Free As an Earl Desires by Lorraine Heath

says
your packages have arrived.”
    â€œSplendid.”
    She hurried to the parlor, where her servantswere bringing in the last of the parcels and
setting them on the floor beside the settee before leaving. Lillian
stood nearby with her paper, preparing to make sure that everything
they’d ordered had arrived.
    â€œWhere would you like to begin, my
lady?” Lillian asked.
    â€œHere.” Camilla pointed toward a large
box.
    Lillian took a pair of scissors to the string
holding the box closed and removed the lid.
    Whenever the expected boxes arrived, Camilla always
felt as though she was experiencing Christmas morning, Christmas
mornings that she’d never had as a child. Although she knew
what she’d find inside, she still experienced a thrill of
anticipation as she reached into the box and pulled out the first
dress. Just as Lord Sachse had commented at dinner the other night,
it was rather plain.
    â€œWhat do you think, Lillian?” she asked
as she held it up.
    â€œIt’s ever so plain, my
lady.”
    â€œSo it is. I have no use for it. I suppose
there is nothing to be done except to give these clothes to the
poor.”
    â€œI don’t know why you continue to use
this seamstress,” Lillian said, her smile broad.
    It was a game they played every month when
Camilla’s special orders arrived, pretending that what
they’d received wasn’t exactly as they’d ordered. It was a pretense they’d begun when her
husband was alive. They’d had to be much more clever then and
much more careful.
    â€œWhere are the cloaks?” Camilla
asked.
    â€œI believe they’ll be in this
box,” Lillian said, opening a box and removing a heavy cloak.
“Oh, it’s very nice.”
    Camilla ran her hands over it. “Yes, it is.
It’ll keep someone extremely warm. We probably should have
ordered more. Where are the dolls?”
    Lillian turned to another box. “In here, I
think.”
    She handed Camilla a doll made of cloth, with an
embroidered face and yarn for her hair, something a little girl
could hold tight at night and feel safe with.
    â€œThe skates for the boys are at the bottom of
the box,” Lillian said, as she dug through the dolls and
brought out a length of thick leather with wheels at either end.
“They simply strap these around their shoes.”
    â€œOn second thought, it wasn’t a very
practical purchase was it?”
    â€œThe boys can sell them, I suppose, if they
don’t want them.”
    But a child should receive something of value to
keep. She crossed her arms over her chest. “I know so little
about boys. As a child, all I wanted was a doll to snuggle with
when I went to sleep.”
    â€œPerhaps you could ask Lord Sachse. He mightknow what a boy would prefer to have to play
with.”
    â€œThat’s a splendid idea. He’ll no
doubt recommend books, but still I’ll ask.” Reaching
out, she clutched Lillian’s arm. “I forgot to tell you.
Lord Sachse is going to begin paying me a sum of a hundred pounds
each month.”
    Lillian furrowed her brow. “An
allowance?”
    â€œNo, no, a salary. A very nice salary to help
him find a wife.”
    â€œSo you’re to become a
matchmaker?”
    â€œIn a way, I suppose, yes.” She’d
never actually looked at it that way, but with all her connections,
she could find a match—not only for Lord Sachse, but for any
man. It was rather reassuring to realize that if she didn’t
become a duchess, she could always have a way to earn money. Though
only as a last resort, if she were desperate. For a woman in her
station, working would be rather degrading. She needed to let
Archie know that he mustn’t let on to anyone that he was
paying her. It needed to remain their little secret. She knew
Lillian wouldn’t tell anyone, and Lillian was perhaps the
closest thing she had to a friend.
    â€œHere’s what I