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The following morning as she left her room to go down to breakfast, Eve tried to recapture the emotions she’d had last night, emotions that had made it completely appropriate and perfectly right for her to see Lord Stainton and try to persuade him to consider her as a nursemaid to his children. In the cold light of day, however, what she was planning to do seemed completely insane.
Beth was incredulous and appalled when Eve told her what she intended. Lifting a spoonful of steaming porridge to his lips, William glanced across at her. Diplomatic as always, he was prepared to listen to what their guest had planned in more detail before voicing an opinion.
‘You are going to ask Lord Stainton to employ you?’ Beth gasped. ‘But, Eve, that’s preposterous. You dislike him intensely.’
‘In all honesty, I don’t know what I think and it’s absolutely insane I know, but I’m going to ask him just the same.’
‘What? After he almost trampled you to death beneath his horse and berated you and unfairly accused you of being drunk?’
‘It wasn’t his fault. I suppose that’s how it must have looked to him. He jumped to the wrong conclusion, that was all. He can be forgiven for that.’
‘Eve, you are a very wealthy woman,’ William stated calmly. ‘You have no reason to work for your living.’
‘I have yet to receive my inheritance, William, as well you know, and I can’t possibly go on living with you and Beth indefinitely. No, I have made up my mind to do this.’ She raised her hand to silence Beth as she was about to protest. ‘I have to seek temporary employment.’ She smiled at the concern clouding Beth’s eyes. ‘You need not look so worried. Feeling as he does towards me, Lord Stainton might well show me the door.’
‘Oh, dear. No good will come of this, I just know it. Have you not considered remarrying, Eve? Several gentlemen have shown considerable interest in you since your arrival in London—all eminently suitable and available.’
A darkness entered Eve’s eyes and she shook her head emphatically. ‘No, Beth. At this present time marriage is the last thing I want. Marriage to Andrew taught me many things—most of them unpleasant—and I am in no hurry to repeat the experience.’
Beth had always suspected that Eve’s marriage had not been happy, but Eve had never spoken of it. ‘But what you are doing—you, the most sensible woman I know—alarms me. Had it been anyone other than Lucas Stainton you were to approach for employment, I would not be so concerned.’
Eve laughed brightly. ‘Don’t be. I have made up my mind. It is the best solution—and only temporary. It will be perfect for me and enable me to keep Estelle close at hand. I also find myself concerned for Lord Stainton’s children—they are going to miss Sarah Lacy dreadfully. If their father is still in need of someone to take care of them, I hope to persuade him to consider me for the position.’
Beth frowned and carefully considered her words. ‘Well, he is a very proud man and he doesn’t have the inclination to make himself liked, which is something we both know. His character has many contradictions and, I suppose, if you are set on going ahead with this madcap scheme, then it’s as well you know what you are letting yourself in for.’
Eve frowned. ‘You speak in riddles. I don’t follow you, Beth.’
‘There is another side to the scandal his divorce created. You see, he is a popular figure, but there are drawing rooms where he is admitted, but not welcome—although no one would dare give him the cut direct. At the time of his separation from his wife, some people took her side, saying he was heartless and cruel to divorce the mother of his children.’
‘But she left him to live with his brother. Surely he cannot be blamed for that.’
Beth lifted her brows. ‘Can’t he? You see, some of her friends said he drove her away, that she found it impossible to live with his black moods and that she was afraid of him. Some of the more vicious gossips even went so far as to intimate that he refused to let her see the children.’
‘And was this true?’
‘This piece of slander was repeated, but never credited,’ William was quick to say. ‘However, it has been noted that she is estranged from her children. Some regard Lucas Stainton as a cold, frightening, unapproachable individual—and you have accused him of being cold and aloof yourself, Eve. He is an exacting master who demands only the very best from those he employs—at least such was the case before he had to thin out his servants.’
Eve was thoughtful for a moment. ‘He does become angry easily, but I believe there is good reason for this. He can’t be happy with his situation and because of it he can be just as easily hurt as anyone else. But—did he really deny his wife access to the children?’
‘I don’t know the truth of it, Eve, but I do know that I shall worry about you if you go to live in his house,’ Beth said, reaching out to take Eve’s hand.
‘You needn’t, Beth. I am not afraid of him and I can take care of myself.’ Eve gave Beth’s quiet, fair-haired attractive husband an enquiring look. ‘I believe he’s in the process of selling his London house to move to Laurel Court.’
‘Yes. I don’t believe he has a buyer yet, although it is a fine house and in a prime location, so I have no doubt he will soon have it off his hands.’
‘And he is having to sell because of his brother’s gambling debts?’
William nodded, reaching for a piece of toast. ‘Sadly, Stephen Stainton exhibited a proclivity towards all manner of expensive vices. He gambled all the time—it had nothing to do with having fun, it was an addiction. He lost the astronomical sum of one hundred thousand pounds on one hand of piquet at White’s and offered his estate in payment of the enormous debt. Fortunately his brother stepped in and paid it.’
‘He could afford to?’
‘My word, yes. At that time Lucas Stainton was a wealthy man. He’s a brilliant head for business and was making enormous returns on every investment. Unfortunately it wasn’t the first time he’d had to bail his brother out, but this almost ruined him.’
Eve felt a stirring of admiration for Lord Stainton. ‘Clearing up his brother’s mess while said brother was conducting an affair with his wife was definitely a kindness on his part, and I realise I shall have to reassess my opinion of him. He appears to be rather unapproachable and capable of giving the kind of crushing set-downs that make one cringe. Why, when he accused me of being intoxicated at Lady Ellesmere’s party, so convincing was his attitude that I thought I might be until I remembered taking Beth’s headache powders. It was most humiliating and embarrassing.’
‘And I don’t suppose you can see what women see in him either,’ William teased gently.
‘Yes, I can,’ she responded laughingly. ‘I’ll do him the justice to admit he’s terribly attractive. What is your opinion of him, William?’
‘I like and respect him—I always have. But make no mistake. Whatever that man does, he does on his terms. There isn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t be impervious to him.’
‘There you are, then,’ Eve said, laughing lightly. ‘You are one of the most sensible people I know, William, so I would believe you above all others.’
Beth smiled. ‘Bless you for that, Eve, and I do agree with what you say about my husband. Lucas Stainton is one of the most attractive men on the social scene, a man who stands out among his fellow men. Wherever he goes women strive to please him, for despite his cynical attitude—although some more sensible members of the ton have remarked that he has good reason to be cynical where women are concerned—there is an aura of virility about him that does dangerous things to their hearts.’
‘And how does Lord Stainton react to these adoring females who simper around him? Is there not one among so many who is capable of thawing his cold heart?’
‘Not to my knowledge. Oh, he is no more immune to a pretty face than the next man, but since his divorce he has conducted his affairs with absolute discretion. There are those who know him well, like my own William, who say he inspires esteem and respect because he represents a rare specimen of a nobleman par excellence. On the other hand, there are those who accuse him of being a brute and intolerant of others, and with his droll replies in conversation and stunned expressions, he makes people feel that they are utterly stupid.’
‘Perhaps that’s because they are,’ Eve murmured with a half-smile. ‘As you have just said, Beth, perhaps if they knew him well they would perceive that he is much nicer than he appears.’
Beth looked at her curiously. ‘Eve, what is this? You aren’t enamoured of him after just three encounters, surely?’
‘No,’ Eve replied, laughing at the very idea. ‘Quite the opposite, in fact. My encounters with Lord Stainton were anything but friendly—in fact, I found the man quite insufferable—but I have seen some of the qualities you speak of and I’m willing to take a chance on him—as he might with me.’
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