A Most Relentless Gentleman by Elizabeth Cole

Author:Elizabeth Cole [Cole, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SkySpark Books
Published: 2018-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

The next morning, the house was abuzz. Gen walked into the breakfast room and confronted what seemed to be every guest in the place awake and chattering.

“What happened?” she asked the nearest guest, who had most of a croissant in their mouth.

“The house was robbed last night!” the slightly muffled reply came. “By none other than the Black Mask!”

Gen thought it highly unlikely such a clever thief would try to rob a house so heavily guarded by British soldiers. “How can one be sure it wasn’t just some other man wearing a mask?”

“Hear her tell it.” The guest returned to his croissant.

None other than Mireille Lambert was holding court in the center of the room. She breathlessly retold her account whenever a new person asked, and it sounded like a nearly ecstatic experience.

“Such a bold, relentless gentleman,” Mireille was saying at one point. “He quite stole my heart.”

“But not your jewelry?” Gen asked, puzzled. Mireille had those fabulous emeralds after all.

“Oh if he’d tried anything I didn’t like, I would have given the alarm, and he knew it. No, he left out the window, bearing nothing more than he came with other than my sincere admiration for his…talents.” She smiled slyly, putting a soft hand on her chest, drawing attention to the low cut neckline. She left the extent of her meeting with the Black Mask to the imagination, but didn’t shy away from hinting that it had been more extensive than a mere kiss on the hand.

“Well,” said Lord Newsham. “I shall speak to our hostess and demand more protection. What is the point of having soldiers patrolling the estate if a thief can simply waltz up to the house itself?”

“The Black Mask is said to be far more wily than an ordinary thief,” another guest said. “Perhaps the challenge of breaking into Thorngrove appealed to him.”

“Perhaps we should all stand watch tonight,” Cameron, who’d been standing by the window, suggested. “A night watch, with drinks to help pass the time!”

His proposal was met with enthusiasm by several male guests.

The chatter continued, but Gen lost interest in the specifics. Evidently, it was only attempted robbery, so no harm was done. Still, how strange for the Black Mask to appear here in the country! Did even criminals leave the city during the hot summer months?

As she took a plate and began to scan the sideboard for breakfast items, Valentin Brodeur approached her. In a quiet voice, he said, “My lady, do you have a moment?”

“Certainly,” she said, laying the empty plate aside.

“A walk through the gardens, perhaps?” Valentin asked, offering his arm.

Outside, Valentin said, “I have been thinking of your conundrum…the matter of Greyslake. I looked at it as a puzzle. How can you keep your beloved home and still have the funds for your important work?”

“I don’t suppose you’ve found a way?”

“Well, I may have. The crux of the matter is that your husband is not in agreement with you, and he controls the sale of the land.”

“Yes,” Gen said sourly.

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