Page 75 of The Duchess Curse

Guin looked to the dowager. “You’re the Earl of Maryville’s mother. He spares no love for me.” A nice way of saying he wants me dead.

The older woman studied Guin’s lips as she spoke, then said, “He’s a prick.”

“I won’t disagree.”

“And he won’t come after you anymore. He’s mortified he tried to kill a duchess, keeps complaining it’s not fair you hid your marriage.”

“Do you think it’s unfair?”

“I think a woman’s got to take what advantages come her way. A neglectful husband is one of the best of them. I want a potion for my eyes. The spectacles solution. I haven’t used my ears much in decades, but I need my eyes to read lips. And I haven’t been able to do as well since your shop burned down.”

Guin looked at the other two women. “And your husbands approve of you being here?”

“I don’t particularly care,” the baroness said.

Miss Prince’s cheeks were apple red. “I’m not married.”

Guin grinned. “Excellent.” She led them into the conservatory, yawning. The mess sprawled across the worktable reminded her—she didn’t have time to brew potions for the ton. She now had two mysteries to solve. Bran’s and the queen’s. “Take your gloves off,” she instructed.

The women blinked at her.

Guin repeated the command, looking straight at the dowager duchess, who nodded and stripped her hands bare.

“Now what?” the older woman asked.

“Now”—Guin yawned again—“I’m going to teach you how to make your potion yourself. So that you can do so as it pleases you.”

The women exchanged nervous glances.

“If you cannot bring yourself to pick and cut and boil, you may leave. A potion works best when it is brewed by the one who will use it. What you get from me is generic. It is better if you meet personally with one of my shopgirls to help brew, but it is best if you do it yourself. Your face salve will brighten your complexion just as you like it. Your sight solution will be better than any pair of spectacles. And your—” She considered the viscount’s daughter. “What is it you want?”

Miss Prince’s lower lip trembled, and her cheeks turned red as berries. “A potion to ward against conception.”

“Ah. Yes. If you brew your own, you’ll not have a babe in your belly unless you want it.”

The young woman peeked up at her and stripped her gloves off.

The baroness and dowager did as well.

And then, with Guin’s instructions, they set off into the plants to find what they needed.

Guin yawned, placing a hand over her mouth. The earth seemed to tug at her, as if it wanted her to lie down, but she shook fatigue away and gripped tighter to the edge of the table.

A cloud moved over the sun, and the conservatory darkened, a bulky shadow drifted nearer to her and settled at her side.

“Is that a glamour or some Second Shadow magic?” she whispered.

“A little of both. You are good at this.”

“At what?”

“Leading them.”

Her heart clenched like a fist. “You cannot convince me to stay on as your duchess.”

“I know. Still… they’re defying convention for you. Transcendent women grow up thinking work of any sort is beneath them.”

“I did not have a typical upbringing.”