A Lady Never Tells (Songs of Sappho 7) by Marie-Elise Bassett

Author:Marie-Elise Bassett
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Published: 2012-12-13T00:00:00+00:00

Avis was shaking with fatigue by the time they arrived at the stables. Without a word, two young grooms ran up to take the horses.

“Jonas?” Olivia asked.

“Five minutes before you,” the groom said.

She nodded wearily. “Up the back stairs.”

Avis followed her mutely, her knees wobbling. All she wanted was a bath and bed. Bravery was well and good until the shooting started.

The servants’ stairs creaked, but no one came out to look. The halls were more padded; their feet made no sound on the carpets.

Silently they proceeded to Olivia’s room. A maid was waiting with a basin of hot water. She didn’t say anything either, just left at Olivia’s gesture. Was the entire household involved in this mad game?

No, Olivia had said some of the servants were loyal to Edmund The rest were loyal to their young master and mistress.

“I take it Harry was with Jonas?”

One good thing about the men’s clothing. It was far easier to remove than a lady’s garments. Avis rather liked the linen shirt but the woolen trousers felt odd against her legs—not necessarily unpleasant, just odd. Surprisingly she missed her corset. Her breasts swung loosely in her shirt, chafing the nipples slightly. She did not miss having a bustle nor all the underskirts and crinolines.

Olivia divested herself of her trousers. Her long legs were encased in pantalettes without ornamentation, the better to fit under the trousers. Avis wished she’d thought of that. She could feel the seam biting into the tender flesh of her thighs.

“I handed Harry over to Jonas and came back for you.” She tossed Avis a gown before drawing her shirt overhead. A long strip of muslin wound around her slender chest, effectively constraining her breasts. So that was how she did it. Olivia unpinned the fabric and let it uncoil into a pile at her feet.

“At least he was still masked.”

Olivia smiled feebly. “Doesn’t matter. Edmund knows it was Harry. Only a matter of time before he has the proof he needs.”

“But that means a trial. We will explain to the world how he was stealing from you. Edmund can’t bring charges against Harry or we will bring charges against him for embezzlement. My father may be only a baron, but he will help us.”

“I want to believe that. Harry has been fixated on Uncle Sebastian returning, so convinced he will make everything right. But we have not seen the man in a good seven years. He might be worse than Edmund.”

“Seven years isn’t so very long. If he was a good person before, I’m certain he still is. Tell me about your uncle.”

“Uncle Sebastian was father’s youngest brother. He was always a bit wild, but last we heard he was something of a nabob. Made a tidy sum in India, you see.” She deflated. “I can’t imagine why he’d want to return here and take charge of couple of plague brats.”

“You are not plague brats. Well, Harry is, but he has good reason to be. I would hope your uncle has some semblance of familial affection.

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