Alice’s Shameless Spinster’s Society

by Charlotte Stone

  Maura was silent but lovely. She had blond hair and bright blue eyes and because she barely moved, much less spoke, one was able to see just how beautiful her bone structure was. Alice knew less about Maura than the others, except that her father was a wealthy merchant and her mother the beginning and end of fashion. With Sophia’s father as her designer, she said what was in fashion and what was not and no one questioned her.

  Which left Alice gazing at a group of women who made her feel warm and wanted.

  Lorena turned to Alice and asked, “Is there anything you need?”

  “If someone could alert my father, that would be most kind.” Alice had not thought about her father until that moment. There had been so many men about that she’d not been able to think past them and certainly not when one of them was touching her.

  Genie stood. “I’ll tell a servant.”

  “Thank you,” Alice said.

  “And do call for gin!” Sophia said. “We must toast to our new sister.” Sophia grinned at her.

  Sister. Alice had never had a sister before. Now she had four.

  Genie returned, gin was served, and once Alice had finished her glass, Lorena spoke.

  “Didn’t we degree to never drink gin outside of the house?” she asked, her nose creased, and she swayed even though she was sitting on the floor.

  Genie was shaking her head. “No, I think we said we’d not drink it and visit taverns again.”

  Alice bit her lip to stop from laughing. She’d heard about their night at the tavern and how some of the Men of Nashwood had been forced to carry them out. She immediately wondered what it would be like to be carried in Calvin’s arms and closed her eyes to picture it.

  But then she recalled his hands on Rose, and her eyes opened as pain touched her heart. The gin had lowered her guards, unraveling her and exposing her for what she was, a woman hurt by the man she loved.

  “What’s wrong?” Sophia asked, who’d apparently been watching her.

  Alice looked at her and knew it was not the gin that made her tell them the truth. “Calvin hurt me.” She did believe it was the gin that made her call him by his Christian name in front of the others.

  “How?” Lorena asked.

  Just then the door opened and Uncle Lucas, followed by someone Alice knew to be her doctor since he was her father’s friend, came into the room.

  The women cleared a path for him and Dr. Oliver Hanford quickly got to work.

  “I can see I’m too late to suggest spirits,” he said as he opened his bag. “This will hurt quite a bit.”

  Alice frowned and before she could speak, heard the pouring of liquid and felt Sophia pushing a glass into her hands. After a smile of thanks, she put the glass to her lips but paused and looked at her uncle. “You don’t mind, do you?”

  Uncle Lucas, who would normally mind, simply shook his head. His arms were crossed as he stared down at her. He looked angry and concerned. He was a good-looking man in his late forties but had no heir, which meant unless Rose could produce a son before her father’s death, the title would go to a distant cousin of theirs.

  Alice finished the gin and watched as Dr. Oliver prepared the needle. Her stomach turned when she realized what he planned to do, and her body began to tremble.

  “Alice?” Lorena called.

  She looked over and found all her new friends watching her closely.

  “You’re pale,” Genie told her.

  “And you’re shaking,” Lorena added.

  Alice looked down at her hand and saw it was true.

  “You’ll need to calm yourself,” Dr. Oliver told her. “Or the stitching will turn crooked and you’ll be left with a scar. I’ll need to remove her sleeve for further cleaning.”

  Alice glanced at her friends and her uncle and, without saying a word, Sophia understood. She took control of the room.

  “Let’s give Alice some privacy, shall we?” Then she moved over and stood in front of Uncle Lucas expectantly.

  Uncle Lucas, caught off guard, narrowed his eyes at Sophia, then looked over at Alice and asked, “Will you be all right?’

  Alice nodded.

  Uncle Lucas nodded and said, “I need to see your cousin and aunt home. Your father is on his way and will see you home. I’ll visit on the morrow.”

  Alice watched as the room cleared. Dr. Hanford cut her dress with scissors. The sleeve opened and he moved to get water. He began cleaning the blood away. Though he barely used any pressure, Alice felt pain shoot from the cut and couldn’t stop the tears that fell.

  “Sorry, dear girl.” Dr. Hanford’s gray head was bent but he lifted his brown eyes to look at her. “I’m sure your father will not be pleased to know that you’re safer at a gentlemen’s club than at a party of the ton.”

  Alice smiled because she knew he was trying to make her feel better.

  Dr. Oliver Hanford was a remarkable man who was head doctor at St. Ambrose Hospital. St. Ambrose held a similar history St. Barthelow, in that it had once also held a monastery but when the Catholics were run out of London, the hospital continued on. Yet while St. Barthelow seemed crippled without the funds of a church, Dr. Hanford managed to keep St. Ambrose prosperous, tending to peers and commoners alike. He and his brother, Thomas Hanford, who was a banker, and Thomas’ son, Isaac, were all members of Wilkins’ and had recently pledged their loyalty, making it known that they would never leave Wilkins’.

