She turns to me. “I will do that. Your fee, miss?”
I resist the urge to demur. Taking wages from Gray still feels a bit like taking money from my host. I landed in his world—in the body of his housemaid—and he’s stuck with me. Except I’m not a layabout guest, leeching off my hosts. I do my job, and I do it well. If Lady Inglis is offering to pay—andwantsto pay—I should take her up on it. I also shouldn’t insult either of us by undervaluing my services.
“Ten percent of the blackmail demand,” I say. “If I identify the person responsible, I’ll take ten percent. However, what you do with that information is up to you. I would suggest it goes to the police after that. Or, if it turns out to be someone you know, you can decide how to handle it.”
“That is reasonable,” Lady Inglis says. “Ten percent, then, for identifying the person behind this before I need to pay the ransom. You will decide whether to take this case and let me know by this evening.”
“I will.”
We leave as soon as lunch is finished. I barely touched my cake. At home, that would have had Gray eyeing it, and I’d slide it over for him to finish. Even if I were in that sort of mood—which I am not—he doesn’t even glance at my plate, and I notice his own cake is only half gone.
Lady Inglis accompanies us down the hall. Simon has the coach at the stable, and we’ll walk to it rather than have a member of the staff run and fetch him. When we step out, Lady Inglis murmurs, “A word, please, Duncan?”
“I’ll be at the stables,” I say, not glancing to see his reaction.
“Wait,” he says. “I will walk with you. The path can be uneven.”
Uneven cobblestones are a fact of life in Victorian times, which makes it an odd excuse, but I don’t argue. I pull my cloak tighter against the cold and step aside to wait as they talk.
“I really must be going,” Gray says to Lady Inglis. “I do not want Miss Mitchell to take a tumble.”
I shake my head. Really? That’s the best he can come up with?
“This will only take a moment,” Lady Inglis says.
Not wanting to eavesdrop, I walk around the corner of the house, only for Gray to call, “Mallory? Please do not wander.”
Do not wander? Am I a sheep now?
I return to where Gray can see me, but unfortunately, I can still hear them, though I look the other way and pretend I can’t.
“I wished to apologize,” Lady Inglis says. “I was unspeakably churlish last night when I spoke of your relationship with Miss Mitchell.”
“She is my assistant?—”
“Yes. I see that now, which is why I am apologizing for insinuating anything else.”
“I would not hire a young woman with the intention of being dishonorable.”
She sighs. “I know, and I was wrong to suggest otherwise. Idoknow you better than that. Even if she were not your assistant, the mistake would have been an insult.”
“An insult to...?” he says carefully.
She laughs softly. “To you, obviously, Duncan. While she is clearly intelligent, she is very young and... very much not to your taste. She is a peony. You prefer pansies.”
Something in me bristles at that. Yes, Catriona has a very showy sort of beauty. There is nothing subtle or refined about it. But how she looks is a matter of genetics, and her personal style didn’t take advantage of that any more than mine does. I’m dressed very primly, with more of my bosom hidden than is fashionable.
Gray’s voice cools. “I would like to end this conversation now, Patricia.”
“I am not insulting Miss Mitchell, Duncan. She is a spectacularly lovely girl, with a keen intelligence. Were she a decade older, I would be jealous.”
“Which you have no reason to be, as you and I are no longer together.”
Another deep sigh. “That is not what I meant. I know you are no longer interested in me, and I respect that. I only mean that I would find myself envying any woman who caught your eye. It reminds me that I caught it once upon a time, and I was careless, which I regret very much.”
“I do not see the point of this conversation,” Gray says. “I would suggest we end it.”
“I never say the right thing to you, do I?” she murmurs, and there’s something in her voice that makes me feel sorry for Lady Inglis. What happened to end her relationship with Gray wasn’t her fault—he hadn’t made it clear he expected monogamy. It was a misunderstanding that led to hurt pride, which cost her someone she obviously cared for.
