by Julia Parks
“Thank you, my lord.”
“I am going out to my club now. If Butters should happen to return with news…”
“I will send for you immediately.”
Sheridan strolled out the door, feeling very much more the thing. His stomach had settled down, and the ache in his head was growing dull. He had not done that in years—drowning his sorrows.
Now he remembered why. It would not happen again.
Olivia climbed into the closed coach, and they were off. The coach moved slowly through the busy streets, carrying her to the small coffeehouse off Piccadilly Street.
The butterflies that occupied her stomach took flight as the group neared its destination. Except for those few encounters at Vauxhall, Olivia had never spoken to, or even been in the same room, as someone’s mistress. And Evelina Divine had evidently been at her position—did one call it that?—for a very long time.
The carriage stopped, and Harold got out. Rattle climbed off the back of the carriage and kept an eye out, too. After looking up and down the street, Harold offered his hand to help Olivia descend.
Pulling a veil over her face, Olivia hopped down.
“Wait here, Rattle,” she whispered then laughed nervously for acting so secretive. “Harold, come in with me and guard the door to the parlour.”
Inside, she nodded to the owner who cocked his head toward a door at the back of the room. Olivia hurried through the quiet coffeehouse and opened the rear door.
Sir Richard ushered her inside and closed the door. “Good morning, my lady. May I present Evelina Divine?”
Olivia had the immediate impression that this was a lady, not someone’s mistress. On closer inspection, Olivia could see that the woman was made up and that her clothes were perhaps a little too revealing. Other than that, she could have passed for a member of the ton.
“Good morning, Miss Divine,” said Olivia.
“And Evelina, this is Lady Olivia Cunningham,” said Sir Richard.
“Good morning, my lady,” said the redheaded woman in cultured tones. Olivia must have looked surprised, for Evelina added, “I used to be on the stage. Accent work was my specialty.”
“I see. I am so pleased you agreed to meet with me, Miss Divine. I hope the time was not inconvenient,” said Olivia, taking the seat Sir Richard offered.
“Not at all. Dear Richard has always been so very persuasive,” she said with a leer that caused Olivia to blush and stare at him.
“It was nothing,” he said, using his finger to loosen his cravat. “I told her basically what you want to do, Olivia, but you will have to explain the details.”
“I am only too happy to do so,” said Olivia, losing all her nervousness as she warmed to her theme. “Sir Richard has most likely explained that I want to help girls who have fallen on hard times, who have been forced into…prostitution,” she said, managing not to blush at this forthright speech.
“Not all of these girls have been forced,” said the hardened mistress.
“Not forced? But…oh, I see what you mean. Very well, I want to offer these girls help. Whether they take my help is their own choice.”
This seemed to satisfy Miss Divine because she nodded. “There are some who never get used to it. They are the ones who could use your help. Them and the ones who are fresh from the country, looking for a new, exciting life here in London.”
“Yes, yes, that is exactly the type of girl I want to help. I had asked Sir Richard if going to a brothel…”
“You, my lady? In a brothel?” The light skirt was clearly shocked. “No, you mustn’t consider it. Why, you, an unmarried lady in a brothel? It is unthinkable.”
“Then will you help?”
Miss Divine considered it for a moment and then said, “I will help, but I am not going into any brothels either. No, what we want is to beat the old abbess at her own game.”
“Abbess?”
“What they call the woman who runs the brothel,” said Sir Richard.
“Some of them have people who scout the posting inns around London, looking for fresh faces from the country. If a girl arrives and there’s no one to greet her, these so-called gentlemen offer their help. Before she knows it, the girl has been taken to a fancy house.”
“How dreadful,” murmured Olivia. “What happens next?
Evelina Divine looked to Sir Richard as if for guidance. When he nodded, she continued.
“Sometimes they are drugged. Sometimes they are whipped into submission, but submit they must. As virgins, they are sold to the highest bidder.”
Olivia shivered, her heart going out to these victims. “We must help them,” she said quietly. “What do we do first?”
“First, I will send an agent out to see which inns would be the best locations to send our own scouts. While we are waiting for his report, you will need to figure out what we will do with the girls when and if they decide to accept your help.”
Olivia smiled. “I have already purchased another house and have had it cleaned top to bottom. There are five large rooms with four beds in each one. I have hired two former housekeepers to instruct the girls in service, if that is what they want. If they prefer learning a trade such as sewing, I have people who would be willing to do that.”
“You are a wonder,” said Miss Divine.
“I could do all this and it would be for nothing without your help, Miss Divine. Together, we will make a formidable team.”
“Call me Evelina, my lady.”
‘Thank you.”
“I think we should call it a day,” said Sir Richard.
“Very well. Will you check to make sure it is safe for me to go out through the front? You had best knock to get out of the room. I left Harold standing guard outside the door,” said Olivia.
