Julia hurried to her waiting carriage, a leatherbound ledger tucked securely under her arm. Vicar Ashton’s genius lay more in delivering inspiration than in recording expenditures. While no lamb under his care went without his tender attentions, the books often collected dust as expenses went unrecorded.

Conscious of his failing, the vicar had asked Julia to put the blotted pages into some sort of order so all would be in place when they finally established a business with their new funds. Though not sure she could offer much assistance, Julia had agreed to attempt it. At least it gave her something more productive to do than wear silk gowns and make idle conversation, both of which were beginning to pall.

The Society had met twice in the last week and had finally consolidated their plans, though there were still many details to work out. Julia sighed, her shoulders drooping with fatigue. Their venture must succeed, whatever the cost. The women of Whitechapel were counting on them.

“There you are, Cousin.”

Nick stood before her, exquisitely dressed in fashionable buff trousers and a close-fitting blue coat. She wasn’t really surprised to see him. He’d tried several times to speak with her, but between Alec and Maddie, they’d managed to keep him at bay. They apparently thought him dangerous, but for the life of her, Julia could not figure out why. She knew exactly who and what he was. “What are you doing here?”

His mouth curved in amusement as his deep blue gaze slowly traveled over her. “You should always wear that shade of green, my dear. It becomes you admirably.”

Green might suit her, but a flirtatious Nick did not. “Thank you. It was nice seeing you, but I really must go.” She nodded pleasantly and tried to walk around him.

He moved into her path, forcing her to retreat a step. “You seem to be in a hurry. Tell me, where is my overly protective cousin?” He glanced up the street toward the carriage. “Ah, I see it is not Alec, but the estimable Johnston who awaits.”

Julia shifted the heavy ledger to a more comfortable position, misliking the way he looked at her as if she were one of Mrs. Winston’s pastries. “What do you want, Nick? I’ve a busy day today.”

“What makes you think I want anything?”

“Because it is highly unlikely you’d be in Whitechapel unless you wished to see me.” She frowned and realized that wasn’t entirely true. There was one other reason a man of Nick’s standing would visit this part of town. “You aren’t casting lures to the local lady-birds, are you?”

His eyes widened before he threw back his head and laughed. “The devil, Cousin! You are blunt to a fault. Actually, I came on an errand of mercy.”

Julia eyed him doubtfully.

A rueful smile curved his mouth. “Nonplussed by a chit with spectacles.” He placed a hand over his heart and sighed. “My reputation is ruined.”

Despite her mistrust, Julia chuckled. When Nick laughed with genuine amusement, he looked even more like Alec. “You may as well come clean and tell me what you want, Nick. It will save us both a lot of time.”

He opened his arms in a gesture of defeat. “I will admit all. I came looking for you, Julia.”

“Why not just come to Hunterston House? Mrs. Winston makes an excellent cream cake.”

“And visit you amongst your flocks of admirers? There’s not enough privacy for what I have in mind.” He regarded her with a lazy gleam as he removed his gloves. “Besides, Alec has made it abundantly clear he does not want me near you.”

The idea unexpectedly lifted her spirits. “Oh? Has he said so?”

“Yes,” Nick said, a sudden crease between his eyes. “Several times, in fact, and in such a way as to imply he meant me violence if I ignored him.” He slipped his gloves into his pocket. “Such husbandly devotion is rather unfashionable. He will make you a laughingstock if you do not contain him.”

“Alec doesn’t do anything to be fashionable. He’s worried I’ll make an error and then you’d inherit the fortune.”

“Would that be so bad?” He reached out and retied the bow beneath her chin, the blue of his eyes darkening to midnight. “You, my sweet, would not be left destitute. I would be a most generous donor to your beloved charity.”

“Would you give me half of the fortune?”

His hands stilled beneath her chin. “Half? That is a bit steep. What do you say to five thousand? That is more than generous.”

“Alec gave me half.”

An inscrutable expression crossed Nick’s face. “Did he, indeed? And just how did you manage to charm my hard-hearted cousin?” His gaze lingered with insolent intent on her breasts. “Or need I ask?”

Julia stepped away. “All you need to know is that I will do what I can to keep you from getting the fortune.”

He chuckled. “You are a delight, Julia. Even the sordid truth sounds palatable tumbling from your mouth.” His gaze rested on her and he murmured, “Such a lovely mouth, too.”

She tried to stifle her annoyance, smoothing a hand over the cool leather of the ledger. Lately, her days were so filled with frivolous social activities that she had been excited at the prospect of spending a few hours engaged in a truly useful industry. Bantering with Nick seemed an additional tedium. Yet Julia could not dismiss the hurt she’d witnessed in Alec’s eyes when he’d spoken of his cousin. Perhaps here was a way she could pay back some of Alec’s generosity.

