Christin's Splendid Spinster's Society

by Charlotte Stone

  She was very certain that Alice knew she did not provide governesses.

  So why send Aaron her way?

  There was only one answer to that question, and Christin was of the mind to wring her friend’s neck the next time she saw her. This was a set up. Christin avoided men, she had since her husband’s death, and living in Covent Garden, she found that task very easy.

  For one, her home and office were right next to the city’s most renowned brothel, run by another one of Christin’s friends named Margaret.

  All Christin had to do was listen to her friend’s tales or peek outside her window to know how simple-minded men were. Food. Politics. Sex. Nothing more seemed to occupy their minds, and Christin often locked herself in her house to ensure she gained no one’s attentions.

  In the past, she’d had to warn off a few men who thought that because Mrs. Potter’s Agency was located next to a brothel, Christin and her maids were fair game as well. She’d even hired a guard to protect the property at night.

  The only man she’d ever loved had been John Potter. He’d been ever so gentle and sweet, and though she admitted that there had been occasions when she’d been left… unsatisfied with their coupling, she’d not have traded her years with John for anything in the world.

  She’d built a perfect wall around herself. Everyone who was in her life fit into two categories—friends and employees. Sometimes the two became one, but never had she longed for another husband or even a lover.

  Aaron was the first man to break her.

  Which made no sense.

  He was everything that John wasn’t. Christin had been able to look John in the eye. Christin had only been able to do so when Aaron had sat her on the sideboard.

  Recalling why he’d done so made her cheeks heat.

  She was behaving like a wanton woman, and she knew the best course of action would be to never see this man again.

  But if she were being frank with herself, which she usually was, then she would admit that being around Aaron made her feel as though some secret part of life had been unlocked. Even the air smelled different around him.

  What would it be like to give in to her desire?

  The thought was outrageous, and Christin shook her head. “No.” She took a step back from him. “I’ll have Miss Lewis write down some referrals for you, but I’m a very busy woman.” She held his eyes as she gave him her final words. “Good day, Lord Jeanshire.”

  But instead of heading toward the door, a broad smile touched his lips, and he closed the small distance between them in a single stride. When he leaned forward, Christin straightened her spine to stop herself from running away. He was definitely a predator, and it would not be wise to show him fear.

  His words were soft. “I’ve tasted you, and now you’re in my blood.”

  Her own blood redirected itself to her most secret places, and she almost swooned, but she did nothing more than swallow and hold his gaze.

  “I look forward to seeing you again, Christin.” Then he stole a hard but quick kiss and started for the door.

  Christin found her words just before he crossed the threshold. “We won’t be seeing each other again. This ends here.”

  He lifted a brow. “But Christin, we’ve already made plans, and I intend to hold you to them.”

  Plans? She hadn’t made any plans with him.

  But then she remembered what he’d said.

  I plan to have you.

  She pulled in a breath, and he chuckled as he left.

  The rake!

  If he thought she would seriously contemplate bedding him now, he was out of his mind. She went to the sitting room door and was met by Patsy.

  “What was that?” the young housemaid asked with wide blue eyes. The woman’s curls had come undone from the bun she’d pulled to the back of her head, making a halo around her face as they usually did. “I’ve never seen you this way. I didn’t know you even knew him.”

  She didn’t, but she wasn’t about to tell Patsy that. “Housekeepers are not to say such things,” she said as she stepped around her and started for her office.

  Patsy sucked air through her teeth. “Never mind all that; tell me about the earl.” Her quick feet made a shuffling sound as she followed Christin down the hall. “How long have you known him?”

  “Not long.” Christin opened the door to her office and found her real housekeeper and her butler both occupying the chairs in front of her desk and their expressions said it all. They, too, wanted explanations.

  “Oh, Christin!” Mary Ramsey exclaimed. She was a thin older woman with gray curls and pale blue eyes. Her small hands wrinkled her apron. “Is what Mr. Quincy said true? Were you horse bussing with Lord Jeanshire?”

  Christin’s mouth fell open, and she looked at Quincy, her footman, before looking at Patsy. “You told him?”

  Quincy cleared his throat. “No, ma’am, it was me who found you the second time. After I found Patsy hiding in here and unable to speak, I went to find you.” His pale cheeks colored. “I’ll never interrupt you and the earl again. I daresay he scared the wits out of me.”

  Christin recalled hearing a high shriek the second time they’d been caught. She hadn’t known Quincy could make such a sound.

  And yes, Aaron had been quite frightful when he’d shouted. An unknown part of her had been thrilled by it. He was unlike any man she knew.

  Ramsey was fanning her face with her hand. “Never thought it would be you found smacking in the sitting room.”

  “We were not smacking or any other version of the term,” Christin said as she rounded her table and took a step. “Now, if you’re all quite done—”

  “Indeed,” Patsy said to Mrs. Ramsey. “They were doing a lot more than kissing. Why, I saw Mrs. Potter’s bare knees—”

  “Patsy!” Christin slapped her hands on the desk. “Let us not spread gossip. Housekeepers don’t spread gossip!”

