Beauty and the Earl (2 page)

Violet got to her feet and smoothed her dress, holding her head up high so that there would be no question of her having some kind of shame about what she was.

“Yes, my lady, your brother was known to visit women in my position, both before his accident and also after. Although, since he was injured, he has not kept any one woman for more than a short time. He and I were never…affiliated.”

Not that she hadn’t looked at the handsome earl long and hard on the occasions she’d seen him. Even with his disfiguring scar and brooding personality, he was a physical specimen worth swooning over.
 

None of that seemed to impress the duchess, though. She pressed her lips together and shot her husband a look. Rothcastle moved toward Violet and motioned her to sit. He took the seat across from hers and leaned forward, resting strong arms over equally strong thighs.

“Miss Milford, I will get right to the point. Obviously you know about the break in the relationship between my wife and her brother, as well as the long history that scars our two families. Everyone knows some version of our story, so I won’t pretend as if you don’t. And because of that, Lady Rothcastle and I are seeking to find out information about her brother.”

Violet refused to let her surprise at this revelation be seen on her face.
 

“As I said, I’ve never had an affiliation with the man,” she said, carefully measuring her tone. “I don’t even know that I’ve ever spoken to him. So what does your desire for information have to do with me?”

“Currently, the earl is in Bath. He won’t let us near him.” The duke stopped and shifted uncomfortably. “But if he were to take a lover…”

He trailed off and looked at her evenly, his meaning suddenly very clear. Violet lifted both eyebrows in shock and snapped her gaze from the man across from her to his wife. Lady Rothcastle did not seem surprised by his outrageous implication, but her mouth was set in a grim, determined line.

“So you wish for me to seduce the man and report his activities and whereabouts and emotional state to you?” she asked, making their request as plain as she could since they wouldn’t.

Lady Rothcastle almost sagged as the description was put so plainly. “Yes,” she whispered.
 

Violet swallowed hard and pushed to her feet deliberately. “I’m sorry, but that isn’t what I do.”

She turned toward the door to leave, but she hadn’t made it three steps, when Lord Rothcastle’s voice echoed through the chamber.

“One thousand pounds.”

Violet froze at the number he had called out and slowly turned toward the duke and duchess again. “I beg your pardon?”

“I will pay you a thousand pounds if you do this,” he repeated.
 

All her ability to cover her reactions faded in that unexpected instant, and she stared at him, blinking rapidly as that number swirled around and around in her head.

“Why?”

Rothcastle hesitated a moment, apparently taken aback by her direct question. Then he folded his arms. “For my wife.”

Lady Rothcastle sucked in her breath, looking up at him with a look of apology and love in equal measure. Her heartbreak was clear on her face, her desperation to know something,
anything
, of her brother.

And didn’t Violet know that feeling well herself? She pursed her lips. A thousand pounds was a great deal of money. Almost enough money…

“Two thousand,” she heard her voice say, although she didn’t remember making a decision to bargain.

The duke’s eyebrow arched. “There are other women we could ask.”

“But you don’t want to spread this request throughout the
ton
,” Violet said, her hands shaking even though her voice did not. “You came to me because you know I have a reputation of discretion. You might not be able to say the same of the next woman you call here. Two thousand.”

The duke let out a low rumbling sound that she wasn’t certain was a growl or a sigh. It was irritated, that was all that was certain.

“Fine, two thousand.”

Violet’s heart lodged in her throat, but she refused to let excitement and hope keep her from continuing.
 

She nodded once. “I will do everything I can to obtain access to the man and uncover any information for you, but I make no promises. He may have no interest in me. But I cannot be expected to go to Bath for nothing.”

The duke tilted his head, both eyebrows lifted. His wife glared at Violet, arms folded and her disdain as clear as day. Violet found herself regretting that on some level. She actually liked Lady Rothcastle, from all she had heard about her.

But that couldn’t dissuade her.

“You will receive five hundred pounds up front,” he said softly. “And I will cover your expenses in Bath. Does that settle this?”

“Indeed, quite amply,” Violet said. “I shall depart for Bath as soon as I receive the funds in my account. Shall I send any news to this address?”

“No, I’ll give you the address of a solicitor who will forward your letters to me,” the duke said. “Excuse me a moment and I will fetch the particulars.”

Violet watched him go, and when she turned her gaze from the door, she found Lady Rothcastle was now on her feet, watching her.

“You are surprised my husband left you alone with me,” the duchess said softly.
 

Violet conceded that point with a slight tilt of her head. “I don’t know many women of your stature who wish to interact with courtesans.”

Lady Rothcastle seemed to consider that for a moment. “I wish to interact with people who I like and respect, regardless of their place in life. I don’t know you, Miss Milford, though I can see from your handling of my husband that you are shrewd, and I suppose that is exactly what we need when we hire a woman meant to manipulate my brother into revealing his secrets.”

Violet wasn’t certain that comment was meant as a compliment, but she didn’t press further. “I get the sense that perhaps there is something more you wish me to do.”

The duchess gave her a long, appraising look. “I love my brother. And recent…
developments
have come to pass that make me wish very much to have him back in my life.”

Violet raised her eyebrows as she stared at the other woman.
Recent developments
was a vague, yet intriguing statement.
 

“Do you really think I can influence him to do what you haven’t been able to do in a year?” she asked, passing on her desire to inquire about those developments.

The other woman shook her head. “I don’t know. And Christian…” She corrected herself swiftly. “My husband doesn’t think you can, nor that it is wise for you to try. But if you could somehow convince Liam to accept us…accept me, I would make certain you received another thousand pounds as a…a bonus of sorts.”

