Mistress Read Online Free Page B

know a great deal about it.”
    “The project aroused my curiosity because it made money.” Marcus rose and knocked on the trapdoor of the carriage. “A great many speculation investments of that sort do not. I have known any number of people involved in such financial arrangements to go bankrupt.”
    The trapdoor opened. “Aye, m’lord?” the coachman called.
    “Morning Rose Square, Dinks. Number Five.”
    “Very good, m’lord.” Dinks allowed the trap to fall back into place.
    Marcus dropped back into his seat. “Perhaps we should get on with your explanations, Mrs. Bright.”
    “Yes, of course.” Iphiginia straightened her shoulders. “Where to begin? First, let me tell you how excessively relieved I am to discover that you are alive, my lord.”
    He considered her through half-closed eyes. “You mentioned something to that effect back in the Fen wicks’ ballroom. There was some doubt in your mind?”
    “Oh, yes. A great deal of doubt. We assumed you had been murdered, you see.”
    “Murdered?”
He wondered if he had gotten involved with a madwoman.
    “Yes, my lord, murdered. It was the reason why I decided to take the desperate measure of masquerading as your mistress.”
    “And just who did you believe was responsible for mydemise?” Marcus asked coldly. “One of your other
intimate
friends?”
    She gave him a shocked look. “Of course not, my lord. Oh, dear, this is all so complicated. I assure you that I do not have the sort of friends who would even dream of resorting to murder.”
    “I am relieved to hear that.”
    “Aunt Zoe is a bit theatrical by nature and my cousin Amelia can be rather grim at times, but I believe that I can safely say neither of them would ever murder anyone.”
    “I shall take your word for it, Mrs. Bright.”
    She sighed. “I realize that this must all be extremely confusing to you.”
    “I shall do my best to muddle through. Perhaps my excellent brain will assist me.”
    She gave him a glowing smile of approval. “You are doing very well under the circumstances, my lord.”
    “I had come to the same conclusion.”
    She winced at the sarcasm. “Ah, yes. Yes, indeed. Well, then, to get on with it. We thought the blackmailer had done you in, you see.”
    “Blackmailer? This grows more absurd by the moment. What blackmailer?”
    That gave Iphiginia pause. “You mean to say that you are not being blackmailed, sir?”
    The question irritated him. “Do I appear to be the sort of man who would pay blackmail, Mrs. Bright?”
    “No, my lord. And that is precisely why we believed you had been murdered. Because you refused to pay, you see.”
    “Continue, Mrs. Bright,” Marcus ordered evenly. “You have a long way to go before any of this becomes clear.”
    “My aunt received a note from the villain informing us that you had been dispatched as a lesson to others who refused to pay. The note implied that it was only a matter of time before Society realized you were not spending themonth at one of your estates, but had, instead, disappeared for good.”
    “Good Lord.”
    “Well, you must admit that you had vanished from Society at the height of the Season, sir. Most unusual.”
    “I was at my estate in Yorkshire,” Marcus retorted. “Not in a shallow, unmarked grave. Madam, this is ridiculous. I have had enough of this game. I want the truth and I want it before we reach Morning Rose Square.”
    She frowned. “I am attempting to relate the truth, sir. There is no call to be rude. Now, kindly cease interrupting me. As I said, my aunt had every reason to believe that you had been murdered and that if she did not meet the blackmailer’s demands, she would be next.”
    “She paid the blackmail?” Marcus demanded.
    “Naturally. She was quite frightened. I learned all this the day after she had paid. I had just arrived here in London after a year on the Continent. My cousin Amelia was with me. We called upon Aunt Zoe and discovered her dire straits. I immediately