Page 10 of The Paid Companion

“An attendant?” St. Merryn’s expression hardened. “What the devil are you talking about?”

“It is rather bleak and gloomy outside, is it not?” she said gently. “One can easily become lost in a fog like this.” Especially if one’s mind is also filled with strange vapors and visions, she added silently. “But I’m certain that there is someone who will come and guide you home. If you could just let Mrs. Goodhew and Mrs. Willis know where to send a message...”

Understanding and then icy amusement lit St. Merryn’s eyes. “You think I’m mad, don’t you?”

“No such thing, my lord. I was merely trying to be helpful.” She took a cautious step back toward the door. “But if there should happen to be a tiny problem here, I am confident that Mrs. Goodhew and Mrs. Willis will be able to deal with it.”

Concluding that it would not be wise to turn her back on a lunatic, she groped awkwardly behind herself, searching for the doorknob.

“No doubt.” His smile was wry and fleeting. “I’ll wager those two are capable of dealing with just about anything, including a deranged client. But, as it happens, Miss Lodge, I am not mad.” He shrugged. “At least, I do not believe that I am. If you will take your hand off that doorknob, I will attempt to explain.”

She did not move.

He raised his brows slightly. “I promise you, I will make it worth your while.”

“In thefinancialsense?”

His mouth tilted a little at one corner. “Is there any other sense?”

Not as far as she was concerned, she thought. In her current predicament, she could not afford to overlook any reasonable offer of employment. The shimmering dream of a new future for herself that she had created out of thin air that long, lonely night six months before, had proved far more difficult to achieve in real life than she had ever imagined. Money was the sticking point. She needed this post.

St. Merryn might be mad, but he did not appear to be a depraved rakehell or a drunkard as had been the case with two of her potential employers that afternoon.

In point of fact, she thought, he was starting to sound more and more like a man who understood how to conduct a business negotiation. She admired that quality in a gentleman.

And he was most certainly not on his deathbed, either, as the third potential client that day had been. Quite the contrary, there was a disconcerting, intensely intriguing air of masculine vitality about him that stirred her in a way she could not describe. He was not handsome, at least not in the manner in which Jeremy Clyde had been. But the whispers of awareness lifting the little hairs on the nape of her neck were oddly stimulating.

Reluctantly, she released the doorknob. She stayed where she was, however, within inches of escape. A successful paid companion learned to be prepared for the unexpected.

“Very well, sir. I am listening.”

St. Merryn moved to the front of Mrs. Goodhew’s desk, leaned back against it and stretched his arms out to the sides. The position pulled his excellently cut coat snugly across his strong shoulders. It also allowed her to notice that he had a broad chest, flat stomach and lean hips. There was nothing thin or soft or weak about him.

“I have come to London for a few weeks this Season for the sole purpose of conducting some rather complicated business affairs. I will not bore you with the details, but the long and short of it is that I intend to form a consortium of investors. The project requires secrecy and privacy. If you know anything about Society, you will be aware that both conditions are extremely difficult to achieve. The Polite World lives on a steady diet of gossip and rumor.”

She allowed herself to relax slightly. Perhaps he was not mad after all.

“Pray continue, sir.”

“Unfortunately, given my current situation and a certain incident that occurred a year ago, I believe it will be somewhat difficult for me to go about my business without a great deal of annoying interference unless I am seen to be quite clearly off the marriage mart.”

She cleared her throat. “Your situation?” she asked as delicately as possible.

He raised one brow. “I have a title, several rather nice estates and a substantial fortune. And I am not married.”

“How nice for you,” she murmured.

He looked briefly amused. “Sarcasm is not generally considered a desirable quality in a paid companion, but given the fact that I am just as desperate as you are, I am prepared to overlook it on this occasion.”

She blushed. “My apologies, sir. It has been a somewhat trying day.”

“I assure you, mine was equally unpleasant.”

It was time to get back to the subject at hand, she decided. “Yes, well I do see that yoursituationmakes you an extremely interesting commodity in certain social circles.”

“And no doubt quite boring in other circles.”

She had to work to hold back a smile. His wry, self-deprecating humor caught her by surprise.

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