was to make observations, not to inadvertently bring notice to himself.
" There is someone, is there not?" He had put the question to her that evening because all of his instincts told him it was so. She had answered in the affirmative yet given nothing away. He still had no real answer to the question of the man's identity. Who provided for her? Kept her? Someone made certain she did not have to accept a position as any man's mistress, by seeing to it that she was adequately cared for.
The more South learned, the more questions that were raised in his own mind. Of answers, there were precious few. The colonel denied that he was India Parr's benefactor, but he was clearly intrigued by South's assurance that such a person existed. It left South with a very long list of possibilities.
Eastlyn caught the attention of North and Marchman and rolled his eyes in South's direction. "Wool-gathering again," he said in hushed accents of the type that were meant to be overheard. "I should be offended if I thought it was in any way a personal slight. It appears, though, to be a defect of character."
"Amusing," South said dryly. But he had been woolgathering, so nothing but ridicule would come of denying it. "Another round of cards? North?"
"With you as my partner a second time? Not bloody likely. I should have the duns at my door and no way to pay them. Before you can say 'Philadelphia,' the Compass Club will have become a threesome and I will be fleeing with the clothes on my back and Elizabeth in tow to points west of Land's End."
This speech was met with hoots of laughter, as well it should have been. The wagers among the four friends, while many in number, were notorious for their miserliness. They wagered no more money now than they had when they had been together at Hambrick Hall and their allowances were dear.
"West?" Southerton asked, picking up the deck and flicking through it with his thumb. "You will take a risk, won't" He broke off, looking up as a liveried footman approached. The man carried a small silver tray absent of libation. "Yes?" South asked, for clearly the man had been approaching him.
"This arrived for you, my lord. Only moments ago. I was instructed to give it to you directly." He lowered the tray so the viscount could remove the card.
South opened the envelope, glanced at the card without removing it, then placed it in the inside pocket of his frock coat. "No reply," he informed the footman. When the man had backed away and was out of hearing, South made his apologies to his friends. "I regret I must leave your fine company, but there you have it."
To their credit they did not ask questions. In the guise of farewells, these friends offered words of caution and good luck. It was always thus when one was summoned on the colonel's affairs.
South arrived at the house shortly before one in the morning. It was an absurd hour to conduct business of any nature, but South complied because he was intrigued. He knew his friends thought it was Blackwood who had taken him away from their evening at the club, but it was not so. At least not directly. The card he carried in his pocket was from Miss India Parr.
He was on the point of stepping down from the hired hack when he saw the cloaked figure coming toward him. He was not entirely certain it was Miss Parr until she was almost upon him and ordering him back inside the cab. Bemused, he ducked his head and lowered himself onto the uncomfortable leather seat. She followed quickly, seating herself opposite him. Her voice was huskydeliberately so, he thought, as she rapped out a destination to the driver. "Drury Lane," she said.
There was no interior lamp in the cab. India lowered the blinds over the windows on either side of her before they had gone more than a few feet. Had she not been so earnestly efficient, South could have been moved to amusement by her antics. The hooded cloak, at the very least, put him in mind of the Society of Bishops. Was she abducting him?
" There is someone, is there not?" He had put the question to her that evening because all of his instincts told him it was so. She had answered in the affirmative yet given nothing away. He still had no real answer to the question of the man's identity. Who provided for her? Kept her? Someone made certain she did not have to accept a position as any man's mistress, by seeing to it that she was adequately cared for.
The more South learned, the more questions that were raised in his own mind. Of answers, there were precious few. The colonel denied that he was India Parr's benefactor, but he was clearly intrigued by South's assurance that such a person existed. It left South with a very long list of possibilities.
Eastlyn caught the attention of North and Marchman and rolled his eyes in South's direction. "Wool-gathering again," he said in hushed accents of the type that were meant to be overheard. "I should be offended if I thought it was in any way a personal slight. It appears, though, to be a defect of character."
"Amusing," South said dryly. But he had been woolgathering, so nothing but ridicule would come of denying it. "Another round of cards? North?"
"With you as my partner a second time? Not bloody likely. I should have the duns at my door and no way to pay them. Before you can say 'Philadelphia,' the Compass Club will have become a threesome and I will be fleeing with the clothes on my back and Elizabeth in tow to points west of Land's End."
This speech was met with hoots of laughter, as well it should have been. The wagers among the four friends, while many in number, were notorious for their miserliness. They wagered no more money now than they had when they had been together at Hambrick Hall and their allowances were dear.
"West?" Southerton asked, picking up the deck and flicking through it with his thumb. "You will take a risk, won't" He broke off, looking up as a liveried footman approached. The man carried a small silver tray absent of libation. "Yes?" South asked, for clearly the man had been approaching him.
"This arrived for you, my lord. Only moments ago. I was instructed to give it to you directly." He lowered the tray so the viscount could remove the card.
South opened the envelope, glanced at the card without removing it, then placed it in the inside pocket of his frock coat. "No reply," he informed the footman. When the man had backed away and was out of hearing, South made his apologies to his friends. "I regret I must leave your fine company, but there you have it."
To their credit they did not ask questions. In the guise of farewells, these friends offered words of caution and good luck. It was always thus when one was summoned on the colonel's affairs.
South arrived at the house shortly before one in the morning. It was an absurd hour to conduct business of any nature, but South complied because he was intrigued. He knew his friends thought it was Blackwood who had taken him away from their evening at the club, but it was not so. At least not directly. The card he carried in his pocket was from Miss India Parr.
He was on the point of stepping down from the hired hack when he saw the cloaked figure coming toward him. He was not entirely certain it was Miss Parr until she was almost upon him and ordering him back inside the cab. Bemused, he ducked his head and lowered himself onto the uncomfortable leather seat. She followed quickly, seating herself opposite him. Her voice was huskydeliberately so, he thought, as she rapped out a destination to the driver. "Drury Lane," she said.
There was no interior lamp in the cab. India lowered the blinds over the windows on either side of her before they had gone more than a few feet. Had she not been so earnestly efficient, South could have been moved to amusement by her antics. The hooded cloak, at the very least, put him in mind of the Society of Bishops. Was she abducting him?
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