He left them alone, and Olivia said, “If I can do anything for you, Evelina…”
The woman laughed, the sound soft and inviting. She shook her head. “Goodness no, my lady. I have no need of your help. I am quite content the way things stand for me.”
“But do you not want to be…free?”
“My lady, I am free. I haven’t a care in the world.”
“But some day, surely, you will tire of this life. It cannot be pleasant to be the subject of someone else’s whims.”
“You have this all wrong. I know I am not a proper lady like you, but I command a great deal of respect. I can come and go as I please. I was gone this past week to Paris.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes, by myself,” she said with another laugh.
“My sister lives there, and I paid her a visit. I have been home two days by myself.”
“But what if your…protector tires of you?”
“He will not be the first. But I have my own house and my own carriage and jewels. And they are real,” she added, lifting the heavy gold necklace with its rubies and diamonds. “Can you say the same?”
Olivia, who wore only a simple strand of pearls, smiled. “Yes, these are, but I know many people wear paste when they go out because they are afraid to lose their real jewels.”
“You see, I don’t have that worry. If these should be stolen or lost, I will simply ask for more. So please, my lady, if we are to get on, you mustn’t try to right the wrongs in my life. I would only be annoyed.”
Olivia chuckled and promised to limit her crusade to the innocents.
“When can we meet again?” she asked.
“Thursday morning? I would like to see the facility you have, if you don’t mind. We could meet and go from here. After that, I may even have other news by then.”
“Thursday morning is fine with me.”
“What time?”
“At eleven o’clock,” said Olivia. “If you should need to change it, ju
st send a note to Sir Richard. He has agreed to be our go-between.”
“I am amazed that you managed to persuade him to help,” said Evelina. “In my experience, Sir Richard Adair has always been singularly unhelpful. I have never known him to go out of his way when there was nothing in it for him.”
“I merely asked.”
“Ah, I see how things stand,” said the woman of the world.
Olivia giggled and hastened to say, “No, it is nothing like that. As a matter of fact, there is someone else who...but I do not wish to say too much on that head. I thought Sir Richard agreed because of you.”
“Me? No, there is nothing like that between the handsome Sir Richard and me. Whatever his reasons, I am glad he thought to approach me. I think I will enjoy our little enterprise.”
“I am glad. It has already been quite an education for me. Here I was thinking an abbess was like a mother superior.” They shared a laugh. Then Olivia sobered and said, “Evelina, thank you.”
“You are quite welcome. Good day, my lady.”
Richard opened the door and signalled to Olivia that it was safe to leave. She pulled her veil into place and left the private parlour. With a wave to Miss Divine, Sir Richard followed Olivia out of the coffeehouse and into her carriage.
“What do you think of Evelina?” he asked when they were under way.
“I think she is a godsend, Sir Richard. Thank you for finding her.”
“You are very welcome, my lady. Now, can I tempt you with an ice from Gunter’s?”
“No, I have an appointment with my hair-dresser. Shall we drop you someplace?”
“In the park. There I should be able to blend in. Wouldn’t do to simply get out anywhere, not when we have been in a closed carriage together.”
“Yes, just the three of us,” said Olivia, glancing at the opposite seat where Harold was watching the practiced rake with a wary eye.
“I see what you mean. Nevertheless, I think the park would be the best place to discharge me.”
“Have you seen Lord Sheridan this morning?”
“No, I haven’t. Have you?” he teased.
“You know I have not. I was a little worried about him. He disappeared quite early last night without saying goodbye.”
“Sheri was ever a peculiar sort,” he replied, twitching the curtain back from the window to see where they were. “He is spying on me, you know.”
“What? Why on earth would he do such a nonsensical thing?”
“Probably because he is insanely jealous over you, my dear Lady Olivia, and he thinks that I am out to seduce you.”
“Ridiculous!”
“Thank you so much,” he replied.
“Oh, you know what I mean, and I cannot believe it. Why would he think such a thing?” she asked.
Richard grinned and said, “Possibly because I admitted as much to him myself?”
“I think it is all a hum. You are making it up. Besides, why wouldn’t he have people spying on me, too?” she asked.
Harold cleared his throat.
Frowning, Olivia demanded, “What do you know about this, Harold?”
“I believe his lordship made an attempt to spy upon you, my lady. Fortunately, he chose to bribe Rattle, who told Mr. Pate immediately. Mr. Pate told me about it, but there didn’t seem to be any reason to raise a fuss over it as none of us would ever betray you, my lady.”
“I am surrounded by intrigue,” she muttered. “Why did you not tell me?”
“We didn’t want to worry you none.”
“So he is spying on me, too! I have a good mind to demand an explanation. I think I will have Mr. Pate turn this carriage around and go straight to Lord Sheridan’s house.”
“No!” exclaimed both men at once.
“Listen, Olivia, you don’t need an explanation. I mean, can you not guess why? Sheri is a fool, but he is a fool in love.”
“I cannot credit it. Why would he not just come right out and tell me?’
