Beauty and the Earl Read Free

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?”