The Earl expected everything to be perfect where he was concerned, but he was never niggardly or petty.
There was no one amongst his servants who had not tales to tell of how difficult their lives could be when there was a nagging mistress, or worse still, a cheese-paring one, in contrast with the tolerance of a good Master.
Of one thing Henry was sure, that the Earl would not be looking for a wife in Shepherd’s Market, in fact, he assumed that he had altogether another position in mind for the girl in grey.
There had been bets in the stables for some time as to how soon the place left empty by the last ‘bit of muslin’ would be filled.
‘Bet her jumps at the chance,’ Henry said to himself.
*
It was after six o’clock when the Earl, reading the newspapers in the library at Hellington Ho
