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Willie nodded. “They brought him a great deal of notice. After the allegories of the Muses were exhibited, commissions began to pour in. And I drew more interest as the model, and not just from other artists. I did not enjoy all that attention, I assure you. I thought it would anger James, and I was fiercely loyal to him. But one day he came to me and said that a certain gentleman was prepared to become my protector, that he would set me up in style, that I would have everything I ever wanted. When I demurred, he said I had to go, that he could no longer keep me. I soon discovered that James had passed me on to this new gentleman in order to secure several very important commissions. It was only then that I realized I had never meant anything to James, except as a face he liked to paint. It was my first lesson in the life of the demimonde. I left James without a backward glance, and began my notorious career.”
At last he knew how it had begun. It was sad, but not sordid. “I’m sorry, Willie.”
“Don’t be. I may not have led what most people would call a respectable life, but I prided myself on being selective. And expensive. I became rich, and was courted by some of the highest gentlemen in the land. I established a salon where I entertained artists and poets and politicians, and invitations were prized. It was an exciting life. I have no regrets.”
“And who was the second man who changed your life?”
“Hertford, of course. He pursued me for quite a long time before I gave in to him. He wanted exclusivity, and I was not willing to grant it at first. But he was so ardent, and so charming, that I soon capitulated. We spent a few happy years together, during which I was publicly acknowledged as his mistress. He loved me, the duke did. He truly loved me.” She spoke as though she still could not believe it, as though she was not worthy of a good man’s love. “But when his wife died and he asked me to marry him, I thought he’d gone mad. But he was quite serious. He was determined to legitimize our love affair. How could I refuse such a magnanimous, extraordinary offer? So I bid farewell to the demimonde and became a duchess.”
“Did you love him?”
“The dear man laid the whole world at my feet. He cared more for me than for what people would think of him. Of course I loved him.”
“Were there…difficulties? Socially, I mean.”
“Was I accepted in society? Not entirely. I never will be. But I had rank and fortune that could not be denied, and many doors were opened to me, sometimes reluctantly, sometimes with kindness. I have made wonderful friends who accept me, unsavory past and all, and that has given me the greatest happiness.”
It was an extraordinary story. Sam was glad she had told him, at last. He understood her now, he thought, and admired her more than ever.
“How has life been for you since the duke passed away? What have you been doing? Not sitting home in your widow’s weeds, I have no doubt.”
“No, I have been out of full mourning for over three years. I still enjoy being out with people, and keep a very full social calendar. But I do some charity work as well. I’m a trustee of the Benevolent Widows’ Fund, which has been a gratifying experience for me, in so many ways. I found some of my dearest friends in working with the Fund, high-ranking, respectable ladies who never once showed scorn for my low birth and notorious career. I was just visiting one of them, Lady Thayne, in Northamptonshire. She recently presented her marquess with a healthy baby boy, and I have just come from the christening. Can you imagine: I was the godmother!”
“Godmother to a future marquess? Good God, Willie, you really have changed your life around. And charity work? How noble of you, my girl. And what else?”
She arched an elegant eyebrow. “Who else, do you mean? Still judging me, Sam?”
“No, no, I was just wondering if…” He hunched a shoulder and shook his head, never finishing his thought aloud. The thought she had read so clearly.
“You want to know if there is another man in my life.”
He flashed a sheepish grin. “You can’t blame a fellow for being curious. You’re still a damned fine-looking woman, Duchess. There must be gallants of all ages cluttering your doorstep.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Just like that time you came to call and elbowed your way to the front of the line?”
“No, I didn’t mean that. I know you are not in that life anymore. But that doesn’t mean all the men of London have been struck blind. You will always draw the appreciative glance, Willie. And more, I should think.”
She smiled again and said, “Such blatant flattery, Sam. No, don’t apologize. I like it. I will confess that it pleases me all the more because it comes from you. And no, I have not led the life of a nun, as you well know. But I am older now and find that I quite enjoy my own company. I no longer feel the constant need for a man at my side. Or in my bed. There have been one or two since Hertford’s death. The last one was so besotted that I fully expected an offer from him-an offer of marriage-but it wasn’t long before a younger, prettier woman caught his eye, and he fell out of love as quickly as he’d fallen in.”
“I’m sorry, Willie.”
“Don’t be. It was a fling, nothing more. I would never have married him.”
A fling. She had the occasional fling. But would she want to have one with him?
Sam wondered where the devil that idea had come from, and quickly put it out of his mind. It must have been that kiss. He ought never to have kissed her. He was on his way to make an offer to Mary Fullbrook that very evening. Now was not the time to be kissing another woman and thinking of flings, even for old times’ sake.
And yet…
Chapter Four
A movement across the square caught Wilhelmina’s eye, and she looked up to see a man rolling a wheel toward the Blue Boar. It must be Sam’s wheel. Damnation. So soon? Things were going so well between them-he had kissed her!-and she hated to think of him leaving now.
Sam noticed the wheel, too, and said, “Ah, no doubt that is mine. It must have been an easy repair to be done in just over an hour. We should head back to the i
“And Miss Fullbrook.”
“Her, too.” He stood and took her hand to help her up, then frowned at the greatcoat they’d been sitting on.
“Oh dear,” she said. “I hope it is not ruined.”
He picked it up and shook it out. “No, it has been through worse. Just a bit creased here and there, nothing serious.” He did not put it on, though, but draped it over one arm instead, offering the other to her.
“I’ve enjoyed our afternoon, Sam,” she said as they walked back to the i
“Ah, Willie, I wish I could. It has been a delightful surprise to see you again, and finally to have a chance to talk with you, really talk, not just polite conversation. But I am expected at Clophill. I am late enough as it is. I’m sorry, my girl.”
For the merest instant, she had an urge to plead with him to stay, but she did not wish to appear so abjectly, and un-characteristically, needy. The broken wheel had been a blessing, the perfect excuse to keep him with her a little bit longer. But there was nothing now to stop him from leaving. She forced a smile and kept her voice even. “No need to apologize. You must not disappoint Miss Fullbrook and her parents.”
She accompanied him to the stables, skirting puddles of mud that had been churned up by the tracks of carriages, creating a crisscross of deep ruts in the yard. Wilhelmina almost slipped more than once, and held on tightly to Sam’s arm.
One of the ostlers stood with the wheelwright, examining the wheel. Sam released her arm and walked over to join the two men. “Is it ready to go?”