B00JORD99Y EBOK Read Online Free PDF

absently, "not at nights, I suppose, then, no. He can stay in town and come round in the mornings. Is that all right?"
    "Perfectly," Jennifer said with a sunny smile, and Mary could practically see possibilities dancing in her maid's eyes as she sized up Jack's handsome height and breadth. There was going to need to be a firm chat about what "off limits" meant, very clearly.
    "Well," Mary broke in reluctantly. "Come in, I suppose! Have you been here at all before? We didn't really know where to stay. Oh! But, er, why don't you take the bedroom at the back of the house? It's ever so much bigger, and the front suite is, is..." She froze, trying to think of an excuse that would keep her brother out if those were his preferred rooms, just in case Jennifer hadn't put all their toys away.
    "...is covered in mess from my sorting out the boxes that were left in the carriage house," Jennifer put in smoothly. "Old traps and springs and all sorts of nonsense. I do love to tinker -- always playing with some new toy or other, you know -- but half of them are probably still covered in some sort of slippery grease." She winked at Mary, who fought down the urge to throttle her maid. "We couldn't possibly make you deal with it. Take the master suite at the back, please! It hasn't been used at all."
    Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Don't tell me Mary's making you sleep in that closet that passes for servant's quarters at the back, downstairs?" he asked.
    "Oh, no," Jennifer replied earnestly. "We share a bed. Ever since she was little, Miss Mary slept better with company. And to be perfectly honest with you, the place is a bit draughty...we've been doing all we can to keep each other warm at night!"
    Mary blushed furiously, painfully aware that it was rather late in the day for her to still be in her peignoir even without Jennifer dropping hints that a child could have picked up. Had her maid always been so shameless around Jack? Mary couldn't remember; it had been years since the three of them were all under the same roof. But if her brother noticed anything out of the ordinary, he did a wonderful job pretending to be blithely oblivious, and he simply smiled and nodded at the pair of them.
    "Well, all right, then," he said, waving for his man to start bringing his trunks in. "Is there any chance you could put a spot of lunch on? I'll settle in and come join you ladies. Oh! That's right. Mary, this is for you." Fishing in his jacket, he produced a small cream-colored square of paper and thrust it into the startled Mary's hand. "Can you dine with the Countess Antrim and her daughter-in-law tonight? I know it's short notice, but her man caught me in town, and she's apparently a bit cross you haven't looked her up yet." He looked mildly reproving, and Mary blushed, painfully reminded of the social obligations she'd been neglecting in favor of Jennifer's more intimate attentions. "We are her neighbors, Mo. Try to put a good foot forward, eh?"
    Chastened by both the gentle reproof and the use of her childhood nickname (which no one but Jack ever used), Mary nodded her head meekly. "Yes, of course," she said. "I'll have Jennifer lay my things out, and take your coach, if that's all right."
    Belatedly, she realized that dinner would leave Jennifer alone with her brother for hours...and her maid was plainly smirking behind her polite, patient, "don't mind the help here" smile.
    Damn , Mary thought. Somehow, this was all going to go queer, she just knew it -- queerer even than being fucked in the bum with a bit of bannister by your maid!
    ~
    Jennifer emerged from Mary's bathtub in a cloud of steam. She stretched luxuriously, feeling like a goddess rising from the sea. Lightly scented water cascaded down her body and gleamed in the light of several scattered candles.
    The manor's bath was primitive but effective. A shallow basin underneath the high-legged copper tub allowed a fire to be stoked directly beneath it, and then banked down to keep the