The Duchess Hunt by Jennifer Haymore Read Free Book Online

competition between the hungriest gentlemen, and if the poor lady is
unlucky, a feeding frenzy.”
    At social events held at Ironwood Park,
Esme was quiet and desperately shy. When Sarah thought of Esme in London,
something inside her tightened with sympathy, because she just couldn’t imagine
Esme thriving amongst a bevy of beautiful and elegant ladies whinging about
which jeweled necklace to wear for that night’s ball.
    “There is also the concern that Ironwood
Park might not be entirely safe right now,” Simon added.
    “I’d be here with her. I’d keep her safe,”
Sarah said. So would the other servants.
    The corner of his lips tilted upward as he
studied her. “I believe you could protect her, Sarah, if I gave you that
responsibility. Which is why I’d like you to come, too.”
    “To… London?”
    “Yes.”
    “I… I…”
London
. Sarah had never been to
London. Even when she was a little girl, she’d wanted desperately to see the
city someday.
    “I would like to employ you to be Esme’s
companion.”
    “Her companion? But I can’t!” She said the
last word over a heavy lump in her throat.
    He frowned. “Why not?”
    Heat tightened over her cheeks. “I am not
of genteel birth.”
    He shrugged. “But you comport yourself as
if you were. No one needs to know that you’re a gardener’s daughter. The moment
you open your mouth, no one will question your upbringing.”
    “But
I
know I am not a lady,” she said. “And so do you. And Esme, too.”
    He met her eyes again, utterly serious. “I
really don’t care.”
    She sat back, stunned. Simon
always
cared about matters of propriety.
    He continued, “You are the best choice to
be a companion to Esme. You’re very good with her – I watched how you calmed
her tonight. She adores you, and she’ll listen to you.” He rested his hands
loosely over his knees. “London is a very busy place. For me, especially. I am
rarely home. I couldn’t countenance leaving her without proper companionship.”
    Sarah swallowed hard and forced herself to
say it, because as much as she wanted to go to London and be with Simon and
Esme, it was the right thing to say. “You could easily find someone else, Your
Grace.”
    Someone more qualified. He would only need
to tell a few people that he was searching for a companion for Esme, and
potential candidates would come running in droves hoping to fill the position
of companion to the Duke of Trent’s sister.
    “I thought about it, but no.”
    “Why not?”
    He broke her gaze to look down at his
hands. “You’re sensible. I trust you with Esme. More than I would trust any
stranger.”
    The way he said the last word made the
breath whoosh from her lungs. When she’d caught it again, she asked, “What if
someone should find out I’m just a housemaid?”
    With a sigh, he said, “If the
ton
is that hungry for gossip, let them. In the end, it won’t make any
difference to our lives. And the rumors will eventually fade. People in lesser
positions than head housemaid have been raised to higher positions than lady’s
companion.”
    “But you… you despise scandal,” she
whispered.
    “True. But there are things more important
than risking a small scandal, Sarah. My sister’s happiness and safety, for
one.”
    “But Lady Esme? It might not be such a
minor risk to her.” It was Esme’s reputation ultimately at stake, and unlike
Sarah’s, Esme’s reputation mattered.
    Simon’s gaze searched her, probing. “Do
you find my sister so weak?”
    “Esme is tenderhearted, yes, but this has
little to do with a person’s weakness or strength, Your Grace. It is more about
how the
ton
can sink its poison-tipped claws into a person and never let her
go.”
    “Ah. I see you have listened to our
stories of Town.” He leaned toward her slightly, his expression somber and
serious. “I am willing to risk it in this case, again, because the threat is
slim and vastly outweighed by the benefit of you being in London