Page 58 of The Paid Companion

“That while it was true that St. Merryn was betrothed to me, his passions were decidedly not engaged.”

“I am glad that you were able to marry the man you love.” Elenora said gently. “But I still do not know what you want from me.”

“Do you not comprehend? My dear Roland took an enormous risk when he saved me from St. Merryn. And he has paid a terrible price.”

“What price is that? You just told me that St. Merryn did not harm him in any way.”

“I did not realize just how much Roland put at stake for me that night.” Juliana sounded as if she was fighting tears. “My greatest fear was that St. Merryn would come after us, but the real danger lay elsewhere, in the very bosoms of our families.”

“What do you mean?”

“We knew that my father would be furious and would likely cut me off without a penny, and that is precisely what happened. But what we did not anticipate was that Roland’s father would be so enraged that he would stop Roland’s quarterly allowance.”

“Oh, dear.”

“We are in desperate financial straits, Miss Lodge, and my Roland is too proud to go to his father and plead with him to restore his allowance.”

“How are you surviving?”

“My mother, bless her, braved my father’s wrath and secretly gave us some money from the allowance that Papa provides her for the household accounts. I sold some of the jewelry I took away with me the night that Roland and I eloped.” Juliana bit her lip. “Unfortunately, I did not get much for it. It is quite astonishing how little good jewelry is worth when one is obliged to pawn it.”

Elenora felt a twinge of genuine empathy. “I know. I, too, have had occasion to discover that sad fact.”

Juliana did not seem interested in comparing notes on pawn dealers, however. She was focusing intently on her tale. “For his part, Roland has been trying his luck at the gaming tables. Recently he fell in with a companion who seemed to know his way around that world.”

“What do you mean?”

“This man took Roland to a club where he promised the play was fair. At first Roland won quite often. For a while we believed that his luck would see us through. But lately his cards have been very poor. Last night he lost quite heavily, and as he had pledged my last necklace, we are now down to almost nothing.”

Elenora sighed. “I understand that feeling very well indeed.”

“We cannot afford to go about very much.” Juliana shook her head. “I suppose it was very naïve of me, but I must tell you that I had no notion how much a simple ball gown and a pair of matching slippers cost until Roland and I found ourselves cut off.” She touched the folds of the domino she wore. “The only reason I was able to come here tonight was because a friend allowed me to borrow this costume. Roland does not know I’m here. He is in the hells again.”

“I am very sorry for your plight,” Elenora said.

“I fear that Roland is fast becoming desperate,” Juliana confided in hushed tones. “I do not know what he will do if his luck does not turn. That is why I have come to beg you for your assistance, Miss Lodge. Will you help us?”

20

Twenty minutes later Elenora made her way back in the lantern-lit ballroom. The crowd of cloaked and masked dancers was thicker than ever. She found an empty palm-shrouded alcove and sat down on the small, gilded bench that had been provided.

Absently she watched the throng of dancers, trying to spot Margaret and Bennett while she pondered her conversation with Juliana.

Her musings slammed to a halt when she saw the man in the black mask and domino coming toward her. Not again, she thought with a shudder. She would not allow him to touch her a second time. She could not abide the feel of his hand on her waist or the smell of his unwholesome excitement.

But a few seconds later she knew, with a sweeping sense of relief, that this was most certainly not the same man. True, he sliced through the crowd with the same gliding, sure-footed movements of a predator, but this man’s stride exuded power and control, not unnatural energy. The cowl of the domino was pushed back. Although his eyes were concealed behind a black silk mask, there was no disguising that proud nose or the manner in which his heavy, dark hair was combed straight back from his high forehead.

A fizzy anticipation that she could not suppress sparkled through her veins. She lowered her mask and smiled.

“Good evening, sir,” she said. “You are early, are you not?”

Arthur halted in front of her and bowed. “So much for my clever disguise. I arrived a few minutes ago. Found Margaret and Bennett straightaway, but they said they had lost track of you in the crowd.”

“I went into the conservatory to get some fresh air.”

“Are you ready to leave?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” She rose from the bench. “But I’m not sure that Margaret will want to go home this early. I believe that she is enjoying herself with Mr. Fleming.”

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