Violet nearly swayed on her feet. Three thousand pounds was a tidy little fortune and would put her far and above what she needed for her own future schemes.
 

“Do you have any guidelines on how to handle your brother?” she asked.

The duchess seemed surprised by the question, but her demeanor and expression softened considerably as she spoke. “He has become very hard since the accident, since the death of the woman he loved, but he was always a light soul. Quick to laugh, quick to defend those he loved. Somewhere in him, I can’t help but think that he is still that man I knew what seems like a hundred years ago.”

“Does he have likes or interests?” Violet pressed. The duchess’s eyes went wide and Violet rushed to correct her obvious misconceptions. “I don’t mean when it comes to women. I meant pursuits.”

The other woman relaxed again. “As a boy, he was always very good at physical things. If it required a ball or a bat or a mallet, he was ready. In fact, he even made up his own games if there was no one else with whom to engage.”

Intrigued, Violet would have asked more, but Rothcastle returned at that moment a piece of paper in his hand.

“This is the address to send your reports to. Address them to Mr. Smith and they will be forwarded to me unopened by anyone else,” Rothcastle said.
 

“And who will read my reports?” Violet asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“Will it only be you, or will your wife also read them?” When he continued to stare, apparently not understanding what she meant, she shrugged. “There may be delicate matters and—”

“Do not hold back,” Lady Rothcastle interrupted. “I know the situation may be very dire and I want the truth of it, unvarnished.”

The duke didn’t seem as certain as his wife that she was ready for unvarnished truth, but he didn’t argue.

“Your solicitor is Mr. Green, whose office is on Cross Circle, yes?”

Now it was Violet’s eyes which went wide. “Y-Yes, Your Grace. But how—”

“You are not the only one who knows and hears things,” the duke said softly, his bright blue gaze holding hers. “I will direct all monies to him, under your name.”

Violet hesitated, for the expression on the duke’s face was unreadable, almost as if he knew something he held back. Something about her. But no one knew anything about her. Not anything she didn’t choose to share.

“That is agreeable,” she managed to choke out. “And now I shall go. I’ll send word if I am able to—” She hesitated and shot another look to the duchess.

The other woman arched a brow. “If you are able to raise the interest of Lord Windbury, do send us word. Good day, Miss Milford.”

Violet knew when she was being dismissed, so she bobbed out a curtsey and exited the home. Outside, her carriage waited, along with Gregson, whose expression was actually relieved.

“I didn’t relish the idea of busting into that fortress,” he grunted as he helped her up and closed the door behind her.

Violet settled into the comfortable seat and closed her eyes. A fortress. She wouldn’t exactly call the beautiful home of her hosts that, but it did put certain images to mind of unwinnable battlegrounds.

She only wondered if Lord Windbury would be one of them.

“I think I might need help,” she murmured.

Luckily, she knew just the person for the job.

Olivia Cranfield poured a brandy from the sidebar of the small home Violet shared with her and sighed.
 

“Damn, I was hoping the Rothcastles had invited you to their home to make you their secret lover!”

Violet laughed as she rolled her eyes. “Good God, Olivia, you couldn’t have believed that.”

Olivia smiled as she took a sip of her drink. “One could hope. Just imagine the scandal, and you in the middle of it.”

Violet shook her head. Olivia did love a scandal.
 

“Well, it wasn’t that, but I’d say hiring a courtesan in order to seduce and spy on Lord Windbury is certainly scandal enough, even though no one will know about it.”

“It
is
shocking,” Olivia conceded as she sat down across from Violet. “But lucrative.” Her friend’s face grew more serious. “You won’t really run away to the country when it’s over, will you?”

Violet smiled. Olivia teased, but no one knew better than her friend what was at stake for her. “I will. But you may visit me if you think you could bear the boredom.”

Olivia sighed. “You deserve happiness and boredom, if that is what you choose. You
and
Peter.”

Violet tried hard not to think of what images her friend’s words put into her head. She was not free yet.
 

She waved her hand to dismiss the subject. “So, as I said, this is an important mission. But
not
an easy one. He’s a hard man to reach, as a great many courtesans have discovered over the last eighteen months.”

“He might not keep a woman,” Olivia said with a smile. “But he does please them. I’ve heard very good things about his prowess, so at least you can have fun.”

Violet considered that. Yes, she had heard the same whispers about Windbury…Liam. That he made absolutely no connection with any woman he took to his bed, but that he was highly passionate and talented.
 

“
They
are letting a place for me in Bath and covering my expenses while I’m there.” Violet bit her lip. “Do you think you might come with me? I think you’ve heard more about the man than I have and I could use your help and advice.”

Olivia’s face lit up. “A few weeks in Bath! Of course I’ll come. There is no downside to that offer.”

Her friend continued to gush, but Violet couldn’t concentrate. The fact was, she feared there were many downsides to the project she had agreed to take on.
 

In fact, she feared the entire thing could become a disaster of epic proportions.

Chapter Two

Liam sank up to his chin in the steaming waters, letting the supposedly healing waters of Bath seep into his injured shoulder. The warmth of the natural spring helped, but he wasn’t certain he retained any miracle cures beyond the few moments of pleasure in the water.

And yet here he was, thanks in great part to the insistence of his…well, what would he call Malcolm Graham anyway? Assistant, sometime secretary, occasional estate manager…
friend
. Possibly the only one he had left, and that was likely due in large part to the fact that Mal was on his payroll.