The Charade by Laura Lee Guhrke

Author:Laura Lee Guhrke
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: United States, Historical Fiction, United States - History - Colonial Period, General, Romance, Boston (Mass.), Ca. 1600-1775, Historical, Fiction, Love Stories
ISBN: 9780671023676
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2000-03-01T07:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Thirteen

For the next two days, Katie heard nothing from Ethan, and she occupied her time doing things she had never had the means or opportunity to do before. She visited as many dressmakers and haberdashers in Boston as she could find. She found it amusing that shop assistants fawned all over her, now that she had fine clothes and a fancy carriage. Only a few weeks ago, any shopkeeper would have taken one look at her and chased her out with a broom and threats of the constable. Now, they tripped over themselves to assist her, and she took a somewhat wicked enjoyment in sending them running for the richest foodstuffs and fabrics for two or three hours and then walking out after buying only a ha’penny box of sweets or half a yard of lace.

She also savored her comfortable house and the servants who fetched and carried for her. She knew she had only a few more days before Lowden re-turned and she would be forced to end this charade, but she wanted to take all the pleasure from it that she could, for she doubted she would ever have the chance to live like this again.

One of the most enjoyable pleasures of her new life was a nightly soak in the huge copper bathtub Ethan had bought for her, a luxurious ritual complete with lavender-scented soap and warm towels. This evening bath enabled her to forget, at least temporarily, about the price she would pay for the enjoyments of her new life, to forget about the dangerous line she was walking, to forget about the control two men had over her life. Until one of them intruded on her nightly bath and reminded her.

“Now, that is how a mistress ought to look.”

Katie knew it was Ethan before she even opened her eyes. With a startled gasp, she turned her head and saw him standing in the doorway to her room, dressed all in black, tricorn pulled low over his eyes, the copy of Shakespeare in his hands. He leaned with one shoulder against the doorjamb in that languid yet alert stance she was coming to know so well. Instinctively, she crouched down in the tub in an effort to shield herself from him, but she knew he had probably already seen everything there was to see.

She grabbed for one of the towels that lay on the floor beside her and took the offensive. “What do you mean barging into my room?” she demanded as she stood up, hoping to brazen things out while shielding her nakedness from his intense perusal with a towel that suddenly seemed far too small.

He grinned at her awkward efforts, unperturbed by her bravado. “Since it is my money that pays for this room, I think I have the right to enter it if I choose to do so.”

Katie made a sound of outrage, but it was hard to express it effectively when she was dripping wet and a towel was all the protection she had.

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