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"So who the hell is this, Marblethorpe?" His voice was lazy, though he already knew exactly what this pathetic creature was
"You know perfectly well, Alistair," Wesley said in a stiff voice "Miss Strong can provide the one element we need to make our revels complete Indeed, she’s probably the only one in Venice, unless you’re willing to involve children, and I believe you all overruled me on that?"
"You’re a sick bastard, Wesley," Alistair said evenly, turning to look at the woman She’d started at the mention of his naray wrens She seemed oddly familiar, but he was certain he’d never seen her before
"Miss Strong," Wesley said, and the wohtly dazed She was pale, but her bone structure was lovely, he thought dispassionately Too thin for the opti indisputably appealing
There were no fresh glasses on the table, and he didn’t want any of his servants bothering thelass of wine, rose, and sauntered over to stand in front her It took her a moment to look up, and when she did so, he noticed she had particularly lovely eyes A warh at the moment she could barely focus He wondered if she were a laudanum addict--they often were too thin and had that dazed look
He put the wineglass in her cold, gloveless hand "Here," he said, "Drink this You’ll need it before you hear Wesley’s proposition"
"I shouldn’t," she said, and it was no polite deht she shouldn’t
He didn’t care what she thought "Drink it"
She did, and a faint blush of color rose to her pale cheeks She started to thank hi the astonished looks from his fellow rakehells
He shrugged in response to the unasked question "She’s just so damned pathetic," he said
She raised her head at that, and her brown eyes sharpened So, she was more alert than she seemed Well, she was pathetic Pale, thin, half-drowned
He waved a hand at Marblethorpe to continue, and he did so with a portentous clearing of his throat
"As I was saying," he continued, his high, nasal voice only slightly slurred "Miss Strong is a virtuous gentlewoo as the governess to the children of Mr and Mrs Brandon After two months she was summarily turned out for improper behavior She was able to secure another post, which lasted less than a week once Mrs Brandon paid her new e with English and Italian lessons and the occasional fine needlework As you can see, the perfect ientlewoman"
Marblethorpe was like a cat with a ed to capture Usually Alistair didn’t mind In fact, he didn’ther
"Would you tell us why you were dishtly less drunk than the evening’s ringleader and therefore able to forain, her shoulders bowed, but she looked up at that "Gross immorality, sir," she whispered
"Dein, not a blasted soiled rose," Lord Maxwell protested
"Hush, Maxwell," Marblethorpe said "Give the upright and pure Miss Strong a chance to defend herself Were you, in fact, guilty of these iressions?"
"No, sir" Her voice wasn’t lass of wine, Alistair noticed, and she was clinging to the eht snap It would cut her hand if it did, but he decided he’d used up his full allotment of Christian mercy for the next decade, so he waited
"So you are, in fact, a virgin?" Maxwell continued
She looked at Marblethorpe then, and he’d never seen anyone look overness to your little sister, Sir Wesley I assure you that despite Mrs Brandon’s unfortunateaeducation for your sister"
"A bit late for that," Wesley said cheerfully "Elspeth’saffairs since she got back from her honeymoon I expect every man in this room has had her at one time or another"
There was a chorus of drunken assents Alistair said nothing He’d been the first, seducing her away from her older husband out of boredoht, still watching the drowned kitten before him
No, that wasn’t quite it A drowned cat There was a flash of real fire in her eyes "Then if you aren’t in need of a governess, why, pray, am I here?"
"In fact, we are in need of a virtuous woin, in fact And it sounds as if, ru, waiting