  “Oh, but it’s not gossip when you’re right here,” Patsy said with a tone that claimed the fact to be obvious.

  Mrs. Ramsey cut in. “And housekeepers do indeed gossip but only with the upper-stairs staff.” She straightened her neck with all the dignity of her station.

  Patsy nodded slowly, as though the rule she learned was sacred.

  Christin shook her head. “If you don’t mind, I need to prepare for my next meeting.”

  Quincy stood. “Let us leave our lady in peace.”

  “I’m not a lady,” Christin told him for what seemed like the hundredth time. Quincy had come from a great house, but when the property burned, he’d found himself out of work and at her door. Now he not only taught lessons in the afternoon for the butlers-in-training after they got off work from other various jobs, but during the day he was all hers.

  A month into her service, he’d begun calling her ‘lady’, thinking it good practice for the other servants if they pretended to be serving a member of the peerage. He even commented, on occasion, that Christin was every bit a lady in his own opinion. She usually said nothing about the term and didn’t know why it bothered her at the moment.

  “You may well be a lady with all that horse bussing,” Mrs. Ramsey said.

  Christin closed her eyes. The idea that she would marry Aaron was ridiculous, though she suspected that Alice had thought otherwise when she’d sent Jeanshire to her house. She decided she’d have a word with her friend to ensure she received no further visitors of Aaron’s kind.

  And especially not Aaron himself, because she had no intentions of keeping any plans with him.

  Her servants cleared the room, and Christin was left in the silence.

  As she stared down at the list of potential students and the list of those who would be leaving for new positions in the coming weeks, her mind returned to Aaron. This time, it wasn’t their tryst that filled her thoughts but his comments about his wards.

  He’d only mentioned the name of one. Lily, who was turning six in the coming weeks. How lucky Aaron was to be a ma
n. He’d inherited two precious children from a distant cousin while the only child Christin wanted was her very own niece. Unfortunately, the courts would not allow it.

  Tina Perk was just a year older than Aaron’s oldest. She’d turned eight a month ago and Christin had taken a gift over to her house, though she feared that her niece hadn’t been allowed to keep it.

  Christin and her sister Miriam had grown up with the Potter family after their parents had died. Mrs. Potter had taken them in and never once had she made Christin or Miriam feel like anything but her own flesh and blood. Then Miriam had fallen in love with a horrible man and had given birth to a little girl out of wedlock. She'd named her Tina after Christin. It was less than a year later when Miriam had fallen in love again this, time to a man who would marry her.

  Jack Perk had seemed as though he’d been sent by God when he’d first come around. He’d married Miriam, getting rid of her shame and restoring her standing in the community, and then had gone further and given Tina his last name.

  Christin had been so happy for her sister, but gradually, she’d begun to notice just how tired Miriam looked.

  And then Christin had seen the bruises.

  Jack had been a heavy drinker and gambler but had hidden it long enough to woo Miriam and the Potter family, believing he’d struck gold by marrying a ward to the wealthy middle-class.

  Christin had been twenty when Miriam died. Death came only a year after her wedding. The doctor had claimed that Miriam had fallen and broken her neck, but Christin had her doubts.

  Christin had found solace in John Potter, Mrs. Potter’s only son. Before that time, Christin had never been drawn to him, truly ever only seeing him as a brother, but his kindness had won her love, and they’d married the moment Christin ended her mourning.

  Then John had tried to help Christin fight to get Tina, but since Tina had Jack’s last name, legally it made her his daughter, and there was nothing either of them could do.

  She’d had two blissful years with John before both he and his mother had died of a horrible fever that had struck the neighborhood that winter.

  Now, Tina was all Christin had in the world, and she’d do anything to protect her.

  That included sending money to Jack every month to ensure the girl was fed, dressed properly, and that Christin was allowed to see the girl at all.

  Christin had asked Aaron if he loved the girls, but she’d seen the answer in his eyes before the question ever left her lips. He did love them, deeply. It had moved her heart and had almost moved her back into his arms… which he had caught on to in the end.

  An ache started in her breast and between her legs. She knew in her soul that Aaron could not only set her to rights but set her to blaze. She’d not leave unsatisfied if she trusted him with her body. He’d not looked at her like any of the men who leered at doxies. Aaron’s expression had been possessive and promised more than just a single night of fun and the cold exchange of money.

  Indeed, there’d been nothing cold about him. He was a walking hearth and if Christin wasn’t careful, she would fall into those flames and never make it out.

  She could never see him again.

  It was best to forget she’d ever met him.

  Her mind thought the task simple. Now, all she had to do was get her body in order.

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  CHAPTER FOUR

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  “Is she here?” Aaron asked Lorena’s former butler, Zed, as he came to the door.

  Zedock Sudworth frowned. “My lord, there are many ‘shes’ in the house. To whom do you refer?” That he kept his hand on the door and didn’t allow Aaron entry at once made him tighten his fist. The man was far too young to be a butler and even worse, he hadn’t a clue as to what he was doing or the proper protocols for his position.

