poor man?”
Lisette frowned at her father as he took a seat behind his desk. “Don’t you care that he might end my life?”
His smile was angelic. “Swanfield does not strike me as a man who takes offense very easily.”
Lisette sighed and sat down. “I played a trick on him, and I thought I was being very clever. Now I just feel ashamed of myself.”
“What kind of a trick?”
“The kind that is played at the pleasure house.”
“Ah. No man enjoys being sexually manipulated.”
“Or woman, Papa.”
“He manipulated
you
?”
“He … misrepresented himself to me.”
“And that made you angry enough to hurt him.”
Lisette felt like squirming in her seat. “I’m not sure if I was angry or just hurt that he had deceived me as to his sexual tastes.”
“So you saw him at the pleasure house and something about his sexual choices made you want to pay him back.”
“Yes.”
“Does he frequent the top floor?”
“Not as far as I know.” She studied her hands twisted in her lap. “His tastes are not
unattractive
to me; they are simply not what I thought he would indulge in at all.”
“Because he has such a strong personality in his normal life?” He smiled. “You might be surprised how some men and women crave the opposite in private. I’ve seen any number of aristocrats and members of Parliament who like nothing more than to be treated like naughty schoolboys or taken in hand by a strong woman.”
Lisette looked up, surprised by his acumen, and then remembered that he, too, held a financial interest in the pleasure house and knew almost as much about the members’ varied tastes as her mother.
Philip shrugged. “So you tricked him, and now he wants an explanation. I think you owe him one, don’t you?”
“Papa …”
“If he has the ability to hurt you, Lisette, you have the ability to hurt him back. At least allow the man the opportunity to tell you how he feels.”
Lisette bit her lip. “I thought you would support me, not tell me to do something so hard.”
Philip sat back. “Having spent more years of my life than I care to remember not speaking my mind and building up resentments and hatred, I’m scarcely going to support your desire to hide from the consequences of your actions, am I?”
“I suppose not.” Lisette got to her feet. “But if he strangles me and dumps my broken body in the Thames, I hope you’ll be sorry.”
“If that should happen, I’ll cry buckets at your funeral, I promise.”
“But you don’t think it will, do you?”
Philip’s smile was full of understanding. “Darling, he might be angry with you, but in order to feel angry he has to feel
something
and my guess is that he cares about your opinion of him.”
“Don’t say that. Now I feel even guiltier.”
“Good, then meet him in the morning and I promise to send a search party after you if you haven’t returned by midday.”
Lisette paused at the doorway to study her father. “You are not exactly a conventional man, are you?”
His smile was slow. “I married your mother. How on earth could I be?”
She smiled back at him even as her courage faltered when she contemplated her meeting with Lord Swanfield. “Good night, Papa.”
“Good night, my dear.”
Lisette headed for bed, knowing that her chances of sleeping were miniscule but determined to try. She had much to think on before the morning and perhaps as she tossed and turned she might come up with something useful to say to a probably furious Lord Swanfield.
7
G abriel barely had the opportunity to climb the steps of the Knowles townhouse before the door was flung open and Miss Ross appeared, attired in a dark green riding habit and brown boots. Either his previous remarks about her lack of punctuality had borne fruit or she wanted to get her meeting with him over with all speed. He bowed and took off his hat, but before he could utter a word, she swept past him onto the flagstone pavement.
Mather, his groom, greeted
Lisette frowned at her father as he took a seat behind his desk. “Don’t you care that he might end my life?”
His smile was angelic. “Swanfield does not strike me as a man who takes offense very easily.”
Lisette sighed and sat down. “I played a trick on him, and I thought I was being very clever. Now I just feel ashamed of myself.”
“What kind of a trick?”
“The kind that is played at the pleasure house.”
“Ah. No man enjoys being sexually manipulated.”
“Or woman, Papa.”
“He manipulated
you
?”
“He … misrepresented himself to me.”
“And that made you angry enough to hurt him.”
Lisette felt like squirming in her seat. “I’m not sure if I was angry or just hurt that he had deceived me as to his sexual tastes.”
“So you saw him at the pleasure house and something about his sexual choices made you want to pay him back.”
“Yes.”
“Does he frequent the top floor?”
“Not as far as I know.” She studied her hands twisted in her lap. “His tastes are not
unattractive
to me; they are simply not what I thought he would indulge in at all.”
“Because he has such a strong personality in his normal life?” He smiled. “You might be surprised how some men and women crave the opposite in private. I’ve seen any number of aristocrats and members of Parliament who like nothing more than to be treated like naughty schoolboys or taken in hand by a strong woman.”
Lisette looked up, surprised by his acumen, and then remembered that he, too, held a financial interest in the pleasure house and knew almost as much about the members’ varied tastes as her mother.
Philip shrugged. “So you tricked him, and now he wants an explanation. I think you owe him one, don’t you?”
“Papa …”
“If he has the ability to hurt you, Lisette, you have the ability to hurt him back. At least allow the man the opportunity to tell you how he feels.”
Lisette bit her lip. “I thought you would support me, not tell me to do something so hard.”
Philip sat back. “Having spent more years of my life than I care to remember not speaking my mind and building up resentments and hatred, I’m scarcely going to support your desire to hide from the consequences of your actions, am I?”
“I suppose not.” Lisette got to her feet. “But if he strangles me and dumps my broken body in the Thames, I hope you’ll be sorry.”
“If that should happen, I’ll cry buckets at your funeral, I promise.”
“But you don’t think it will, do you?”
Philip’s smile was full of understanding. “Darling, he might be angry with you, but in order to feel angry he has to feel
something
and my guess is that he cares about your opinion of him.”
“Don’t say that. Now I feel even guiltier.”
“Good, then meet him in the morning and I promise to send a search party after you if you haven’t returned by midday.”
Lisette paused at the doorway to study her father. “You are not exactly a conventional man, are you?”
His smile was slow. “I married your mother. How on earth could I be?”
She smiled back at him even as her courage faltered when she contemplated her meeting with Lord Swanfield. “Good night, Papa.”
“Good night, my dear.”
Lisette headed for bed, knowing that her chances of sleeping were miniscule but determined to try. She had much to think on before the morning and perhaps as she tossed and turned she might come up with something useful to say to a probably furious Lord Swanfield.
7
G abriel barely had the opportunity to climb the steps of the Knowles townhouse before the door was flung open and Miss Ross appeared, attired in a dark green riding habit and brown boots. Either his previous remarks about her lack of punctuality had borne fruit or she wanted to get her meeting with him over with all speed. He bowed and took off his hat, but before he could utter a word, she swept past him onto the flagstone pavement.
Mather, his groom, greeted
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