Chapter 8
The following afternoon, they climbed into the carriage once more to go to the New Bond Street library branch to meet with Mr. Inman.
This time, Roman preceded Ellis into the coach, and he sat on the forward-facing seat.
He was trying to behave as he ought, which was as her employer and treating her as though she were male.
Ellis set her notebook on her lap, then almost immediately transferred it to the seat and adopted more of a sprawl. She wasn’t copying Roman just then, but he knew she was trying to affect a more masculine posture.
Once they were moving, she glanced at him. “If it’s acceptable to you, I should like to have this evening off.”
“Are you going to fetch adhesive?” he asked. “I could accompany you.”
“That is not what I’m doing,” she said. “And before you ask, it’s none of your affair.”
“Will you at least tell me where you’re going and how you plan to get there?”
“Regardless of what you think, my lord, I am not your responsibility. I appreciate your concern, but what I do in my free time is my business.” She arched a brow at him. “Do you ask other members of your household what they do and how they do it?”
Roman flinched inwardly. He did not do that, but other members of his household were not masquerading as the opposite sex, nor were they hiding from people. Nor had he taken a particular interest in them as he had with Ellis.
“I’m happy to escort you wherever you need to go,” he said. “Or I will simply give you the use of my coach. I assume wherever you’re going, you’ll be dressed as you currently are.”
“I can’t leave your house any other way.” She hesitated before adding, “It would be convenient to use your coach, but I don’t think I want your coachman speculating about my destination.” She grimaced faintly, then turned her head toward the window.
Now Roman was concerned about her plans. “Why would he speculate about your destination? Where are you going?”
She arched a brow at him but said nothing, her mildly irritated expression conveying that it was none of his affair.
“I think I may follow you,” Roman said. “I would feel terrible if something happened to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m going to a perfectly respectable establishment. It is orderly and safe.” She exhaled, sounding impatient. “I’m going to the Siren’s Call. You can’t be worried about me going to a place that is owned and run entirely by women.”
Roman sat up and leaned forward slightly. “That’s a gaming hell. Why are you going to a gaming hell? Is part of the reason you’re hiding because you need funds?”
She gave him a bland look. “If it were, I would have asked you to advance my pay, wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know.” He regarded her intently.
She was an enigma. He would wager a large sum that she was some kind of Quality, and yet she was also perfectly comfortable in her role as a lesser member of his household.
She understood coaches, men’s evening wear, and household hierarchy.
She also seemed comfortable in Mayfair. He was incredibly curious as to why she was going to the Siren’s Call if she was not going to gamble.
“I’m familiar with the Siren’s Call,” Roman said. “May I please escort you? I’ll tell the coachman we’re going for an evening out.”
She did not appear impressed or convinced. “Isn’t that strange for you to seek entertainment with your secretary?”
Roman lifted a shoulder. “Perhaps, but I doubt it. They’re aware that you and I work closely together.
They know I’m pleased with your performance and happy to have you working for me.
If I tell them I want to reward your hard work by taking you to the Siren’s Call this evening, I don’t think anyone would find that strange. ”
She pursed her lips. “All right, you may accompany me, but at the club, I must be your friend, not your secretary. I appreciate your not asking why I’m going.”
“I know better.” Roman flashed her a quick grin.
They arrived on New Bond Street a moment later and quickly departed outside the library, a three-storey, brick-fronted terrace.
A bow-shaped window on the first floor gave the facade a distinctive character from its neighbors, as did the black-painted pilasters framing the door and ground-floor window.
“Lacey’s Library” was emblazoned in gold lettering across the entablature over the door and window.
Roman stopped himself from holding the door for Ellis. He felt strange walking in before her, almost uncomfortable even.
The scent of polished wood, leather bindings, and paper welcomed them.
A counter stretched along the right wall of the reception room, behind which stood one of the two clerks the library employed.
Two racks stood against the back wall—one stocked with new works and the other with Lacey and Company titles.
A third rack next to the hearth on the left wall held copies of current newspapers and magazines.
There were several chairs where one could sit and browse near the fireplace or in front of the window.
