Free A Good Rake is Hard to Find by Manda Collins Page A

go spouting your views about proper ladies.”
    Mainwaring tipped his hat at a barouche carrying three young ladies whom Freddy did not know. He was going to have to ask Leonora to school him on the makeup of the ton since his return from the Continent.
    â€œMiss Fotheringay, Lady Felicity Mount, and Lady Alice Needham,” Mainwaring supplied as they passed the other carriage. “As silly a group of chits as you’ll ever meet, but pretty enough.”
    â€œI should have known you’d have wrangled introductions to all the ladies fresh from the schoolroom, Mainwaring,” Freddy said, rolling his eyes. Mainwaring had always been quick to discover the names of all the eligible beauties in a room. Why shouldn’t he be able to do the same with the whole of the ton ?
    â€œThere’s nothing wrong with knowing one’s enemies,” Mainwaring said unrepentantly. “And those three are particularly dangerous, as they’ve been on the town for a couple of years now without bringing anyone up to scratch. I shouldn’t be surprised if one of them traps some unlucky fellow into an engagement before the season is out. Or, if not them, then their desperate mamas. For I’m not sure the girls are clever enough for it.”
    â€œYou really are heartless, aren’t you?” Freddy asked with mock disapproval. “How can you deprive those poor girls of the honor of becoming the next Lady Mainwaring? It’s positively cold of you.”
    â€œI don’t see you offering yourself as the sacrificial lamb for slaughter,” his companion said without remorse.
    â€œThat is because I’ve already convinced a clever young lady to be my bride,” Freddy said, grinning. “Even if it is a false engagement for the time being, it protects me from the dangers of being a single man amid all these husband huntresses.”
    Mainwaring shook his head. “Back to Miss Craven. What do you intend to do when the two of you attend your cousin’s soiree tomorrow evening? You can hardly search his house, or interview the other members of the club under Sir Gerard’s very nose. And I shouldn’t think that Miss Craven, for all her cleverness, will come right out and ask the fellow whether he murdered her brother.”
    â€œHardly,” Freddy returned, his expression sobering. “I am hoping that once Gerard introduces me as the replacement for Jonathan Craven in the club, I’ll be able to determine if any of the other club members are feeling the least bit uneasy about Craven’s death. After all, they were likely his friends as well as Gerard’s. It simply remains to be seen if they are more fearful of Gerard or loyal to Jonny. Unfortunately I suspect that fear of Gerard will win out.”
    â€œGerard is alive to threaten them,” Mainwaring agreed. “And it’s likely that whatever loyalty they felt for Jonathan died with him. A bird in the hand—or is that the devil you know? Whatever the axiom, Gerard is alive and capable of murder. Jonny is not.”
    â€œPrecisely,” Freddy agreed. “Which is why I’ll need to be subtle about my inquiries. The last thing I want is for my cousin to suspect right off the mark that my reasons for joining his club have anything to do with Jonathan’s death.”
    â€œHave you discussed this with Leonora?” Mainwaring asked, as they left the park and headed back toward Mayfair. “I seem to recall that subtlety is not her most admirable trait.”
    Freddy winced. “Not quite yet. I’m still working on my strategy. One cannot simply tell her what to do. In addition to her forthrightness, she also is as stubborn as a mule.”
    â€œBetter you than me, old fellow,” Mainwaring said with a grin. “Better you than me.”

 
    Six
    The next morning, Leonora sat down at the breakfast table, unable to stifle a yawn.
    â€œNot sleeping well, my dear?” her