Free A Lady of Notoriety (The Masquerade Club) by Diane Gaston - A Lady of Notoriety (The Masquerade Club) Page A

want?’
    Sewing a new dress and tending to maid’s chores all in the same day seemed a daunting task to Daphne. She wondered how much work she’d created for the maids at Faville House without giving them a single consideration.
    ‘Well, make the dresses your priority today,’ she told them. ‘You can tend to the cleaning and other chores tomorrow.’
    The three women curtsied. ‘Thank you, ma’am,’ they said in unison.
    Daphne hurried off to her bedchamber for her bonnet and shawl, which should do for the cool day. She stopped in Westleigh’s room to get his hat.
    Carter was there with the footman, who was to trail him all day to learn his duties.
    ‘Carter, I am taking Mr Westleigh for a turn in the garden,’ she told him. ‘Does he have a hat and gloves?’
    Carter’s eyes widened. ‘No, m’l—ma’am. I did not think of a hat and gloves. He must have lost them.’ He turned to the footman. ‘Find Mr Pitts and see if he has a cap the gentleman might wear.’
    ‘No.’ Daphne stopped him. ‘Let me see first if he minds going out without them. Carter, perhaps you or—or—’ She could not think of the new footman’s name.
    ‘Toller, ma’am,’ he said.
    ‘Toller.’ She was ashamed of herself for forgetting. ‘Perhaps one of you could go into the village and buy the items for him.’
    ‘We’ll see to it.’ Carter crossed the room. ‘I do have something the gentleman asked for.’ He lifted a wooden cane.
    ‘A cane?’ She was surprised.
    ‘He said it would help him walk.’
    She took it from his hand. ‘Thank you. I will take it to him.’
    She left the room and started down the steps, but slowed her pace.
    What happened to her resolve to spend as little time as possible with him? She could have insisted Carter take him for a walk, but then she would have disrupted his instructions to the new footman. And the maids were right. She should not be sewing their clothes for them.
    She could not delegate the care of Westleigh to the servants. It was her job as hostess. She could do so without revealing who she was. He still did not need to ever find out who Mrs Asher really was.
    Be truthful, especially to yourself, she could hear the abbess say.
    Very well. To be truthful, she liked the man’s company. No, more than liked his company. All her senses sparked into life when she was near him, in a way she’d never experienced before.
    Such a reaction was simply more she must conceal from him. If it was better he never know the truth about who she really was, it was better still that he never know the thrill she felt in his presence.

Chapter Six
    ‘I fear you have no hat or gloves.’ Mrs Asher startled Hugh with her entrance. ‘Shall I see if you can borrow some?’
    ‘I do not need them.’ He’d walk out in nothing but his drawers, if that was the only way.
    ‘We did not even think of them.’ She made it sound as if this was important. ‘They must have been lost in the fire.’
    With his overcoat, some of his money and a change of clothing.
    And possibly his sight.
    He certainly did not want to dwell on that topic. ‘Let us not think of hats and gloves now. I am too eager to stretch my legs and breathe in fresh air.’
    ‘I do have something for you,’ she said. ‘A cane from Mr Carter.’
    She placed it in his hand.
    ‘Good man!’ He gripped the handle and tested it. ‘I must thank him. This should help me walk around on my own.’ He’d seen blind people using canes to feel their way, waving them in front of their feet to warn of obstacles. He tested it in the room.
    ‘Not seeing must be so difficult....’ Her voice trailed off.
    ‘None of that.’ He extended his hand. ‘Come. Show me the way.’
    She led him out the front door, holding his arm as if they were walking through Hyde Park. ‘There is a step down.’
    It felt like flagstone beneath his feet, and he was surprised how insecure it felt to walk into a space without knowing what was ahead. He swept the cane in