“Were you guilty?”
She raised her head and looked the baronet right in the eye. “No, I wasnot. My mistress suspected me because I was new in the household. She had my belongings searched. When my savings were discovered, she became convinced I was a thief. So she stole my money and threw me out onto the street with no reference.”
She wanted him to believe her, and was unreasonably disappointed when he frowned. Reminding herself that his opinion didn’t matter, she said, “You do not believe me, but then, why should you? I am just a failed doxy.” She gave him a slightly mocking curtsy. “I shall be gone in a few minutes, monsieur. You may search my belongings before I leave to assure yourself that I have taken nothing.”
Philip raised his brows. “I didn’t say I didn’t believe you. I doubt that a girl who so conscientiously tried to return money that she hadn’t earned would be a thief. What bothers me is the unfairness of what happened to you. It’s damnable, but I suppose nothing can be done.”
He was rewarded by a faint, sweet smile. With dark curls tumbling around her shoulders and her oversized negligee half off one shoulder, Nicole was a tantalizing sight. What a pity she was an innocent, for if she had been what his friends thought, the two of them could have spent a delightful night.
Instead, she looked as fragile as she was gallant. He could not possibly send her into the December night. “You’d best stay here until morning. I don’t want to be responsible for you catching lung fever.”
“You are very kind, Sir Philip.” She glanced at the window, where icy raindrops were drumming. “It is not a night fit for man, nor beast, nor pelican. Do you have a blanket? I will sleep on the sofa in the drawing room.”
Pelican? Philip smiled at her turn of phrase as he took blankets from the top shelf of his wardrobe. She had an interesting mind. Among other things. But what would happen to her tomorrow, after he went home and she was left to her own devices? “How much did Masterson pay you?”
“We agreed on twenty pounds, but only half was paid in advance. I was to receive the other half in the morning, in return for the night’s work.” Unexpectedly her eyes twinkled. “Alas, I have not earned that, but the ten pounds you said I could keep is still a considerable sum.”
Philip bit his lip as he calculated how far ten pounds would go. It wasn’t much of a cushion against disaster. “You’re French, aren’t you?”
“By birth, but I have lived in England since I was six.”
Philip switched to speaking French. “My mother was born and raised in France, near Toulouse. Her family name was Deauville.”
Nicole smiled with pleasure. “Then we are countrymen of a sort,” she replied, answering in the same language. “Unfortunately I have never seen Toulouse, but my mother said it was a lovely city.”
Yes, the girl was definitely French, with an accent as refined Philip’s mother. Returning to English, he said, “Are you from one of the aristocratic families who escaped the French Revolution with little more than their lives?”
She shook her head. “My family name is Chambord, and while of decent rank, we were not noble. More like one of your English gentry. My father had a single estate of moderate size.” She added conscientiously, “My mother had a cousin who was a count, but the connection was not a close one.”
Philip suppressed a smile. The girl was nothing if not honest. It’s wasn’t unusual for émigrés to exaggerate the status they had had in the Old Country. Clearly she was wellborn, and her coloring and gestures reminded him a little of his own sister.
A brilliant idea struck him. “Are you willing to work outside of London?”
She looked hopeful. “Of course. Without references, I cannot afford to be particular in my tastes. Do you know of a position for a seamstress?”
“Not for a seamstress, but a companion,” he replied. “My only sister married last winter, and my father died only a month later, so my mother has had a lonely year. Several times I’ve suggested that she hire a companion, but she always said that was unnecessary. However, if I present her with a fait accompli, I think she would be delighted to have you.”
Nicole looked shocked. “Monsieur, I am an accused thief and obviously no better than I should be, or I wouldn’t be here. You cannot possibly take me into your home, much less introduce me to your mother!”
He raised his eyebrows. “Of course I can. In fact, I have every intention of doing so. For over twenty years I’ve been bringing home stray dogs, cats, birds with broken wings. Even the odd injured hedgehog now and then. If my mother can tolerate them, she can certainly deal with you.”
“I am considerably odder than a hedgehog,” Nicole said severely. “Surely you can see the difference.”
Philip was forced to admit that she was right. It was no small thing to introduce a complete stranger into one’s home. Even the most broad-minded mother was apt to look askance at a fledgling lightskirt.
But his judgment of people was usually good, and he was willing to swear that the French girl was as honest and well-bred as she appeared. “There is no need to mention how you and I became acquainted. I will just say that you are a distant connection of Masterson’s who needs a situation. My mother won’t question that.”
As Nicole frowned, the cat batted at the red bow, causing the white negligee to dip even more precariously. “I do not want you to perjure yourself on my behalf.”
Philip realized that he was getting new insight into the expression “honest to a fault.” Not to mention a highly distracting view of his guest’s pleasing person. Swallowing hard, he said, “Allow me to worry about that. My conscience will be a good deal more troubled if I leave you here to starve.”
Seeing that Nicole looked unconvinced, he decided to imply that she would be doing him a favor. “If you and my mother get on well, you’ll save me from a terrible fate. She’s been plotting to marry me off. If she has you to fuss over, she might leave me alone, at least for a while.”
Nicole smiled a little. “Clearly it is my duty to save you from disaster.” Her eyes began filling with tears again. “This morning I prayed for a miracle andle bon Dieuhas sent me one, for your generosity is truly miraculous. Thank you, monsieur.”
With effort, Philip wrenched his gaze away. There was no denying that Miss Chambord was something of a watering pot—nor that she looked dangerously fetching with tears in her great dark eyes. “You stay here, and I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight. Time we both get some rest, for I want to be off at dawn tomorrow.”
Then he beat a hasty retreat, before he found himself trying to kiss her tears away.
