An Introduction to Pleasure (18 page)

He didn’t get to finish. Andrew swung on him, hitting him squarely on the jaw and sending him staggering back over the top of the chair he had just vacated and sprawling across the living room floor as gaudy trinkets that had been set along a side table shattered around him.

“Say anything disparaging about Lysandra again and I will do much worse than hit you,” Andrew said softly. “Mr. Ingram, I can destroy your business within moments if I choose to do so. Your livelihood, your life, could trail down the drain as easily as piss does on the street outside.”

Ingram crouched on the floor, clutching his already-bruising jaw and nodded. “Yes. Yes, my lord.”

“You will now have your servants pack Mrs. Keates’ things. They will be ready in an hour and they will be packed with as much care as if they were
my
possessions, because if Mrs. Keates is missing anything or any of her belongings are broken, I will destroy you.”

The fat man clutched at the toppled chair and got to his feet. “Yes, my lord.”

“As for the money, you may send it to my solicitor, Mr. James Gladwell, under Lysandra’s name. It will arrive within a week, or I will destroy you. Do you see the pattern here, Mr. Ingram?”

Ingram nodded, blinking at what Andrew realized were tears. “Yes. Yes, my lord.”

“Good, now run along to make the arrangements.” He waved off the other man, dismissing him like he would dismiss a disliked servant. “And send in Mrs. Keates. I will see her now.”

Lysandra stepped from the carriage and wrinkled her brow. Another vehicle was parked in front of her cousin’s home, half-blocking the drive. She shrugged as she moved to the front door and knocked.

As she waited for a servant to answer, she sighed. This was the first time she would see her mother since she had begun her affair with Andrew. Her mother knew her better than anyone. Would she sense a change in Lysandra? And if she ever found out what lengths she had gone to, would her mother still love her?

She shivered and then stared at the door. It had been a very long moment since she knocked and no answer. She rapped again, this time harder. Inside she heard a rushing of feet and the door flew open to reveal her cousin’s manservant, Clarence. His jacket was cockeyed and his brow sweaty.

“What?” he bellowed, the cockney accent he normally was forced to cover bursting through in whatever upset he was experiencing. Then he shook his head and corrected himself back into a more normal tone and accent.

“Miss Keates. It’s
you
.”

His voice was cold, and he actually glared at her. Not that he was ever nice to her, but he had never been so outwardly hateful, either.

Behind him, Lysandra saw flashes of servants running up and down stairs and heard muffled shouts and conversations.

“Yes, it’s me,” she said with a shake of her head. “What in the world is going on in there?”

He motioned her inside. “Come with me.”

She followed him down the hall, still utterly confused by his behavior, the fact that every servant in the house seemed to be in an uproar and that all of them stared at her as she passed by.

He opened the door to her cousin’s office. August was sitting at his desk, jacket tossed on the floor, cravat loosened at his neck. He was sweating profusely and leaning over a register making furious notes and swearing under his breath.

“Mr. Ingram, Miss Keates.” The servant all but spat her name.

Her cousin froze and then slowly looked up from his papers. Lysandra tensed. She had no idea what was going on, but it clearly had something to do with her. She braced for the worst, but was surprised when he came around the desk and grabbed her hand.

“Call him off, Lysandra,” he said, squeezing tight to her fingers until she could scarcely feel them anymore. “Tell him not to destroy me.”

She shook her head as she yanked her hand free. She rubbed the feeling back into it as she said, “What are you talking about, August? What in the world is going on here?”

“You must know!” her cousin sputtered. “He’s here. He hit me—”

Lysandra drew back. Her cousin
did
have a rather ugly-looking bruise on the side of his jaw. She almost smiled, but was still too confused to enjoy his pain even in the slightest.

“
Who
hit you?” she asked.

“And he said if I didn’t give you back the money you just gave me, he’d make sure everything was taken from me,” her cousin rambled, utterly ignoring her question.

Lysandra froze. Give back the money? Only one person knew that she had just given her cousin a large sum of money.

She swallowed, her hands shaking. “Are you saying that Andrew…Lord Callis came here?”

Her cousin nodded swiftly. “He’s still here, Lysandra. Waiting to take your mother away. He’s in the parlor. Call him off, Lys—”

She spun away without letting him finish his plea and rushed down the hallway toward the parlor. Blood rushed in her ears and made her dizzy. Andrew was here? With her mother? This was a travesty!

She burst into the parlor and skidded to a stop. Andrew and her mother sat at the small table in the corner of the parlor with a pot of tea and a plate of cakes between them. They were smiling and turned to see who had intruded when she entered the room.

Andrew got to his feet when he saw it was her, and his smile increased. Like he belonged here! Like she should be pleased to see him like this.

“Lysandra. I was just enjoying your mother’s most delightful company.”

She stared, unable to look away. Her mother looked very…light. Like she had shed ten years away since the last time Lysandra had seen her. Her smile was real and the light in her eyes was bright.

“Mama,” she whispered.

“Hello, my dear,” her mother said. “How nice that you could join us. Lord Callis said nothing about that.”

“He didn’t know,” Lysandra said, glaring at him.

Andrew tilted his head, with the gall to look confused at her pointed stare. “Are you well, Lysandra?”

She motioned him to come across the room with a jerk of her hand. “Excuse us, Mama,” she managed through clenched teeth. “I have something of importance to discuss with Lord Callis on the terrace.”

When he was close enough, she grabbed his arm and stormed out the terrace doors. Once she had closed them, she spun on him.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked, forcing herself to keep her voice low so that her mother wouldn’t hear her inside.

He shook his head. “Having tea with your mother.”

