that Camillaâs lips were swollen,
tingled, and carried the intoxicating taste of Lord Sachse upon
them.
âIâm fine, Lillian, thank you for
inquiring.â
âYou seem unsettled, and I saw Mr. Spellman
lurking about. His presence usually doesnât bode
well.â
Camilla smiled softly. âHardly lurking. He
wanted to speak with the earl about my expenditures.â
âI feared they would get you into trouble
again.â
âNo, not with this earl. He told Spellman
they were none of Spellmanâs concern, and even after Spellman
left, he failed to ask me why I would purchase so many
clothes.â
Archie had surprised her by standing up to Mr.
Spellman, defending her right to spend as she chose. Yes,
sheâd earned that right, but sheâd not expected a man
to understand what it was for a woman to be berated constantly,
never to measure up to her husbandâs expectations.
Sheâd been only sixteen when the old earl had
taken her as his wife, believing that his aged seed could more
easily find root in a younger girl. He was desperate to replace the
son lost to him when his first wife had taken the boy to America
for a holiday. The child had fallen ill and died there, and the old
Sachse had never forgiven his wife for taking so little care with
his heir. Camilla wouldnât have been surprised to discover
heâd poisoned the dear woman.
Heâd been a horrible, horrible man. Camilla
had come to loathe him with every fiber of her being. But she had
been powerless to control her destiny.
That was no longer the case. Now she was in
complete control. She had paid dearly to acquire power and
influenceâand she would do anything to hold on to all
sheâd gained and if possible to climb higher.
She was not by nature greedy, but sheâd
learned through harsh experience that wealth was preferable to
poverty, beauty favored over ugliness, confidence better than
doubt, holding a title moreadvantageous than
being a commoner. Sheâd attained all and looked back on her
life with no regrets, except on the most lonely of nights when she
would undoubtedly find herself staring at too many regrets to
count.
But then ciphering had never been one of her strong
suits, so it was quite possible that her regrets were not as
numerous as she feared. But neither were they as dangerous as the
truth, for if revealed it would cause her to lose her influence
more quickly than anything, so she kept it well hidden. Even
Lillian, who spent the most time in her company, didnât
suspect.
Manipulation of facts and appearances was a part of
whom Camilla had become, and although it reeked with dishonesty, it
was the only way she knew to protect herself. As Charles Darwin had
theorized twenty years earlier with The Origin
of Species , survival was dependent upon adaptation to
oneâs environment. And if she was nothing else, sheâd
determined she was a survivor.
âPerhaps you should explain to the new earl
what you do with all these purchases.â
âNo, as generous as he appears to be, I have
no way of knowing if his generosity will extend beyond me.
Iâll not risk having my good works stopped.â
âSo the possibility exists that he could
withdraw his generosity at any time,â
Lillian mused. âWhat will you do under those
circumstances?â
âFor security, I must find myself another
husband. Iâve not given up on snagging a duke simply because
one got away from me this Season.â For a time, sheâd
been betrothed to the Duke of Harrington, but Rhys had fallen in
love with a Texas heiress, which had caused scandal and near ruin
for all involved. Still, sheâd managed to survive the fiasco.
She would find herself another duke with the
ability to elevate her status to that of duchess. After all, she
had turned thirty only recently and was extremely skilled at
managing her assets: her face, her figure, her ability to appear
confident