for Trouble by Jen Turano Page B

an idiot.
    He’d completely overreacted to Felicia’s question regarding whether or not he’d want to resume his title and all the responsibilities that went with that, because, quite frankly, he’d always been irresponsible when it came to his inheritance, blatantly turning his back on his many estates and the work those estates demanded.
    For two, he’d allowed himself to use Felicia as a handy target for his disgruntlement, which was completely ridiculous now that he’d had time to ponder the matter. Felicia didn’t have a mean bone in her body and certainly hadn’t been trying to point out his deficiencies by asking a simple question regarding his desire to return to England and take up his title again.
    His deficiencies were, and had always been, a sore spot with him, and it had been all too convenient to turn his resentment toward Felicia instead of simply owning up to the truth thathe’d led a despicable life. It was past time he stopped blaming others for circumstances he’d brought about all on his own.
    He needed to make amends with Felicia, but he had yet to figure out what he should say. He was not, after all, a gentleman who apologized on a regular, if ever, basis—hence his conclusion regarding his cowardly nature.
    If only he would have made himself known to her as she’d pulled away from her house, he wouldn’t be skulking behind her in the midst of the slums. He’d been so close, but his courage had mysteriously disappeared, and he’d been trailing after her ever since.
    During the hours he’d been following her, she’d first stopped at a disreputable-looking boardinghouse, leaving poor Thor unattended and snoozing on his feet while she sauntered up to the door. She’d pounded on it in a most enthusiastic manner, and when the door had opened, revealing a rather careworn-looking lady, she’d thrust what appeared to be a freshly baked pie into the lady’s hand and disappeared into the house.
    It had taken everything Grayson had to not follow her into that dismal excuse for a home, but he’d bided his time, and she’d eventually reappeared, looking cheerful and happy as she kissed four dirty and ragged children goodbye and called back to the woman in the doorway that she’d return in a few days so they could finish their conversation.
    Grayson was fairly certain Felicia intended to return in order to make sure the children and woman were fed, but when that notion began to make him feel all fuzzy inside, he’d quickly abandoned the thought and settled for concentrating on keeping her in his sights as she traveled to her next destination—an even more deplorable house in one of the worst tenement slums Grayson had ever seen, but a slum that didn’t appear to phase Felicia in the least.
    She’d traveled into numerous ramshackle neighborhoods afterthat, depositing pies and bags of what appeared to be food to one downtrodden family after another. Dirty children seemed to delight her, and the more Grayson watched, the more he came to realize exactly how special Felicia was.
    There was a glow about her as she interacted with the people in the slums, a glow he’d come to realize was a direct result of the pleasure she took in her work. She truly was a child of God, called by Him to help the needy, which was why, after he finally apologized for his dismal behavior, he needed to leave her alone.
    She needed a gentleman of faith by her side to help her along in life, and he was fairly certain, considering the sins of his past, that God had given up on him.
    Felicia took that moment to suddenly steer Thor to the opposite side of the street, cutting off a large delivery cart in the process. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when a disaster didn’t occur, but the relief was quickly replaced with trepidation when she brought Thor to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk right in front of what appeared to be a