Larcenous Lady Read Free Page B

look while we’re here. It’s thirteenth century.”
    “Then it’s too old to bother with. Bound to be falling apart. We’ll nick straight off to Paris.”
    “If you like,” Belami agreed, but he knew Pronto’s tardy habits and didn’t expect to see him at seven. They dawdled over coffee and brandy, enjoying the babel of foreign conversation around them and the unusual details of dining in a foreign country. At ten, they had sat long enough and rose to retire.
    At the bottom of the stairs, they stood aside to allow three ladies to descend. Belami noticed they were speaking English and said “Good evening,” with a smile that explained his forwardness. Fellow countrymen in a strange land automatically formed a freemasonry against the natives.
    Smiles were returned as the group passed. The party was composed of two young ladies and one older—mother or chaperone. The older lady was tall, gray-haired, and thin. It was at the daughters that Belami looked more sharply. The younger was blond-haired and blue-eyed, small but buxom with a childishly round face. She shyly averted her eyes as they passed.
    Belami hadn’t much interest in wilting violets. It was at the older, taller one that he continued looking. Her raven hair reminded him of Deirdre. Except for the blue eyes, she bore little resemblance to the other girl. She met his gaze boldly, as an equal. He liked those statuesque ladies with bold eyes. She had a prominent nose, well-shaped, and a firm chin.
    He lingered a moment belowstairs, noticing that the chaperone was having difficulty making herself understood by the clerk. He advanced and introduced himself. “I speak French. May I offer to act as your interpreter?” he inquired politely.
    “Why, thank you, milord.” The chaperone smiled gratefully. “I am trying to inquire for a carriage to Paris for tomorrow.”
    “It’s the Hotel d’Angleterre you must go to. I’ll be going there myself tomorrow morning. I’d be very happy to make the arrangements for you, Mrs.—
    “Mrs. Sutton, and these are my daughters, Elvira and Lucy,” she said, indicating the elder first.
    “Miss Sutton, delighted,” Belami said, with his best bow.
    The haughty beauty curtsied stiffly and gave him a scathing glance. This lack of encouragement intrigued Belami. They remained a few minutes talking. Mrs. Sutton announced that she was taking her girls on an educational trip abroad. “My Elvira is artistic,” she explained.
    Belami used it as an excuse to observe the haughty Elvira. He wasn’t imagining the flash of anger in her beautiful blue eyes. They were a deep blue, much prettier than Lucy’s. “Then I expect you’ll be stopping at Florence,” he said.
    “We mustn’t keep the gentlemen, Mama. Thank you for your assistance, Lord Belami,” Miss Sutton said in a firm voice, and taking hold of Lucy’s arm, she turned to ascend the stairs.
    “Thank you so much,” Mrs. Sutton repeated. “I shall be awaiting word here tomorrow morning regarding the carriage.”
    “Good-looking gels,” Pronto remarked a moment later. “But we’ll not cozy up to ‘em till we’re out of Calais.”
    “Why not?” Belami asked. “I never knew you to spurn a lady’s advances, Pronto. Lucy was rolling her eyes at you.”
    “No, at you. If you’d stopped mooning at the other one long enough, you’d have noticed. No time to be chasing women.”
    “That’s part of the reason we’re here, isn’t it?”
    “No, it’s the reason we’re going to Paris and Italy. You’ve got to keep your nose clean in Calais.” The poor devil wouldn’t get a wink of sleep if he told him about Deirdre before morning. They began climbing the stairs, talking as they went.
    “Are you worried that the customs bogeyman will come after you?” Belami joked.
    “That’s it.” Pronto leaped on this excuse. “I didn’t like the sharp eyes of him. Could open an oyster with a glance. Regular gimlets. We’ll be up and out of here at seven