The Lady’s Secret Read Online Free Page A

mean. It is shameful for a man of power and influence to use his position to attempt to seduce a youth and then turn him away without a reference when he refuses to allow himself to be debauched. Shameful to use his position so ruthlessly.”
    Nathan almost laughed at her scolding schoolmistress tone, but her anger had the ring of truth about it.
    “He is a youth, you say? And was this his first position?”
    “I believe so. He has all the necessary skills, however.”
    “I had hoped for someone older.”
    Lily shrugged. “He is young,” she conceded. “Perhaps if you want someone older you should not even see him. However, he is an excellent young man, quiet, circumspect and well-favoured. I think you would find that he meets your exacting requirements.” She lifted her wine glass and sipped from it, her attention wandering as though she was growing bored of the topic.
    Despite himself he was intrigued, wondering what the cousin of the famous Lily Hawkins might look like.
    “I would be happy to interview your cousin, although I cannot promise to offer a position. Do you think he would be able to come to my house tomorrow afternoon?”
    “I should think so,” Lily said. “He is currently without employment, so I expect his days are rather free.”
    “Excellent. Well, we shall see if he lives up to your recommendation. Ask him to present himself at my house at three o’ clock tomorrow afternoon and I will see him. What is his name?”
    “George—ah, George Fellowes.”
    “Very good. Now, shall we see whether there are any more of those lovely meringues left?”

Chapter 3
    “Above all, you must be quiet,” Lily said. “He was most particular about that.”
    “Yes,” Georgy said. “You’ve already said so.” Her calm voice belied her inner turmoil. She was good at that—appearing to be tranquil.
    As Lily fussed around her with a clothes brush, Georgy eyed her reflection with something between wonder and dismay. She looked more like a man than she’d thought she possibly could. But with her smooth cheeks, did she look old enough to be a valet?
    Thank God for the figure she’d inherited from her mother. Her boyish hips and slender legs made her reasonably convincing from the waist down—with the aid of a long-tailed coat. For the top half, she’d stitched some filler into the shoulders of the coat to broaden her appearance and adjusted a corset to give her a flat, rigid torso. She’d have to come up with something else to deal with her bosom if she got the position, though. She wouldn’t have anyone to help her lace up a corset every day.
    Her hair was short now, a shiny cap of silver-gold. Lily had done the worst bit—cutting off the length—and then Georgy had neatened it up. She’d left it slightly longer than was fashionable. There would be times that she would be close to the earl; some hair might come in useful to hide behind.
    She had always hated her pale eyebrows and lashes; she usually darkened them to give her eyes more depth. Now she was glad of their almost-invisibility. She’d made her face into a bland mask by using powder to even out the pinkness of her lips, disguising their natural hue and fullness.
    There was something truly androgynous about the face that looked back at her from the mirror. The only colour she possessed now, other than her bright cap of hair, was in her eyes. And they had almost no colour at all. Georgy’s eyes were the translucent green-blue of clear glass. She’d been complimented on their unusual hue in the past but standing here now, she felt like a pale shadow. Invisible. Silent. And neither man nor woman.
    Lily finished her brushing at last and came round to face her. She stared at Georgy, frowning.
    “Remind me why I’m doing this,” Georgy said.
    “You are Georgiana Thorn, sister of the Earl of Dunsmore.”
    “Yes. I am Georgiana Thorn. And this is my chance to try to find the proof.” She took a deep breath. “Now, will I do?”
    Lily