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He had to admit the option was appealing. “I’m certain you are more than up to the task.”
“Have you ever lived in a house where the servants showed their displeasure at everything they were asked to do? No matter how small?”
“No.” Arthur realized that the idea shocked him, as if servants had no right to opinions. He did not believe that. Did he? Señora Alvarez always taught him things—some, about himself, that he might not have wished to learn.
“There must be some other place we can go,” she said.
“Not with all they need. Not immediately.”
Struggle was visible in her lovely face. “For a day or two. I suppose. After that we must think of something else.”
“Certainly.”
“You have an annoying way of agreeing with what I say when I know you will actually do whatever you please,” she replied.
“I would do nothing you disapprove of.”
“You have done all sorts of things I disapprove of.”
“Ah, well, I’ve noticed that you are occasionally a bit overparticular.”
She burst out laughing. Under the circumstances, Arthur took it as a triumph and let the subject rest. And when Tom rode closer as they neared London and asked where they were headed, he answered with bland calm. Fortunately, Tom received the information with no sign of disapproval, or surprise.
When they pulled up at the doors of Lord Macklin’s town house some time later, Teresa stepped down from the curricle with a good deal of trepidation. She had informed the earl that she would not require the keys from the housekeeper. She did not want to contemplate the uproar that request would have caused. But she still expected his very superior servants to object to this invasion. And unlike him, she knew quite well what animosity from staff was like.
Tom bid them farewell, saying he would visit the next day. “I’ll see about having their things brought over,” he said as he went.
The earl offered Teresa his arm, and she took it. In the entry hall, the butler, Chirt, received the news that they were to host seven female houseguests with quickly hidden surprise. When the girls began to file in, and their station and battered condition grew obvious, he went utterly expressionless. Stunned, perhaps? Lord Macklin introduced only Teresa, saying she was in charge and should be given anything she asked for.
This earned her a searching look from the majordomo. She must not be cowed. That would be fatal to her future interactions with the staff. But she could assume an air of calm command nearly as well as Macklin. “We must send for the doctor first of all,” she said.
“Have someone fetch Phipps,” the earl confirmed. “Ask him to come as soon as he is able.”
His butler gave one nod and a nearly imperceptible gesture. A footman at the back of the entry leapt forward. “Also Mrs. Garting,” murmured the butler. The younger servant practically saluted before disappearing into the back premises.
The housekeeper appeared so quickly that Teresa wondered if she’d been listening at the door. She was a solid, efficient-looking woman who would no doubt have been welcoming under other circumstances. It would be best to confide in her at the first opportunity, Teresa decided. Not the entire truth, but a version of it. She could frame this visit as…a burst of eccentric philanthropy. And make its temporary nature quite clear.
“We require rooms for our guests,” the earl said. He didn’t make excuses, which was wise.
“Yes, my lord. If the ladies would like to sit in the blue parlor for a bit.” The tiny emphasis on the wordladieswas the closest the housekeeper would come to a reproach, Teresa thought.
“The drawing room,” replied Lord Macklin, his tone a mild reprimand.
The housekeeper dropped a curtsy. Message heard and received, it said. But not greatly appreciated.
“We will be happy to do so,” said Teresa, as if she customarily commanded a vast estate. “Except for Odile. She must lie down at once.” She’d noted that Odile was swaying on her feet and looked ready to faint. “And perhaps we might have some tea,” she added, just to show that she could. She wished she’d worn a grander gown. But how anyone could plan an ensemble for breaking into a criminal bordello and visiting an earl’s London town house in the same day, she did not know.
The butler and the housekeeper looked at her, evaluating. They’d taken in her manner and way of speaking. “Yes, ma’am,” the housekeeper said, and Teresa knew that she had established a measure of authority.
By the time the rooms were ready and the girls settled, the doctor had arrived. Teresa stayed with her charges for the examinations, knowing that they should not be left alone with a strange man just now. Afterward she returned to the drawing room and sat with Lord Macklin to hear the man’s opinion.
“Most of the young ladies are merely bruised and weary,” he said.
“Merely?” Teresa could not help but reply.
The doctor accepted the reprimand with a bow of his head. “I beg your pardon. There is nothing ‘mere’ about such treatment. I found no broken bones or serious injuries except for the first. Odile, isn’t it? She has been hit very hard in her midsection.” He touched his own torso to demonstrate the location. “Very hard. Something may have ruptured inside. With complete rest and quiet and proper care, she may heal.”
“May?” asked Teresa, dismayed.
