Page 97 of A Cinderella to Redeem the Earl

As if to prove his point, a footman entered with the tub followed by a couple more with buckets of hot water.

They ignored Pamela.

‘I don’t mind at all,’ she said, placing herself in a chair and crossing her arms. ‘We can talk while you bathe.’

He waited for the tub to be full and the servants to be gone before he stripped himself off and climbed into the steaming water.

Under other circumstances, he might have invited her to join him, but somehow he didn’t think such an offer would be appreciated.

As the door closed behind his valet, she jumped up and prowled towards him.

He held out the soap. ‘Would you?’

She gave him a blank look. ‘Would I what?’

‘Wash my back.’

‘I need to speak to you about Long.’

He sighed. No back wash then. ‘Again?’

‘Yes. It seems he can repay half the money he owes you and...’

‘He needs to repay all of it.’

‘I am sure he will. But he needs more time.’

‘When he asked me for the money, I did not ask for more time. I gave it to him when he needed it. Now I need it to repay my debt. If I don’t, I will be paying a great deal in interest.’

Or he would be, if he had in fact borrowed it.

She threw up her hands, picked up a washcloth and the soap. Damien leaned forward to give her better access.

She worked up a lather and began vigorously scrubbing his back.

It felt wonderful.

‘There must be something you could do,’ she said. Her tone was matter of fact, not wheedling or whiney.

She was asking him to help because she was a kind and generous woman.

And he had planned her ruination. He felt ill.

He snatched the washcloth from her hand. ‘What is this young fellow to you? Why are you taking such an interest in him?’ The words tasted sour in his mouth, but he could no longer bear to have her this close and not give in to her demands and forgo the revenge he had worked so hard for these many years.

She recoiled. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘It seems to me that you are taking more interest in his problem than in mine. There must be some reason for it. I know you met him in secret at the British Museum.’

Her face turned fiery red. ‘What? How do you know?’

‘I asked a footman to keep an eye on you.’

‘How dare you?’

‘How dare I? You were the one who went wandering off to Covent Garden without a moment’s thought. You don’t think I would let that happen again, do you?’

‘You have no business telling me what I can and cannot do. And to answer your question, no, I am not having an affair. Mr Long is engaged. You know that. He is about to be married. But if he cannot repay the debt, he will be forced to leave the country and the marriage will be called off. I simply want to find a way to help him.’