Daisy frowned. “That was ages ago,” she said, just as she was forced to walk closer to him when several couples joined them on the stairs. Their bodies brushed against one another, but rather than slow their pace so that the other couples could pass, Teddy kept her close until they had reached the top of the stairs.
“I’m afraid the theatre wasn’t a welcome pastime back then,” Teddy murmured. He gave a nod to George, who stood waiting for them at the end of a long hallway.
“Did something happen?” Daisy asked, hoping he wasn’t predisposed to having a bad night. She kept her eyes moving over the crowd around them. In the unlikely event someone might recognize her, she didn’t want to be caught by surprise. She was also on the lookout for her father, sure he and his duchess hadn’t yet gone to their private box.
“At the time, I could not afford a box, so we sat with the riff-raff down below,” he replied. “Couldn’t hear a word from the stage, what with all the talking, and I think I held my breath lest I pass out from the odor.”
Daisy gave him a sympathetic glance. She had never been forced to sit with the unwashed masses, and rather doubted she would ever attend a play should she have to.
George held out his arm to indicate the entrance to his box, and Daisy stepped in. Elizabeth had already moved to a seat in the front row and was surveying the crowd below and those who sat across from them. She turned and motioned for Daisy to join her.
“Come sit next to me,” Elizabeth implored as she indicated the seat to her right. “At least until the intermission. The men can sit behind us,” she added with a wink directed to her husband.
With an apologetic glance in Teddy’s direction and with George’s help, Daisy removed her mantle and took the seat next to Elizabeth. A moment later, Teddy leaned over and offered her a set of opera glasses. She turned slightly and said, “Thank you,” shivering when his gloved hand barely brushed her arm. She caught how his gaze, which was directed over her shoulder and down the front of her gown, was suddenly aimed at the stage.
“Can you see from your vantage?” Teddy asked, hoping she hadn’t noticed him noticing the gown she wore. Or rather, how it displayed her rising moons. He wished he was sitting on the opposite side of the theatre, armed with opera glasses, so that he might spend the entire evening staring at her.
“Oh, yes. I’ve an excellent view of the stage,” Daisy assured him. She was about to lift the opera glasses to her eyes when she was aware she was being watched. Pretending to look in one direction with the glasses, she was instead concentrating on the occupants of the box opposite and just above the one in which they sat.
The box occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Ariley.
“I think the Duchess of Ariley just waved at me,” Elizabeth said in awe. Then she frowned. “Or you.”
Daisy dared a glance at Elizabeth before she lifted a gloved hand and gave a quick wave in her stepmother’s direction. “It is rather hard to tell from this distance,” she whispered. Her father seemed to be in conversation with someone else in the box. By the intermission, he would no doubt know she was in attendance.
Elizabeth arched an elegant brow. “Does Mr. Streater know?” she asked in a matching whisper, her fan held up to hide her face from the men who sat behind them.
Daisy immediately understood the query and shook her head. “He does not.”
Blinking, the viscountess allowed a sigh. “Were you planning to tell him?”
Allowing a sigh, Daisy nodded. “I think I shall have to at some point. Now that my father knows I am here, he will no doubt pay a call during the intermission.”
Elizabeth considered her words and angled her head. “May I inquire as to why you haven’t told him?” She gave her head a quick shake. “Forgive me. It’s none of my—”
“Very few in London know of my relationship to Ariley,” Daisy interrupted. “I am well past my majority. I suppose since I have never required my father’s permission, I have become a bit too independent,” she explained. She took the glass of champagne George offered her, giving him a nod of thanks.
Acknowledging her comment with a wink, Elizabeth leaned back and turned to regard her husband with a brilliant smile. “Thank you for agreeing to his night out,” she said, making sure he had a clear view down the front of her gown when he half-rose from his chair to better hear her remark. “It’s been an age since we attended the theatre.”
