Page 56 of The Good Duke
Finally, he spoke. “You’ve conducted yourself no differently than you always did, Seph.”
Not: Miss Forsyth.
Not even: Persephone.
Rather:Seph.
Tenderness and warmth filled her at hearing him speak her nickname. He’d done it once last night, and she remembered all over again just how much she’d loved when he’d done so.
He’d been the first—and only one—to call her byanyshortened, affectionate name.
She flashed a weak, bashful smile. “Given the last time you saw me, I was still swimming in lakes and frequently sporting scraped knees, you’d just as well say I’ve been behaving like a child.”
This time, she didn’t imagine the smile that curled his lips. “No. I’d say you’re behaving like the spirited, fearless lady you always were.”
Her mouth slipped apart a fraction, and her heart shifted in a weird way in her chest.
“Oh,” she said breathlessly.
Breathless?When had she ever been muddleheaded?
“You aren’t rescinding your offer to help, then?” Hope lent an uptilt to her question.
“On the contrary. I’m doing the opposite—I’m employing you.”
Through the enormous swell of relief at his magnanimity came a delayed cognizance of those last words he’d spoken.
“Youare employing me?”
Him. As in Simon.
He nodded as if it were obvious that he had need of services Persephone could provide.
“But…”
Then it hit her.Rakish Simon.Simon with an unkempt cravat and rouge-stained skin.
“Do…you have a daughter in need of instruction?” She glanced about, more than half-expecting a tiny girl to pop from the shadows.
“A daughter?” He frowned. “No. I do not have any children.” When he made that admission, both his features and voice were strangely flat.
Relief filled her. She’d despised the brief thought that had slipped forward of him being one of those profligate lords who carelessly littered his bastards about England.
And yet if hedidn’thave children for her to instruct, it begged the question: what rolecouldshe serve in his household? As if she’d asked that question in her head aloud, Simon went on to explain.
“You see, Persephone, following our meeting last evening, I gave the situation—and your circumstances—a good deal of thought.” Simon leaned forward, steepling his fingers together and speaking over the top of them. “It appears I have use for you after all.”
I have use for you after all.
Simon’s words echoed in her mind, twining and tangling with similar words spoken to her by the all-powerful Marquess Bute of Mount Stuart House.
I no longer have any use for you, Miss Forsyth. Pack your things…
She briefly closed her eyes.
Because, of course, lords and ladies ultimately saw the people around them as vassals to serve them—until those vessels no longer served a purpose and they were deemed disposable. Nay, they didn’t see women like Persephone as equal in social standing—a fact evidenced some ten years ago by Lord Woodhaven’soffer, her subsequent declination, and then her inevitable sacking.
Yes, lords used people—especially women—for whatever need they had in a given moment.
