She hoped she wouldn’t have to remind herself of that very often.

Chapter 6

Mrs. Cuthbert poured Everton’s tea slowly. The clock on her drawing room mantle ticked off the seconds, and still the tea only trickled into his cup. It had only taken Mrs. Cuthbert three days to catch wind of Everton’s visit to Miss Barton. She always managed to find out everything about everyone. She was the one who had alerted him to the fact that Miss Barton was using his name without permission. A widow with grown children, she had plenty of time on her hands. Enough to meddle in the lives of other people and certainly enough to pour her tea slowly when she wanted to. It was as if he could see her mind racing, and the speed of her thoughts was slowing her hand.

“So, you have agreed to help Miss Barton.”

“Yes.” There wasn’t much else he could say since it was the truth. Mrs. Cuthbert deserved to know the truth. It could, after all, affect their plans.

“I like Miss Barton.” Mrs. Cuthbert finally stopped pouring and set the teapot down on an intricate and very colorful doily. Mrs. Cuthbert had spent a few years embroidering and knitting for hours on end after her children had left home and her husband had died. Only after helping a young friend of her daughter’s marry the man of her choice did she quit needlework and turn that flurry of activity into more meddling pursuits. She was a woman who couldn’t remain still, which made her slow, steady movements this afternoon disquieting. “She knows her own mind. I’m happy you are helping her, but have you considered how this might affect things with Lady Emily?”

“Of course I have considered it. I wouldn’t have agreed in the first place, except a gentleman, who has no right to claim that title, was on his way into Miss Barton’s office. She was alone, and I saw no other choice than to help her.”

“And how exactly did you help her?”

A slow smile rose to his lips. “I kissed her.”

Lord Bryant didn’t like the way Mrs. Cuthbert’s hand froze over the sugar tongs.

“You kissed a young woman who was alone in her office?”

At this rate, he would never get his tea. He reached over and dropped a cube of sugar into his cup with his fingers. “Not completely alone. Most of the time, another man was there.”

“Miss Barton isn’t like the young ladies I send to you, Lord Bryant. She isn’t in love with someone else, nor does she have a family trying to control her life.”

“She has a brother and a friend who have left her alone to try to run two companies while they are off comforting wives and mourning husbands.”

“That is true, but they wouldn’t have done that had she not been up to the challenge.”

He tipped his head to one side. She could have a point. He took a sip from his cup. “If she had been up to the challenge, she wouldn’t have asked me for help.”