The Flawed Mistress (The Summerville Journals) by Margaret Brazear

him.
       
“Why would you do so much for me?”  I asked at last.
       
“Because I love you, Rachel,” he replied, while I stiffened slightly.  He
shook his head slowly.  “Will you ever trust me?  I made you a
promise, remember?  I promised you that I would never ask anything of you
that you did not want to freely give.  After the things you have told me today, that promise means even more to me than it did when I
made it.”
     
    ***
     
       
So we locked up the house and journeyed to Suffolk, leaving the rotted corpse of the
Monster in the wine cellar.  I wondered how long it would be before anyone
found him, before anyone came looking, curious about the overgrown country
manor lying neglected among the weeds.
       
The two girls, Lucy and Louisa, were very excited.  They chattered away in
the carriage on the way there and I noticed Richard looking at them
indulgently.
       
“What will you find for these two when we get there?”  I asked him,
causing the girls to stop their chatter and look to him for an answer.
       
“That is up to you, my love,” he replied with a smile.  “They are your
servants.”
       
I shook my head.
       
“No.  They are my friends.  I do not know what I would have done
without them.”
       
“Well, then, they deserve the best, as do you.  Summerville Hall is vast, there is plenty of room for you all.”
       
When we arrived a servant escorted the two girls to bedchambers next to one
another while I remained in the great hall to meet Anthony, Richard’s young
cousin.  He was a good looking boy, about twelve years of age, and very
polite. 
       
“My Lady,” he said softly, bowing over my hand and kissing it.  “Richard
has told me so much about you.  I am so pleased to finally meet you.”
       
We had refreshments then Richard escorted me to a bedchamber next to his
own.  I must have looked dismayed as he quickly reassured me.
       
“It is for appearances,” he said.  “We want the servants to think I am
your lover, do we not?  Servants gossip;   before you know it everyone in the village will know, and no one will bother you.”
       
I nodded then looked around at the rich furnishing and tapestries.  This
was more luxury than I had ever known before and I wondered why I had never
realised just how wealthy Richard was.
       
“You will have your own house, Rachel,” he was saying.  “And I will
arrange a pension of some kind for you.  That way, if anything happens to
me, you will not be left destitute again.  You will not have to beg for
help, you will be your own person.”
        “Oh, Richard!   What did I do to deserve a friend
like you?”
       
“Just be happy,” he replied with a smile.  “That is all I ask.”
       
I stayed with him and Anthony for two years before my own house had been built,
right on the edge of the Summerville estate but about three miles from the main
hall.  It was a manor house of medium size, big enough for me and my
servants with a small park and stables.
       
During the time I stayed with him he treated me as I imagine a he would treat a
sister, always respectful, never forward.  We ate together, talked
together and often went out in the carriage.  Occasionally, there would be
a local ball to which he would take me, but I preferred to remain at
home.  I thought about the contrast that when men looked at me wherever I
went, I felt sick with dread, but Richard so obviously enjoyed the same
attention from women.
       
There were many women in his life, but he never brought them home. 
Instead he would spend nights away, which I would not dream of questioning.
       
When we moved to the new house, Lucy was my maid, Louisa had developed a talent
for cooking and we had our own men servants to tend the hard work, the grounds
and to drive the carriage.
       
This was ideal for me.  Nobody would bother me while they thought that I
was Richard's mistress, while I