“Mercer,” Freddy said, shuffling the baby and the book in his arms so that he could put the book down and hold the baby against his shoulder as he stood. “Reese owes me ten pounds.”
Phin blinked at the unusual statement, but he shook Freddy’s hand all the same when the man crossed the room and extended it. “I beg your pardon?” he asked instead of giving the man a proper greeting.
“I bet Reese ten pounds that you’d show up on our doorstep this morning, searching for Lenore,” Freddy explained, his smile victorious and completely nonjudgmental. “Though, since Reese more or less pays for me to exist anyhow, it isn’t much of a victory,” he added.
Phin’s mouth dropped open, but he couldn’t think of a damned thing to say to such a personal admission.
“Oh, come now,” Freddy said with a sardonic look, gesturing for Phin to take a seat in the chair opposite the one where he sat with the baby. “I have it on good authority that you are the sort who has guessed everything already and doesn’t care at all how others live.”
The sharpness in Freddy’s eyes said much more than that. It said that he had asked around about Phin and had gotten more than a few answers that meant Phin had as many secrets to keep as Freddy and Reese did. Paradoxically, it made Phin feel instantly at ease.
Phin didn’t sit. Instead he said, “I’ve come to speak with Lenore, actually.”
“She isn’t here,” Freddy said, repositioning the gurgling baby on his knee.
“Oh. Perhaps I guessed wrong, then. Is she staying with your sister?” Phin asked.
“No, she lives here, with us,” Freddy admitted. “Don’t go alerting the press,” he added with a telling grin.
As cheering as it was to see Freddy in such good spirits, Phin felt more baffled and off-kilter than ever. “I was hoping to speak to Lenore on a matter of some delicacy,” he said.
“She’s gone to Trafalgar Square,” Freddy told him, most of his attention focused on the baby. “The May Flowers are having some sort of a rally in support of women’s suffrage.”
“I see.” Phin nodded slightly. “I guess I’ll take myself there, then.”
He started to go, but Freddy stopped him with, “Not so fast. I have a second bet with Reese about the reason why you would show up on our doorstep this morning.”
Phin turned back to him. Freddy’s smile was not the sort that was intended to make fun of him, so Phin squared his shoulders and faced the man as the friend he was now certain Freddy was. “Tell me what you think my reason is and I’ll tell you whether your lover owes you another ten pounds.”
His words were deliberate. By telling Freddy bluntly that he knew where things stood between him and Reese—not to mention between him and Lenore—he was laying all of his cards on the table and identifying himself as an ally.
Freddy knew it too. He arched one eyebrow slightly, then took a breath and went on as though the exchange had never happened. “You’ve come to ask Lenore to marry you. At least, that’s what I wagered would be your reason for darkening our doorstep this morning.”
Odd prickles raced down Phin’s back. “You’re correct,” he said with a nod of concession.
Freddy’s grin widened. “Reese and I decided to wait up for Lenore last night so that we could play the role of disapproving fathers and tease her into oblivion for returning so late.” His eyes danced with mischief as he recounted the story. Phin liked him more than ever. “We were handsomely rewarded for our efforts too. She came back looking thoroughly debauched and stammered her way through half a dozen pitiful lies by way of explanation before wriggling away from us and going to bed. Well done, sir.”
It was absolutely ludicrous, but Phin found himself grinning proudly and bowing, one man acknowledging the praise of another for seducing his fiancée. “I have never had any complaints,” he said as he rose.
“No, and nor do I think Lenore will have once she accepts your suit,” Freddy laughed. “I haven’t seen her look that pleased with herself since meeting her, and that’s saying something.”
Phin found the compliment strangely encouraging, even though the conversation he was having ranked among the most bizarre he had ever had or likely ever would have. One simply didn’t inform a woman’s fiancé he intended to marry her. “If that’s the case,” he said, wincing slightly, “and assuming Lenore agrees, how would you like to proceed?”
Freddy shrugged. “Carefully. More reputations than just ours are at stake in this game, of course.”
Phin nodded, understanding. With the entire picture clear in his mind now, it was obvious that Freddy and Lenore’s engagement was purposefully intended to deflect suspicion away from Freddy’s relationship with Reese. Which meant that in order for that suspicion to continue to be deflected, an ironclad story would need to be concocted about why Lenore threw Freddy, an earl, over for the son of a mere baronet.
“Perhaps I should sort things out with Lenore first,” Phin said. “She’s enough of a minx to come up with the perfect explanation for the mad business.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Freddy said, just as the baby decided, for no apparent reason at all, to cry. “Rose, darling, I swear to you, your good name will not be sullied as the silly adults play their silly games,” he told her.
Phin couldn’t help but smile as baby Rose fussed even more. “I’ll leave you to your company, if you don’t mind,” he said stepping sideways and heading toward the hall. “I’m off to Trafalgar Square to ask an engaged woman to throw over her fiancé for me.”
Freddy laughed, but he wasn’t capable of much more of a goodbye, as Rose needed his
