“There, I think that will do,” Barbara announced as she stepped back and surveyed Fiona’s repaired hair.

Fiona moved to the small mirror that hung over a dresser between the pair of windows that looked down to Ryder Street below. “Brilliant. I can’t thank you enough.” She patted the back of her head and turned from the glass, looking to Tobias in the chair. “I’ll see you downstairs later?”

Tobias stood and took her hand. “Good luck.” He kissed her knuckles, his body stirring as he wished to do much more. “I love you,” he whispered.

She smiled softly. “I love you too.” Leaning forward, she kissed him, her lips lingering on his for the barest moment before she drew back, her eyes sparkling. “See you later.”

Barbara handed Fiona her gloves. “Don’t forget these.” She smiled at her. “I apologize if I was rude at all. I was—am—quite fond of Toby. I’m glad to see he’s found someone who will make him happy.”

“I will work very hard to do so.” Fiona sent him a look of promise that sparked a heat inside Tobias that he knew would never diminish.

When she was gone, Tobias found his cravat and went to the glass, pulling the fabric around the collar of his shirt.

Barbara joined him. “Let me help you too.”

“I’d rather not.”

“Do you want to look as though you haphazardly repaired your costume, which will only contribute to your notoriety?”

He hated that she made sense. Dropping his hands to his sides, he surrendered to her ministrations. “Why were you here with Aldington?”

She arched a dark brow as her fingers worked beneath his chin. “I should think that would be obvious.”

“But how? He doesn’t consort with courtesans. He’s as staid as the bloody Archbishop of Canterbury.”

“Do you promise not to say anything?” She looked him in the eye, and he knew she wouldn’t reveal a thing if he didn’t.

“Yes. Explain.”

“Since you abandoned me”—she sniffed for some sort of dramatic effect—“I’ve attended a few Cyprian balls to find a new protector. As one in my position must do.”

Tobias felt bad about that, but Barbara had always said how much she enjoyed her work, especially when she could find a kind and generous benefactor such as him. “I believed I gave you enough of a settlement that you wouldn’t have to look for someone new right away. Or even this Season.”

“You did, but I am easily bored. And I believe you know that, unless you weren’t paying attention. Which I know can’t be true because you never bored me in the slightest.” She patted his lapels and stood back, surveying her work. “You’ll do.”

“Did you meet Aldington at a Cyprian ball?” Tobias was shocked to hear this. He couldn’t imagine Lucien’s brother would want to be recognized at such an event, and he surely would have been.

“A masquerade a few nights ago.” That made a bit of sense at least. “He very awkwardly approached me for a liaison—nothing permanent, at least not yet. He was extremely nervous. I had the impression he’d never negotiated with a courtesan before.”