Page 33 of Schemes & Scandals

She snorts. “Keep them.” Her eyes glitter. “Unless they were written by that most illustrious of widows. Adventures between her illustrious self and a certain Scottish servant?”

It takes a moment to realize she means Queen Victoria, and even I flush at that. I do recall the widowed queen was rumored to have an affair with a Scotsman who worked on her estate.

Jack rolls her eyes. “If I had those, I’d be a rich man. One such letter from Her Royal Highness, and my coffers would fill in the blink of an eye.”

“Or you’d wind up in the dungeons,” the printer says. “Never to be seen or heard from again.”

“True enough. But what if the letters were from a less illustrious personage?”

The printer shrugs. “If she has money and you took the letters without permission, you’d make far more by asking her to pay topreventthem from being printed.”

That gives me pause. “Do such things happen?” I ask.

“I’m certain they do. It does not involve me, though.”

“So if I brought you such letters, you would not print them?”

She meets my gaze. “I would not.”

“Would you know anyone who would?”

She shrugs. “A shop or two, but they’d only buy them for a few pounds, and then probably turn around and see if they could ‘sell’ them back to the writer. Why print such things written by amateurs when you can have them written by experts?”

“Experts using the full scope of their imaginations,” I say. “Rather than relying on fact.”

The printer points an ink-blackened finger at me. “Just so. I do not think you are going to find many merry widows with the temerity and the skill to write of their intimate adventures, and even if they did, they would not sell as well as the made-up sort.”

Jack asks a few more questions, but it’s clear that the printer hasn’t heard of anyone trying to sell such letters. From what I gather, this shop would be their first stop, as it’s well known for its underground publications. But the printer is correct, too, that no one is likely to print such a thing when the real money would be made in blackmailing the letter writer.

As we prepare to leave, I say, “You mentioned a Merry Widow series. Might I purchase those?”

The printer gives a low, rumbling laugh. “Caught your fancy, did they?”

“They did.”

“Well, I am only the printer, but I have some samples I’d be willing to part with for a few shillings. Do you want the governess one as well?”

I imagine Isla reading that story, with the governess, the lord, and his more-than-a-friend. “No, the Merry Widow ones will suffice.”

“Well, I shall throw that one in as an extra.” She winks. “You might find it more to your taste than you would expect.”

I make my purchase, and we leave. We don’t get more than a few feet from the shop before Jack says to me, in her more natural voice, “Getting a little lonely in that attic bedroom, is it?”

I make a noncommittal noise. I’m certainly not telling her who they’re for. Also, I probablywillneed to read them to make sure I’m not giving Isla anything so far out of her comfort zone that she might never recover.

“You do know there is an easy fix for that,” she says. “A mere two flights down. A very fine doctor who would happily provide whatever examination you require.”

I can feel her gaze on me in the dark, waiting for a reaction. I only shake my head. “If you mean our shared employer, that is inappropriate.”

She makes a rude noise. “Not unless you only agree because heisyour employer. Otherwise, it is a perfectly fine arrangement.” She glances over. “It adds quite an exciting dynamic, as I say from experience.”

“I thought all your experiences were neither exciting nor dynamic.”

“Mmm, I will not say that one was excellent, but it was the best of the bunch. He was my first employer. Firstlegitimateemployer, that is.” She grins my way. “I had taken the position posing as a boy, which only added to the illicit allure. He enjoyed knowing my little secret and being the only one to see me in a dress.” She purses her lips. “Though there was that one time when he did not want me to change into a dress first.”

She peers at me and sighs. “You are quite impossible to shock, Miss Mallory.”

“Not really. You just need to tell me something shocking. Like that he invited three of his friends along for the ride.”

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