“We are talking about the same marquess, are we not?” asked Sir Richard. ‘The one I am talking about married when he was little more than a boy, only to regret it since the day it occurred. I am talking about the one who has sworn never to have anything to do with another woman as long as he lives.”
“Then how can he possibly be…you know.”
“You have only to look in a mirror for the answer to that.”
“What drivel you do spout, Richard!”
“Drivel? I give you a lovely compliment, and this is the thanks I get. I am immeasurably hurt,” he put a limp hand to his forehead.
“Pray, do not be silly. Very well, thank you, but please do not continue to practice your flirting on me. You know it hasn’t the slightest effect—except, perhaps, to annoy me.”
“Point taken.”
“So if I cannot confront my Lord Sheridan, then what am I to do?”
“Nothing. He will soon realize the error of his ways.”
“And that is?”
“That you and I are not, alas, having an affair, not even a minor one. You will forgive him for being a complete flat, and you and he will do the happily-ever-after thing like in the fairy tales.”
She heaved a doubtful sigh.
“Have faith,” he whispered, tapping on the roof to ask Mr. Pate to stop the carriage. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“No, I am spending the day with a friend in Islington who is in her confinement.”
“Until Thursday at eleven then,” said Sir Richard, blowing her a kiss before leaping nimbly to the ground.
Olivia hardly noticed his departure, she was so wrapped up in her thoughts about Sheridan. She smiled and wondered what she would call him. Sheri? My lord? Or simply Drew. Yes, that was the one. It felt so right to think of him in those terms.
She frowned. If only he were not such a paper skull, they could be planning their nuptials at that very moment. All this, of course, if Sir Richard was right.
Oh, how she hoped he was right!
Chapter Ten
“I have no desire to lounge about on the grass and ruin my new gown,” grumbled Lady Thorpe, squinting up at the bright blue sky.
“Now, Maddie, we must enter into the spirit of Pendleton’s al fresco breakfast,” said Sheridan, offering his arm.
Maddie put up her parasol, and they walked to the back of the Italian-style villa, following the red carpet that had been unfurled on the grass.
“I do not understand this penchant people have for dining out-of-doors. The only thing I want to do out-of-doors is go for a drive—and that, through a civilized park. This business of living in the wilds…”
“Richmond is hardly the wilds,” said Sheridan with a chuckle. “Pendleton has all the comfort of living in the country, but he is close to London. Not a bad arrangement, if one is forced to endure the rigors of the Season. I might consider it myself when Rebekah has her Season. Perhaps my mother might even be persuaded to come.”
The house stood on a small rise and the green lawns sloped gently to the bank of the Thames. To the left, a large tent in green-and-white stripes had been erected.
“A spectacular view,” said Sheridan, feeling his cares slip away as the scene filled his soul, sending him back home again.
His companion was less than enthused and said, “I can see that you will be positively repulsive all day in your gentleman farmer guise. I am going to find a glass of something to dull my senses.”
Maddie left him there, and Sheridan wandered down to the lawn where other guests reclined on the grass on blankets or sat at one of the small tables that dotted the landscape. On the river, several energetic guests were rowing small boats while a few were punting. One small group played at shuttlecocks, and yet another played croquet. Under the
tent were the older guests. Sofas and chairs had been arranged in clusters as if they were inside a drawing room.
Not recognizing any particular friends, Sheridan followed Maddie toward the tent. There, he fell into conversation with his host, who was holding court with eight or ten older ladies. When Sheridan spied Amy Hepplewhite enter, he turned away. Until he had a report from Butters, he had vowed that he would avoid Olivia and that meant avoiding her aunt, too. Amy had seen him, however, and was coming to speak to him. He could not very well give her the cut direct.
“Lord Sheridan, I am so happy to see you. Where have you been of late? You should come to call more often, like your friend, Sir Richard.”
His hackles raised, Sheridan gave a cold shrug. “Unlike my here-and-there friend, I have business to attend to, estates to see to. I cannot be forever languishing over some pretty face.”
“My, we have got a bee in our bonnet,” she said, taking his arm and practically dragging him away from the others. When they were seated on a small sofa together, she said, “Now, tell Amy all about it. Have you had a quarrel with your friend?”
“Miss Hepplewhite, I…”
“Oh, this is dire indeed if I am once again Miss Hepplewhite. Have I managed to offend you, too? Have I?”
Since she would not leave well enough alone, he said, “No, you have done nothing. I am annoyed with your niece and my friend, and it is churlish of me to take it out on you. I humbly apologize.”
“Oh, good. Then we can be friends, but I take it you do not wish to divulge what sin Olivia and Richard…oh!” she exclaimed, and he could feel his face turning red. “But my dear Sheri, what can you expect when you have not made the least attempt…” His darkling glance silenced her.
“I know that she is unaware of my…regard. She is practically unaware of me.”
“No, I assure you that she is aware of you, but perhaps not in the manner you would like. Dearie me, this is a dilemma.”