A doorway at the back next to the counter opened to the lending room, whilst another archway in the opposite corner led to a staircase.
The librarian, Mr. Inman, a short, slender, and immaculately garbed gentleman in his late sixties, greeted them. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. “Good afternoon, my lord. What a pleasure to see you.”
“Good to see you too, Inman.” Roman gestured to Ellis. “Allow me to introduce my new secretary, Mr. Daniel Ellis.”
Ellis gave the librarian a slight bow. “Good afternoon, Mr. Inman. I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” Her voice was pitched low, and, to Roman at least, she appeared and sounded masculine.
“I’m delighted to meet you.” Inman stared at Ellis a moment longer than seemed appropriate, then quickly looked away. Doubt crept into Roman’s thoughts, and he hoped Inman hadn’t detected she was a female.
“I wonder if we could remove to your office to have a conversation,” Roman said.
“Certainly.” Inman led them toward the stairs, glancing back over his shoulder at Roman as they walked. “I hope there’s nothing amiss.”
“Not at all,” Roman replied with a smile. “I continue to be impressed by your work, as is Mr. Lacey, and we know our patrons value you immensely, just as we do.”
Inman glanced back at him as they started up the stairs. “I appreciate the praise, my lord, though it is unnecessary.”
On the landing, the librarian turned to the left toward the back of the building, and they shortly entered his office. It wasn’t terribly large, but there was a cozy seating area with more than enough places for them to sit.
“Shall we sit?” Inman moved toward a chair.
There was a narrow settee that Roman would love to share with Ellis, for the space would have necessitated that their thighs touched.
However, he feared he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the conversation he needed to have.
It was best they not sit together. Setting his incessant attraction to Ellis aside, he took another one of the chairs whilst Ellis situated herself on the settee in a, thankfully, masculine pose.
“What is it you wish to speak about?” Inman asked.
Roman had thought about what he would say and hoped it came out the way he’d planned. Ellis gave him a subtle nod of support, which he greatly appreciated. He realized he’d come to rely on her in many ways.
“As I said before, we greatly value your work here at the library,” Roman said. “I do wonder, however, if you would like more time to yourself. Forgive me, this is a delicate thing to say, but I suspect you’re reaching an age where you may even wish to retire from this work.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever retire from the library,” Inman said. “Unless I’m forced,” he added with a perhaps nervous chuckle.
Roman feared he’d botched things. He sent a worried glance toward Ellis.
“No one would force you from the library,” Ellis assured him in her deeper voice. She was very good at maintaining a masculine tone.
Inman smiled. “That is nice to hear. However, I confess I wouldn’t mind having more time to spend with my children and grandchildren. As you may recall, my wife died last year, and I find I crave more time with my family.”
“That’s completely understandable.” Roman felt a slight envy that Inman had a family with whom he wanted to spend time. “We would like to rename the reading room after you and hope you might be interested in hosting literary events, perhaps fortnightly or monthly.”
Inman drew in a sharp breath, and his eyes rounded slightly. “That is quite an honor, my lord.”
“In addition to hosting these events, we hope you might assist in coordinating them,” Roman said. “That would mean inviting authors to speak, as well as occasions where readers discuss certain works. Obviously, we would prefer to focus on the authors and publications from Lacey and Company.”
“Certainly, my lord, and that would be my preference as well.” His eyes gleamed with pride. “Lacey and Company publishes the very best.”
Roman caught the smile that passed briefly across Ellis’s mouth. She was so damn pretty when she smiled. He wished he could make her do it more often, but it would probably increase the likelihood of her being exposed as a woman.
He couldn’t remotely see her as a man at this point. The facial hair was a nuisance, but to him, it did not disguise her feminine beauty in the least.
“This is all so very splendid,” Inman said. “However, I wouldn’t know who to invite aside from our customers. I imagine you’re hoping to grow the subscription base, and I’m afraid that has never been my strength. Furthermore, this would add to my duties, not allow me more time with my family.”
“You are correct.” Roman smiled faintly as it was time to reveal the true goal. “We would bring a new librarian to the branch. That would give you more time to spend with your family, and your focus here could be on the events in the reading room.”