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Pip had to descend in order to take hold of the bonbon, and the shopkeeper snatched him while he was reaching for it, then put him swiftly in his cage.

Pip reached his arms through the cage slats for the bonbon Selina held, then screeched angrily. Gone was the wide, childlike gaze, replaced with intent, angry eyes and bared teeth, including two sharp incisors.

She backed away at the fearful image.

The shopkeeper let out a large breath of relief. “If there is one animal I have come to regret acquiring, it is that one.”

“Is that you, Mrs. Lawrence?” The man who had entered the shop approached, smiling incredulously. He was a middle-aged man who had been friends with George for a number of years. “I had no notion you were in Town. ”

“Mr. Haskett,” Selina replied kindly. “Of all the places to see you…” She introduced him to Phoebe, but the monkey continued to screech, so that they were obliged to move away to hear one another better. “Are you in Town for the Season as well, then?”

“Oh, no,” he replied. “I am off on a little birding adventure with my wife and niece.” His gaze shifted to Phoebe.

“Forgive me,” Selina said. “This is Miss Phoebe Grant. She is the sister-in-law of my brother, and I have the pleasure of playing chaperone to her.”

“Ah,” Mr. Haskett said. “New to Town, then.”

Phoebe nodded. “I have only been here a few days, sir.”

“Still learning how to go on, are you?” he asked knowingly.

“Very much so,” Phoebe said with her characteristic good nature.

“She is far better equipped than I was at her age,” Selina said.

“Good, good,” Mr. Haskett said with approval. “You mustn’t let yourself be taken in, as some of these naive young women are.”

Selina’s cheeks warmed, despite the fact that she was fairly certain he was not referring to her.

She had been both young and naive when she had married, and she certainly felt she had been taken in.

She had been fighting resentment toward her parents for years as a result.

They had not merely allowed her to be married to a man so much older than she when she had still been so wide-eyed and innocent—they had ensured it.

Mr. Haskett cocked a brow at Selina. “Nor must you let yourself be taken in, Mrs. Lawrence. The world can be a dangerous place for someone in your situation.”

She smiled. “I have cut my eye teeth by now, you know.”

“Hm,” he said with skepticism. “Even so, it can be difficult to tell the wolves from the sheep at times. My own niece was nearly duped recently.” He shook his head, his brows bunched together.

“If Drake had not been so cow-handed, the situation might have become dire indeed. But there are fortune hunters who are not cow-handed. I urge you to be on the watch for them, Mrs. Lawrence. ”

Selina’s entire body clenched. “Forgive me,” she said, forcing calm into her voice. “Did you say Drake?”

He gave a curt nod. “Sebastian Drake. Tried to woo my little Lark into his web. Hadn’t known her a week before he asked her to run away with him, the scoundrel!” He spat the last word.

Selina felt Phoebe’s eyes on her, but her heart was beating too fast and her focus too fixed on Mr. Haskett for her to heed it. “I had the doubtful pleasure of making Mr. Drake’s acquaintance recently, in fact.”

Mr. Haskett let out a laughing scoff. “Of course you did! And here I had been hoping my revenge might have made him rethink his choices.”

“Revenge?” Selina repeated, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach and forcing her lips into a smile.

Mr. Haskett’s mouth lifted at one edge. “Unfortunately for Mr. Drake, his application to be received into White’s was…rejected. Last I heard, he had joined the misfits Lord Blackstone has acquired in his club.”

Anger snaked through Selina’s veins, threatening her increasingly weak smile.

Anger at Mr. Drake for having skillfully dispelled some of her doubts, certainly, but also anger at herself for having been taken in by his lies.

She should never have believed him to be anything other than a conniving fortune hunter.

How could she have been so foolish? Apparently, marriage had not managed to snuff out all the embers of her naivety.

All of his smiles, each of those moments she had felt a connection with him…they had all been fabricated for the purpose of winning her approval—no, her fortune.

Mr. Haskett had spoken of revenge, which had apparently not taught Mr. Drake anything.

Vengeance was certainly an appealing idea. Selina could not blackball Sebastian or thrust a duel upon him, but were there not other ways to teach a man a lesson?

Perhaps revenge was still within reach. He simply needed a different teacher than Mr. Haskett—and a different lesson than the one he had been given.

Mr. Haskett regarded her thoughtfully. “Please tell me you have not entertained Drake’s attentions, Mrs. Lawrence.”

She gave a laugh that sounded unnatural even to her own ears. “You need not fear, Mr. Haskett. The only person I am interested in entertaining is myself.”