Free My Fair Temptress by Christina Dodd Page B

like a damned fool, but your understanding is still superior.”
    “Sh,” Jude said softly. “Don’t spread that around.”
    “No, of course not! No man wants to be known as intelligent! I wouldn’t like that at all.”
    “I think you’re safe.”
    “Exact…” Turgoose paused as if suspecting sarcasm.
    Jude kept his face blank, and prompted, “You were telling me the tale of Miss Ritter.”
    “Oh. Yes! Mr. Manfred Ritter was mightily pleased with Miss Ritter’s success.” Turgoose sneered. “He saw the chance to advance his family name at last. He’s not only a cold fish, but he clutches the coin so tight his shillings scream in agony.”
    Jude swung his monocle back and forth on its ribbon. “I don’t understand.”
    “He’s cheap! The damned fool didn’t obtain a responsible chaperon, and when Lord Freshie started romancing Miss Ritter, that viper of a chaperon took a bribe to convince Miss Ritter of Freshie’s good intentions and persuade the gel that he could be trusted.”
    Jude felt his face settle into grim lines. “But he’s married.”
    “Precisely. She should have known better, and that is what her enemies point to as conclusive condemnation.” Turgoose drew out his handkerchief and blotted the perspiration on his forehead. “Walk slower, will you?”
    Jude hadn’t realized how his gait had speeded up beyond the appearance of a stylish man loitering down the path on a spring day. So he did slow, but with his cane he poked at Turgoose. “So Miss Ritter was a fool.” And Jude, who remembered Freshie and his reputation for perversions, thought he might take the time, when he’d finished his mission, to take Freshie apart joint by joint.
    “I hesitate to put such a label on that darling gel, but Freshie can be charming and she was infatuated with him. Certainly she trusted him beyond all propriety, and at a party given at his house, he carried her away to his study. Alone. And locked her in with him.” Turgoose ran his finger under his collar. “I was the one who realized what he had done. I broke into the room.”
    “Really?” Jude examined his friend with renewed interest. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
    “I was rather more than infatuated,” Turgoose mumbled.
    “You were in love ,” Jude teased, but he wasn’t laughing. He was furious. This was his friend, and he didn’t even appreciate Turgoose’s efforts on Miss Ritter’s behalf—because Jude wanted to be her rescuer.
    “Buckle your beak.” Turgoose put his hands on his waist and glared. “We’re talking about Miss Ritter, and my dedication is undiminished.”
    He was simply, Jude diagnosed, too afraid of his mother to do anything about his passion, and that was fine. Turgoose’s fear almost made him likeable again. “My apologies. Go on with the tale.”
    “Trouble was, that whoreson Freshie had more than seduction on his mind. He wanted to use Miss Ritter to obtain a separation from his wife. Figured Miss Ritter was safe because her commoner father couldn’t call him out. So when I tried to get her out of the room, Freshie made a fuss to attract attention.” Now Turgoose blotted his upper lip, and his perspiration wasn’t from exertion, but from remembered horror. “It was a nightmare. A nightmare, I tell you. When his wife broke in, she shrieked like an Irish banshee and blamed it all on Miss Ritter. Freshie came off innocent as a rosebud.”
    Jude scarcely moved his lips as he asked, “With as many suitors as you said Miss Ritter had and Freshie’s reputation, why wasn’t she able to find someone who would marry her?”
    “Because her father threw her from his town house in a dramatic scene. You can imagine the calumny for her.” Turgoose’s color fluctuated. “Eighteen-year-old girl. No resources. No dowry. Reviled by her family. Frightened…”
    If Jude had been there…what would he have done? Until the day he had stared down at his brother’s body, he had been shallow, conceited