Ellis cocked her head. “I wonder if we should invite Pandora and Jo to join us, so that I don’t have to repeat everything.”
Min laughed. “That probably makes the most sense. You should also know that Iona is here as well. I confess she and I have become close in the last several weeks. I hope you won’t take offense.”
“Not at all,” Ellis said. “I look forward to deepening our acquaintance.” But for how long? Ellis had no idea where she would be in a few months. Or perhaps even next week.
“Wait right here.” Min jumped up and dashed to a closed door that likely led to a smaller version of this room. In a house of this size, it was common for the two rooms to join together to form a larger space for balls or other gathering.
A moment later, Min led their three friends into the drawing room. How Ellis wished Persey, Tamsin, and Gwen were here too.
“Is all well?” Jo asked tentatively as she entered the seating area.
“Quite,” Ellis replied. “Thank you for organizing this.” She gave Jo a hug, and their bellies met, Ellis felt a jolt. “Was that the baby?”
Jo laughed. “Yes, she or he is very active in the evening, especially just before dinner.”
“We will dine shortly,” Pandora said. “After Ellis shares whatever she wishes to share.” She sent Ellis a supportive look, which Ellis very much appreciated.
“We need to be closer together,” Min announced as she began to move a chair near the settee where she and Ellis had been seated. Iona and Pandora moved two more, and Pandora ushered Jo into one of them.
Ellis retook her position on the settee, as did Min, and Jo was to her left. “I hope you won’t think poorly of me,” Ellis said nervously.
“We would never think poorly of you,” Min assured her. “I noticed the coach you stepped out of was very nice, if a few years old. It definitely wasn’t a hackney.”
Ellis glanced toward Pandora, who gave her an encouraging nod. “The coach belongs to my employer. Pandora knows who that is, because we happened upon each other one day at her publisher.”
Jo snapped her gaze to Pandora. “That’s how you found her.”
“Yes,” Pandora replied. “But I promised Ellis I wouldn’t tell you.”
“What were you doing at the publisher?” Min asked.
“Working,” Ellis replied. “I’m secretary to Lord Keele, and he’s a principal in Lacey and Company.”
Min’s sable brows shot up. “He hired a woman?”
“He hired a man named Daniel Ellis. It took him a few days to discover what it was that he found odd about me.”
They all laughed.
“He suspected right away that something was off?” Iona asked in her Irish lilt. She had large blue eyes and wavy dark-auburn hair. “Did he suspect you were a woman?”
Ellis lifted a shoulder. “He had inklings, I suppose, but I made the mistake of bending over in front of him, and apparently he didn’t think my backside was at all masculine.”
Iona gasped while the others laughed.
“Your curves gave you away,” Pandora said through her grin.
“Indeed, but my work was good enough that he didn’t want me to leave my post.” Ellis held up her hand. “Forgive me, I’m leaving out a very important detail. One of the requirements of my employment was that I reside in Keele’s household.”
Now, everyone gasped.
Pandora’s blonde brows drew together. “I thought you were living in a boarding house.”
“I was, but Roman—that is, Keele—wanted me to live in his house so I could be available at all times.”
Jo narrowed her eyes. “That sounds dubious. What did he want you available for?”
Ellis understood how a marquess insisting a woman secretary live in his house might appear. “He wanted me to work. When he made that demand, he thought I was a man. He had no ulterior motives, I assure you. The secretary before me was atrocious, and there was a great deal of mess to be tidied. He wanted someone who could work long hours.”
