Secret Lessons With The Rake

He looked from the girl to see on Ellie’s face the same desolation those words had caused him, and was struck again by her pain.

He, at least, had always known a mother’s love. She had been completely abandoned by all her nearest relations. Cast into a world where ‘do you want me?’ had taken on a wholly different, degrading meaning.

He wished he could wrap his arms around her and hold her until his warmth burned away all memory of that cold-blooded betrayal.

‘Yes, I’m sure I want you,’ Ellie told Artis, gently wiping a tear from the girl’s grimy cheek. ‘I want you very much.’

‘Then...then I’d love to go with you, ma’am! Lemme carry your parcel.’ Looking down at it with an expert eye, Artis said, ‘Cloth from Merriman & Company, in the Bazaar? Bet I could find you some jest as good and heaps cheaper in Petticoat Lane! ’Tis where all the dressmakers round Bond Street get the materials what they sell at ten times the price to the grand Society ladies.’

‘Do you know where to get other household provisions?’ Ellie asked. ‘Coal, candles, soap, needles, thread, flour, tea, salt?’

‘Oh, yes, ma’am. And should you need somethin’ lifted, I could do that, too.’ The girl looked over at Christopher. ‘If’n I hadn’t been so tired and weak today, I’da had them coins from your pocket, and you never the wiser.’

Ellie exchanged a wry look with Christopher before saying, ‘Thank you, Artis, but we would have you display your gratitude in more, um, legitimate ways in future.’

As sympathetic as he was to the girl’s plight, at that reminder of her origins, Christopher caught Ellie’s eye to mouth silently, Are you sure?

At her emphatic shake of the head, he shook his. ‘Very well, then. Dean Street it is.’

* * *

To his amusement, during the transit back to Ellie’s school, Artis kept up a steady chatter, asking Ellie what sorts of supplies she might need in future, and naming off a list of establishments at which she could procure the goods at a bargain price. She was still proclaiming her gratitude after their arrival, as Ellie introduced her to Jensen and had Mrs Sanders bear her off with the promise of a meal, a good wash and clean garments.

Leading Christopher into her office, Ellie said, ‘I’m afraid I have only wine, rather than the stronger spirits I promised. But my thanks for your help today is no less sincere.’

Accepting a glass, Christopher said, ‘You’re very welcome for the assistance with the landlord. I’m not so sure I want to take credit for the urchin. I have a terrible suspicion you may one day find she’s stolen you blind and run off.’

Ellie shook her head. ‘I doubt that. She’s been a thief for certain. But many of us, given a chance to escape doing what enabled us to survive, prefer to take a different path. I think she will, too.’

Christopher shook his head dubiously. ‘I hope you’re right. But after so many years thieving, I suspect she knows as much about conducting herself as a law-abiding citizen as I do about properly courting a Virtuous Virgin.’

‘After spending all your formative years among ladies of the demi-monde?’ she replied tartly. ‘A gentleman’s behaviour towards innocent maids must certainly be quite diff—’ She went silent, her hand with the wine glass halting halfway to her lips. ‘You truly don’t know what to say or how to act around innocent maids?’

‘The only females of that description I’ve ever spent time with are my sisters. Since our conversations generally involve them plaguing me until I feel like giving them a slap, I doubt that experience will prove very useful.’

‘Definitely not,’ she agreed with a chuckle. ‘You must know how grateful I am for your many kindnesses over the years. Artis’s desire to repay my help inspires me to want to repay yours as well. You may find the offer ludicrous, coming from me, which I would totally understand, but... But as you’ve learned today, I used to be just the sort of innocent maid you need to court. If you think it would be helpful, I could school you in what to say, how to behave, the kinds of compliments you can pay and gifts you can offer. Warn you against the sort of remarks and behaviours that must come naturally after your long experience among the demi-monde, but which would be disastrous if directed towards a respectable female.’

Before he could think how to respond, she rushed on, ‘You possess a well-earned reputation as a rake. Having neither a title nor great wealth to offset that drawback puts you at a disadvantage in the search for a suitable bride. The most well-bred and accomplished of the available maids will be pursued by a crowd of admirers, most of them with unsullied reputations. To win the superior lady you desire, your speech and behaviour must convince not just the maidens, but also their sceptical mamas, that you have truly reformed your rake’s ways. I could help you do that.’

‘School me into becoming the sort of gentleman who could win the hand of a Virtuous Virgin?’ he asked, torn between amusement and interest.

‘Exactly,’ she replied. ‘It’s only a matter of altering behaviour and language—as I well know, you already possess a sterling character, else you’d not have treated me with such compassion and kindness all these years. I’d be honoured to repay that debt by helping you find a wife worthy of one of Parliament’s rising leaders.’