George gave her a glass of champagne and then reached for her other gloved hand and kissed the back of it. “Of course, my sweeting. But if you should grow tired, do let me know so that I may escort you home. There will be no shortage of hackneys at intermission,” he hinted. “We can leave the coach for our guests.” One of his eyebrows arched up as if to emphasize his point.
Elizabeth was about to claim she could easily make it through the entire production when she sorted what he was about. “You’re a darling to suggest it,” she said as she gave him a wink.
A chime sounded from somewhere near the stage, and George took his seat, his glance in Teddy’s direction proving the clerk hadn’t come for the performance on the stage as much for the woman who sat in front of him. He leaned over and whispered, “Will you propose marriage?”
Teddy’s eyes widened even before he could redirect them on his best friend. “George!” he admonished in a hoarse whisper. Then he gave an exaggerated shrug.
George allowed a grin and turned so his attention was on the stage, just as the play started.
Although Daisy hadn’t expected to enjoy the performance, she watched most of it through the opera glasses and found she was completely absorbed in the story. When the second act ended for the intermission, she turned to say something to Elizabeth, only to discover the viscountess was no longer sitting next to her. Alarmed, she turned around to find Teddy getting up from his seat, an empty champagne glass dangled from his one hand. He moved to stand next to her chair. “Did they... leave?” she asked.
“About ten minutes ago,” he replied with a grin, amused she hadn’t even noticed the other two leave the box. “I think her ladyship was quite tired. Anyway, George was kind enough to leave us the coach.”
“That was very considerate of him,” Daisy replied as she stood up and shook out her skirts. “You should have moved into Lady Bostwick’s chair,” she added. “The view is much better.”
Teddy felt a jolt of desire at hearing her words. The view would have been better indeed, but only if he looked in her direction. “Would you like a drink?”
Daisy shook her head and indicated she still had champagne. “No, but do get one for yourself,” she encouraged. “I’ll just stay here and stretch my legs.”
Hesitating, as if he was trying to decide if she would be safe while he made his way to the bar, Teddy finally gave a nod and took his leave of the box, leaving the door ajar.
Counting the seconds in her head, Daisy moved to stand near the door and wasn’t the least bit surprised when James, Duke of Ariley, poked his head through the opening and grinned. “I thought Helen mad when she said you were here with the Bostwicks,” he said as he dipped his head.
“Hello, Father,” Daisy said as she dropped a curtsy and allowed a grin.
“It appears your hosts have left you all alone for the evening,” he replied as he regarded her from the threshold, his gaze having taken in the interior of the box to discover she was alone.
“The Bostwicks have taken their leave, it’s true, but Mr. Streater is my escort this evening. He will be seeing me home,” she replied.
Her father frowned. “Streater?” he repeated. “Your employer?”
“Indeed.”
“Ah, yes. The bank clerk.”
The words weren’t said with any kind of derision, but Daisy couldn’t help but think he disapproved. “He pays me quite well to be headmistress of the school.” She was still counting the seconds in her head, knowing Teddy would be returning from the bar shortly.
“Not to be his mistress, I hope,” James said in a
whisper.
Anger flashed across her face, but before Daisy could give him a suitable rebuke, the duke held up a gloved hand and gave his head a shake. “I... I apologize. That was uncalled for,” he said. “I don’t even know why I—”
“I think you should leave,” she said, her words clipped. How could he think such a thing? Say such a thing? She had never engaged in more than the one affaire with Alex, and then only to learn what she must to carry out her mission.
“Daisy—”
“Please, Your Grace?” Her voice filled with more pleading than rebuke, Daisy made sure her expression showed worry instead of annoyance.
Sighing, the duke took a step back and gave a bow “Please, do come to the house when you can. At least come to see Helen and the children. I promise I won’t be such an...” He was about to say, “ass”, but simply gave a shake of his head before turning to head down the hallway behind the box.
