“I would offer you a chair,” he said, “but I have only the one at the desk. Will you join me closer to the fire?”
She moved closer. Then bounced away. “No!”
“Please. Let me explain.”
She approached the flames carefully, gaze boring holes into him. Made his scar itch. He clenched his hand into a fist to keep it fromreaching up and ruffling his hair until it fell over the semicircle. Better she didn’t have to look at it. He’d ask Coxley to style his hair differently when they traveled as man and wife to visit Mr. Barlow and win Rowan’s inn.
She wasn’t a maid. He had no Sarah Crewe in his notebook. Not one of his twenty. But she wore the distinctive green and white uniform all the Hestia maids wore. Beneath the brim of her lacy cap, her hair caught the glint of the dying flames in the grate, spun shadows to gold. Small. Delicate. The impishness he’d seen in her face before now hardened into rage. If she feared him, she did not show it. Her tipped-up chin dared the world, dared him, to underestimate her.
Yes, perfect. “There is a new position within my hotel that needs filling, and I would like you to fill it.”
“I’m a maid.”
“No, you’re not. I did not hire you. You do not receive pay from me. But you can.”
“I don’t need money.” She flinched. She’d not meant to say that.
“Very well. But you need something. Or you would not return here week after week. What is it you do need, Miss Crewe?”
“Nothing you can give me.”
“Brazen chit, aren’t you?”
She shrugged, as if being brazen were as common as breathing, barely worth a mention.
“But I know better than to believe you. Now, let us talk details.”
“Thank heavens. I begin to tire of the dark.”
“I prefer darkness.”
“And vagueness.”
“Will you let me speak?”
She spread her hands wide. “By all means. You’re the one who detoured from the primary subject of discourse.” How old was she? Surely no more than one and twenty. Rosy cheeks and diamond eyes. Blue. But they sparked. They could cut, too, he had no doubt.
“What will you do”—he tilted his head to one side—“if I banish you from Hestia?”
“I would prefer not to be banished. But I will survive.” Beneath thehigh, ill-fitting bodice of her Hestia gown, her small bosom rose and fell. Irritated?
“I control something you want, then. Excellent.”
Rage vibrated in every line of her body. “And what will you do with this power?”
“I already told you. Make you Mrs. Trent. Do not worry. It is only pretend, and I will pay you well. Or if you truly have no need of money, I will give you freedom to roam Hestia as you please. As long as you do no harm to my guests, my staff, or my hotel.”
“You want me to pretend to be your wife? Why?” Her eyes wide, her lips razor thin, her cheeks roses of rage. Bloody magnificent.
“I do not wish for a wife, but it seems I need one to expand Hestia beyond London’s borders. Tomorrow, I travel to Stevenage to convince the current owner of an inn there to sell. To me. He’s a family man and will not sell to a bachelor. Meet me here at half past one, pretend to be my wife all the way to Stevenage and back. Then”—he leaned against the mantel, crossing his arms over his chest—“you may do as you please at Hestia. By the way… what is it you do here? Besides the others maids’ unwanted tasks?”
She regarded him for a silent second, then stood, her shoulders pressed back. “Well. This is certainly an easy inquiry to answer.” She made her way with clipped steps toward the door. “No, thank you, Mr. Trent. There are other hotels. It’s just a building, after all.” She reached for the door.
“A building? Is that what you think Hestia is?” His blood boiled, but he doused it with ice. “Brick and mortar?”
“What else is it? And what else are you but a devil attempting to seduce a young woman to ruination?”
“True on only one count, little mouse. I am a devil, but I have no desire to seduce. Wrong, as well about thisbuilding. Hestia is a fire when it’s cold and a soft mattress when you are tired. It is a bustling family when you are sick of solitude and an escape when you need one. Hestia is a home, and I will excise any rodent who dare make it otherwise.”
