Read Online The Scandalous Life of a True Lady by Bárbara Metzger - Free Book Online Page A

men in this household close-mouthed and taciturn? Do you all speak in riddles?”
    He stared at his bowl of congealing dessert with longing, she thought, although the dark spectacles hid a lot of his expression. The sigh he made did not. “Jeremy is an outgoing lad. He can tell you everything you wish to know about the horses.”
    She did not want to know anything about Major Harrison’s stables, as he well knew. “But I wish to speak with him of our…agreement. He must have mentioned it to you.”
    That got her his attention at last. He leaned closer, staring across the table at her. “Are you dissatisfied with your room? Your treatment here?”
    “Oh no, everything is lovely. It’s just the uncertainty of the whole arrangement.” She shrugged. “I feel peculiar being a guest here without knowing where I will be tomorrow, or what is expected of me.”
    He sighed again and pushed his bowl aside. “The major will make other plans for you if you are not content with these. I can make inquiries among my acquaintances to see if anyone is seeking a governess.”
    “I have no references.”
    “I have friends who can supply whatever you require.”
    “Without meeting me? Wouldn’t that be dishonest?” And what kind of friends did the secretary have, anyway, who could supply references sight unseen?
    “Are you a good governess?”
    “I tried.”
    “That would be good enough.” He went back to his syllabub, evidently considering the discussion over.
    Simone relented and let him have a spoonful or two before saying, “I do not know if the major discussed my difficulties.”
    “The major and I share everything.”
    If green glasses could shoot sparks, she’d be on fire. As it was, his words made her blood run cold. She almost dropped the glass of wine she’d been toying with. “You share…everything?”
    Now he did drop his spoon, which spattered the once-frothy confection on the tablecloth. “Great gods, Miss Ryland. No, we do not share women. Whatever gave you that idea?”
    Lydia Burton, of course, but Simone did not say so. “I am not sure of the rules of this, ah, business. The major and I did not discuss terms and conditions.”
    “I do not believe the rules, if there are any such, are written in stone. This is not like a legal contract, you know. Simply trust the major to see you are not subjected to any behavior you find offensive. He will take care of everything.”
    “Of course. That is what Mrs. Burton said. I am sorry I doubted his intentions. Or yours.”
    He grunted, then ignored her in favor of his dratted syllabub. Simone was reluctant to annoy him further, since the secretary was the one to make whatever arrangements the major decided upon. He must have become aware of her silence, or his lack of manners, for he asked, “Tell me, have you ever considered becoming an actress? Especially with your financial needs, the stage might pay more.”
    “But it is not very respectable.”
    “And prost—this path is?”
    Simone took a spoonful of syllabub without thinking. No wonder the major liked it so well; the stuff must be half spirits. She had another spoonful while she considered that the former soldier—an officer, she assumed—disapproved of her, too. She wondered if the major would have hired a mistress at all, considering his staff’s attitude, if he did not wish to attend the house party.
    “Will you be going to Lord Gorham’s gathering?”
    Mr. Harris pushed his plate away again, considering his answer. A lie would ruin his dessert. The truth could jeopardize everything else. “I go where I am needed,” he said, the good secretary.
    Simone wished he would go to the devil. The idea of this unsmiling man watching her fall from grace, judging her performance, was more unsettling than the alcohol sinking to her stomach. She had already suffered through the most awkward meal of her life. Any more of his favorite concoction and she would suffer through the rest of the night, too. She