Someone Irresistible by Adele Ashworth

Sir Harold, but then so do I, and I have no intentions toward her.”
    Quite a letdown when he’d hoped for more, but it’s all he should have expected. A statement in answer shedding light on absolutely nothing.
    Harold cleared his throat. “You’re saying then that the man has intentions toward her?”
    Justin looked surprised. His brows lifted as he sat back a little. “I said nothing of the kind.”
    “I see.” He tapped his painful, arthritic fingers together in his lap.
    “Then I suppose I won’t worry in her behalf.”
    “I know of no reason why you should,” Justin replied very properly with a tilt of his head. “If nothing else, Nathan is a gentleman. That he finds her a beautiful woman is no wonder, but he won’t take advantage of her. That I can promise.”
    Sir Harold believed it, but he knew Mimi. She was attracted to the man, as he and Mary had discussed briefly upon his return, and Harold was quite afraid it would be Mimi taking advantage of Professor Price, not the other way around. That would never do, and he would put a stop
    to it if he could. The core of his trouble, he realized, was going to be convincing Mimi what was best for her and their family. He’d never been able to do that well. It was times like this that Harold truly wished her mother was still alive.
    “Well then,” he said, subdued, “I suppose there is nothing more to say. Thank you for the brandy, Justin. It was very fine, indeed.”
    “It has been my pleasure,” Justin returned, standing as Harold did, taking no offense in his guest’s quick departure. “I shall look forward to seeing you at the New Year’s Eve party, then. It will be a smashing success, I believe.”
    “Yes, and a night to remember, I’m sure.”
    Justin chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. “Nathan knows what he’s doing. Although I’m not privy to the details, the unfolding of his plan may be the highlight of the evening.” He dropped his voice to a deep murmur of caution. “The man is smart, Sir Harold. I’d venture to say, even with his common blood, he’s smarter than the rest of us.”
    That’s what I’m afraid of
    “I shall take your good word for it.” He nodded once to his host.
    “Until the party then, Justin.”
    Justin nodded back. “Until then, sir.”
    Harold made his way to the front of the house, retrieved his overcoat and hat, then walked onto the porch, pausing a moment as the butler closed the door behind him.
    A light drizzle of rain had developed and droplets tapped his shoulders and hat, the dark, low cloud cover making the day seem later than it was. Gloomy. He shivered from the cold dampness in the air, then took the stairs slowly, one at a time, to the busy street where he would hire a hansom cab—if one was available with the steady rain.
    He’d rather ride, if he could. The walk would be long and tiresome with his joints aching as they were. Funny, how the pain he felt seemed trivial now with his mind centered on something that could prove perilous to his beloved daughter and his own good name.

Chapter 6
    « ^ »
    I t was going to be a long, hot day, Nathan feared, and it wouldn’t be because of the weather. Sitting in Mimi’s studio, on her plump settee, he watched her gather tools to begin their work—or rather, her work. It was an interesting process, watching her in action. And a somewhat erotic one. She glided across the floor in a plain but tightly waisted gown of thick gray muslin, her hips gently swaying, her breasts pushed up and out by an obviously well-designed corset, her silky hair caught up in a neat chignon at her crown. Still, he tried very hard to disassociate himself from his bodily urges, though that was difficult to do when they made him physically uncomfortable. It had been ages since he’d been alone with a woman, so close, on a daily basis.
    He’d arrived at her townhouse just a few moments ago, at ten minutes past ten—fashionably late, which would have made his mother