„And I will do my best not to be disgusted at the thought of being paid by a woman to do work that is an insult to both of us.“

Oh dear. This could easily lead to an argument, one they had already had. As they sat in strained silence, Mrs. Schuster strutted past the doorway. Grace glanced at Lindsay, who was watching the woman as well.

„Do you think she did it deliberately?“

„I cannot imagine“ – he shook his head – „but she is drawing attention.“

Yes, Mrs. Schuster was leaving disbelief in her wake. „Perhaps her goal in life is to be immortalized by Row-landson.“

„Perhaps, my lady. Picturing her in one of his cartoons takes very little imagination.“

As she passed from view, Grace looked at him directly for the first time since they had come out on the terrace. „We can make of our arrangement what we will: an insult or an adventure. For now I will be grateful that you agreed and, ahem, did not chicken out on me.“

He showed as much disgust as amusement – at the pun, she hoped. She attempted a bland smile, and finally he laughed. So did she. She could not recall a time that she had laughed with a man. Belney had no sense of humor at all. Wharton’s humor was too crude to be amusing. And her husband – around him she had been very careful to control all her sensibilities.

If they could keep each other laughing, this might work after all.

„Are you having fun, Papa?“

Lindsay glanced over at Poppy, who was sitting on his bed, concentrating on pulling on his too-large gloves.

„Yes, I am.“ More fun than he had expected.

„What’s the best part?“

He ran the brush through his hair one last time and turned to face the child.

„Tell me, Papa, what’s the best part about going out? The people you meet? The food you eat? The clothes they wear? Staying up until it’s almost morning?“

He sat on the bed and gently pulled his gloves off her small hands. „You know how when you go to the park with your governess? And how it’s so much more fun on those days when your friends are there?“

She nodded.

„Society is the same. The best part is finding people who enjoy the same things you do and seeing them as often as possible.“

„Are you going to the play with friends tonight?“

„Yes.“

„A particular friend?“

Where had she learned that phrase? From her governess? „And why are you so curious tonight?“

„Because I asked Miss Truslow why you never stay home and she said that you had a particular friend.“

Now he was the one who was exasperated. „Poppy, I see you and Billy every day.“

She nodded, and he took his gloves and walked over to collect his shako.

„Mama used to go out at night, too.“

He felt her words like a punch to a healing wound. Yes, my child, and I go out at night for the same reason your mama did. To keep food on the table and a roof over our heads.

„Mama used to go out at night and she died.“

Lindsay came back to the bed, where she was kneeling now, her eyes level with his cravat.

„Poppy, dearest, I am not going to die. Not for a very long time. And certainly not because I go out at night.“

„Do you promise?“

„Yes.“ One thing he was sure of: If he had survived ten years in the army, he was not meant to die young.

Poppy nodded, very near tears. He put his arms around her and gave her a hug, which she tolerated for all of two seconds.

With a change of mood that always confused him, she pulled out of his arms, then jumped twice on the mattress and onto the floor. „Have fun tonight, Papa. And bring me a treat!“

He watched her bounce from the room and followed her, coming back a moment later to pick up the freshly laundered handkerchief he meant to return to Lady Anderson. He held it to his nose and smelled only the lavender water the laundress had used. It was no match for the orange spice scent that was as much a part of Grace Anderson as her hair and the small round beauty mark behind her ear. And her laughter.

The scent must have been specially blended for her. By her husband? By a lover? By someone who understood her. Someone who knew that for all her orange blossom sweetness there was a spark of passion banked oh so carefully. A passion that peeked out when she laughed, when she lost herself in music, sipped champagne or tasted an especially well-made pudding. A passion that fired an inquiring mind. At least that was one passion he could indulge in with her. One that did not compromise his precariously balanced sense of honor. He tucked the handkerchief in his pocket. How long would the passion of an active mind be enough to share? Was it complete in itself or fuel for greater passion? It was a subject that he knew would intrigue Grace, but one he was not going to introduce.

„Are you having fun, Grace?“

„Hramm.“ Grace pretended that all her attention was on her choice of the garnets or the amethysts.

„Is that a yes or a no, dear?“ Her aunt was comfortably ensconced in the slipper chair and showed no sign of leaving.

„If we start on that now, Aunt Louise, I’ll be late.“

„Nonsense. No one ever arrives at the theater on time.“ Grace chose the garnets and began fastening the necklace. „Yes, I am having fun.“ She picked up the earrings and fastened them, then sat on the padded bench of her dressing table, facing her aunt, her back to the mirror.

„Yes, I am having fun,“ she repeated as she reached behind her and picked up the bracelet that made a matched set with the earrings and necklace. „Major Lindsay is a perfect gentleman. Attentive. Courteous.“ She made the two words sound inconsequential. She waved her hand. „You know what I mean.“

„I know what you mean, Grace, but not why it annoys you.“

„He is a very entertaining companion. We laugh at the same things and we both are happiest when we find someone willing to talk about something other than Fetters’ latest bet.“

„But you see, even with that, there is a reserve about him. He never talks about his life, never at all.“

„And exactly what should he tell you? He is your employee, Grace. What do you know of Petkin’s private life?“

She shrugged. „1 spend more time with him than I do with the butler.“ After a careful inspection of the catch on her bracelet, she added, „He is doing exactly what I hired him for, but the truth is I wish there were something more, something closer to friendship.“

„And are you friends with all your employees?“

„My maid and I are friends.“ Even she could hear how defensive that sounded. „But I take your point.“

„Kitty is a rare exception. You grew up together. She will always be as much friend as servant. Grace, you know as well as I do that it is not wise to be friends with an employee.“

„You are the one who encouraged me to become more intimate with him.“

„Yes, and I still think that having a lover would be a very enlightening experience for you. But I have my doubts as to whether this is the best way to go about it.“

„Men do it all the time.“

„Yes, that’s true, my dear, but friendship is not a prerequisite for them.“

„Oh. I always thought that was what would make the difference between enjoying sex and merely tolerating it.“ She pressed her lips together. Why had she said that aloud?

„When it comes to sex, men do not think first with their heart“ – Louise paused – „or even their brain. For a woman like you, some sort of connection is essential.“

„And what do you mean by ‘a woman like me’?“ Grace stood up. „Someone who is happier as a widow than I was as a married woman? Someone who has never had a lover?“

„Both of those, Grace, but mostly a woman who, despite an inclination to flout convention in private, is in public a lady and not given to the casual in any way.“ She stood up and took Grace’s hands. „Perhaps that is the solution. Stop thinking so much, Grace. Let him know you are interested in more than… what was it you said?“