Mistress of Scandal (Greentree Sisters 3)

Francesca collapsed into a chair. “I wish Helen did have a daughter; then she could be the belle of the ball and not me.”

But Amy didn’t answer, lost in her own thoughts.

“My love.”

Aphrodite looked up at him, her love, her Jemmy, and sighed. “I don’t feel like getting up this evening. I’m sorry, Jemmy. Can you manage without me? Perhaps, if I sleep for a while, I will be myself again.”

“I’m going to find you another doctor.”

“I’m just tired, dearest.” She’d been ill, unable to keep down any of the treats he had found to tempt her appetite. Now all she wanted was sleep, deep and restoring, but she forced herself to ask the questions he would be expecting her to ask.

“Henri will be able to manage supper, but he will not deal with any of the suppliers. Maeve must speak to the butcher about that ham last week, and the strawberries we bought were rotten before they reached us.”

“My love, forget the strawberries. Rest.”

“I will, in a moment. How is the new girl? I wasn’t sure whether I liked her or not, but she is very clever with her tongue. The guests are always asking for her.”

Dobson sighed and shook his head. “She is booked up with clients until next week,” he said.

Aphrodite nodded, her eyes closing. “Good,” she breathed. She felt his hand on her hair, stroking the wild curls back from her forehead, and then she was drifting, down a long tunnel. She was traveling back into the past, and the years flew by. Soon she was young again, a woman at the peak of her powers. She had two daughters, but that did not lessen her attractiveness to men. If anything her maturity made her more so.

I met him at the salon of one of the most modern hostesses, where there is a mingling of the demimonde and the aristocrats of London society. I am restless, looking for change, and I have found it.

T. is tall, dark, and handsome, but more importantly to me, he is kind. I fall in love with his kindness. And Jemmy is gone, so what does it matter who I live my life with? I don’t want to be alone.

T. isn’t married and he doesn’t seem to want to be. He is a gentleman who enjoys adventure, like a little boy who has never grown up. I am an adventure to him. He has never had a famous courtesan, and my world is new to him, and at first he is a most attentive lover.

We are having a child. T. is very excited. He will be an affectionate father, but I see now that the child and I will not be enough for him.

The world is too big and life too short for him to settle himself down here with us.

I know he cannot be satisfied any longer, and I understand. After all, I cannot give him all of myself, either. A big part of my heart will always belong to Jemmy.

“My love?”

Aphrodite blinked, trying to focus.

“Mr. Thorne is here, Aphrodite.

I think you should see him.”

He didn’t wait for her to answer, and when she opened her eyes again, Sebastian Thorne’s handsome face and lively black gaze were before her.

“Madame, I am sorry you are unwell.”

Aphrodite managed a smile. “I will be better soon.” Her eyes sharpened, and suddenly she seemed more lucid. “I know your secret, Mr. Thorne.”

He looked politely puzzled, but she recognized his anxiety.

“Francesca,” she prompted him slyly.

“Francesca?” Confusion now, and relief.

Aphrodite smiled. “You desire her, and she you. It is a pity your social position makes it impossible for you to accompany her to all of the places you wish to. How can such a man as you, Mr. Thorne, walk beside Francesca in anything other than secret? If you were a gentleman to her lady, you could keep her safe more easily. And you do want to keep her safe, don’t you?”

He didn’t like what she’d said. He didn’t like what she was seeing in his face. “Francesca wouldn’t accept me at her side, Madame,” he told her gruffly. “It wouldn’t matter whether I was a gentleman or not.”

“Sometimes what a woman says and what she feels are two different things. But you will never know, will you, because you’re not a gentleman. Such a pity. I think you are good for my daughter, Sebastian. You’re not afraid to let her be herself.”