  Pain ripped through her arm again and there were no more thoughts of the Hanfords. She whimpered and closed her eyes to fight the pain but then opened them when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and a large body push into her side. A chest pressed into her good arm and fingers settled on the waist of her opposite side. Her head turned and her eyes locked onto Calvin’s anguished hazel ones. Alice looked around and noticed that the room was empty except for Calvin, her, and Dr. Hanford and the door was closed.

  She looked at Calvin again and said, “You shouldn’t be here. If you’re caught—”

  He tightened his hold on her and said, “You’ve been hurt because of me. And while I would like to join the hunt for the woman responsible for this, I told you I wouldn’t leave. I’m right where I should be.”

  Alice felt her heart expand and everything she’d thought she’d stopped feeling attacked her at that moment. She was in love with this man but she couldn’t ignore what she’d seen earlier and she most assuredly could not forget the small fact that it had been a woman who’d tried to kill him. She readily assumed that Sophia had been the one to send him to her, knowing she needed someone but that someone was not a woman or her uncle.

  She turned her head to look at Dr. Hanford.

  Hanford had stilled and his eyes were on Calvin before they moved to Alice. She couldn’t read his expression but she didn’t think he approved. He was not her father but he’d attended to her since birth, which made him an authority in her life.

  “Calvin,” Alice whispered.

  His mouth pressed against her ear. “I’m not leaving, Alice.”

  Alice squeezed the fingers of the hand that she just discovered was locked around Calvin’s arm, holding on to him in an effort to control yet another shiver. He was not leaving and if Alice were being honest with herself, she didn’t want him to leave, never mind the consequence.

  Becoming Calvin’s wife wouldn’t be the worst outcome for her life… unless she had to continuously take bullets for him. She turned to see Dr. Hanford had resumed work and now positioned the needle by her arm. Alice leaned her head into where Calvin’s shoulder met his throat and inhaled deeply of his scent.

  The needle broke her flesh.

  She sucked in a breath and bit her lip.

  Calvin’s hold tightened and one of his hands moved to her head, holding her close as he began to murmur to her, but Alice heard nothing. Dr. Hanford pulled thread through her and tugged, stabbed, pulled, tugged, over and over again, until she was struggling to breathe and her body had broken into a sweat.

  �
��Keep her still,” Dr. Hanford instructed loudly.

  “Darling.” Calvin’s fingers were combing through her hair. “You’re shaking violently.”

  Alice opened her mouth to speak but only a cry broke and she decided then that she didn’t want Calvin there. She didn’t want him to see her the way she was but before she could send him away, her world went black.

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  CHAPTER SIX

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  “What’s this meeting about?”

  Calvin closed the door behind him and met the eyes of his friends. Morris, the Duke of Cort had been the one to speak. He sat in his chair at a large round circle in Francis’ cabinet, which was a male version of a woman’s boudoir. The men used it for private meetings. Sometimes those meetings included Lorena and the other society women but mostly it held the ten Men of Nashwood.

  The men had all met in their youth at Eton and over the years had established a bond that went much deeper than blood. No one knew more about them than those who stood in the room. They’d helped one another through great loss and failures and stuck by one another through foolish childhood decisions to even more foolish adult decisions.

  He’d heard other men compare them to the ‘Merry Gang’, a group of rakes who had been the most elite gentlemen during the time of Charles II, a group of men who’d included the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Rochester, the Earl of Dorset, and George Villers, men who’d been known for vices that ranged from gambling to heavy debts, drinking, and sleeping with as many women as possible.

  Compared to them, the Merry Gang had been practically tame, though there were a few lines each of them had sworn to never cross. There were vows made in order for a man to truly become one of them and those vows were what kept them strong.

  And one of those vows was the reason they’d all gathered together that night. The vows to help another brother in need.

  It was past midnight. A few lamps burned in the room but their flames were kept low. The men had arranged themselves in their designated spots at the table and like the legend of Arthur and his knights, there was no head. All were equal. Titles and wealth were put aside.

  Calvin walked over to his chair and looked around the table. Starting from his left was Hugh Vance, the Marquess of Edvoy; Sir William Tift, who’d been knighted a few years ago for heroics against Napoleon; Aaron Walsh, the Earl of Jeanshire; Julius Hext, the Marquees of Darvess; Francis Cullip, the Duke of Valdeston; Morris Kidd, the Duke of Cort; Rollo Kerry, who came from landed gentry; and Franklin Lockwood, Calvin’s brother, who was also gentry.

  He noticed that Frank wore his usual bland expression and wondered how his brother would react to the news he planned to share. Calvin took his seat before he spoke. “Miss Alice Wilkins was shot but the bullet only grazed her arm. She’ll survive with a small scar.”

  Morris lifted a dark brow and leaned back in his chair. He’d missed most of the Dovehaven’s party. He was known to leave early. “Wilkins’ daughter?” He’d been a member of Wilkins’ when Calvin had been there but on the night Calvin was blackballed from Wilkins’, his friends had left as well. That was how Nashwood London, which was a private club that was run out of Francis’ mansion, began.

  Faintly, the sound of the men downstairs who were drinking, smoking, and playing cards could be heard but it was distant enough to not bother them.

