Christin's Splendid Spinster's Society

by Charlotte Stone

  She smiled and opened her mouth to accept his tongue, sucking it past her lips, coaxing a moan from him. Her heart beat at the pace of a war drum, and her body began moving to its rhythm, inching closer.

  Riveting. No one had ever called her such a thing before.

  She was sensible. Systematic.

  Aaron made her feel something else. Wild and untamed.

  She tried to move her hands anywhere else but where they rested on his chest, in his hair, over the width of his wide shoulders… at the hard ridge she knew she’d find if she could only get closer.

  Aaron broke the kiss. “I’ll pay your brother. Then—”

  “In-law,” she said. How her mind had become organized well enough to come up with a response, she didn’t know.

  “Brother-in-law,” he amended. “Then you and Tina are coming to stay with me until this is over.”

  That got her attention.

  Was he mad? “No, I couldn’t live with you.”

  “You can and you will if you think this creditor will take Tina away. What happens if your brother-in-law finds himself in debt once more? My house is much safer than yours in Covent Garden.”

  His words were very true, especially when Christin considered just who owned Covent Garden. One of Bancroft’s men could easily scare her guard away, slip in, take Tina, and no one would lift a finger to stop it.

  But if she stayed with the earl just long enough to get her finances in order… She’d have time to organize her escape, because no matter what Aaron said, Jack would never allow her to have Tina. He’d never give her up.

  There was the issue that staying with Aaron would compromise her reputation, but who needed one when they were set to leave the city and possibly the country altogether?

  It hit her just how much she’d be giving up for Tina, but anything was worth having her niece.

  Staring at their locked hands, she became very aware of another situation that could not be dismissed. “I’ll stay with Sophia.”

  Though Aaron didn’t smile, his blue eyes seemed to mock her. The handsome devil. “No. Morris is not in town. He went to Oxford. This creditor may dismiss him as a threat with him being gone.”

  Christin hadn’t known the duke was gone and wondered how Sophia was faring without him.

  “I can stay with Alice then.” Calvin Lockwood wasn’t titled, but his home in Mayfair was not one to sneeze at.

  “Calvin went with Morris.”

  She frowned up at him. “Really?”

  He nodded. “Also, Tina could meet Lily and Mary. I’m sure they’d all get along.”

  That thought pleased Christin. She didn’t know if Tina had any friends of her own. The girl never spoke of any.

  Aaron’s offer was tempting, but…

  “I can’t.”

  He inhaled. “What if I swear to keep my hands to myself?” He lifted his hands from her in demonstration.

  Christin looked him over and paused. “And I’m simply to believe your word?”

  His next words were slightly defensive. “Ask your friends. My word is honorable. I swear to only lay a hand on you in an effort to protect you, nothing more.”

  She stared and started to give in, but then she blinked. “Out of the question!”

  He frowned, but then his lips twitched as though amused. “Very well, we’ll find you room at Lorena’s house.”

  That sounded like a possibility. She knew the Spinsters had opened Lorena’s old home to women. It would work. She nodded.

  His hands that had remained in the air fell. “Now, let’s go visit your brother-in-law and get Tina.”

  Christin’s happiness almost had her jumping into his arms, but she caught herself before she did.

  This man would be trouble.

  But the prospect of finally having Tina erased all her worries.

  They’d finally be together.

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  CHAPTER NINE

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  “Stay here.”

  “No.” Aaron started to get out of the carriage, but Christin’s hand on his arm stopped him. She turned and looked at him with those pleading eyes.

  “Please. I can’t let him know it was someone else who gave me the money. I already went against my better judgement allowing you to take us in your carriage. Let me go inside and get Tina alone. I won’t be longer than a minute.”

  He didn’t like the idea of her going to see her brother-in-law alone. He didn’t even like the thought that she was in St. Giles at all. He’d wanted to go alone, but since she’d still refused to tell him just who the man was, he’d had to allow her to accompany him.

  Now she was asking him to put her in danger. It burned at the center of him and went against everything he knew.

  He leaned forward. “If he touches you—”

  “He won’t,” she insisted. “He’ll be so busy counting the two hundred pounds that he’ll pay me no mind as I gather Tina.”

  “How do you know?”

  She paused, and he watched the motion of her slim pale throat as she swallowed. “Because, that’s the way it works. Whenever I give him money, the first thing he does is busy himself with counting it. It’s only when I linger that he becomes… unbearable. But I won’t linger. I won’t even pack a bag for Tina, since most of what she owns should have been burned months ago.”

  “So you’ve paid him before.” That was all his mind had been able to gather from that lengthy speech.

  She closed her mouth, and Aaron felt a muscle in his face twitch. “You give him money.”

  Her eyes rounded. “Not much usually. Just enough for food and rent—”

  Aaron looked over at the building they’d parked just a few feet away from. He would have expected that only cats and rats would live in such a hovel. Definitely not humans.

