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Aristocrats always had a separate set of rules reserved for all whom they deemed to be below them. Actresses were often treated like servants—they were the hired help. So if Lady Vane had told anyone what she’d witnessed, Jo might as well have handed Mick all her future house party engagements.
The door creaked open behind her and Selena squeezed into the narrow doorway, as if unable to open the door wider.
“Selena!” Jo jumped up to her feet. Finally, someone she could share all her woes with. “You didn’t spend the night in our rooms,” Jo added coquettishly. She hoped the fact that Selena had spent the night elsewhere indicated that she’d found someone else. Someone more worthy of her time than Mick.
Selena just smiled and adjusted her gown. “I need to change.”
“Wait, wait, wait! Where were you?” Jo caught her by her arm and Selena hissed. There was a light pink bruise on her forearm, causing the dreams of a better lover for Selena to disappear. Jo frowned. “What is that?”
“I bumped into a—something…” Selena let out a nervous chuckle. “I don’t know. I am tired. I haven’t slept all night. Can we chat later?”
She disengaged herself from Jo and walked behind the screen.
“Are you still having an affair with Mick?” Jo asked with a grimace. “Because if so, you can tell me. I find it odd and frankly repugnant, but it is not I who is spending nights with him. I shall never judge you.”
“I am not afraid of your judgment, Jo,” Selena answered from behind the screen. “I am just so tired, and I don’t want to answer all the questions that are about to follow. Can we chat later? After I have a glorious nap.”
Jo nodded, then remembered that Selena couldn’t see her. “Very well. As you wish. But we are having a chat today during tea. Because I have a few things I need to tell you, too.”
Selena’s astonished face popped out from behind the screen. “You do?”
Jo bit her lip and nodded. “Yes. Today, at tea?”
Selena smiled. “Oh, I am looking forward to it. Almost more than a nap.”
Jo giggled. “Rest up. I am going to join the party.”
She finished tying up her hair, stood, and sauntered toward the door. She watched Selena’s silhouette behind the screen for a moment before leaving the room. She had a worry in the pit of her stomach that told her Selena was hiding something. She only hoped her friend would tell her whatever that was during tea time.
In the meantime, Jo had her own demons to face. She took a deep breath.
She wasn’t ready to confront the world, but nobody was going to ask her whether she was. She just needed to act confident. She was an actress, she could do it. Taking one more deep breath, she pulled on a smile and went downstairs.
The ladies were relaxing in drawing rooms or outside, while most gentlemen were curiously absent. Jo quickly learned that the men were gone on a hunting party, and she let out a breath of relief.
As much as she was looking forward to seeing Richard—and she couldn’t believe she was anxious to see him—she needed a break from their tumultuous relationship. She had said yes to a short-lived affair the night before, but she was already regretting it.
The main reason why she stayed away from the lords was not just because they would eventually disrespect her by offering the position of their mistress. Yes, that was a part of the issue. But at the core of it, she was afraid that if she got entangled with a lord and fell in love, she would eventually swallow her pride and say yes to such an affair.
And even if she said no, when in love, one loses one’s freedom. Or at least, women did.
She didn’t need heartbreak. She needed a quiet and peaceful existence. And that would not be possible if she continued associating with the heart-stopping viscount who made her feel things she’d never felt before.
Jo needed to clear her mind, so she went up to the patio for a breath of fresh air.
To her utter despair, the patio was occupied by the same people she wished to avoid. Lady Vane sat there in the company of her younger sister Lady Ashbury and their friend the Duchess of Somerset. The three ladies were as different as night and day and sunrise. The red-haired duchess was definitely the sunrise in that analogy, the golden-haired baroness was the day, and the marchioness with midnight-dark hair and deep violet eyes so similar to the viscount’s was the night.
They were drinking what smelled like chocolate, while Millie was chasing her dog Button around on the grass in front of them.
Jo was about to back away unnoticed when the duchess turned toward her and bestowed on her the warmest of smiles. “Oh, Miss Claremont. Please, come join us!” she exclaimed.
The other ladies turned toward her and smiled.
“Oh, yes, you have to tell us all about that play. You were magnificent in it. But I’d love to know how you come up with such stories!” the baroness exclaimed.
“Thank you.” Jo smiled and stepped forward.
“I would have preferred for your character to survive, though,” the duchess said regretfully.