She folded her arms. “What are you doing here, Andrew? Why did you punch my cousin? What is this nonsense about money and taking my mother away?”

Her head spun as she asked each successive question. Saying the words out loud made her realize what a tenuous position she was in.

Andrew patted her hand. “Calm yourself. I will explain everything once I have your mother off to her new destination. Now, take a deep breath, and let’s rejoin your mother before she begins to ask questions, since it is clear she has no idea of our relationship.”

Lysandra’s mouth dropped open. “Of course she has no idea of our relationship—”

But he was already heading toward the house.

“Andrew,” she called after him, rushing after him. “Andrew—”

He opened the door, and Lysandra shut her mouth. She followed him in, seething, and forced a smile at her mother.

“My dear, when were you going to tell me that you had gone into Lord Callis’s employ?” her mother asked.

Lysandra squeezed her eyes shut. Was that how Andrew had explained this? She supposed, in a way, it was true. Though she was hardly cleaning his parlors.

“I was just coming to tell you,” Lysandra said with a shrug. “I am surprised that Lord Callis would come all this way to tell you himself.”

She glared at him, but he ignored her. “Of course,” he said. “After all, you have such an important role in my household. And since we’re arranging for your mother to be moved to her own home…”

“Such a surprise,” her mother said with a wide smile. “Of course I appreciate my nephew and his wife’s generosity, but I have intruded long enough, I think. How lovely that your position will allow me a place of my own, Lysandra.”

Lysandra stared at her. She looked so alive, so relaxed. What kind of hell had she been going through that she was so happy to have a new home, or that she could be blind to the fact that the arrangement Andrew was describing made no sense? Why would a woman hired to work in a gentleman’s home inspire him to visit her mother?

It was ridiculous.

“Yes, Mama,” she said, surrendering to the foolish story they were all pretending was real. “It was kind of his lordship to arrange for your move.”

There was a light knock at the parlor door and it swung open to reveal August. He bowed slightly.

“Lord Callis, the carriage is loaded with Mrs. Keates’ things, as you requested.”

“Good,” Andrew said, offering his arm to Lysandra’s mother. “Then we shall be off.”

August stepped into the hall to allow them to pass, and her mother hesitated. “Thank you for your hospitality, nephew. And thank you wife, as well.”

He pursed his lips, and Lysandra could see he wanted to say something nasty. Yet Andrew’s presence kept his fat mouth shut. And for the first time, she actually enjoyed this moment.

“It was our pleasure, Aunt. I hope you will call on us soon, as we will all miss your company.”

Her mother’s eyebrows lifted in disbelief, but she said nothing as they passed through the hall and outside.

“Two carriages?” her mother said as they exited onto the drive.

Lysandra shot Andrew a look. How would he explain this?

“Ah, yes,” he said. “One was for your things, Mrs. Keates. We will ride in Lys—in the other carriage.”

He motioned for the drivers and spoke to them softly before he opened the door to Lysandra’s smaller rig and helped first her mother and then Lysandra inside.

Lysandra clenched her fists at her sides. There was no way she could have this out with Andrew in the carriage with her mother sitting beside her, smiling like she had just escaped a prison. But this wasn’t over.

Chapter Sixteen

“Your mother likes the new home,” Andrew said as he settled back against the carriage seat and sighed.

It had been a long day, helping Mrs. Keates acquaint herself with her two servants and settling her into her new home, a small, tidy place in a middle class neighborhood not far from the far more extravagant home he’d bought for Lysandra.

Regina Keates’ happiness and utter friendliness had made it all worthwhile.

“How could you do this?” Lysandra burst out.

Andrew stared at her. She had been bubbling with tension since she arrived at her cousin’s home hours ago, but he hadn’t expected this explosion within moments of being along in his carriage. Hadn’t she seen how happy her mother was? Couldn’t she understand that Andrew had freed her mother from the ugliness of the Ingram home in order to
help
Lysandra?

“Give your mother a place to stay that doesn’t require you to give up three-quarters of your purse and keeps her from being abused?” he asked softly. “Yes, I am a ghoul, I know.”

Lysandra shook her head. “How could you insert yourself into my life? Do you know what kind of explanations I shall have to make?”

He shrugged. “Your mother seemed to accept the story that you have come to work for me and part of our arrangement was that I would help you procure this little home for her.”

Lysandra rolled her eyes. “She accepts it now because she is thrilled to be away from my bastard of a cousin. But after a few weeks, as her elation fades, do you not think she will begin to question this? She is not a fool, you know.”

“Honestly, Lysandra, I thought you might have told her your grand plans to save her,” Andrew said. “I had no idea she thought you continued to work for your old employer or that you were a ladies maid.”

Lysandra snorted out a laugh that had no humor or warmth to it. “Why would I tell my mother that I was whoring myself to escape her husband’s sins? To save her? To save myself?”

Andrew flinched. “Is that what you call it? Whoring yourself?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. When I’m with you, it doesn’t feel that way. But when you give me money, a home not only for me but for my mother, clothing… I cannot be able to repay you in any way. Save one.” She sighed. “And even in that element, I’ll fall short. Perhaps I
am
nothing more than a whore, dressed up as something more.”

Andrew cupped her chin and lifted her face so she was forced to look at him. She seemed defeated and he hated himself for it. He had made her feel this way, after all. Despite his good intentions.

“I watched you today with your mother, Lysandra,” he said softly. “How patient you were, how you made her laugh. Today you were no man’s mistress. You were just a good and decent woman trying to do right by her mother.”

She blinked, tears sparkling in her eyes as the late-afternoon light streamed around the curtain covering the carriage window.