  Yet there were humans everywhere, moving down the sidewalks and climbing in and out of the rookeries. Men, women, and children lived on top of one another and many stared as they passed the carriage. Not all the interest was good. “What sort of work does your brother-in-law do?”

  “I don’t want to you tell you.”

  He turned to her. “Why?”

  “You’ll only get more upset.” She pressed her lips together and tilted her head. “Please, let me go alone.” That she was growing wary of his temper helped him rein it in.

  He captured her cheek. “If you’re gone for more than two minutes—”

  “It won’t even take that long.”

  He held her gaze, and his heart raced within his chest. Then he released her and pressed his back into the cushion. “I’ve started counting.”

  She slipped from the carriage and quickly made her way toward the building that was less than a yard away.

  He scanned the street and checked for anyone he thought looked suspicious, but in St. Giles, everyone was suspicious to him. He slipped out of the carriage, startling a young mother with a crying baby, and then watched as Christin went inside.

  He hadn’t followed her, but he planned to return once Christin and Tina were in a safe place.

  That she’d not agreed to stay at his home didn’t bother him, because as he’d known from the beginning having Christin as his own would take effort. Or rather, getting her to see the situation for what it was would take some time.

  Time was up.

  He took a step forward but stopped just as she noticed Christin and a little girl coming out of the building.

  The child did not look big enough to be eight. She wasn’t even the size of Lily, who was turning six. Her blond hair hid most of her face as her head hung low, but Aaron could see that her cheeks were hollow and that a strong wind could easily snap the bones in her arms.

  Such was the case for most of the children in St. Giles. Hunger was prevalent.

  He heard the snap right before his driver shoute
d.

  “My lord—”

  Aaron spun and dodged right before a young boy with a sharp knife could cut through his back. Undeterred by the miss, the next attempt to kill him came swiftly.

  The blade swung inches from Aaron’s face, but before the boy could move in for the third attack, Aaron grabbed his arm and jerked.

  The boy gave a shout as his arm bent.

  Aaron kicked the side of his knee and, with a gasp, the young man hit the pavement. His young eyes widened with shock and fear. Aaron’s knee went up and the boy hit the ground, crumbling to a heap, his eyes closed.

  Aaron’s driver was down from the carriage just as Aaron picked up the blade and searched the sidewalk.

  He caught the eyes of two other boys, who looked at him with horror before running down the sidewalk, passing a bewildered Christin and frightened Tina—much too close for Aaron’s liking—as they went.

  Woman and girl stared at him.

  “Get in the carriage!” he barked, worry for their safety making him unstable.

  Christin jumped and propelled Tina forward. She kept her eyes averted as she helped Tina into the carriage. Aaron shut the door behind them and turned to look at the boy.

  Dressed in a pair of clothes that he’d outgrown years ago, the lad was at least twelve if not older.

  “What do you plan to do, my lord?” Mr. Roach, his driver asked.

  Aaron held up the blade.

  He heard an intake of breath from inside the carriage and turned to find Tina staring at him.

  She had her aunt’s eyes. Not their color, just their exotic shape. She also had the rest of Christin’s face. But she was thin, and a thick layer of dirt made her face gray.

  “Should we report him to the magistrate?” Mr. Roach asked.

  Aaron shook his head and passed Mr. Roach the knife. “No, just get us out of here.” He would leave the boy where he was, hoping his friends would return for him once Aaron was gone, but he had no plans to leave the boy with his weapon.

  The lad had tried to attack a full-grown man. How many others had he used the knife on? Women and children were far easier targets, and the boy on the ground had moved without fear.

  There’d been nothing in his gaze but the determination to see to Aaron’s end.

  A memory from the past hit him.

  “Can I play?”

  “You’re not big enough, Aaron. This is a man’s game.”

  “Please,” Aaron had begged. “I want to go with you. You need me.”

  A laugh followed.

  A very cruel laugh.

  The street kid deserved to die as far as Aaron was concerned.

  But instead of taking the boy’s life into his own hands, he climbed into the carriage and shut the door behind him.

  Tina was leaning into her aunt’s side. Her aroma was awful, but Aaron trained his face to not give the fact away.

  In fact, he was glad for it. It managed to keep part of his mind rooted in the present, the smell different from the sweet metal aroma of blood.

  “Are you hurt?” Christin asked him. “I saw him attack you.” Her brows were drawn in worry.

  He shook his head and looked away as the carriage retreated from St. Giles.

  The body on the street had been a different boy in his mind.

  Images of another place flowed though him.

  His memories of that day over twenty years ago pressed upon him. “I apologize for shouting at you,” he managed to get out with a heavy breath.

  “It’s all right.” Her voice seemed softer, and Aaron wasn’t sure if she was doing so for his sake or the girl’s.

  The rest of the ride to the other side of town was done silently.

  When they made it to Mayfair, he noticed how Tina took an interest to the streets. They were not only less populated than those in St. Giles, but the two areas were night and day. Here, there was no fear of thieves, men didn’t weld weapons but canes for fashion—unless one counted the Marquess of Darvess. Julius took his gun and at least one blade everywhere. Never was he seen without them.

