Scandal on Rincon Hill Read Online Free PDF

it is agreeable with you, I shall return on Wednesday morning and we can discuss the matter at greater length.”
    Startled, I regarded her in surprise. “That won't be necessary, Miss Bouchard. I can look the document over right now and we can—”
    “I would prefer that you make a thorough study of it.” Onceagain, she reached into her reticule with her free hand, this time drawing out several bills and placing them on the desk. “I am prepared to offer you forty dollars as a retainer. We can settle on the remaining balance once you have had an opportunity to examine the papers.” She closed her reticule and turned to leave.
    I swiftly rose to my feet, perturbed and not a little taken aback that I had somehow lost control of the interview. “Please, Miss Bouchard, wait. What address may I use if it becomes necessary to contact you?”
    “I doubt that need will arise,” she replied coolly. “As I said, I shall return here the day after tomorrow. At the same time, shall we say?”
    Before I could answer, the young mother swept to the door, then, once again shifting little Emma in her arms, turned the knob and was gone.

    I spent the next hour studying the contract Miss Bouchard had signed with Gerald Knight. The document itself was easy enough to comprehend; the subject matter, on the other hand, was irregular to say the least!
    The contract read much as Brielle described. Gerald Knight agreed to support Miss Brielle Marie Bouchard for a minimum of three years, on condition that she remain his exclusive and devoted mistress. It went on to promise that Mr. Knight would maintain Miss Bouchard in a house on Pacific Avenue, with adequate servants and a generous monthly allowance, again on the condition that she entertain no other gentlemen, or in any way prove unfaithful to him. Finally, the document specified that Miss Bouchard must hold herself available to Mr. Knight at any hour of the day or night, according to his convenience.
    After perusing the agreement for the third time, I sat back in my chair, frankly amazed. The girl was astonishing! Not only was she one of the most exquisite young women I'd ever seen, but shepossessed a clever mind and an abundant measure of audacity. I could not bring to mind a single woman of my acquaintance—even one twice Brielle's age—who would have had the temerity to coerce a man like Gerald Knight into signing such an agreement.
    Unfortunately, I thought, brewing a cup of tea on the brazier I keep in the back room of my office, Miss Bouchard's courage and foresight had likely gained her little. Even if the young woman had, as she insisted, been faithful to Knight, there was no way to prove that her child had been sired by him. In the end, it came down to her word against his, and I knew well enough that few people would side with a prostitute, even if they suspected she was telling the truth.
    Unless, I reflected, I could devise a plan to force the newsman to take responsibility for Brielle and her child. To be honest, nothing would please me more than to see men like Gerald Knight—who habitually deceived their wives with an endless string of paramours—held accountable for their actions. I experienced a small thrill of excitement at this thought. Given Miss Bouchard's circumstances, it would be a difficult if not impossible task, I told myself. And yet . . . already my mind was busy churning over possibilities.
    I was just carrying the tea back to my desk when my outer door was suddenly flung open and Robert Campbell burst into the room like a spring-released jack-in-the-box. My brusque friend, who was, until several months earlier, my colleague at the law firm of Shepard, Shepard, McNaughton, and Hall, had the regrettable habit of showing up unannounced and uninvited whenever the mood came upon him.
    Without so much as a word of greeting, he slapped a copy of that morning's San Francisco Tattler on my desk. “Now what outrageous mess have you gotten yourself involved in?”