I Thee Wed Read Free Page B

you know.”
    His brow rose. “Did you, indeed? How very observant of you. I had thought that I was unseen and unnoticed by anyone. I used to be rather good at that sort of thing. Perhaps my skills have grown rusty.” He broke off abruptly. “Never mind. Concerning my presence in Lady Ames’s chamber. There is a simple enough explanation. I was trying to avoid you.”
    “Me?”
    “When I arrived on that particular floor, I caught a glimpse of someone standing out on the balcony at the far end. I knew that whoever she was, she would certainly see me when she walked back into the corridor. Iused a picklock to open one of the bedchamber doors and let myself inside. I planned to wait there until you had vacated the hall before I continued my search.”
    “What a tangle.” Emma folded her arms beneath her breasts. “Nevertheless, I suppose I must be grateful to you, sir.”
    “Why is that?”
    She shrugged. “If you had not picked the lock on Lady Ames’s door, I would not have found it open, and there was nowhere else to hide in that hallway.”
    “I am always delighted to be of service to a charming lady.”
    “Hmm.” She studied him with a sidelong glance. “I don’t suppose you would care to tell me exactly what it was that you were searching for tonight?”
    “I’m afraid not. It is a personal matter.”
    I’ll wager it is
, Emma thought. Whatever this was about, one thing was swiftly becoming very clear. Edison Stokes had every bit as much to hide as she did. “Your story is inventive, to say the least, Mr. Stokes.”
    He smiled faintly. “And your predicament is delicate, is it not, Miss Greyson?”
    She hesitated and then inclined her head. “Obviously. I will be frank, sir. I cannot afford a scandal that would cause me to lose my post as Lady Mayfield’s companion.
    “Do you think that is likely?” Edison sounded politely dubious. “For all her wealth and position in Society, Lady Mayfield does not strike me as being too high in the instep.”
    “Nevertheless, I dare not risk putting any strain on her sensibilities. Lady Mayfield has been extremely kind to me. I am fortunate in that she likes to style herself an eccentric. She is better able to tolerate my little lapses than some of my previous employers were, but—”
    “Little lapses?”
    Emma cleared her throat. “I have lost three positions during the past few months, sir. As you just heard, one of them was because of Chilton Crane. But I was dismissed from the other two because of my inability to resist voicing my opinions on occasion.”
    “I see.”
    “Letty is very open-minded about some things—”
    “Letty? Ah, you refer to Lady Mayfield.”
    “She insists I call her by her given name. As I said, she is eccentric. But I cannot expect her to keep me in her service if she is confronted with a serious charge against my virtue. To do so would make her a laughingstock in the ton.”
    “I understand.” Edison pondered that for a few seconds. “Well then, Miss Greyson, it would seem that both of us have good reason to keep our personal affairs confidential.”
    “Yes.” She relaxed slightly. “May I assume that you are willing to keep silent about the incident in which I was involved in Ralston Manor if I agree not to tell anyone that you have come to Ware Castle to prowl through the guests’ bedchambers?”
    “Indeed. Do we have a gentleman’s agreement, Miss Greyson?”
    “What we have,” Emma said, her spirits lightening swiftly, “is a gentleman’s and a
lady’s
agreement.”
    “I beg your pardon.” He inclined his head with grave respect. “A gentleman’s and a lady’s agreement, of course. Tell me, does your emphasis on the matter of equality mean that you are, perhaps, a reader of Mary Wollstonecraft and her ilk?”
    “I have read Wollstonecraft’s
Vindication of the Rights of Women
, yes.” Emma raised her chin. “I foundit filled with a great deal of sound reasoning and common sense.”
    “I will not