  Old habit, that.

  Aaron had always preferred to use his hands when it came to combat. He liked the contact when he took someone down, the small pain in his knuckles when they collided with someone’s face.

  “Aaron?”

  He looked at Christin and found her staring at his hands. Tina was also looking at him with fear.

  He’d fisted them during his private thoughts.

  Getting the message to his mind to release them took effort.

  He spread his palms on his pants and said, “I believe we should stop by my house. Even though Tina is around Mary’s age, her dresses would hang, but Lily may have a few dresses that would fit Tina. She can bathe there before you both go to Lorena’s.”

  He was surprised when Christin didn’t fight him. “Thank you. I think she’d be more comfortable if she was in some new clothes. Wouldn’t that be lovely, Tina?”

  Tina looked at her aunt, but a glance in Aaron’s direction had her falling back into silence.

  They arrived at his home, and Aaron helped both women out of the carriage. Tina hesitated before taking his hand but managed to skip down and release him swiftly.

  The door opened when they approached, and Aaron turned to his butler, Mr. Simms. “Please show Mrs. Potter and her charge to a room and have the maids run a bath. Have Mrs. Selby see to finding the young lady a few dresses from Lily’s closet as well.”

  Simms bowed and then turned to Christin. “This way, ma’am.”

  Christin took Tina’s hand and started up the stairs.

  He’d not been a good or reassuring host during the ride and guilt hit him as he watched Christin walk away.

  Simms led them up the stairs, but Aaron’s thoughts were diverted at the sound of running feet.

  “Uncle Aaron!”

  He turned and managed to smile for the first time in the last hour before he knelt and grabbed hold of his girls.

  Two pairs of arms went around his neck and became the balm to his pain.

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  CHAPTER TEN

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  Christin had stopped on the landing and turned at the shout. She watched as two young girls ran into his arms and witnessed the smile that lifted Aaron’s lips. She smiled with him. She’d not known how to stop the tension in the carriage. At first, she’d been upset at the way he’d shouted at her and Tina, but then, as she’d neared, she’d noticed the panic in his eyes.

  The fight she’d witnessed played repeatedly in her mind and brought her to one grand conclusion.

  Aaron had fought before.

  There had been skill in his moves. She’d nearly bitten a hole through her cheek while witnessing the blade being swung next to his head. The people on the street hadn’t even bothered to run when the blade had started to fly. Some had stood around and watched while others had continued on their way as though they didn’t want to be called as witnesses to the attack. No one had helped. Then she’d heard the boy yell before the snap that came at his knee.

  She’d watched his body meet the sidewalk and had stood frozen as Aaron had turned around, his eyes glancing over her and Tina before giving them a command that had jostled her into motion.

  She’d been numb, unable to believe that she’d witnessed such an attack at the height of the day.

  St. Giles was not friendly territory, and Christin now, more than ever, was determined to see that Tina never returned.

  She wanted her niece happy like the girls downstairs and swore she’d do whatever she had to in order to see it done.

  She recalled the short conversation she’d had with Jack when she’d given him the money.

  “This will do… for now,” he’d said as he’d counted the coins, which told Christin that Jack probably owed Mr. Bancroft more than two
hundred pounds and perhaps this was simply a payment toward the final balance.

  “But he might still be wanting the girl if I don’t get more money soon.” A nasty smile had pulled across Jack’s face. He rarely smiled, and Christin was glad of it.

  She’d shivered more from that smile than from when Jack had touched her.

  Another thought hit her.

  Aaron could rescue them. She knew it in her heart. If she only let him—

  “Who’s that?” Tina asked. She’d stopped just as Christin had, and her words stopped Christin’s thoughts. She could not use Aaron.

  She tried to put some pleasantness in her voice. Tina deserved pleasantness. “Those are his nieces, Miss Mary and Miss Lily. You may meet them once you’ve bathed.”

  “Am I to have a dress like theirs?” Tina’s eyes were wide as they looked up at her.

  Christin smiled. “Yes.” Tina would borrow a dress for today, but Christin planned to take the girl shopping for enough clothes to fill her very own trunk soon. She glanced up and noticed the butler was waiting at the top of the stairs. “Let us hurry and then you can meet them.”

  The room that the butler showed them to was beautiful.

  The wallpaper was a dark ivory with pale golden lining, and the furniture matched its peaceful design. It seemed as though the sun started in this very room, shining into every corner without leaving a trace of shadow.

  Tina looked around the room but made sure to not touch anything, shrinking away from the bed and table as she found her way to the middle of the room.

  She looked so very out of place in the room with her dark clothes and disheveled appearance.

  “The maids will be here with your bath shortly,” the butler said after turning from a maid who ran down the hall. She was grateful that he, like Aaron, showed no signs of noticing Tina’s scent.

  She’d come across many a butler who thought themselves superior to almost anyone who wasn’t titled. As an upstairs servant, they were all but hired to look down their noses and intimidate guests they thought their masters would not be pleased to see.