The Bargain by Jane Ashford Page A

thing.”
    â€œI thought you were staying at Carlton House,” said his mother, surprised by the request.
    â€œI am. They are for a… friend.” The difficult part was coming up, thought Alan, but the knowledge that Ariel Harding was living all alone in that dark house had been preying on his mind.
    The duchess was observing him speculatively. “The ‘friend’ whom Robert and Sebastian encountered at the playhouse?”
    It had been too much to hope that she wouldn’t have heard. “Robert and Sebastian have nothing to do but gossip,” he complained. “If they took up some useful profession—”
    â€œYou are hard on your brothers,” interrupted his mother, who watched his face carefully as she voiced this old objection.
    â€œI have no quarrel with James and Randolph,” he replied. “They are doing something with their lives. And I suppose Nathaniel has duties as the eldest which fill his days. But Sebastian wastes his time playing the rake and grooming his mustaches, and as for Robert—”
    â€œNot everyone has your interests and ambitions,” she put in. “And I am not going to forget my question in an argument we have repeated many times before. Are the servants for this girl?” She waited for the answer with a good deal of concern hidden behind an impassive expression. Adele had always felt that Alan, whose whole soul had been taken up by his work, would be in grave danger should he ever become seriously susceptible to the opposite sex.
    â€œShe is the daughter of this dead actress,” said Alan stiffly. “She is not my mistress, as Robert and Sebastian undoubtedly told you. She has been of some help with my inquiries, and I am concerned about her. That is all.”
    â€œConcerned,” echoed his mother.
    â€œShe is fresh from the schoolroom and alone in the world,” he continued. “Her mother’s staff has abandoned the house where she lives, and I don’t believe she has any idea how to hire servants. You have scores of them. I’m sure you can spare two.”
    â€œI have exactly the number of servants necessary for running my household,” said the duchess dryly. But she had already determined to grant his request. It would give her an opportunity to discover whether this young woman, so “alone in the world,” was planning to ensnare Alan. He would not be like Sebastian, she knew, managing an affair of the heart with discretion and ending it with no great ill feeling on either side. Alan would take it all very hard. She did not intend to allow some theatrical creature to hurt him and perhaps spoil him forever for marriage and a family. “I suppose I can spare a housemaid,” she added grudgingly. “I have no trained cooks at hand, but I’ll find someone who knows her way about the kitchen.” She already knew precisely who she would send.
    â€œI knew I could count on you,” responded Alan warmly.
    â€œIndeed,” said his mother. He could count on her to see that he didn’t make a fool of himself, she thought. As he rose from his chair, she added, “Now that you have got what you wanted, you are going, I suppose?”
    â€œI have no time to spare. I must clear up this matter at Carlton House so that I can return to my work.”
    This was a good sign, thought Adele. He was not so besotted that his preoccupation with his work had changed. “How is your investigation going?” she asked.
    â€œPassably,” he answered. “I expect I shall have the answer soon.”
    â€œSplendid.” Possibly she was making too much of this girl, Adele thought. She would know once she had met her. Nothing had ever diverted her maddening youngest son from his obsession with science.
    â€œI’ll leave this matter in your hands then,” he added.
    The duchess nodded, pleased with the relief in his voice. “Think no more about it.”
    He