“I will, Father. I promise,” she said, hurrying to the door to watch him depart. When he paused and angled his head to one side, she knew he had heard her. Allowing a sigh of relief, she stepped back into the box and waited for Mr. Streater’s return.
Holding his drink in his only hand, Teddy watched the immaculately dressed visitor to the Bostwick’s box stalk toward him, the man’s attention on the carpet below. He didn’t even seem to notice Teddy—or any others in the crowded hallway—as he passed, but Teddy overheard him muttering something about stubborn women.
He followed the man’s retreating back through the mass of theatre goers, noting that a fellow fencer from Angelo’s Academy, Lord Barrings, seemed to watch alongside him. “Who was that?” Teddy asked of the gentleman sporting a gold metallic waistcoat and a glass of gin.
“Ariley,” Barrings responded, a brow furrowing as he, too, watched the retreating back of the aristocrat.
Teddy frowned. “The duke?”
“Aye. And he didn’t appear to be very happy at all.”
Redirecting his gaze back down the hallway, Teddy saw Daisy standing outside the box, looking to her left and right as if in search of someone. From this distance, she looked resplendent in the peach and sarcenet over-skirted gown that left little to the imagination when it came to her figure. Teddy would never have guessed she was the headmistress of a finishing school.
His school.
He would guess she was someone’s mistress, though.
Sure the duke had come from the same box where Daisy was standing, Teddy wondered if the duke had stopped to speak with George or if he had paid her a visit.
Had he arranged an assignation?
Was she his mistress?
A jolt of jealousy had Teddy’s brow furrowing. He had half a mind to follow Ariley and confront the man, but a chime sounded, and those around him quickly made their way back to their seats.
“Did you see any of your friends?” Daisy asked as she dipped a curtsy upon his return to the Bostwick box.
“Just Lord Barrings,” Teddy replied, his manner rather terse. “And you?”
Daisy frowned, wondering at his sour expression. “No, but then I didn’t expect to,” she said with a shake of her head. She was about to make her way to her seat when she noted how he continued to stare at her. “The Duke of Ariley stopped briefly,” she offered then, watching Teddy’s reaction to determine if the duke’s visit had something to do with the change in his demeanor.
“Are you his mistress?” Teddy squeezed his forgotten glass of brandy so hard, he thought perhaps the glass would shatter. At seeing Daisy’s widened eyes and look of offense, he gave a quick shake of his head before she could respond. “I apologize,” he said in a whisper, aware the noise in the theatre had died down so the actors on stage could be heard. “It’s none of my—”
“I assure you, Mr. Streater, I am not anyone’s mistress,” Daisy replied in a hoarse whisper, her words terse.
Despite the manner in which they were delivered, her words were more welcome than Teddy thought imaginable. “You’re not?” he replied, not intending to make it sound as if he didn’t believe her.
Aware they would be noticed if they didn’t at least sit down, Daisy dropped into a chair at the back of the box and waved for Teddy to sit down. She leaned in his direction and lifted a hand to the side of her face to hide her lips from whomever might have had a pair of opera glasses aimed in their direction. “I am headmistress of a finishing school. I cannot be engaged in... improprieties,” she hissed.
Although her words should have had Teddy feeling relieved—or at least assured he hadn’t made a mistake in hiring her—he found he felt a profound sense of disappointment. “And if you weren’t?” he asked, his face so close to hers he thought he might be able to kiss her. “A headmistress, I mean?”
Daisy’s eyes widened in alarm before she pulled away from him a bit. “What are you suggesting?” A tingle of excitement shot through her when she imagined him propositioning her. Asking if she might join him in his bed so that they might finally discover what it was that had them so frustrated with one another. He needed a woman, she was sure. As to whether a mistress would be enough, she didn’t yet know.
He would do better with a wife.
Teddy blinked, realizing he had asked the question—out loud—about what she might be if she wasn’t a headmistress. “I apologize. I don’t know what’s come over me,” he whispered as he gave his head a shake again. Dammit, but his cock had hardened at the thought of Daisy in the role of his mistress. His personal headmistress, demanding he serve her whenever she desired him.
