Page 40 of The Paid Companion

She stared at him. “Are you mad?”

“Not mad, Miss Lodge, just a good deal more clever than you realize. If you try to turn me out of this house, I’ll see to it that his lordship knows that I’m aware of his scheme.” Ibbitts snickered. “What’s more, I’ll tell him that I learned about it from you because you like to chatter in bed.”

“That would be a very dangerous thing to do, Ibbitts,” she said softly. “St. Merryn would not believe you, in any event.”

Ibbitts’s smile would have looked more appropriate on a viper. “When I tell him about the fancy blue ribbons on that pretty white linen nightgown of yours, I’m certain that he’ll believe every word I say.”

“You know what my nightgown looks like because you forced Sally to describe it to you.”

“Aye, but his lordship will assume that the reason I can describe it so accurately is because I’ve seen you in it, won’t he? And even if he doesn’t fall for that tale, the damage will have been done as far as you’re concerned. If he finds out his plans are no longer secret, he’ll abandon them. And that means he won’t have any use for you, Miss Lodge. You’ll find yourself out on the street about ten minutes after me.”

“You are a very foolish man, Ibbitts.”

“You’re the fool, Miss Lodge, if you think you can get rid of me so easily.” Ibbitts gave a coarse laugh. “But you’re in luck because I’m going to make a bargain with you. Keep your mouth shut about what you heard in this room a few minutes ago, and I won’t let on to his lordship that I know about your nightgown or his secrets.”

“Do you really believe that I will allow you to blackmail me, Ibbitts?”

“Aye, Miss Lodge, you’ll do as you’re told, just like Sally and Ned, and you’ll be grateful.” He chuckled derisively. “So grateful, in fact, that you’ll pay me my usual commission, same as the others do.”

She folded her arms. “Just what is your usual commission?”

“Sally and Ned give me half their quarterly wages.”

“And what do they get for that fee?”

“Why, they get to keep their posts, that’s what they get for it. You’ll agree to my bargain, too, because we both know that you’ve got a lot more to lose than I do.”

“Do I?”

“Aye, you silly bitch.” His mouth twisted. “With this face, I can always find another post. But after you get tossed out of this house, you’ll likely never get another respectable place. Expect you’ll end up lifting your skirts for drunken gentlemen in doorways around Covent Garden before the year is out.”

She did not bother to respond to that. Turning, she went out into the tiny hall.

Ibbitts’s low, cruel laughter followed her.

She found Ned hovering anxiously at the top of the kitchen steps.

“What happened, Miss Lodge? Sally says we’re going to be let go.”

“You and Sally will not lose your posts, Ned. It is Ibbitts who will soon be on his way.”

“Not him.” Ned shook his head sadly, resigned. “His kind always wins out in the end. He’ll see to it we’re both sent away without references for causing him trouble like this.”

“Calm yourself. His lordship is a fair-minded man. When I explain the situation to him, he will understand. You and Sally will be fine.”

I am the one who will soon be looking for another position,she thought. Regardless of how the problem with Ibbitts was resolved, there was no getting around the fact that once St. Merryn knew his secret was in the hands of a despicable, untrustworthy creature like Ibbitts, he would be forced to end the charade.

Well, she had known that the post was too good to be true right from the start, had she not?

Arthur stood in the stable doorway and watched John Watt use a pitchfork to shift hay into a stall. The young man looked a lot different than he had the last time Arthur had seen him.

When he had worked in George Lancaster’s household, Watt had always kept himself clean and neat. The shirt and pants he was wearing today were most likely the garments he had had on the night he’d run away. They had not stood up well to the demands of Watt’s new career. Six weeks’ worth of use in a livery stable had converted what had once been good clothing into little more than torn, badly stained rags.

Watt’s hair was tied back with a strip of cloth. Sweat streamed off his brow. But true to his nature, he was working hard, even though it was highly unlikely that his new employer was paying him anything close to the wages he had received from George Lancaster.

“Hello, Watt,” Arthur said quietly.

Watt jerked violently and spun around, pitchfork raised, face working in alarm. When he saw Arthur, he groaned.

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