Undesirable Liaison Read Online Free PDF Page A

trailed smoke into the room.
The bay contained a table with two chairs at either end, and a
couple of straight-backed chairs stood against the walls along with
a whatnot and a small writing desk.
    Miss Pinxton
invited her visitors to be seated, gesturing to the daybed, and
herself picked up one of the chairs and placed it to one side in
such a fashion as to half face Florence.
    ‘You said you
had business with me of a private nature,’ she prompted, her air
one of cagey question.
    Instead of
answering directly, Flo reached into her basket and pulled out the
greatcoat dress, laying it across her lap. Then she looked up at
the woman, and saw suspicion deepen in her eyes. Florence opted for
an attack direct.
    ‘I wish to know
the identity of the lady who owned this gown which you pawned at
Vaul & Son in Silver Street.’
    The light eyes
flashed. ‘And how would you come to know that, ma’am?’
    Florence did
not flinch. ‘I happened to purchase it.’
    Miss Pinxton’s
nose pinched tighter. ‘And so?’
    ‘I am convinced
the owner would not have wished to dispose of it.’
    There was a
silence pregnant with unspoken resentment. At length, the woman
opted to brazen it out.
    ‘How you could
tell that is beyond me. Not that it’s any concern of yours.’
    ‘Possibly not.’
Flo hardened her tone. ‘I dare say it might concern the parish
constables, however, should it come to their attention.’
    Miss Pinxton
shot to her feet, her voice shrill. ‘I’ve done nothing I’d no right
to! She had no use for it. Why shouldn’t I make a guinea or
two for myself? I’ve stood by her all these years, even when she
didn’t pay me. Times she’d not a feather to fly with, but I stuck
it out. Thick and thin, I’ve been there. Don’t you tell me I’d no
right! I’ve a right to the lot, if you ask me.’
    Stunned by this
tirade, Flo sat mumchance. She watched the creature’s thin features
working for a moment, and sustained a further shock as Miss Pinxton
sat plump down upon her chair again and broke into a frenzy of dry
sobs.
     
     
     

Chapter
Two
     
    It was not an
act, Florence was persuaded. The pent-up tension visible in the
woman from the start signalled genuine distress. Who or what had
been the “she” to produce such vehemence remained to be
discovered.
    Flo toyed with
the notion of going across to put an arm about the woman, but she
doubted it would be welcomed. A glance at Belinda showed that young
lady to be in a state of shock. At fifteen, one had little
understanding of trouble besetting one’s elders. And Florence had
always taken care to shield her sister from the difficulties that
had led her to remove them both from Cousin Warsash’s doubtful
protection.
    But Miss
Pinxton’s weakness proved brief. Before Flo could take any
particular action, she had regained command, the sobs hiccupping
into quiet and giving way to a mere trembling of the lips. The
veriest hint of moisture misted the grey eyes, but their expression
bore witness to deeply felt grief.
    Florence went
to the heart of the matter. ‘Of whom are you speaking, Miss
Pinxton? Who is “she”?’
    ‘My mistress,’
uttered the woman, and a sudden glare drove away the inner sadness,
bringing back defiance. ‘Yes, it was my lady’s gown. But she’s
dead. It’s no manner of use to her now.’
    ‘Then we can
keep it,’ came eagerly from Belinda.
    Flo frowned her
down and turned back to Miss Pinxton. ‘What was it your mistress
died of?’
    ‘A broken
heart, if there’s any justice,’ said the creature, eyes snapping
again. The flash died, and her tone dulled. ‘They said it was an
inflammation of the lungs. And what with the cold and no money for
coal, I don’t know how she wouldn’t catch a chill sufficient to
hasten her to her grave.’
    ‘Was she ill
for long?’
    ‘Since that
wretch up and left her—’
    Miss Pinxton
caught herself on a gasp, clamping her lips together.
    Devoutly hoping
Belinda would not divine the