Free Enticing Miss Eugenie Villaret by Ella Quinn Page B

and soirée the day after tomorrow.” Andrew’s eyes danced with unholy mirth. “Are you sure you wish to resume your identity just yet? There might be young ladies present. Mere Mr. Munford will not attract the amount of attention Viscount Wivenly almost certainly shall.”
    Will dropped into a large leather chair and ran a hand over his face. “You might be right. Perhaps we should pay the offices another visit this evening. I’ll confront him after the party.”
    “We have all the information from the books we need.” His friend played with the handle of his tea-cup. “Aside from that, I have other plans.”
    That was strange. “And that would be?”
    Andrew stood. “A private dinner.”
    Who the devil could Andrew be dining with so soon after arriving? Of course. Will grinned. “The blonde.”
    A smile played on his friend’s lips. “If all goes well, I might tell you. Until then, you’ll have to wait.”

Chapter 6
    T he Whitecliffs’ butler, Henry, set a tea tray on the low table situated between two couches on the terrace outside Cicely’s rooms.
    Cicely handed a cup of tea to her mother. “Has Mr. Grayson responded yet?” Thankfully Papa had intervened when Mama had resisted sending the invitation to Mr. Grayson.
    “Yes, Mr. Grayson will dine with us this evening.” Mama took a sip, then set down the thin china cup. “Cicely, I do not know how you could be so interested in a gentleman you’ve only seen on the street.”
    “I thought you said you knew the moment you saw Papa he was the right man for you.” She kept her tone as even as possible. If anyone could discover what she had done last night, it would be her mother. Then she really would be in a pickle.
    “Well, yes, that’s true.” Mama hid her reaction by drinking more tea. “Yet my father knew Papa’s family.”
    “Papa knows of Mr. Grayson’s grandfather,” Cicely said, pointing out the obvious.
    “If,” her mother countered, “it is the right Mr. Grayson.”
    She knew Mama’s caution came from concern for her only child, but Cicely and Papa had each done their research. He had even discovered Mr. Grayson’s name before she had. “The manager of the Queen said his name was Andrew Grayson, and his manner is that of a gentleman.” Her mother opened her mouth to speak, but Cicely held up her hand. “Please allow me to finish. I looked in Debrett’s . If he is who we think he is, then Mr. Grayson is not only the grandson of Mr. Josiah Beldan of Beldan Shipping, now B and G Shipping, the G standing for Grayson, but the second son of the Earl of Kelston, whose wife is the only child of Mr. Beldan.”
    “That is all very well and good, my dear, but—”
    “Please, Mama. If he is the right Andrew Grayson, and he likes me as much as I like him, please don’t say we must wait.”
    Mama passed a hand over her eyes. “I think you are moving far too swiftly for a gentleman you haven’t even met yet, but if you are correct I will not stand in your way.”
    Cicely hid her grin as triumph bubbled inside her.
    Andrew . Now that she knew his first name, she could only think of him as such. He had told her last night his maternal grandfather was in shipping, and that he was the second son of an earl.
    While they were conducting their research, Papa had made his little joke about not having to pay for a Season, but he was even happier that she might have found a good match. At least he trusted her judgment. Mama, on the other hand, would throw up one obstruction after another, just as she had when Cicely was to have traveled to London for her Season.
    Last night when Andrew had hidden her from the intoxicated sailors, she could tell by the way his lips strayed close to hers that he wanted to kiss her but, being a gentleman, had not. Though he did say he’d find her and ask her father if he could call on her. Cicely knew she was right about his identity and her feelings for him. Now if only he felt the same.
     
    Andrew dressed with