Meredith nodded. “He seemed rather determined to make me leave with him but I’ve not seen or heard from him in the days since. I imagine he’s come to his senses and regrets the impulsive offers he made. However, given other, completely unrelated circumstances here in the House, I’m considering whether a change of scenery might not be the best for me.”
She shivered as she remembered their last night. Gray had done everything he’d wanted with her. At one point she’d even begged him not to stop. Meredith never begged. It was a warning sign of how deeply she’d fallen under the spell of Grayling’s power.
“What if you did leave the brothel? What if you came to stay with me while you thought over where you will go? Our properties may share a boundary, but Grayling surely won’t call for a few days. When he recovers and learns you’ve left the profession as he hoped, he would undoubtedly repeat his offers. You could take your pick and add as many conditions to the arrangement as you wanted.”
“What do you mean when he recovers?”
“A trifling matter. Nothing to be alarmed over. I’m sure he’ll be back to his old self in a day or so.” The lady cast a quick glance at the brothel. She tugged her hood a little closer to her face. “If you are determined to turn away Grayling’s attentions, I could employ you as a companion until you decide what to do. You could leave without notice if you find you don’t like me very much.”
Meredith stared at the hooded woman. “Why would you do such a thing for me?”
“Not for you. But for Gray I would do anything. He and the children deserve to be happy once more. Their contentment means everything to me and I think you are just what they need.”
Meredith couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are inappropriately optimistic?”
“Yes.” A flicker of a smile crossed her lips. “Augusta did once, just before she died. I promised to watc
h over her family and I meant that vow. Now, how easily can you leave the brothel to come with me? I fear you’re in danger of taking a chill if we debate the matter any longer. You’re shivering so hard I can see it.”
The lady reached out to cover her hands and Meredith allowed it. But she wasn’t shivering only from the cold. Hope, an altogether unfamiliar feeling, had crept over her while this stranger had talked. She could go if she wanted to. There was nothing holding her to this place save loyalty to a woman who’d given her a bed to rest her head. Perhaps if she returned the ring she’d won for seducing Grayling, Linnie’s pride would be salvaged.
She glanced down at the ring on her finger. The pretty garnet stone shone dully in the sunlight. There could always be others. Only if you are good, my girl. Only if you calm your temper and are civilized. The voice in her head echoed down through the years as clear as if her mother was standing beside her.
While she debated her choice, a sleek carriage drew up before the house and deposited an elegant gentleman of imposing stature. A startled gasp left her companion’s lips as the man hurried up to the front door and was whisked inside. Meredith swallowed her rising revulsion. If she were not already claimed and indisposed, she’d likely be entertaining that man. “Your timing is impeccable. I can leave today,” she whispered.
The lady at her side tugged her cloak tighter about her. “Good. One of my grooms will come with you to collect your things. If you don’t mind, I believe I should wait in the carriage.”
Then she turned on her heel and practically ran for the safety of the distant carriage. Although puzzled by the speed of Lady Farnsworth’s departure, Meredith headed for the brothel, pausing long enough for the groom to reach her side and follow. He appeared rather eager for the task of entering the establishment and craned his neck every which way as they entered the kitchens. Linnie was waiting in the center of the room with only cook for company. “Leaving, are you?”
Meredith lifted her chin defiantly. “Yes.”
“Good. Saves me from suggesting you move on. The gentlemen who come here require younger flesh.”
The hurtful words cut Meredith to the core, but she didn’t dare show how much. She’d thought Linnie had become a friend. Meredith had learned the hard way never to reveal the depths of her emotions. Instead of arguing, she twirled the ring on her finger, defiantly taunting the abbess—she might not be young but she knew how to win any bet that involved pleasuring a man.
Linnie turned to Cook. “See that she takes all her belongings. She has one quarter of an hour to go.”
When Linnie’s footsteps were a faraway echo, Cook gestured to the hallway. “Don’t mind her. She’ll have a drink to soothe her sadness once you’ve gone on your way. Come along then.”
Collecting her things took little time. Stepping from the rear door took all her courage. Cook embraced her quickly. “Now.” She sniffed. “I don’t want to see your face again and I don’t want you to write to say where you’ve gone. Best not to know.”
Cook gave her a little push out the back door and when it closed, Meredith shivered. Alone again. Dependent on no one. Wanted by none. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. The woman waiting in the carriage seemed sincere. Meredith strode from the brothel with her head held high and a saucy sway to her stride. A groom helped her step into the dim carriage and the lady held out a blanket for her knees. When the door shut, she glanced up at the house’s façade. Linnie stood at the window to her office, one hand raised in silent goodbye, a tumbler in her other hand. Meredith blew a kiss in return and then faced forward for the next chapter in her life.
CHAPTER 10
CALISTA HAD SAID no. Constantine cursed his poor judgment of timing, looking out at the bright day without enjoyment, wishing he was riding fast toward his lover.
She’d been adamant. She refused to consider that she might have sufficient skills to be a governess to his children simply because of her background.
She’d been angry. Despite his best efforts to convince her, she’d brushed his suggestions aside. When he’d promised that he would never lay a finger on an employee, she’d lost all interest in the topic and in him.
When he’d left, promising the offer was still open should she change her mind, she wouldn’t look at him but reminded him that they’d never see eye to eye. That had been three days ago and he was miserable. Constantly picturing her in the arms of other men was driving him insane.
Constantine paced the room. The emptiness of his life, of Stanton Harold Hall, filled him and left him unable to concentrate. For a time, thanks to the lure of Calista’s company, he’d thought he might have found his feet again. But his needs, his insatiable desire to know where the blasted woman was, who she was with, to protect her and keep her for himself, had driven a wedge between them.
It did no good to become attached to a whore, she’d told him. He knew that. Everyone knew that. Unfortunately, he’d been powerless to avoid falling under her spell. He’d never met another woman of her like and never would again. And the worst of it was that he didn’t even know her real name.
“I’ve always preferred a man with a full head of hair. You’ll have none left if you keep tugging at it like that.”