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for
rectifying that abominable situation.”
    “I’d thank you more for staying the hell out
of my life.” Jasper neatly shook off Holborn’s grip and then took
the older man’s narrow wrist between his fingers and squeezed. “Are
you going to let me pass or cause an even greater scene? If you
laugh just now, we might play this off as something bordering
genial. If not…”
    The duke scowled then chuckled. A dark, tinny
sound that might delude the fools of the ton , but never
Jasper. He let go of his father’s wrist and quit the townhouse.
     
     
    AFTER combing what felt like Greater London
in search of work, Olivia made her way to her lodgings, her feet
aching and her spirit crumpled. The evening was exceedingly warm,
and her clothing weighed heavy on her tired frame. At the end of
her long day, she had nothing to show for her efforts, save the
deposit of ten handkerchiefs on commission with a kindly shopkeeper
in the Strand.
    Her stomach growled, but she knew she’d go to
bed without fully satisfying her hunger. The heel of bread and
small wedge of cheese left from breakfast would make a poor excuse
for dinner.
    At least two of the shopkeepers she’d
approached had already heard from Mrs. Johnson, who’d been only too
eager to share her negative opinion of Olivia. It didn’t matter
that she possessed exceptional skill. Tomorrow she would redouble
her efforts.
    Tilly loitered outside the boarding house.
“Livvie,” she called, “where’s yer lordship this even?”
    “He’s not ‘my’ lordship.” Olivia wondered if
her answer to his proposition might have been different if it had
been posed tonight.
    Tilly clicked her tongue. “Such a shame.
Girls like us wait our whole lives for just one night with someone
like him.”
    Olivia shook her head. “I’m not like you,
Tilly.”
    “Because you don’t lift your skirts for coin?
Bah, you’re no better. Scraping away at some half existence.”
    Tilly didn’t know about her past, and Olivia
would never tell her. “I don’t want to submit to a man. I can’t.”
Not after everything she’d seen happen to her mother, one man after
another taking from her until she had nothing left. Until she was
dead.
    Tilly propped a hand on her waist,
accentuating her undernourished form. “What if you didn’t have to
submit to him?”
    Olivia’s ears perked up. “What do you
mean?”
    Tilly’s lips spread into a wicked grin. “I’ve
an idea that’ll get you your money without even touching him.
You’ll invite him over, get him in the mood—it won’t take much—then
we’ll switch places. We’ll get his money, I’ll be taking a share of
course, and I’ll get me a spot of fun.” Her eyes narrowed
deviously.
    Olivia shivered. This sounded too dangerous.
What if they were caught? “You want to trick him? I’m not sure
that’s a good—”
    Tilly held up her hand. “We’ll blindfold him.
He’ll be so worked up, he’ll never know he’s shagging me instead of
you.”
    “I couldn’t. Tilly, it’s too risky.”
    “Does he scare you?”
    Olivia recalled the violent way he’d come to
her rescue. She’d been shocked by his quick defense but not really
frightened. “No.”
    Tilly patted her arm. “It’ll be fine. From
the looks of him, he’s got coin to spare. No harm’ll come of
it.”
    He was a rich nobleman, without any of
the cares that crowded her life with pending disaster. He didn’t
have to wonder about his next meal or whether his choices would be
stolen by a violent man seeking his pleasure. However, justifying
the act in her mind didn’t ease all of her fears.
    “I refused him. Won’t he be surprised I
invited him?”
    “Men don’t fret about such things. The minute
he gets your invitation, all of his thinking will head south
between his legs.”
    That Olivia could believe.
    Could this scheme really work? Olivia wasn’t
sure she could pull off an almost-seduction. If she could, she’d
have the money she needed without sacrificing