Page 14 of A Pearl Possessed

He finally broke the silence between them. "What is going on in that unknowable, stubborn mind of yours?"

"I can't decide whether I should kill you or force you to make love to me all night."

"Those possibilities are definitely intriguing, but I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings. From now on, I'm going to live beneath your roof as your paid bodyguard." He paused as if toelicit a reaction from her. She sniffed and refused to give him satisfaction on that point.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm being paid by the earl. You remember? The gentleman who's your protector and the one you should be pleasuring in the night."

"Pah--." She flung an arm out in derision. "I rarely see the man. Friday is my night...sometimes."

She leaned close, casting glances to either side. "I honestly suspect visiting the five of us is merely an excuse for the earl to frequent his housekeeper's parlor, pretending to discuss our needs."

Obadiah remained silent as if he too had observed the same peculiar movements on the part of the Earl of Framlingwood. When he finally spoke, though, it was to admonish her. "Get inside before the other four mistresses set their tongues to wagging about us."

She looked up into his eyes and gave him a coquettish blink which showed off her lush, dark lashes before delicately snapping shut her parasol and walking through the door Young Rutherford held open for her.

6 September,1826

Housekeeper's Parlor

Townhouse Number One, Grosvenor Street

Lady Camilla held her breath, waiting for whatever Mrs. Collins was about to impart about the Earl of Framlingwood's mysterious Mistress Number Five.

"Margot is a dark beauty with lush, long black curls, and loyal to a fault..." Mrs. Collins held one finger in the air as if she were going to tick off all the woman's virtues.

"But?"

"But..." She lengthened the silence. "I'm afraid she's already deeply in love."

"With?" Lady Camilla's curiosity was now truly piqued.

The housekeeper held out another unnaturally long pause before revealing in a rush, "Her lady's maid."

"Her lady's maid?" Lady Camilla's voice rose an octave on the word, "lady's."

"Yes. I suspected as much when Derek first brought them to stay in the fifth townhouse."

"For heaven's sakes, why didn't you say something to the man?"

A knowing smile caressed her lips. "I thought perhaps they'd be good for the earl...maybe widen his horizons. He does tend to be a bit of a plodding sort."

"And...have they?"

"What?"

Lady Camilla's patience hit her last nerve. "We don't have time for this. Have they widened his horizons? More to the point, does he know?"

Mrs Collins picked up a pencil she probably used to compose household lists and tapped her lips. "I'm not sure, since I don't have a way to observe what goes on in the townhouses behind closed doors. However, he does seem to have a bit more of a bounce in his step the day after his scheduled time with Margot and her, um, maid."

Camilla cleared her throat politely before venturing into her next query. "I have one last question."

"Yes, of course. Anything."

"Have you always had leave to use your employers' first names when addressing them?"

The woman who claimed to be nothing more than an aloof housekeeper for the eccentric earl had the good grace to blushand glance away before answering. "We've had a good many conversations about how he'd like his mistresses' living quarters run. He's very particular about everything."

"He is indeed," Lady Camilla murmured in agreement."