The thought of paying a visit to her bedchamber on the other side of the office door in Omega House came to mind. A visit that would find her wearing nearly nothing and ready for him. The thought of bedding her—of bringing her exquisite pleasure before experiencing his own blessed release—had him nearly groaning in dismay. “Tell me what to do,” he croaked, grimacing when he realized he sounded like a love-sick frog just then.
Daisy blinked, not quite sure she understood his meaning. One thing had become clear, though. Teddy Streater wanted her, and at that moment, several years of loneliness could end with a few gentle words. “Take me to your townhouse. We shall do what we must,” she murmured.
Teddy didn’t give her response a second thought. He was up and offering her a hand, nearly forgetting his great coat and her mantle. They were down the stairs and out to the Bostwick’s coach a moment later, the driver and tiger scurrying to take their places after Teddy reminded them of his address.
Once they were in the town coach, Daisy regarded Teddy with a serious expression as he settled into the squabs next to her. “I do hope you’re not about to change your mind,” she whispered. The coach jerked into motion, its speed increasing as they traveled farther from the theatre.
Teddy blinked. If he changed his mind, his cock would disown him. He would disown himself. Disavow all knowledge of a man who was too stupid to realize just what it was they were about to do. “Of course not,” he replied, his one gloved hand holding onto hers.
“You won’t... dismiss me over this?”
Dismiss you from what? Teddy nearly put voice to the question before his addled brain formed a coherent response.
Her position, of course. She was the headmistress of a finishing school. His finishing school.
Given what they were about to do, he really should consider what might happen should someone discover them. The reputation of Warwick’s would suffer. Might be forever tainted.
But Teddy couldn’t imagine dismissing her. After today’s tea, it was evident she was perfect for Warwick’s. The instructors seemed content now that repairs were about to be made. The gardener would have more time to see to the landscaping, so the exterior would look immaculate. The painting in the classrooms as well as the boarding houses would be completed before the fall term started. The brighter rooms would make for happier students. And best yet, no servants had threatened to leave the school’s employ on account of Daisy’s hiring.
/> He rather doubted there was anyone else who could run the school with the kind of passion she displayed in the week she had been in the position.
So the idea of dismissing her was ludicrous. “No, of course not,” he managed to say without sounding too much like a frog.
“How long has it been?”
His breathing having quickened, Teddy wondered why he was feeling a bit light-headed. “Since when?” he replied, now unable to form a coherent thought, other than the one his other head seemed to have formed since they left the theatre box.
Daisy swallowed. “Since you were last with a woman?”
Teddy sighed. If her query hadn’t been made in such a soft voice, he might have refused to answer. But there was something about her manner—genuine concern coupled with empathy—that had him responding. “Since I... since I lost my arm,” he whispered before he allowed a groan. “Too long. I may have forgotten what to do,” he added, not intending for her to hear that last.
“Nonsense,” she whispered. “I’m counting on you to know.”
Turning his body to better see her, Teddy leaned over and wrapped his arm around the back of her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. He was heartened when she didn’t resist his hold but settled against him with a soft sigh. “Don’t even think about falling asleep on me,” he murmured, a hint of humor in his words.
Daisy grinned and sighed. “Not even when we’re on your bed?”
Imagining her slumbering warm, soft body atop his, Teddy allowed another groan of frustration. “Only then,” he replied, just as the coach came to a stuttering halt.
A quick glance out the coach window confirmed they were in front of his townhouse in Bruton Street. A few moments later, they were in the townhouse.
Chapter 33
A Best Friend Contemplates a Couple
Meanwhile, at Bostwick House
“However did you know to have the barouche brought to the theatre?” Elizabeth asked as George assisted her into the equipage.
George followed her in and settled into the squabs. “I’ve been plotting, my sweet.”
The Conundrum of a Clerk Page 25
