will.”
Riley looked up at the ceiling. “And how would you explain the need for Hashim’s constant presence?”
“Though I’m loath to admit it and find it completely out of character, I’d say on this matter I’d tell the truth,” Aggie declared. “Just explain to the Earl that someone is trying to kill you.”
Chapter 3
T he next morning Mason stared out his study window onto Ashlin Square as a hackney delivered Madame Fontaine and her servant, Hashim, promptly at half past nine. He smiled to himself as he watched the woman bring her hand up to shield her eyes from the early spring sunshine.
Must seem quite an ungodly hour for a night creature such as yourself , he thought, wondering what time in the afternoon actresses usually stirred from their well-appointed lodgings.
Not that he’d ever been to an actress’s apartment, but he could well imagine the place, having been presented by Freddie’s last thespian mistress with the unpaid bills for the rich furnishings and costly bric-a-brac his brother had contributed to the lady’s unholy den.
As he gazed down at Madame Fontaine and mentally tallied the expense of her latest outfit, he realized that not only opulent surroundings, but even more costly wardrobes appeared to be indispensable attributes for actresses.
Though today’s gown, with its deceptively innocent hues of pink, was less ostentatious than yesterday’s, thedress did little to hide her…how had one of the young bucks at the club phrased it last night?
Ah, yes, Mason recalled, her devastating charms .
And this was the woman he’d allowed Cousin Felicity to convince him would be the perfect tutor for his young nieces?
If he wanted them to grow up to be the worst kind of Cyprians!
What had he been thinking?
No, he corrected himself, he knew exactly what he’d been thinking with, glancing again at the glorious rise of her breasts and the seductive curve of her waist and hips as she sauntered toward the steps.
He’d like to hope the chiffon scarf draped over her bare shoulders was her concession to modesty, yet the fabric was so diaphanous that its original nod toward propriety had been lost as it did little to conceal her…how had the other member of his club put it?
Her arresting attributes .
Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull his gaze away, however he found it enticed and beckoned by the saucy white plumes on her hat as they undulated with her every sleek movement. Even her powdered and curled hair hinted of slumbering seductive captivity, lying as it did in a thick ringlet of deceptively controlled curls against the bare skin of her neck and throat, just waiting to be unbound and freed by an anxious lover.
In one hot, fleeting moment, he saw himself with her, unfettered of his life of restraint, free to unwrap all her rich trappings one silken piece at a time, in a moonlit room furnished in red velvet and far from Mayfair…far from the responsibilities of…
Eh gads, what was he thinking? In shock, Mason took a deep breath and hastily stepped away from the window.
Those kinds of musings belonged to the likes of Frederick, and for that matter, their sire before them. And the three prior generations of Ashlins who’d built the family’s reputation of being more than willing to tally up debts and vowels in the lusty pursuit of nightly encounters with opera singers…and actresses.
It was a wonder the title or any property remained.
No, Mason told himself sternly, he’d been smart to ignore Frederick’s chiding remarks about the University’s requirement that their professors live celibate lives. The strict regime had taught him how to remain focused on his studies, and now would help him stay the course while he restored the Ashlin name and fortunes.
That is as soon as he got rid of Madame Fontaine and her unwanted influence.
He glanced over at the window, and began considering his choice of words as he waited for Belton to announce her arrival.
Tucking his hands
Riley looked up at the ceiling. “And how would you explain the need for Hashim’s constant presence?”
“Though I’m loath to admit it and find it completely out of character, I’d say on this matter I’d tell the truth,” Aggie declared. “Just explain to the Earl that someone is trying to kill you.”
Chapter 3
T he next morning Mason stared out his study window onto Ashlin Square as a hackney delivered Madame Fontaine and her servant, Hashim, promptly at half past nine. He smiled to himself as he watched the woman bring her hand up to shield her eyes from the early spring sunshine.
Must seem quite an ungodly hour for a night creature such as yourself , he thought, wondering what time in the afternoon actresses usually stirred from their well-appointed lodgings.
Not that he’d ever been to an actress’s apartment, but he could well imagine the place, having been presented by Freddie’s last thespian mistress with the unpaid bills for the rich furnishings and costly bric-a-brac his brother had contributed to the lady’s unholy den.
As he gazed down at Madame Fontaine and mentally tallied the expense of her latest outfit, he realized that not only opulent surroundings, but even more costly wardrobes appeared to be indispensable attributes for actresses.
Though today’s gown, with its deceptively innocent hues of pink, was less ostentatious than yesterday’s, thedress did little to hide her…how had one of the young bucks at the club phrased it last night?
Ah, yes, Mason recalled, her devastating charms .
And this was the woman he’d allowed Cousin Felicity to convince him would be the perfect tutor for his young nieces?
If he wanted them to grow up to be the worst kind of Cyprians!
What had he been thinking?
No, he corrected himself, he knew exactly what he’d been thinking with, glancing again at the glorious rise of her breasts and the seductive curve of her waist and hips as she sauntered toward the steps.
He’d like to hope the chiffon scarf draped over her bare shoulders was her concession to modesty, yet the fabric was so diaphanous that its original nod toward propriety had been lost as it did little to conceal her…how had the other member of his club put it?
Her arresting attributes .
Taking a deep breath, he tried to pull his gaze away, however he found it enticed and beckoned by the saucy white plumes on her hat as they undulated with her every sleek movement. Even her powdered and curled hair hinted of slumbering seductive captivity, lying as it did in a thick ringlet of deceptively controlled curls against the bare skin of her neck and throat, just waiting to be unbound and freed by an anxious lover.
In one hot, fleeting moment, he saw himself with her, unfettered of his life of restraint, free to unwrap all her rich trappings one silken piece at a time, in a moonlit room furnished in red velvet and far from Mayfair…far from the responsibilities of…
Eh gads, what was he thinking? In shock, Mason took a deep breath and hastily stepped away from the window.
Those kinds of musings belonged to the likes of Frederick, and for that matter, their sire before them. And the three prior generations of Ashlins who’d built the family’s reputation of being more than willing to tally up debts and vowels in the lusty pursuit of nightly encounters with opera singers…and actresses.
It was a wonder the title or any property remained.
No, Mason told himself sternly, he’d been smart to ignore Frederick’s chiding remarks about the University’s requirement that their professors live celibate lives. The strict regime had taught him how to remain focused on his studies, and now would help him stay the course while he restored the Ashlin name and fortunes.
That is as soon as he got rid of Madame Fontaine and her unwanted influence.
He glanced over at the window, and began considering his choice of words as he waited for Belton to announce her arrival.
Tucking his hands
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