His heart squeezed with longing. Would that he had the same kinship with his own sister. Sarah was notoriously hard-hearted when it came to him, though. He’d always been the problem for his family to solve, the blight on the family name that embarrassed them. Noah actually wondered if Mr. Smith and Miss Smith knew about Beckett’s inclinations. Surely, they couldn’t, or else they would not be so affectionate with him.
“I need a reason to convince Mrs. Livingston to invite me to the ball,” Miss Smith said, glancing to her brother. “Something that will endear me to her to the point where she will overlook our position in life and invite me because she finds me irresistible.”
Noah laughed, perhaps a bit too loudly. The Smiths didn’t seem to mind, though. “You are the picture of irresistibility, Miss Smith. This Mrs. Livingston person would be foolish not to see that.”
All three of the Smiths smiled at Noah in approval. It felt like basking in sunlight.
But it wouldn’t last, the whispers told him. All it would take was one melancholy episode, and the whole lot of them would chuck him out on the street, like Sarah had.
Like Marcus had.
“Do you have any ideas, Mr. Cheevers?” Miss Smith asked, leaning slightly toward him, as though they were part of a conspiracy. “Do you know how one ingratiates themselves with someone who thinks they are better than you?”
Noah fought off the unsteady mood that threatened to nip at his heels. “In fact, I believe I do, Miss Smith,” he said, leaning a bit toward her as well.
“Do tell,” Mr. Smith said, apparently amused that his daughter was about to take advice from an unknown foreigner in clothes that, Noah had to admit, had seen better days.
Noah scooted forward on his chair and said in a conspiratorial tone, “The trick is to perform an act of kindness for someone close to her, someone who might not be her social equal, but for whom she cares a great deal.”
“Oh?” Beckett asked, seemingly amused by Noah’s idea. His smile was encouraging.
“Perhaps a maid or a younger daughter?”
“She does have two lovely girls,” Aurora said, sitting back in her chair in thought. “I’ve heard that the younger one, Mary, is quite fond of animals. Perhaps there is something in that.”
“There you have it,” Noah said, spreading his hands wide. “You’ve discovered something that someone close to Mrs. Livingston likes. Use that to your advantage, and the gates of high society will open up to you.”
“I think you are very clever, Mr. Cheevers,” Miss Smith said, smiling broadly at him, then glancing to Beckett. “You do make the most interesting friends, dear brother,” she said. “Whatever happened to that funny man, Kelsey Jamison, after his shocking wedding that never happened?”
“A shocking wedding that never happened?” Noah asked, perking up even more.
“It was the scandal of the year,” Miss Smith said with wide eyes. “Beckett’s friend arrived at his wedding in a gown and wearing cosmetics!”
Noah nearly choked on his tea, then proceeded to sit back in his chair as the tale of Kelsey Jamison and Miss Evangeline Wallace was related to him. Beckett took turns telling the story with his sister, and although Noah wasn’t certain whether Mr. Smith approved or not, he let the siblings speak. Noah gleaned far more than Miss Smith was saying from the bits and pieces Beckett added. He assumed Jamison was one of their sort and that the mysterious Mr. Merriweather, who was mentioned once or twice, was Jamison’s lover.
After that story, Miss Smith launched into another about her own friends as Beckett and Mr. Smith spoke about business matters. What started as a simple conversation turned into one of the most delightful hours Noah had ever spent. He felt as though he’d been invited into something lovely and homey. He felt included and appreciated, not reviled and cast out.
He was sad to see Mr. and Miss Smith go as the morning wore into afternoon.
“We will come by and visit again,” Miss Smith promised, fondness in her eyes as they said goodbye in the front hall. “Will you be staying with my brother long, Mr. Cheevers?”
“I’m not sure,” Noah asked. “I hope to accomplish my mission in the city soon, but I do enjoy his company. I enjoyed your company as well, Miss Smith.”
He kissed her hand again, earning spritely giggles as he did.
It was surprisingly hard to say goodbye to the father and daughter. At least he didn’t have to say goodbye to the son.
“I cannot tell you how welcomed I feel, thanks to you and your family, Beckett,” he said as they made their way back into the parlor.
Beckett hummed happily and said, “Yes, I have been generously blessed when it comes to family.”
“Would that I could say the same,” Noah said with a sigh. When Beckett’s expression turned questioning, since Noah didn’t want to deal with the things he knew the look meant, he said, “You know, giving your sister advice about her society problems has given me ideas about how we can win our men once and for all.”
“Really?” Beckett’s expression lit up. “You have some ideas?”
“I might.” Noah paced into the parlor, all the way to the fireplace, then turned back to Beckett. “What you and I need to do is the same thing I recommended that your sister do. We need to appeal to the things our men love.”
“As far as I’ve been able to tell, the only thing Graham truly loves is The Slippery Slope,” Beckett sighed, flopping into one of the chairs near the fireplace.