Free No Ordinary Mistress (Entangled Scandalous) by Robyn DeHart

at you, to prevent men from wanting you. But I want you, Emma, no matter what. You can trust me. I won’t let you down.”
    “Don’t you see, though, Remy? You already have let me down.”
    He was quiet a moment and then nodded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have left you in Paris. I shouldn’t have walked away. I was so damn angry, though, with the assignment, with you for considering it.” He shook his head. “The thought of another man’s hands on you was more than I could endure. I promise you this, it is the very last time I will ever walk away from you.”
    Emma couldn’t breathe. His words carved into her soul despite her efforts to swat them away. Oh, how she wanted to believe him, trust what he said. Thankfully, the carriage rolled to a stop outside of Lord Comfry’s uncle’s townhome. As far as she knew, no family members, except for his wife’s sister, had ever come to pay a visit to the Comfry townhome. But Franklin had said Comfry came here often, even when his uncle was not at home. That certainly warranted some investigation. If this didn’t provide any help, they had other people to check.
    Remy assisted her down from the carriage, and they walked, in silence, up the walk to the front door. The butler readily accepted Remy’s card and brought them to the front parlor. Shortly after that, a woman, shrouded in black, entered the room. “My Lord, I fear my husband is out this afternoon. Is there something I can assist you with?” She kept her head down, speaking to the floor.
    Remy extended his hand. “Remington Hawthorne, Earl of Westbridge, and this is Lady Emma.”
    That was a stretch by anyone’s standards, but she saw no reason to correct him. For the purpose of this visit, she could certainly play the proper lady.
    “Penelope Prescott,” she said.
    Remy and Emma exchanged glances. “We want to ask a few questions about your husband’s nephew,” Emma said gently.
    She looked up then, and Emma could see that the woman was much younger than she’d have guessed. Her perfect pale skin was accented by her golden hair and bright blue eyes. She was older than Emma, but probably only by a decade, and though small lines fanned out from her eyes and furrowed her brow, Penny was still lovely. The woman covered her mouth to hide a sob. “He was a dear man.”
    “He and your husband were close?” Remy asked.
    Penelope’s features pinched as she frowned and shook her head. “They conversed often, had much in common. And he was always very kind to me.”
    “You were fond of him,” Remy said.
    “I loved him.” Her words came out so softly they were almost imperceptible. And then she looked up, her eyes wide as if she hadn’t actually intended to say them at all. She frowned and shook her head. “I mean we loved him, he was family.”
    His uncle’s wife. That hadn’t been what Emma had expected when they’d come here. She could see why. Penelope, or Penny as Comfry had called her, was beautiful.
    “That’s not what you meant, though,” Remy said gently. “We didn’t come to accuse you of anything or make things more difficult. In fact, we came for your assistance. We’re investigating his murder.”
    She looked up, and her breath caught, but before she could say anything else, the door opened then and an older man walked in. “Lord Westbridge, I apologize. I wish I had known you were paying a call. Luckily, my meeting was cut short, and I have returned earlier than planned.” He came to stand behind Penny. “You’ll have to forgive my wife. She’s been ill lately. Isn’t that right, dear?” He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Had Emma not been looking at Penny, she might have missed the slight wince. It was quick, and then the woman’s features went back into a placid expression.
    “We came to ask some questions about the death of your nephew, Lord Comfry,” Remy said.
    “Are you part of the formal investigation?”
    Emma surveyed him. He was older, more than