A Scandalous Arrangement by Ashe Barker

her of my whereabouts. Even so, she will worry.”
    “Of course.” He glanced up at his housekeeper, who had re-entered the room to start clearing away dirty crockery. “Mrs. Jennings, would you arrange for a hansom to convey Miss Wynne to Kings Cross station? And would you telegraph Mrs. Wynne in Yorkshire to assure her of her daughter’s safety and advise her to expect Miss Wynne home later this afternoon.”
    “Yes, I will do so at once. Are you ready to leave now, Miss Wynne?”
    The lady stood, and this time Adam took the opportunity to properly—or improperly—admire her slender form. She was tall, willowy he supposed, though her body hinted at curves in the places he liked to find them. His erection asserted itself again and he pondered the wisdom of rising to see her out. Good manners prevailed and he got to his feet.
    “It has been most pleasant to meet you, Miss Wynne, despite the difficult circumstances. I will be in touch.”
    He extended his hand, and she took it. Her fingers were cool to his touch, but her handshake was firm. A good businesswoman’s handshake. He believed he might do worse than to enter into a commercial relationship with the delightful Miss Wynne.
    Unfortunately, an arrangement of an entirely different nature was starting to take shape in his head. He needed to plan his next course of action with care if he was to have any hope of persuading her to consider his counterproposal.
     
    * * *
     
    It could have been worse. He might have dismissed my proposal out of hand.
    Victoria shifted on the narrow bench in the ladies’ waiting room at Kings Cross station. Her train was due in half an hour, and if the connections went as she hoped she would be home in ample time for supper. She should even have time to talk to her mother. This would not be a conversation she relished, but she was left with no alternative. Adam Luke’s concession on their period of notice bought them time, but the end result would be the same. They would be uprooted, forced to find somewhere else to live. Somewhere modest and affordable if she was to set enough aside to carry out her plan.
    There was nothing further she could do to secure the Wynne fortunes as she waited for her train, except reflect on the events of this morning.
    Adam Luke was so completely not what she had expected. She could not describe him as nice exactly, certainly not with his flirtatious, womanising ways . Share his bed indeed, the very thought.
    But that was her problem, was it not? She was thinking about it. A great deal more than she really ought. And she was also thinking about his hapless wife, buried in the backwaters of Portsmouth. Victoria pitied the wronged Mrs. Luke. It must be a grim existence indeed to be married to such an attractive man who was also such a faithless bastard. She wanted no part of adding to that lady’s troubles.
    Even so, the man was tempting. Exciting. Wicked.
    She seldom allowed herself the luxury of entertaining such thoughts. Her lifestyle since her father died had precluded romantic relationships entirely. She worked a fourteen-hour day, six days a week, and much of the rest of her time was devoted to eating and sleeping. Wynne’s left her with little opportunity to indulge in social frivolities and her only contacts were among the business community. The men she met were customers, suppliers, or competitors. She liked many of them, and respected a few, but no more than that. Lovers would be a different breed altogether, and she was unlikely to encounter such individuals.
    Or so she thought, until today. No wonder her unruly pussy still drooled, and her nipples tingled. They had little enough cause for such reactions as a general rule and had no doubt become over-eager. She had best not do likewise.
    She had almost swallowed her tonsils when he crept up on her unawares. How long had he been lurking there, watching her eat, before he made his presence known? And such an imposing presence too. She’d