Behind the Rake's Wicked Wager - By Sarah Mallory Page 0,47

remarkable eye for fashion. Kate and I purchased a house in Henrietta Street. She is now able to pay her rent and is quickly becoming established as a modiste.’

‘Ah, would that be Madame Odesse?’

She nodded, smiling a little. ‘The very same. I wear her gowns and the fashionable of Bath flock to copy me, but of course that will only continue as long as I maintain my place in Bath society. Odesse employs several of our young ladies as milliners and seamstresses, and she purchases lace from a little group we have established in another little house in Bath. They all earn enough to make a modest living.’

He looked about him.

‘But a house like this does not come cheap.’

‘No, indeed. And it is in need of repair. We have made a start, but much more is required. Once I have control of my uncle’s fortune I will be able to do more, but for now...’

There was a knock at the door and Morton looked in.

‘Beggin’ yer pardon, m’lord, but it’s started to snow again, and the wind is picking up. We had best be going.’

‘Yes, very well.’ Jasper looked at Susannah. ‘Shall I order your carriage to be prepared?’

‘I cannot leave.’

Jasper looked at the window. For the first time he noticed the howling wind rattling the frame and the soft white flakes swirling around outside.

‘You must, I think, or risk being stuck here, possibly for days.’

She shook her head.

‘There is no one here to look after the girls. Mrs Gifford, the housekeeper, was obliged to go away on Tuesday to nurse her sick sister. We engaged a temporary housekeeper, but I am afraid we were sadly deceived in her. When I arrived this morning I learned that she had packed her bags and left yesterday, as soon as the weather began to turn.’

‘But you cannot stay—surely that was not your intention when you came here today?’

‘No, I planned to visit with Mrs Logan.’ She frowned a little. ‘Only when I called for her I was told she was not at home. These young ladies—girls—are my responsibility, my lord. There are only three of them in the house. The eldest is but nineteen. I cannot abandon them.’

‘What of the other servants?’

‘There is Bessie, the scullery maid who opened the door to you.’

‘That is all, no manservant?’

‘Only old Daniel, who lives next to the stables and does a little of the outside work. We decided that the girls would feel more at ease if there were no other menservants in the house.’ She glanced at the window. ‘You had best be gone, my lord. I would not have you snowbound on my account.’

* * *

Susannah shifted in her seat, no longer facing him. She had enough to think about without the viscount being here to distract her. The defection of Mrs Jennings was a blow and she had arrived at Florence House to find the household all on end. Jane had opened the door to her, looking desperately tired. She explained that Lizzie and Violet were too frightened to sleep in their own rooms, so they had spent the night huddled together in one big bed, with Lizzie’s baby in its cot beside them. Susannah had helped Bessie to prepare a simple breakfast for them all before sending the girls back upstairs to rest and bringing the baby downstairs to make sure Lizzie’s sleep was not disturbed. She had been walking up and down the little parlour, trying to decide what to do next, when she heard the imperious knocking on the front door and looked out to find Lord Markham standing in the hall, his broad shoulders made even wider by the many-caped driving coat so that he appeared to fill the small space.

For one dizzy, heart-stopping moment she thought he had come to rescue her, before common sense reasserted itself. She did not need rescuing, and Lord Markham was more her nemesis than a knight in shining armour. The sooner he left the better, then she could concentrate on the problem of what to do here.

‘If you are staying, then so, too, am I.’

‘Nay, my lord!’

‘You cannot do that!’

Susannah’s voice and the groom’s protests were immediate but had no apparent effect upon the viscount.

‘Morton, go back to the stables and make sure the horses are bedded down for the night. I take it there is space for my groom to sleep somewhere?’

He addressed this last question to Susannah, who answered distractedly, ‘Yes...yes, there is plenty of sleeping space above the