The Scandalous Life of a True Lady Read Online Free Page B

nice laugh, Simone decided, looking for something to like. And he was intelligent enough not to buy a pig in a poke, suggesting he and Miss Ryland ought to converse a bit first, to see if they could be comfortable together.
    Lydia’s eyes narrowed. “You suit. She is young and attractive, speaks several languages, and has good manners, as I told you.”
    “Ah, but there is more to this, ah, affair, than reading a résumé.”
    “And I wish to be privy to whatever agreement is made,” Simone put in. He wanted honesty? She would not pretend this was anything but a financial arrangement.
    He laughed again. “And she’s bright, Lyddie, and refreshingly straightforward. Run along, do. You know you can trust me to deal squarely with both of you.”
    None too pleased with either of them, Mrs. Burton left in a huff of tight red satin. Harry, Major Harrison, took a seat across from Simone. She pushed a footstool closer, the way she would have done for her papa. She thought he smiled, but it was hard to tell, under all the facial hair.
    “Now that Lyddie is gone,” he said, “we may speak freely. And honestly.”
    She had been warned. “I understand, sir. I was raised to speak truthfully.”
    “Good. I would know a bit more about you, if I may?”
    She nodded, thinking he might ask about her health or her sick room experience, for the gentleman looked more in need of a nursemaid than a mistress.
    “I understand you came to Lydia because you have fallen on hard times, my dear,” he began.
    He wanted honesty? She wanted to flee. Instead she answered: “I would not say I have fallen, more like I’ve been pitchforked into poverty by the death of my parents. I could not keep a position because of fear of molestation, so I am becoming a Jezebel rather than starve.”
    He coughed. “Perhaps that is a bit more information than I asked for. But thank you. You have no other relations?”
    “No.”
    His mouth twisted, as if he’d swallowed something sour, or was bilious. Old men suffered from wind, she knew.
    “I thought we agreed on the truth. Lies leave a bitter taste in my mouth.” He started to rise. “Lyddie was wrong. We cannot suit. Ciao .”
    Simone hadn’t realized they were speaking French until he switched to Italian. So he was testing her, her skills and her readiness to obey orders. That nonsense about truth was an old man’s idiosyncracy—he could not have known about Auguste—but she thought she ought to humor him, to keep Mrs. Burton’s favor. “My apologies. I thought you meant other relatives who might assist me. I have a young brother whose education depends on my income.”
    “And you would not have pursued this line of work otherwise?”
    “I could have made do, I suppose.” Her savings could have bought her more time to find a respectable position, if she had not spent the last few coins on Auggie’s books and board.
    Major Harrison seemed satisfied with her answer, for he sat back and accepted the glass of wine Simone poured from Mrs. Burton’s sideboard. After taking a swallow, he asked, “What if I offered to finance your brother’s schooling?”
    She almost choked on the sip she took. “Why would you do such a thing as that?”
    “Because I can afford to, and because people were good to me when I was young. And because I would not see any woman forced into this kind of life against her will. Lyddie chose her profession, when she had no need to.”
    “But then I would be in your debt. I would still feel that I needed to repay you, in services if not in money. I could not accept an outright gift, not even on my brother’s behalf. I would rather work, at whatever I need to do, than be beholden to charity.”
    “What if I did not wish a martyr in my bed?”
    “I would pretend I was pleased to be there, not out of gratitude.”
    He grimaced at the thought. “That would be worse.”
    “No, for I might enjoy a house party, charming company, the chance to see a famous home where I would