Julia tilted her head. “Alec told me you and he were once close.”

Nick’s smile thinned. “I am surprised he mentioned me at all.”

“You shouldn’t be.” She patted his arm. “Every family has its quarrels.”

He broke into an astonished laugh. “My God, you want Alec and me to cry friends?”

“Why not? Neither of you has any family to speak of.” She frowned. “Though I did hear you had relatives in France.”

His face closed. “A few.”

“Very volatile sort of people, the French. We had a French cook once. It didn’t work at all.” She leaned forward to say earnestly, “If I were you, I wouldn’t count anyone from France as family.”

Nick chuckled. “I don’t. I met them only once, and it was not a pleasant stay. They were all as mad as my mother.”

“Mad?”

“Ah, Alec didn’t tell you everything, did he?”

“He told me some money disappeared.”

Nick nodded pleasantly, as if she’d just mentioned the possibility of rain. “So it did.”

“Did you take it?”

His smile melted into silence. After a long moment, he said, “You are the first person to ever ask me that question.”

Julia frowned. “Surely not. Alec said you admitted to stealing it.”

“I’m sure that is how Grandfather saw it.”

“Ah—he didn’t give you a chance to speak, did he? I’ve noticed Alec has a tendency to engage in that same sort of high-handed behavior.”

“He is remarkably like Grandfather. But I cannot blame either of them. Grandfather hated my mother and feared I would be a disruptive influence on Alec. My fate was decided the instant I set foot in Bridgeton House.”

“You were only thirteen. Everyone makes mistakes.”

His hooded gaze flickered across her. “Only thirteen, and yet more debauched than any whore you have ever allowed in the doors of your Society.”

Julia almost shivered. “I think you’d like everyone to believe the worst of you. It keeps them from expecting more.”

He looked amused. “Do you always involve yourself in the lives of the people you meet, or is this an honor you bestow only on the misfits of society?”

“You are not a misfit.”

Nick stepped closer, deliberately crowding her on the narrow sidewalk. Julia stood her ground, tilting her head back to regard him sternly. “I am not afraid of you, Nicholas Montrose.”

He smiled and relented, moving back a pace. “Then you trust me?”

“No,” she confessed. “But everyone can become a better person. Even you.”

Nick’s smile did not quite reach his eyes. “Sometimes, Julia, a wolf is just a wolf. No more and no less.”

She nodded, shifting the book in her hands until it separated them like a wall. “Even wolves deserve a home.”

“And lost souls—don’t forget them.” He withdrew a card from his pocket and held it out. “Which brings me to my purpose.”

She stared at the card but made no move to take it. “What is it?”

“The address of someone in need.” He slipped the stiff card into the pages of the ledger. “She is in desperate straits. If you do not help her, no one will.”

Suspicious of his bland expression, she asked, “What kind of assistance does this woman require?”

“Miss L’Amour is an actress, though her skills in that area are lamentable. The theatre manager has been hinting he will entertain bids for her company for a certain type of private performance. I doubt she realizes her intended fate; she is indeed an innocent.”

Julia felt a blaze of excitement. It would be the perfect experiment for the Society. “I shall contact her immediately.”

“I knew you would. But hurry, Julia. One man in particular is pursuing her with less than noble intentions. If someone does not interfere, he will win her.” He leaned forward and dropped his voice to an intimate level. “I know this man, Julia. Once he has her in his bed, he will quickly tire of her and toss her away like soiled linen.”

It was all Julia could do to meet his gaze. “How did you come to know this woman?”

He caught at one of the ribbons that trailed from her bonnet and pulled on it, slowly untying the large bow. “How do you think?” he asked softly.

Julia yanked the ribbon from his grasp. “You are the man making the improper advances.”

He bowed.

“It is not very chivalrous of you.”

“I would pay her well.”

Julia pinned him with a hard stare. “Why are you telling me this, Nick? You cannot care what happens to this actress.”

“Had I not thought it might amuse you to save yet another soul from ruin, I would not have bothered. Indeed, I would have deflowered her, used her well, and left her for the next ragged soul.” He retrieved his gloves from his pocket and pulled them on. “I still might. She is a thoroughly delectable piece.”

Her brows lowered. “You’re not given to kind gestures. You must have another motive for doing this. I don’t suppose you’d tell me if I asked.”

“No, I would not.” Nick gently disengaged one of her hands from the ledger and placed a lingering kiss on it. “I must be off. Pray give Alec my best.” He tipped his hat and sauntered off.

Several women on the street stopped to brazenly stare as he passed, but he ignored them all. Whatever Nick was about, Julia knew it boded ill—but she had never been one to turn from a challenge.

Tucking the card into her reticule, she hurried to join Johnston.