Indiscretion by Jillian Hunter Read Free Book Online

a murderer at all," Nellwyn conceded. "This entire affair might be nothing but idle gossip. However, it is our duty to stop the taint of scandal from spreading. I have promised the Queen discretion."
    "Then Patrick definitely needs to stay home," Anne said.
    "Patrick does not need to stay home," Nellwyn said crossly. "He is the most important part of my plan."
    "And what exactly is this brilliant plan?" Anne asked.
    Nellwyn's eyes twinkled with anticipation. "At first I thought he should go in disguise as a coachman or gamekeeper to conduct the investigation. And then I realized such a masquerade would not suit our purposes."
    "Well, thank God," Patrick said.
    "So," Nellwyn went on, positively bubbling, "I decided he should pose as your butler."
    Silence fell; when Patrick finally found his voice, it emerged as a raw croak.
    "Me, posing as—a butler?"
    Anne all but fell off the sofa in a paroxysm of laughter.
    "Yes," Nellwyn said delightedly. "Isn't it the most ingenious scheme in the world? You see, there are two positions of power in every proper household. The lady and her butler."
    "What happened to the man being master of his domain?" Patrick asked.
    "It is a myth," Nellwyn retorted.
    Anne smiled. "Everyone knows that."
    "Bloody hell," Patrick said. "No one told me I was to pose as a domestic. This is damned humiliating."
    Anne attempted to look serious. "Oh, but it is so clever, Auntie Nellwyn. He shall be our personal belowstairs spy."
    "Exactly." Nellwyn scooted her chair toward the sofa where Patrick sat, as enthusiastic as a stone. "We need someone to move around the substrata of society to pry. A butler has access to secrets that would never be divulged to a gentleman—the gossip of tradesmen, servants, guests. Such a masquerade will also serve to protect your reputation, Anne. It will explain why you and Patrick spend time together."
    "And I'm supposed to protect Anne between polishing the silver and listening at keyholes, am I?" he said distastefully
    Nellwyn chuckled. "Precisely. You'll barely have to leave her side."
    "Except at night," Anne added.
    "No one in the parish knows you, Patrick," Nellwyn said. "You have never attended one of Anne's famous shooting parties before."
    He folded his arms across his huge chest. "This isn't what I had in mind."
    Anne arched her brow. "But you couldn't live with yourself, knowing you had failed to help an invalid in her last months, could you? You would never let pride stand in the way of protecting Edgar's name, would you?"
    He stared at her in dead silence.
    "Excuse me a for moment," Nellwyn said, rising from her chair. "I must pop outside to make sure the coachman isn't still waiting in the rain. I can see we'll be talking into the wee small hours. You'll both stay the night, of course."
    Anne waited until the door closed before she broke into a devilish grin. "Remember, you've received a royal order."
    He drew a breath. "The Queen didn't order me to be your damned butler. My featherbrained auntie did."
    "Well, it amounts to the same thing," she said. "You were told to follow Nellwyn's instructions."
    "But she's insane."
    "You'll have to learn to curb that tongue if you expect to be in my employ," she said mischievously.
    He shoved his rawboned body to the edge of the sofa. "You're taking pleasure in this, aren't you?"
    "Do you blame me?"
    He didn't answer, and she knew she shouldn't gloat, but wasn't it just perfect? This was the setting-down the arrogant devil deserved.
    "What have I done to merit this?" he asked at last. "Oh, aye, I know the obvious, but I didn't know you concealed such a capacity for vengeance in your heart."
    She stared at him. "Do you really think a girl gives herself to a charming man and then forgets him? I was devastated at what we had done, Patrick. My parents thought I was possessed of demons. I never had a chance at making a happy marriage afterward. I could not stop thinking of you for ages."
    "Could you not have waited for me,