Page 68 of A Deal with the Devil

Idiot, once more.

Yelena must want to reassure herself that their betrothal was a sham. That she had nothing to worry about. Had Devil not talked to her about it at all?

This time Kitty scowled at him. He blinked, taken aback. “What?”

“Did you not tell her we aren’t really engaged? Did she have to find out through the gossips? Devil, really.”

“Are you scolding me?”

“Poorly, if you need to ask. Very poorly, in fact, since you won’t stop smiling at me.” Her eyebrows drew together. “What’s wrong with you?”

“He’s a man,” Yelena remarked drily.

“Hey,” he said mildly. “But a fair point.”

“We are not lovers,” Yelena continued, “if that’s what worries you. He has not wronged me.”

Kitty was still tense as a bowstring but felt a little bit less like the arrow that might ricochet around the room smashing very expensive things she could not afford to replace. She took what might have been the first breath since barging in. “Oh. I see. Good. That’s good.”

“Is that what you thought?” Devil asked her.

She shrugged, holding on to the tatters of her composure. Something suspiciously close to relief washed through her.

“It’s a fair assumption.” Yelena also shrugged. “Given your reputation.”

“My reputation would suggest you should both be nicer to me,” he muttered. “A little dread would not go amiss.”

Yelena laughed. Kitty smiled. Devil leaned against his desk, disgruntled. “I’ve asked Yelena to chaperone you,” he said.

Kitty snorted. “Devil, aging spinsters do not require chaperones. Even when they are betrothed to you.”

“Not that kind of chaperone,” he said. “Do give me a little credit, Miss Caldecott.”

“While I am passable at watercolors and waltzing,” Yelena said, “I am far better with fencing and fisticuffs.”

“That was very poetic,” Kitty approved. “Wait. You are?”

Yelena inclined her head. “I know a great many tricks with a hatpin.”

“Will you teach me?” Kitty sounded awed, even to her own ears.

Devil raised his eyebrows. “I knew you’d be interested once you learned that little tidbit. And as a lady, Yelena can go with you into places my men cannot follow.”

“I doubt Lord Portsmouth would attack me in a ladies’ retiring room.”

“Do not doubt me,” he said darkly. “I mean to keep you safe.”

That was nice. So nice her eyes prickled. She blinked rapidly. She had had a trying morning. That must be why she was threatening to turn into a watering pot. Mortifying. “Thank you.”

Yelena nodded. “I will be in the parlor.”

“Do you need something to read?” Kitty pulled two books out of her reticule. It had seen better days, the heaviness of books continuously pulling at the seams she reinforced on a regular basis. “Pirates or Minotaurs?”

“Oh, Minotaurs, definitely. They are Greek like me, and sometimes I am homesick.” Yelena took the book and glided away, looking every inch the lady in her sage-green walking dress and not like someone who could murder a man. Kitty thought she might be in love already.

“Do you always carry books when you’re out for a walk?” Devil asked.

“Always. Walking, visiting. At the Park.”