Free Lady of Shame by Ann Lethbridge Page A

for you, madame ?’ Was he out of his senses? What could he do that her family with all their power could not do? If indeed what troubled her was more than what to serve for these dinners.
    For all that, he waited while she pondered his question.
    ‘Wine,’ she said suddenly. ‘And port. The wine provided at dinner is not always the best. Do you…’ She blushed.
    His question had not been about food or wine, but he was a chef and their common ground was these dinners. And if she had occasionally looked at him as a woman looked at a man, it was simply in passing. And he would do well not to think of her as a woman, but as his employer. ‘I know wine, madame , and I have seen the duke’s cellars. I will instruct Lumsden regarding what to serve with each course.’
    She stood up. ‘Monsieur André, thank you for all of your help.’
    He bowed, acknowledging his dismissal. ‘Tomorrow morning at nine, if that is convenient, I will bring my suggestions for the rest of the menus.’
    ‘That will do very well. Thank you.’
    It didn’t matter why she was holding these dinners. It was his job to make the food a memory never to be forgotten. Much as he would never forget the picture of her standing there, the golden gleams of sunlight in her hair. A small delicate woman with grey eyes full of shadows.
    * * *
    Seated at the escritoire in the library, Claire sealed the second batch of invitations she had issued this week and rang the bell. Lumsden arrived within moments.
    ‘Please have these delivered, Lumsden.’
    ‘Yes, madam.’ He bowed and took all but one of the invitations. ‘I wonder if I might speak out of turn?’
    Claire couldn’t hide her surprise. Since her return, Lumsden had barely unbent enough to indicate he remembered her at all. He reeked of disapproval. And she didn’t blame him. She had behaved very badly and an old retainer like Lumsden would see her insult to the family name as an insult to him too.
    The duke was lucky to enjoy such loyalty.
    ‘Please, feel free to speak your mind.’
    ‘It is about the young lady, Miss Jane.’
    Claire stiffened. Perhaps she wasn’t so sanguine about allowing the servant to speak his mind, after all.
    Lumsden either did not notice, or ignored her reaction. ‘She’s in the kitchen again, madam. Disrupting the work of the servants.’
    Oh, dear. She had left Jane in the school room studying India on an atlas while she wrote the invitations, but it must have failed to hold her interest, and if she was wandering she must be feeling more at home at Castonbury Park than Claire had thought. Hopefully, she wouldn’t mind one final move, once Claire had a new husband.
    A shiver rippled down her back. Not a helpful reaction. ‘Thank you, Lumsden. I will go and collect her. I will let her know that she should remain on the family side of the house.’
    Lumsden bowed. ‘Thank you, madam.’ His back was ramrod stiff as he left.
    The life they were leading now was different from how they had lived in their small cottage in Rochester this past year. There were rules and boundaries that must not be crossed. Claire winced inwardly. She was reluctant to force too many changes on the child. The past year had been difficult enough. Time enough to do so when she married.
    If she married. None of these men might be interested in coming up to scratch, despite Crispin’s confidence. The thought of failure was terrifying.
    Her husband’s debts once more loomed large, along with the man to whom they were owed. She could not risk him finding her and Jane before she was ready with the money. She would run and hide again sooner than face him. One of these men had to make her an offer. And soon.
    The man she had invited first was a confirmed bachelor according to Reverend Seagrove. Devoted to his mother, who kept his house and ordered his life. On the other hand, the prospect of wedding the sister of a duke might be enough to change the habits of a lifetime. The thought of competing