Page 12 of The Viscount's Silent Pugilist

Didnot this timemean Jonathan usually had his mother awakened when he showed up in the middle of the night with house guests? And what about his wife, the viscountess? If the pretty woman was indeed his wife, was she also to be alerted to Genevieve’s arrival?

“Have a tray of food sent up to Miss Blue’s room right away,” Lord Davenport said. “Add some fruit, biscuits, and sweetmeats. I promised Floppy bacon, and he needs a large bowl of water.”

“Of course, sir.” Peters turned to Genevieve. “Miss Blue, would you prefer tea, chocolate, or brandy?”

Oh, how she loved chocolate. Although tea might be nice. Then again, brandy might help her sleep.

“She doesn’t speak English,” Lord Davenport said. “I haven’t discovered where she is from yet. Mayhap she is Italian. Do you speak Italian, Peters?”

“No, sir. But the Easterly’s cook is Portuguese.”

“Portuguese,” the viscount said. “Hmm. Interesting. Could be.”

This was ridiculous. What if he spent the next few days trying to talk to her in every language there was? Meanwhile, she would continue to nod her head and stare at him like a nincompoop. Sometimes she truly hated herself.

“Why don’t you send up chocolate, tea,andbrandy?” the viscount suggested. “And don’t forget, water for the mutt.”

“Of course, sir.” Peters pursed his lips, showing emotion for the first time.

“What is it?” Lord Davenport asked.

“I mean no disrespect, sir, but do you know why she is dressed as a man?”

Genevieve’s cheeks once again heated.

Lord Davenport tilted his head and looked her over from head to toe. “Mayhap to protect herself. The streets are rough. Deadly for a woman.”

Genevieve wanted to yell,Yes!You are correct.However, she was too nervous to do anything but stare like a dolt.

Her host shrugged. “Whatever her reasons are, we should respect them. See that she has her choice of both men’s and women’s clothing.”

What a kind-hearted, free-thinking man. His wife, or fiancée, was so fortunate.

“Good evening, my lord.” Peters bowed dutifully. “Come along, Miss Blue. Please bring your dog.”

Genevieve and Horatio left a shameful trail of muddy prints behind them as Peters escorted them up the stairs and down a hallway.

Peters halted in front of a door. “I hope you are very comfortable, miss.” Opening the door wide, he entered behind her. He used the flame from his candle to light the lamps,and then presented a feminine room decorated in shades of green and rose. “Make yourself comfortable while I see to the preparations. It should not take long. We are getting quite good at this.”

Obviously, there was nothing special about her, or her blue eyes, and Viscount Jonathan Davenport had a habit of showing up in the middle of the night with women requiring hot baths and clean clothing. Her heart only hurt for a moment because she would not allow herself to feel anything but grateful. Willing Peters to understand that she was sorry for both making a mess on the pristine floors and keeping him awake, she sent him a mental message. However, before she’d finished her thought, he’d backed out of the room, leaving her and Horatio alone.

She removed her boots so that she didn’t muck up the plush carpeting. As much as she desired to crawl beneath the warm counterpane, she didn’t want to get the bedding dirty. She snuggled into the viscount’s coat and settled herself cross-legged on the floor beside the door. Horatio tracked big sticky paw prints around the perimeter of the room. Eventually, he turned in two circles and curled up beneath the large window.

Someone knocked on the door, then entered before she had a chance to stand. A woman about her age, wearing nightclothes, carried a half dozen dresses.

“Miss Blue, I’m Diana,” the maid said nonchalantly, as if it were commonplace to find vagrants sitting on the floor of the viscount’s guest chamber.

Genevieve nodded and smiled.

The woman crossed the room to hang a couple of dresses in the wardrobe. She carried a nightdress to the bed and draped it over the gilded footboard.

“’Tis been so boring since Miss Josephine left. His lordship showed up with her just like he did with you. But she didn’t havea dog. Oh, my, she was trouble at first.” Diana laughed. “But we all came to love her. There isn’t a day we don’t miss her.”

Genevieve assumed that Caroline was the viscount’s sister, so who was Miss Josephine? Was that the curvaceous woman who’d been with him earlier in the evening?

There was another knock on the door. Diana opened it for two men carrying a tub. Three other men also entered, then proceeded to chase Horatio around the room. Eventually, they tethered him to a rope, then dragged him toward the door.

“We’ll return him when he is clean,” one of the men called to her.