The Postilion (The Masqueraders #2) - S.M. LaViolette Page 0,44
the vague details Benna had decided to share.
Still, as little as she’d actually learned, the time without Geoffrey had been glorious.
But all that would soon come to an end.
She laid aside today’s paper and enjoyed her coffee and the shortbread the little shop baked fresh every day.
She had received a message yesterday that Geoffrey would be returning late tonight, which meant she still had several hours to prepare things the way he liked for his return. He’d not written much, only that his trip had been successful.
Benna tossed a few coins onto the table, picked up her paper, and nodded to the waiter as she left.
The Royal Hotel was only a block away. The January wind was brisk and the streets were thin of pedestrian traffic at this time of day.
When she approached the foyer of the Royal a lackey scurried out to open the door for her thanks to Benna’s propensity for keeping the hotel staff’s fists well-greased.
“Evenin’, Mr. Piddock.”
“Good evening, Earnest.”
“I see Mr. Morecambe has returned.”
Well, drat. Benna had not expected him until much later. She smiled at Earnest. “Thanks for the warning.”
He chuckled and she pressed a coin into his palm before heading up to the second floor of the enormous hotel.
Even if she’d not been told that Geoff had returned, she could have guessed by the luggage, clothing, and other detritus strewn all over the sitting room.
The master, himself, was sprawled across the settee nearest the fire, wrapped in a shocking new robe of red silk with gold dragons embroidered up the front.
“Well, if it isn’t young Master Piddock, gent about town,” Geoff mocked, quickly plucking off the glasses he needed for reading. It amused Benna that the spectacles offended his vanity.
“Welcome back, Geoffrey,” she said, tossing her paper and room key onto the console table before pulling off her gloves and hat.
Geoffrey grunted at her greeting, his shrewd eyes taking in the new suit she was wearing. “Fetch me a brandy,” he ordered.
Benna sighed; the holiday was over.
As she poured him a drink she wondered what had happened to put him into one of his moods.
“Here you are, sir.”
Geoff looked up, but didn’t immediately take the glass, instead making her stand there, holding it. “I hope you don’t think I’ll permit you to strut about town dressed in such finery.”
“Afraid I’m more handsome than you?” she taunted.
“Ha!” He snatched the glass.
She couldn’t help noticing that he had dark smudges under his eyes, which told her that he’d been burning the candle at both ends. The grooves that bracketed his sensual lips also seemed deeper. And there was a petulant twist to his mouth that told her he’d not had the pampering he’d come to believe he deserved.
“I shall go change into my livery directly.” Benna began to turn.
“Don’t be a fool. Sit down, I wish to talk to you.”
Benna took the chair nearest him, crossed one leg over the other, and absently pinched the crease of her trouser leg.
“Don’t you want to hear how things went?” Geoff demanded peevishly.
Benna suspected that he’d not had his desired number of bedpartners.
“Nothing would delight me more, sir.”
Geoff’s eyes narrowed. “You’re developing quite a mouth, aren’t you?”
She prudently ignored the rhetorical question.
“It was an excessively lucrative journey. Indeed, I did so well that I ended up not only with a good deal of money, but also my own chaise.”
That made Benna sit up. “Somebody put up their carriage?”
“And a good deal more besides—you remember Crawford? The prosy old bore who made his fortune in India?”
“He put up his carriage? I thought he was full of juice?”
“Not anymore.”
“Good Lord,” she murmured, thinking, not for the first time, that it must be dreadful to be seized by the gambling fever.
“He not only put up his carriage, he also threw in a great pile of jewelry.” Geoff pulled a face. “All of it hideous, I’m afraid. But I daresay you’ll know how to make some money for it.” He sighed. “You might as well sell the carriage, too. It’s too much of a bother to keep one, I’ve decided.”
Visiting pawn shops was one of Benna’s many duties. Selling a carriage would be a new experience.
Geoff rattled on about the various games he’d played, the houses he’d played in, and the players he’d fleeced, for a good half-hour.
The clock on the mantle chimed and Benna saw it was time to ring for his shaving water and lay out his evening clothing.