Free Lord Lightning by Jenny Brown Page A

actress.”
    He mentally compared the earnest little soothsayer with Violet and the other actresses of his acquaintance and again suppressed a smile. “I should hardly have thought that your life would’ve offered many opportunities for acting.”
    “But that is where you’re wrong. My Aunt Celestina was a great lover of the theater, so we spent many happy evenings acting out together the various parts in her favorite plays. At times, she would invite other gentlefolk from our neighborhood to take part in our performances. The vicar, who had attended the theater in London several times, told her I was quite the best Lady Teazle he’d ever seen.”
    “So you would act my mistress, with some help from Mr. Sheridan and the vicar?” he asked, unable to suppress his smile this time.
    “With pleasure, my lord.”
    Really, he should make her take the money and get rid of her now, before some sentimental maggot in his head—some relative no doubt of the one that had bitten him the previous night—made him accept her crazy offer. But it was too late. It was a very speedy maggot and had already taken a good nip. As much as he wanted to, he could not bring himself to dismiss her.
    Mad as it was, her suggestion had a kind of lunatic appeal. It would be a relief to have a mistress with whom he did not have to pretend to feel passion.Nor could he deny that he would find her company entertaining. She was such an original; he would never know what she might say or do next. And the truth was he felt a certain regret at the thought of never seeing her again—though that would soon wear off, as he knew very well he was incapable of feeling anything for a woman. It was only the novelty of her belief that he might be loving and loveable that intrigued him.
    Still if he were to send her away now, she might continue on in the belief that he had, tucked away somewhere, a loving heart. How better to dispel that fantasy than to take her with him. A few weeks with him would destroy any illusions she might have about his goodness, and without them she would lose her power to interest him.
    And besides, if he agreed to go ahead with her ridiculous scheme, he
would
have a mistress to flaunt in his mother’s face. It wouldn’t matter whether he actually had sexual congress with her. Just to force his mother to dine with a woman she believed to be his mistress would be enough.
    And if the scheme failed? He would dismiss her. There was little to lose in attempting it, and who knew? Perhaps the little fortune-teller could pull it off.

Chapter 5
    I am tempted to try your scheme,” Lord Hartwood announced. He stood at the window, his pale curls shining like an aura in the shaft of light that illuminated him from behind. “I
do
need to bring a mistress with me to claim my inheritance, even if she be only a simulated mistress.”
    He was going to let her stay! Eliza felt an unexpected bolt of fear.
    “But I am not at all convinced that you could play the part.”
    A second bolt: disappointment.
    “How good an actress are you, really? Could you behave convincingly in such a role? Could you pretend to be a brazen woman? Could you carry on shamelessly in front of disapproving eyes? You will pardon me if I say I find it hard to believe you could carry off this particular role, nomatter what success you may have had playing Lady Teazle with the vicar in your aunt’s parlor.”
    Eliza’s pride was wounded. She was a very good actress and surely she had given him as yet no reason to doubt it. She advanced on him, her newfound resolution making her bold. “Try me. I shall show you what I am capable of.”
    Lord Hartwood paced over to a sofa that stood by the wall. When he turned to face her, the corsair was gone; in his place was the theater director. “Very well. Pretend you are in my mother’s parlor. Lord Mumblethorpe is sitting over there. He’s very conservative in his views. Are you ready to put on a show for him?”
    Eliza nodded. She strode