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Gina’s mouth fell open; Helene flinched; Griselda said, “Of course!”

“Third cousin?” Lina gasped. “Of Lord Godwin?”

Esme nodded. “From this moment on, you are a little-known relative from the country. No one has seen you as yourself, remember. No one is at all clear about what Rees’s famed mistress actually looks like. We will announce that the mistress long ago departed. Rees had a distant connection staying here, and Helene joined the household temporarily, to act as a chaperone.”

“Are you certain that everyone will believe us?” Helene asked, dawning hope in her voice.

“Obviously, we have to parade Miss McKenna before the ton. But I think that one occasion, if well handled, will suffice to silence the gossip. No one could possibly believe that the four of us”—she nodded to Lady Griselda—“would ever countenance being in the presence of Rees’s mistress, let alone bring about the presentation of such a woman to the ton.”

A little smile curled Griselda’s lips. “And I know precisely who would best effect the presentation of this distant relative. My brother may have acted the fool last night, but now he can put his dramatic ability to work in our favor.”

Thirty-seven

Siblings Are Sometimes Quite Similar

Naturally, Rees was pounding away at one of his pianos when Tom found him. He seemed to be playing the same set of chords over and over again. Tom walked over to the piano and stood next to it until Rees looked up.

“Where’s Helene?” Rees asked, by way of greeting. “I haven’t seen her this morning.”

“I have no idea,” Tom said. “I shall be leaving for St. Mary’s tomorrow, Rees.”

His brother blinked up at him and his hands finally slowed on the keys. “I had gotten used to having you in the house.”

Tom thought to sit on the couch, but it was stacked with paper. He pulled over a stool and sat on that instead. “I need to return to my parish. I intend to speak to the bishop about leaving the priesthood.”

Rees was caressing the piano keys with long fingers, although he made no sound. “I would surmise that your change of profession is due to Lina?”

Tom lost his blaance and almost toppled from the stool. “I—that is, yes.”

“How does Lina feel about you?”

“She refuses to marry a vicar,” Tom said, wondering if he should apologize for taking Rees’s mistress and decided that he needn’t. “Perhaps I will be able to change her mind. It will take me some time to extract myself from the church, but I would like to marry her immediately.”

Rees raised an eyebrow. Tom had the unnerving sense that their father was sitting before him. He’d never realized before how much Rees took after the old earl.

“I had the impression,” Rees said slowly, “that although you were enjoying a glimpse of life outside the parish, you would return to your church.”

“I miss my congregation, and I miss being a priest,” Tom said, feeling almost as if he were confessing to a weakness. “It’s who I am, after all these years. But Lina doesn’t wish to marry a man of the cloth.” He tried not to sound as if he were defending a weakness. Rees was not their father, only an elder brother.

“What will you do if the Bishop grants your request and removes you from the parish?”

“Likely work with abandoned children,” Tom said promptly.

“You’re a better man than I am,” Rees said. “You know, Father was proud of you, for all he didn’t express that particular emotion.”

“Expressing contempt came far more easily.”

Rees was silent for a moment. Then he said: “I’m proud of you, Tom. You’re a good man.”

Tom watched him scowl down at his keyboard, and felt a rush of affection, although it would never do to express it. “So will you forgive me for stealing your mistress?” he asked.

“It was her voice, as I expect you’ve realized,” Rees said, ignoring his frivolous question. “I heard her sing, and I couldn’t think about anything except getting that voice into the house so that she could sing for me.” He smiled in a crooked kind of way. “I was a right bastard. It only took me a month or two to realize it, but it was too late.”

“I wouldn’t have met Lina if you hadn’t brought her here,” Tom said, and the very idea chilled him. He did want to stay a vicar, but only if he had Lina to keep him laughing, and warm his bed, and stop him from turning into a sanctimonious ass.

Rees played one key. The sound hung on the air, melancholy and fading. “I suppose I can lure Madame Fodor from the Italian Opera House to play Lina’s part. It will suit her voice very well.” And then, looking at the keyboard: “I am going to ask Helene to remain in the house.”

“To remain in the house—or to stay with you?” Tom asked gently.