“What?”
The lady stopped short before exiting the maze. “You’re not offended, are you? Everyone’s too proper to enjoy the same things I do. I thought perhaps that you’d enjoy a bit of fun and you wouldn’t have to worry too much about your reputation.”
Well, that was putting a different spin on being a bastard. One that she’d never thought of before. “I’m not offended. I just never thought being disreputable was a good thing.”
“Goodness, but there’s a great deal of fun to be had in losing one’s reputation. No one bothers you and you can do what you want.”
“Except when Scottish lords insist on plaguing you.”
“That is true,” Lady Clara said with a kind of moan. Fortunately, the woman didn’t seem to stay in the doldrums for long. She was soon smiling and chattering as if they were the best of friends. And that was a novelty for Lilah.
This stranger didn’t see her parentage as a deficit. It was like taking a breath of fresh air after leaving the fish market. Her spirits lightened immediately. She was going to do everything in her power to become fast friends with Lady Clara.
“Tell me exactly what your plans are for the séance. Do you really think you can pull off the charade? Enough to make it believable?”
The lady pursed her lips. “I don’t think I could be as good as some of the people I’ve seen. But it can’t be that hard, can it? To moan about in a convincing manner?”
“I think it would be. Try it right now. Imagine yourself acting before Lord Loughton.”
“Right here? Out loud?”
They were in a shadowed part of the park past the jugglers. There weren’t too many people around who would be disturbed, but still, Lilah could see the doubt on the lady’s face. Which was exactly the point.
“Try it—”
“I can’t.”
“Then pretend in your mind.”
Lady Clara frowned and closed her eyes. As expected, it didn’t last long. Very quickly, her lips were quivering, and her face had heated up to a frightful blush. Then she abruptly blew out her breath and looked balefully at Lilah.
“You’re right. I can’t do it.”
Then Lilah chanced to see the rope being pulled taut between two trees. Very soon, Margarite would come out to perform.
“No matter,” Lilah said. “I have an idea.” She leaned forward. “But it will cost money.”
Lady Clara waved a hand in the air. “Money is not a problem.” She grinned. “Tell me what you have in mind.”
Chapter Four
Home.
Aaron toyed with the word in his mind as he rode the last few miles through London to make it to his residence there. It had been Aaron’s home for over a decade while the country estate had been his parents’ place. But now it was all his. He was the new earl. He’d thought both places would become his home, but it felt the exact opposite. Nowhere seemed to fit and he felt adrift. Everything in his old life was gone, and he had yet to refashion it into anything familiar.
Thankfully, after a year away, he was returning to London where he could create the rest of his life to his liking. It began with being officially recognized as the Earl of Kittrel. After a massive party that he dreaded, he would begin in the House of Lords and continue the business of running the country.
He carefully avoided thinking about all those things his mother had emphasized. That he needed to set up his nursery. That he needed to see his sister set up hers. According to his mother, everyone needed to be wedded and bedded in the swiftest possible manner because that was the way of the peerage.
Those were problems for tomorrow. Tonight was for brandy in a quiet house, then bed. Which made it all the more irksome that no one answered the door when he banged on it. He was coming in from the back, having settled his horse in the mews himself. It was early evening yet, much too soon for everyone to be abed. He was grumbling when he pulled out his key and opened the back kitchen door on his own. He was the earl, damn it. He employed a butler and a household staff. Why the hell was he opening…
His nose twitched the moment he entered the empty kitchen. There was a strange smell to the house like old Christmas dinners set burning on the stove. There was sweetness in the scent, but also a distinctly unpleasant smell as well. And then he heard a low moan.
Alarmed, he dropped his bag and rushed into the house. He headed straight up the stairs only to be stopped short by the laundress and a kitchen maid who were huddled together there peering out through a crack in the door.
“What’s amiss?” he demanded. “Who is hurt?”
Both women squeaked in alarm as they spun around. Their fright was real, and he had to steady them both lest they tumble down the stairs.