Page 18 of The Duke Decides

“And you are lady-in-waiting to Adelaide, the Duchess of Clarence,” Louisa clarified.

The Marchioness nodded. “We currently reside at Bushy House, but if things carry on as they are…” She paused delicately, for it was not done to discuss the death of the monarch, even in private. “There is talk that I might become Lady of the Bedchamber to the new Queen. As such, I would oversee the women of the bedchamber, and the staff who support them.”

Louisa understood how it worked, and what a change it signified. George IV had not had a Queen to attend. Ladies of the Bedchamber and the women of the Queen’s household were ladies in truth, the wives of peers, and their duties were to dress and attend the Queen, perhaps assist in household duties.

But there would be other women who did the real labor of brushing gowns and washing linens, stitching ruffles to sleeves and hems, ferrying the water the Queen used for bathing, emptying the royal chamber pot. They would need women of skill, accountability, and absolute discretion.

“And you are considering bringing on new staff hired from here,” Louisa ventured to confirm.

Lady Emily nodded. “We will see how they fit at Bushy House, and if they are suitable, it is very likely they will move to the new household when the Duchess … experiences a change in circumstances.”

When the hated George IV died, that was to say, and his doltish buffoon of a brother became the next King.

“What made you consider us?” Louisa felt pressed to ask.

“I asked around among my friends.” Other peers’ wives, countesses and viscountesses and duchesses and marchionesses, she would mean. The women who influenced Society and oversaw its rules as well as its cruelties. “I was surprised to learn how many women of stature are patrons and benefactors of this Hospital. There is the connection to the Minerva Society, and Miss Gregoire’s Academy in Bath.” Her ladyship’s eyes softened at the corners. “It seems a place I might send my Rosie. They do produce clever girls.”

“I am sure we can accommodate your requirements, Lady Emily,” Louisa said. “I am honored you should think of our institution.”

The Marchioness nodded again. “The Benevolence Hospital has an impeccable reputation. No abuses, no cruelty, no deprivation as one sees elsewhere. I’ve looked over the girls, and they all seem healthy and well-behaved and well-fed. Girls who have not known want are less prone to stealing, I find, and more prone to display the kind of respectability and decorous behavior that the Duchess of Clarence will hope to see.

“She is a great one for propriety, the Duchess. Not of the stern or repressive sort; she merely values modest behavior. And the girls from the Benevolence Hospital have a reputation for being amiable, clever, kind, obedient, and, most importantly, discreet.”

“Oh, mum,” gushed Alice, who had entered with the tea tray and was arranging the things, “we’s are all those things, ever so much.”

“Thank you, Alice, I will pour,” Louisa said, offering a weak smile to Lady Emily. “Alice is new here, dear child, and accustomed to being frank with me.”

“That speaks well of her, that she is in your confidence and unafraid to speak her mind.” Lady Emily smiled upon Alice with benevolence. “What do you think, child? Would there be girls here who would wait on the future Queen?”

“Oh, I could, mum. Milady,” Alice corrected herself, catching Louisa’s low murmur. The girl clasped the tea towel in her hands. “I never gets the bath water too hot, I’m a hand at getting out bloodstains, and I won’t complain when it’s my turn to empty the jordan. Never.” She delivered the last with a solemn shake of her head for emphasis.

“Well, then. I shall leave a list of the open positions, along with the skills and responsibilities for each, and I will trust your judgment to select proper candidates for my consideration, Matron.”

“Please, call me Louisa.” She rose. “I appreciate your faith in us, Lady Emily. This will mean so much to the girls.”

And to the institution. If the Benevolence Hospital were known to be furnishing staff for the royal household, their reputation would reach a pinnacle. Funds would roll in; everyone of stature would want to be known as a benefactor for the Queen’s pet charity, when Queen she became.

The connections and recommendations would flower from there. Benevolence girls would be in demand for their training, dutifulness, and discretion. Little Alice looked as dazed at the prospect as Louisa felt.

She could not let a dastardly blackmailer ruin all this. Louisa curled her fists at her waist. She would not. She would do everything in her power to obstruct his threats and save them all from destruction.

She’d stopped a terrible man before. What was one more crime?

“Oh, mum,” Alice said, turning to Louisa, “they’s a gent clattering to see ye. Shall I let him—in?”

She trailed off on the last word, for a man stepped into the doorway of the parlor, riveting every female eye to his fine, tall figure.

The sight of him stopped Louisa’s heart and stole her breath. She had no doubt he was accustomed to having that effect.

Here he was. Her enemy. Her lover. Her doom.

And he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

Chapter Seven

Gabe had forgotten how beautiful she was, or rather, he’d not gotten a proper look. His head was still filled with the scent of her, honeysuckle and jasmine and something deep and rich that bespoke woman. His hands still bore the print of her soft flesh, his mouth the taste of her mouth and the shape of her delicious nipples.

His body remembered everything, and stirred at the reminder.