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Chapter Nineteen

The husband hunter must not rely on the honor of a gentleman with whom she has formed the merest acquaintance at a ball or private party. She must assume that the better part of any gentleman’s character will remain unknown to her until revealed in a moment that requires integrity and courage.

—The Husband Hunter’s Guide to London

Footsteps on the stairs and voices in the hall intruded. Lynley pushed himself off Emily and rolled away, springing up to stand at the mantel looking down into the fire. Emily had only a few seconds to pull herself upright and pull the quilt around her. A sharp rap sounded, and the bedroom door opened. Help had arrived.

A pair of young persons entered the room and greeted Lynley.

“Came as quick as we could, sir,” the young man said in a posh accent at odds with his appearance. He had extraordinary white teeth and ears that stuck out from an otherwise handsome young face. Next to him a girl of striking chestnut beauty bobbed a curtsy.

“Thanks, Wilde,” said Lynley. Lynley appeared his cool and distant self, while every part of Emily pulsed with heat. Her heartbeat galloped, sending her blood rushing through her veins. Lynley made the introductions and took the young man off with him to finish a search of the house.

Emily and the girl, Miranda, looked at each other.

“Now that they’ve gone, miss,” said Miranda, “let’s get you warm and dry. I’ve brought some things for you to wear.”

As good as her word, the girl laid the things she carried on the big bed. She helped Emily move near the fire, peeled away the quilt, and made quick work of helping Emily out of her still-damp undergarments. Emily found herself briefly naked, her breasts puckered, her flesh marked by lines where stays and ties had stiffened around her. Lynley’s scorching kisses had left no marks.

Miranda swiftly wrapped her in a towel, keeping up a bit of chatter about the storm. Then she helped Emily into dry pantaloons, shift, and corset, and a plain gown of pale green silk. She draped a cream wool shawl over Emily’s shoulders and led her to the dressing table bench.

Emily glanced once at her reflection in the glass and shuddered. It was far worse than she’d thought. The girl began to pull the pins from Emily’s drooping hair.

“Are you in Lynley’s employ?” Emily hardly knew how to ask the question. The girl was a competent dresser, but not like a servant.

“Oh no, miss. My father has a shop on Bond Street.” She said it with a touch of pride. “Kirby’s. Do you know it?”

“The chemist’s?” Emily had seen the shop but had made no purchases there. The sodden mass of her hair hung down, and cold tendrils along her neck sent a quick shiver through her.

“Yes, miss.”

“So, how do you know Lynley then?”

The girl picked up a brush and began to pull it through Emily’s tangles. “Through Nate Wilde, of course. He’s my intended. He works...with Sir Ajax.”

“He’s a spy then, is he?” Emily could not hide her surprise. It was odd to hear Lynley called by his proper title. She had been thinking of him as Lynley for so long.

A look almost comical in its guilt crossed Miranda’s face. “Don’t tell them I said anything, please.” It was an earnest plea.

“Of course not.” Emily waited. The girl was talkative by nature.

“Well, we help on cases sometimes. That’s how we met Sir Ajax.”

“Cases?”

“Mysteries that the spies must solve.”

“And you two helped Lynley?”

“We were on a case for Lord Mountjoy when Sir Ajax held up the stagecoach and the guard shot Nate.”

“Wait. I don’t understand. You say Lynley held up a stage?” Something his aunt Silsden said came back to her.

“Oh yes, miss. He makes a fine highwayman on that big black of horse of his, and he’s ever so cool with a pistol. No telling what would’ve become of us, if he hadn’t abducted us right there and then.”

“Abducted you?” It was plain that Lynley had had far more interesting adventures before he’d ever met Emily. Again Emily’s spirits sank. “So who gives out these cases?”

Miranda opened and closed her mouth. “Oh, miss, sorry. I’ve said too much already. You won’t tell them I told you anything.”