Page 104 of The Truth About Lord Stoneville

She turned over to tell him so, but he was gone. Bolting upright, she gazed about the room. Where was Oliver?

A pounding began on the door, and she realized what had awakened her—a knock at the door. “Mopsy! You have to let us in!”

Great heavens, Freddy was outside and Mr. Pinter was probably with him. And she was naked as the day she was born!

“Wait a minute—I’m coming!” Swiftly she threw on her shift and her wrap, then dashed about gathering up her clothes. There was no sign of Oliver’s. She tossed her garments behind the dressing screen in the corner and hurried to open the door.

Though Freddy stormed into the room without a thought, Mr. Pinter turned beet red when he saw her state of undress.

“Forgive me, I was napping,” Maria darted behind the screen to dress. “Have you seen Lord Stoneville?” She had a sneaking suspicion where he might have gone, which concerned her more than her reputation.

“Stoneville’s in Southampton?” Mr. Pinter asked, his voice disapproving.

She glanced at him over the top of the screen. “Yes. He came looking for me. You didn’t meet up with him anywhere?”

“I didn’t see him,” Mr. Pinter said. “Did you, Freddy?”

Freddy shook his head.

He’d undoubtedly gone off to fight with Nathan. “We have to find him. He was not happy about my coming here to see Nathan, and I fear he might try to confront him himself.”

“So you decided to take a nap while he did?” Freddy asked.

Leave it to Freddy to pay attention theonetime thatshe least needed him to notice. “No, silly. He told me he would wait downstairs for you to return, and I should rest until then. I was so tired that I let him persuade me to do so.”

That was nearly the truth, except that his persuasion had taken the form of wearing her out in bed, then waiting until her two days of little sleep overtook her before he snuck out, the devious devil.

Her only solace was that he didn’t know where Nathan was. But it wouldn’t take him long to find out; he’d foundherwell enough.

“Freddy,” she called over the screen, “could you fetch me a maid to help me finish dressing?”

Freddy exchanged a glance with Mr. Pinter. “Actually, Mopsy, there’s a lady here I’d like you to meet. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind helping you dress.”

Stepping into the hall, he ushered in a pretty young woman with strikingly beautiful gold ringlets that she wore in a fringe about her face. Maria couldn’t help noticing that Freddy seemed oddly solicitous of her.

“Now, Mopsy,” he began, “before I introduce you, I think you should know that the lady had no idea of what was going on, and she was just as much in the dark as you, only—”

“Freddy, get to the point,” she snapped, more frantic to find Oliver by the moment.

“This is Miss Jane Kinsley.”

Who the dickens . . . ohhh, MissKinsley. Nathan’sMiss Kinsley.

“Miss Kinsley,” Freddy said to the woman with the pinkening cheeks, “this is my cousin, Miss Maria Butterfield.”

“Nice to meet you,” the woman said, bobbing a curtsy. “We don’t get many Americans hereabouts. I only know three now. You, Mr. Dunse, and Mr. Hyatt.” She didn’t seem terribly perturbed to be in the same room with her apparent rival, though perhaps the men hadn’t explained that fully to her.

“Miss Kinsley and I met in the pie shop,” Freddy offered. “She likes pie as much as I do.”

“Especially kidney pie,” she offered, “though I do fancy leek pie once in a while.”

She and Freddy looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Leek pie,” Freddy said, still chuckling. “That’s rich.”

Maria cast Mr. Pinter a bewildered glance.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Mr. Pinter said with a roll of his eyes. “Apparently your cousin and Miss Kinsley struck up quite the conversation in the pie shop after she overheard him asking about Mr. Hyatt.”