Page 32 of His Improper Lady

“What do you mean why? Because they tried to hit you,” Tom shot back. A little belatedly, he added, “It might have something to do with our search.”

“What search?” Wells asked.

“Brock described the house where you and I were born,” Desiree told him. “Mr. Quick thought a friend of his could identify it.”

“From a description?” Wells cocked an eyebrow. “Seems unlikely.”

“Actually, that’s why I came over here this morning.” Tom pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it up before Desiree. “You ready to go hunting?”

CHAPTER TWELVE

“YOU FOUND THE HOUSE?” Desiree’s voice rose in excitement.

“No,” Tom admitted. “But I have a list of possibilities. It’s a start.”

“It’s more than we had before. Your friend must be awfully good,” Desiree said.

“He is. Of course, these are only general areas, and he’s not sure they have every single one of the requirements.”

“What are the requirements?” Wells asked as Desiree snatched the list from Tom’s hand and began to read it.

“The right size and quality of houses.” Tom began to tick them off on his fingers. “Terraced stone houses. Close enough to walk to grander homes, as well as a church, larger parks or squares, and a smaller triangular park. Oh, and an odd intersection of multiple streets.”

“Upper Chelsea... Kensington...” Desiree murmured and glanced up at Tom. “Those aren’t terribly far from here.”

Tom nodded. “I thought we could start with the Upper Chelsea first, since it’s close. We’ll have to take a cab to the others.”

Desiree jumped up, her face alight with excitement. “Give me ten minutes. I need to change and grab a hat, and I’ll be ready.”

Without waiting for a reply, she ran out of the room, leaving Tom alone in an awkward silence with her brother. Tom sipped at his coffee, trying to think of something to say, as the other man studied him. After a time, Wells said, “Desiree has her heart set on finding her father. I hope you aren’t planning to...mislead her in any way.”

“No. Of course not.” Tom bristled.

“I’m rather fond of her,” he drawled in that careless upper-crust way. Wells, Tom noticed, was pitch-perfect in his tone and speech, unlike his siblings. “I wouldn’t take kindly to anyone using her or leading her astray.”

“Are you threatening me?” There was more surprise than alarm in Tom’s voice. He had little doubt he could hold his own with this man. Still, despite his languid air, there was something in Wells’s gaze that was cold and a trifle unnerving.

“My dear chap, of course not.” Wells’s eyebrows rose lazily. “Merely stating a fact.”

Tom wasn’t sure what he was supposed to make of that, so he said nothing. It seemed to Tom it took a good bit of gall for Wells to warn Tom not to mislead Desiree when she was the one trying to pull off a swindle. Tom wondered what her brothers’ roles were in this scheme. Was Wells warning him not to interfere in their plan? Or were his words meant to convince him that Desiree really believed what she’d told him?

Desiree came downstairs several minutes later than the ten minutes she had promised. She’d apparently taken the time to sweep her hair up and pin it, which was a disappointment. But Tom had to admit that she looked very fetching beneath a large hat with a feather that curled down enticingly to her cheek. Of course, he hadn’t seen her in anything that didn’t look fetching on her.

It was her face and form that made the clothes, not the other way around. He wasn’t sure what was so appealing about her face. She wasn’t beautiful in the way that Kyria Moreland was, so perfect in face and form that an artist might have made her. But then, Tom had always found Kyria a trifle overwhelming in her beauty.

Desiree’s face was simply intriguing, the sort that made one keep looking at her, as if to find out why she drew him so. Perhaps it was the sparkle in her eyes, the sense of energy and laughter just waiting to bubble out. Or that delectably plump lower lip or creamy skin that looked so soft it was difficult not to reach out and touch her cheek.

Sternly, Tom pulled his thoughts back from their wayward direction as they left the house and started along the street. “Alex—”

“Who?”

“My friend the architect. He added a caveat about this list. His opinions are based on the city today, and he’s not sure they’re exactly the same as they were twenty-some-odd years ago. So it may no longer be exactly the way your brother described it.”

“I know.” Desiree’s smile was sunny. “But I think we’ll find it even so.”

“He gave me a number of other areas, as well, but they’re all farther out. It makes sense that the man in question would have wanted a place for your mother that was fairly nearby, so it wouldn’t have been a long drive from where he lived.”

“And his home would have been in one of the richer places, like Mayfair or Grosvenor Square or Belgravia.”