With their faces turned toward her, their bodies pressed into her skirt, it was easy to imagine they were her own.
“One at a time, darlings,” she said. She cupped the backs of their heads, running her fingers through their feather-soft hair. She had a special place in her heart for children. They were impossibly curious. She remembered standing in front of her mirror in her room with one of her mother’s dresses held to her thin body, imagining twirling around with a handsome prince.
Unfortunately, it hadn’t been a prince who had caught her interest, but a villain disguised as an earl.
“Are you going to come live with us?” a third child, who couldn’t have been more than six, asked. She gave a gap-toothed smile. “There’s lots of space. The house isthiiisbig.” She stretched her arms wide.
“I wish I could, darling,” she said. “I would be your fairy godmother, conjuring gowns out of spider silk and sunbeams.” She mimed waving a wand over their heads and chanted nonsense words that made them giggle.
“You could stay in the room beside mine,” Bennett said. “I can show you!”
“Children,” Lord Lowell said.
The clipped word jolted her back to reality and brought the young ones to attention. They detached from her skirt and made pretty bows or curtseys, then formed a line in front of the grand staircase.
She was both relieved and disappointed to see them go. The former because they were a painful reminder of a life she had always wanted, and the latter because it had been years since she’d felt so much like the woman she’d been before the earl had routed every ounce of whimsy from her soul.
“I apologize,” Lord Lowell said. “They are most active in the afternoon.”
“I adore children,” she said. Then she took his offered arm because Lady Allen was always happy to be next to a handsome man, even as Olivia’s skin pebbled at the close contact.
It doesn’t matter how attractive he is. He ruined your reputation.
“Did you have plans for the day?” he asked.
His question reminded her of the purpose of her visit. He was not a normal client, but a man who had accused her of murder.
“I thought I could accompany your daughter to my modiste this afternoon.”
There were many shops she could take the girl to, ladies who owed her favors, but she would begin with the one with whom she had the longest acquaintance. Madame Julian, originally from Paris, had set up shop in London five summers past and had outfitted Olivia with several of her favorite gowns.
There would be no awkward incidents for Lady Constance in her first season, unlike how it had been for poor Miss Trellow, whose breasts had popped out of her bodice during her first ball because of her mother’s insistence upon the girl wearing a dress that dipped so low, it barely covered her nipples.
“Constance will be pleased,” Lord Lowell said. He squeezed her fingers and led her toward the stairs. “Did you come to any difficulty on the way here?”
She looked at him askance. “No. Why do you ask?”
He stopped. “I saw the newspaper this morning. The articles are getting bolder.”
A veiled threat? The man already had her commitment, her binding word. What else did he want from her?
She straightened her back. “You should know that I will not allow rumors to disrupt my plans.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
She had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop a sharp retort from bursting free. His complete lack of shame was infuriating, but she was not so impolite that she would insult him in front of his family and servants.
He began walking again, to her relief. When he looked at her, her wits scattered, making it difficult to hold on to her carefully constructed mask.
Lady Allen was capable of dancing circles around Lord Lowell and his many charms.
Olivia was not.
Chapter 4
Thel found it difficult to release Lady Allen’s hand when they reached the top of the stairs. He wanted to clutch her close and chase away the coldness that had settled over her when he’d mentioned the newspaper. It had felt as if she were angry with him, although he wasn’t sure what he’d done to upset her. Perhaps it was the articles.
He had considered using his resources to track the source of the articles down, but Lady Allen had not requested his assistance, and he would not offend her by getting involved without her consent. If she required his help, she would ask for it.