  And neither did he care.

  Yet thankfully, in the last year, he’d been moved to Lorena’s personal footman and followed her wherever she went.

  He’d been hired off the street a year ago and though Lady Lorena had married Emmett, the Earl of Ashwick, she would not let Zed go. The earl and countess lived in one of the newest mansions in the city, but Lorena’s home, which she’d inherited after her mother’s death, would always be the location where the Spinsters’ Society held their meetings. Months ago, men had been barred from entering.

  And that included not only Aaron, but Lorena’s brother, the Duke of Valdeston, and even her husband Emmett.

  Part of their charity now included the housing of women who were trying to escape from dire situations, and the Spinsters didn’t want any of the women to feel threatened at the presence of men.

  Zed was the only member of Aaron’s sex allowed inside, and though some of the men worried about the women’s safety, Zed had earned their trust over a year ago when Lorena had been kidnapped. Zed had found Lorena, tied and gagged the kidnapper, and delivered them both to Emmett.

  It was the only reason Aaron allowed Zed to keep breathing.

  “Is Alice inside?” Aaron asked.

  Zed shook his dark head. “Mrs. Alice is at Lord Valdeston’s house... As is Lady Lorena, Lady Sophia, Lady Genevieve, Lady Taygete, and Mrs. Florence.”

  Aaron narrowed his eyes at the man. “You could have said that before.” He’d not have come looking for anyone else but one of the wives of his friends and apparently none of them were at Lorena’s.

  Blue eyes glittered back at him as Zed broke into a smile. “So I could have, but then we’d never have had the moment to converse, my lord.”

  “I thought you were no longer the butler,” Aaron said.

  Zed shrugged. “I’m not, but when I saw you through the window, I had to answer. How are Miss Lily and Miss Mary?”

  Aaron wanted to glare at the man, but at the mention of the most darling girls in the world, he couldn’t hold onto his anger. “They are well. They’re with Lady Elipha at the moment.” Lady Elipha Rakefield was a cousin of the girls and doted on them endlessly. She was also one of the only people Aaron trusted with the girls. The girls liked her, and they liked her even more when she brought her little son James around.

  Aaron turned on his heels and started for Francis’ house. The Valdeston mansion was just next door. Lorena and Francis’ parents had lived alongside each other while growing up and had fallen in love. When they’d died, Lorena had inherited the home of her maternal grandparents and Francis had taken the one that had been built by the Duke of Valdeston before him, a large building that was just as much a piece of art as it was a dwelling.

  Legend said the duke who designed it had been mad, placing walls in odd places, curving others, and designing intricate windows that managed to bring sunlight into the foyer at any given point of the day.

  Aaron made it up the steps and was glad when the butler opened it immediately and allowed him entrance.

  Zed could learn a thing or two from the man.

  He was almost tempted to tell Lorena that she should hire one of Christin Potter’s staff members, just so Aaron could arrange a meeting with the woman again, but there would be no use in doing so. Zed was like family to Lorena, and for a woman who’d lost both loving parents in a horrible boating accident, family was important to her.

  Aaron was momentarily startled by the silence in the entryway and wondered if he’d ever get used to the lack of noise. Last year, the house had been used as a gentlemen's club, but Francis had procured a property a few months ago on Oxford Street and moved the club there, which had returned his own house to a residence.

  And what a residence it had become in the last year. Where poverty had driven Francis to sell almost everything he possessed years ago, Francis’ current wealth had allowed him to outfit the home with Persian rugs, paintings, and sculptures done by the greats, golden chandeliers, silk curtains, wooden fixtures, and plush furnish
ings, and the style of the mansion only made it that much more appealing.

  Aaron took the stairs two steps at a time then walked down a short hall that would take him to another set of stairs up to the curving third floor.

  He heard the noise coming in from the family’s private sitting room before he even entered the room.

  He immediately saw that Zed had not been lying.

  Six women turned around to look at him and all conversation ceased.

  The upstairs sitting room was a deep orange with decor in the shades of red and gold that came from India. The furnishings were heavy dark wood with exotic carvings, and a heavy incense was woven into the air. Aaron almost felt transported to another place, and the beautiful women before him who glowed in the sun’s rays could have easily been part of an erotic harem.

  Sadly, they were all married.

  “We’re in a meeting,” Lorena said from the head of the table, which was a feat considering the table was round.

  He changed his mind about the harem. He’d definitely stepped foot in a royal courtroom, and Lorena, with her radiant blond curls and piercing blue eyes, ruled as the sultana.

  “Aaron!” Florence shouted with a wide smile that reached her honey-colored eyes. Her happiness at the sight of him touched his heart, and Aaron counted his friend, Mr. Rollo Kerry, a very lucky man to have captured her heart.

  He strolled into the room and placed a kiss where her cheek met a dark blond curl then leaned away and watched her grow red. Aaron adored her. She’d been the one to help settle Mary and Lily into his life, along with Elipha. Florence had been a lady’s maid when Aaron had met her, and though he’d sensed an attraction once, there was nothing but friendship between them now.