  “Who shot her?” Francis asked.

  “I don’t know,” Calvin said. “But I know it was a woman.”

  There was silence.

  Emmett asked, “Would this woman be of your acquaintance?”

  “Most likely, since Alice was struck while trying to save my life.”

  “Alice saved your life?” Frank straightened in his chair. He knew of Alice as well but Calvin had never shared his attraction for her.

  “Yes,” Calvin said, holding Frank’s eyes.

  Frank narrowed his.

  “What’s the plan?” Francis asked and, just like that, Calvin knew he had the aid of his brothers.

  “I’ll need to find out which of my many paramours hates me,” Calvin said.

  “Sounds interesting,” Morris said with a grin. “I’m in.”

  “In,” Rollo chimed.

  “As am I,” Aaron added with a grin.

  Calvin turned to Julius. “Wouldn’t you like to assist them?”

  Julius leaned on the table and held Calvin’s eyes. “I think I’d rather see to Alice’s well-being.”

  “I’ll take care of that,” Calvin said with meaning.

  “What does that mean?” Frank asked.

  “It means that I’ll protect her.”

  Frank leaned back and stared at Calvin. “You don’t usually go back for second helpings. What is she to you?”

  “He’s not had first helpings,” Julius told him.

  Frank had looked at Julius while he spoke so turned to Calvin before saying, “Then let someone else watch over her.”

  “No.”

  Frank narrowed his eyes.

  Calvin moved on. “Aaron, Francis, I’ll need more assistance at the club, since I’ll be putting as much time as possible into the hunt for this deranged woman.”

  Aaron nodded.

  Francis said, “Of course.”

  Calvin turned to Will and Hugh. “I’ll need—”

  “Who is she to you?” Frank cut in.

  Again, Julius answered, “No one, since she’s made it clear that she’ll have nothing to do with him.”

  “She loves me,” Calvin stated while holding Julius’ eyes.

  “She’s admitted as much?” Francis asked with interest.

  “Yes,” Calvin said with a grin.

  Emmett smiled. “What a lucky man you are.”

  “I know.” Calvin then looked over at Frank to find his brother had gone silent with only the smallest amount of rage that he suspected he knew the root of. He turned to Hugh and Will again. “The bullet went out the window. If a runner or the police had not already begun the search for it, I need you to find it. It might tell us something we need to know.”

  Will and Hugh nodded.

  Frank asked, “And what do you need me to do?”

  Calvin held his brother’s eyes and said, “I need you to forgive me.”

  Frank’s entire body stilled. “What for?”

  “I’m going to marry her.” And in doing so, he’d be breaking a promise he'd made years ago. Calvin rose. “Meeting adjourned.”

  “Calvin,” Frank called.

  “I’ve somewhere to be,” Calvin said and closed the door behind him.

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  CHAPTER SEVEN

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  Alice awoke with her face in a soft pillow and the first thing she realized was that she was not at home. The room she’d been placed in, however, was quite lovely, if not slightly over decorated. The wallpaper was a deep green with hints of pink woven in. Brass lamps, artwork, and paintings adorned every wall and the dark wooden floors were covered with not one but two rugs. Both were made of sheep skin and managed to complement the room.

  A small table by the fireplace held a vase full of fresh flowers. Two wingback red chairs accompanied the table and a clock sat on the mantel. The large window’s pink curtains had been pulled back to reveal the morning sun, and Alice knew she’d slept later than she ever had before.

  She moved her hands to straighten herself up but the pain in her arm made her gasp and she collapsed back on the sheets. She turned her body and looked down where her arm was wrapped with white cloth and everything about the previous night came flooding back.

  She’d been shot.

  She’d made friends.

  Uncle Lucas was angry.

/>   Dr. Hanford had stitched her up.

  Calvin had been sweet and held her through the worst of it.

  She remembered nothing else, so she didn’t understand where she was or how she’d gotten there.

  But then she felt movement and turned to the other side of the bed.

  Calvin was lying next to her. He was turned on his side with his arm propped up and his hand resting on his fist. His white shirt lay open at the throat, exposing more of his beautifully tanned skin. He was a foot away and looked larger from where she lay and very beautiful. The sunlight that spilled over him made his golden hair look richer.

  Alice was sure she should run at seeing him but it was his expression that worried her more. He looked uneasy, which she thought odd considering of the two of them he was the one who was used to having a partner in his bed.

  She shifted slowly and looked at him. “What’s the matter?”

  His eyes never left hers. “You’re hurt.”

  The pain that had swept through her rested as a dull ache in her arm. “I’m all right.”

  “I watched you wince.”

  She looked down at the space that separated them. She was startled to see that the space was filled by him. He crawled over her. He trapped her body on both sides but didn’t touch her. His blond hair fell over his forehead. Her eyes followed the line of his strong jaw and the curve of his lips before returning to meet his eyes.

  She leaned further into her pillow when she noticed he seemed to be doing the same to her.

  “Am I in your house?”

  His eyes returned to her. “No, you’re at Lorena’s. I carried you to this room.”