Mistress - Amanda Quick [20]
“What was that?” Amelia asked warily.
Iphiginia smiled. “I thought that he looked exactly as he was supposed to look.”
“Rubbish. You have spent far too much time dwelling on what you suppose to be his nature.”
“Very likely.”
Amelia scowled. “He just appeared at the Fenwicks’ ball?”
“Yes. He knows nothing about the blackmail situation, by the way. He says that he is definitely not a victim.”
“Good lord. And he did not give you away?”
“No. He obviously had heard all the rumors that we have contrived to put about. You could say that he and I patched up our quarrel in front of the entire ton.”
“I wonder why he went along with the thing,” Amelia mused.
“Masters is a very intelligent man with a keen sense of curiosity and a marvelously open mind. Obviously he made the very sensible decision not to unmask me until he discovered what I was about.”
Amelia snorted. “Hmm.”
“A man of his wide-ranging intellect would naturally possess a rational, coolheaded nature. He is not the sort to jump to conclusions.”
“It makes no sense,” Amelia snapped. “I do not like this business. I’ll wager he’s got another reason for being so cooperative.”
“What reason would that be?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he has decided that it would be amusing to turn you into his real mistress.”
Iphiginia caught her breath. “Oh, I really don’t think—”
“Precisely.” Amelia gave her a grim look. “You have not been thinking properly since this affair started. Bah. Why the devil isn’t the man dead as he was purported to be?”
“He has been away at one of his country estates and only returned to Town because he heard about me.”
“So the note Aunt Zoe received claiming that Masters had been murdered because he would not pay blackmail was merely a ploy to frighten her.”
“Apparently. This is all very odd, Amelia.”
“This entire plan has struck me as decidedly odd from the beginning.”
“I know you have not approved,” Iphiginia said. “But I thought it was working rather well.”
“Until Masters came back from the dead. Some people have no consideration. What are you going to do now?”
“I have no choice but to continue posing as Masters’s mistress.” Iphiginia tapped her gloved forefinger against her pursed lips. “My original plan is still the only one we have and I believe that it is still a good one. If my true identity is revealed, I will lose my entrée into Masters’s social circle.”
“No great loss, if you ask me,” Amelia grumbled.
“I disagree. As the mysterious Mrs. Bright, paramour of the Earl of Masters, I can go anywhere and talk to anyone.”
“But as Miss Bright, spinster, bluestocking, and former proprietor of Miss Bright’s Academy for Young Ladies, you will be confined to a much more mundane circle of acquaintances. Is that it?”
Iphiginia made a face. “I’m afraid so. It’s true that I now have ample funds, thanks to our very good fortune with our property investments—”
“You mean thanks to your very shrewd knowledge of architecture and Mr. Manwaring’s talents as a businessman,” Amelia corrected.
“And your skills in financial matters,” Iphiginia added. “Do not forget your contribution.”
“Yes, well, that is not the point.”
Iphiginia smiled wryly. “As I started to say, regardless of the status of my finances, as Miss Iphiginia Bright, I lack the social contacts and the cachet I need to move in Masters’s circles.”
“And you are still convinced that whoever is behind the blackmail threat moves in Masters’s world as well as your aunt’s.”
Iphiginia stroked the white plume. “I am certain of it. It is clear that whoever he is, he knew a great deal about the earl’s plans for the Season. He was able to time the delivery of his threat to Aunt Zoe very precisely.”
“Yes, I know, but—”
“And he knows the secret from Zoe’s past. The only connection between Masters and Aunt Zoe is those men who played cards with Guthrie and who now play occasionally with Masters.”
“But Guthrie, himself, never knew Zoe’s secret.”
“Guthrie was so drunk most of the time that he couldn