Leigh Michaels - The Mistress House

The Earl Buys a House

The Earl of Hawthorne looked wistfully past his man of business. At the far end of the library, a pair of long windows stood open to a glorious autumn day, and in the distance he could hear the bark of a hunting dog. It was a perfect day to take a gun and a dog and go for a long tramp across the parkland and into the woods of his Surrey estate. But here he was instead, sitting at his desk and listening to Perkins prose on for hours about the benefits of investing in a canal somewhere at the far end of England.

Except, now that Thorne actually pulled his attention back to the library, Perkins appeared to have finished with the canal and moved on to the benefits of buying a house in London.

Perkins, Thorne said gently. I already have a house in London. A big houseright on Portman Square. You cant have overlooked that.

No, my lord.

Surely youre not suggesting I sell the house I already have and buy a different one?

No, my lord.

And surely youre not suggesting that I need more space in London.

No, my lord. With each repetition, Perkins voice grew more wooden.

Then youre suggesting I buy another house and lease it out?

Not exactly , my lord.

But if Im neither going to live in it nor rent it, what on earth would I do with another house in Thorne paused. Perkins, exactly where is this house?

At Number 5 Upper Seymour Street, my lord. Its

I know where it is. Right around the corner from Portman Square.

The garden of Number 5 backs on your own, my lord. It is not a large houseonly six bedrooms, four main reception rooms, and all the usual arrangements for servants. But the location and the situation are quite salubrious. Unlike the other houses in the row, Number 5 has windows all along one side, as well as in front and back, because it lies next to Berkeley Mews.

With horses coming and going all day, Thorne observed. Not every tenant would like that.

Since they are mostly your own horses, my lord, Perkins observed, I felt it likely this would not disturb you . The location alongside the mews, plus the large number of windows and the consequently high window tax, does mean that the house isnt in quite as much demand as it might otherwise be, and that has kept the price reasonable. And it is a very convenient situation, should my lord wish to come and go without being observed.

Thorne leaned back in his chair, tapping his index finger against his jaw. You make me sound like some kind of spy, Perkins, he said dryly. Surely youre not laboring under the delusion that Im part of an espionage ring.

Perkins coughed. Certainly not , my lord.

Perkins tone, Thorne thought wryly, was unnecessarily acerbic. It wasnt, after all, that Thorne didnt have the right talents to be a spy. Hed just never been called upon to use them in that particular way.

I merely meant, Perkins went on, that your lordship is a figure of interest in London society, and therefore your actions are noticed and often remarked on.

Actions ? Why, Perkins, you old dog. Youre actually volunteering to help me to keep my affaires under wraps? If I didnt know better, Id think you were blushing.

Perkins shuffled his feet and looked down at the carpet.

He hadnt been mistaken; Perkins was blushing. Thorne had never seen anything of the sort before.

He considered the idea. There was certainly merit to the notion of buying a house just off Portman Square. If he could tuck a mistress into a trysting place just a step from his own garden, he could avoid a long list of inconveniences. Kicking his heels for hours while messages were delivered and answers returned Riding halfway across London for an assignation Finding new, safe, and very secluded meeting places Wandering around the halls of a country house trying to locate a particular ladys bedchamber Keeping his horses, and the grooms who cared for them, waiting outside a private house on a cold day

Very well, he said and stood up. Buy the house. Ill look it over when I come up to town for the Season.

Yes, my lord. I shall put the transaction in motion immediately.

I have the utmost faith in your judgment, Perkins. Thorne clapped his man of business on the shoulder and escaped to the gun room before Perkins could wax poetic about his canal once more.

Of course, there was one drawback to the scheme, Thorne thought as he started off across the lawn, a shotgun on his shoulder and his favorite hound rollicking at his heels. Once a mistress was actually in residence in a house right around the corner from his own, he might find it a bit of a tangle to move her out again when he tired of her. But he could deal with that when the problem arose.

Or, he thought with a twinge of humor, Perkins could.