Page 44 of The Untamed Heart

“Not like that,” she said crossly. “I’ve shown ye twice, I ain’t doin’ it a third time.”

“Sorry,” Lucius replied meekly, frowning as he concentrated on the task at hand and tossed the shredded rag into a basket.

“No! Not in that one! This one, ye half-wit!”

Lucius gazed at her, offended. “But you said the coarser fibres went in that one.”

“That ain’t coarse, though it might chafe a pretty fellow like you,” the girl retorted, waggling her eyebrows at him.

Lucius ignored this sally, intent on his next piece of fabric. Having shredded it, he hesitated with his hand over a basket. The broad woman on his right shook her head. “That’s the fine stuff. Old sheeting, that’ll make fine white paper.”

“Ah, yes. Because, of course, the fibres are longer,” he said gravely, tossing it into a basket on the other side.

“No, ’cause I said so,” the woman retorted with a snort of laughter.

Lucius shrugged. “A less exact justification, but no doubt true for all that.”

The women howled with laughter. “Oh, ain’t you a card, you don’t half talk funny.”

Lucius grinned and then gave a violent sneeze, which only set them all off again.

Too outraged to speak, Sherry hurried over, intent on hauling Lucius out by his ears if necessary. But having caught sight of him, Sherry realised the ladies would not let him remove Lucius without a little fun at his expense.

“Oooh, now he’s a pretty fellow. Do you want to help too, ducks?” called out a buxom lady with twinkling blue eyes.

Sherry, who was never rude unless provoked, forced himself out of the state of shock Lucius had plunged him into and remembered he was a gentleman. He executed an elegant bow.

“Forgive me, madam, but no, though I thank you for the kind offer. Moreover, I must insist that my companion stops bothering you so we may go about our business.”

He sent Lucius a warning glare as he spoke the last words and Lucius reluctantly set down the knife.

“Oh, he ain’t bothering me. Well, not much,” said the lady to Lucius’s left, who leaned in, grabbed hold of his chin, and planted a fat kiss on his cheek. Lucius blinked, eyes widening for a moment before he turned to gaze at the woman, who winked at him.

“Lucius!” Sherry said through gritted teeth.

To his relief, Lucius got up, collected his abandoned clothes, which had mercifully escaped shredding, and turned to the ladies.

“Thank you for showing me your work, ladies. Madge, Beryl, I appreciate your instruction upon the proper use of a rag knife. It was most informative. A good day to you.”

“Bye, lovie!”

“Cheerio, dearie!”

“Come back soon!”

Sherry marched him back out into the relatively fresh air.

“Have you taken leave of your senses?” he demanded the moment they were outside. “Just look at you. You are filthy. We shall be lucky if you don’t come down with some dreadful disease. Oh my god, look at your hands.”

“It was interesting,” Lucius said, regarding his filthy hands with a frown, apparently baffled by Sherry’s outburst. “I see no reason to fly into the boughs. I kept out of your way, did I not? And I didn’t start a fight, either. Besides, I’m never ill.”

Sherry, who had endured as much as he could take for one day, threw up his hands and marched to the carriage, casting himself down upon the seat with a huff.

Lucius merely shrugged and followed him, tossing his clothes onto the opposite seat and sitting down himself. He regarded Sherry cautiously.

“Are the Keller’s clients? Did they give you an address?”

Sherry nodded. “I did. That particular watermark was new earlier this year, and the entire batch went to London, except for one private order, name of Keller. The family lives about two miles away.”