Page 84 of Impeccable
“Evie, are you in there?” It was Ada.
Exhaling, Evie didn’t want to ignore her friend. “Yes. Come in.”
Ada slipped inside, closing the door behind her. She walked slowly toward the desk, her features tight, her hands clasped as if she’d been wringing them. “I was waiting for you to come back to the members’ den. When you didn’t, I determined something must be wrong. Or you were just incredibly fatigued after having to speak with Millie.”
Evie actually cracked a smile. “That is certainly possible, but no. Fatigued is not the right word. You may as well sit. This is a rather horrible story with a not very happy ending, I’m afraid.”
Blanching, Ada went to move a chair toward the desk. Evie stood and waved her to stop. “We’ll sit here.” She gestured to the central seating area with a wide settee and the daffodil-colored chairs Evie loved so much.
Perching on one of the chairs while Ada sat on the settee, Evie told her what had happened with Millie, that she’d tried to force Lucien to do her will, and when he refused, she’d said Evie would be sorry. “Then Lucien expelled her from the club.”
Ada gasped. “He’s only tried that once before, and it didn’t stick.”
“He did that to Wex out of anger,” Evie said, referring to when he’d banished his now brother-in-law. “He doesn’t want to let Millie come back.”
“Nor should he.” Ada sniffed in disgust. “He’ll fix this.”
“I don’t know that he can,” Evie said softly. “There is more, and please don’t be angry with me for keeping it from you. It was important to me—and to my livelihood—that I kept it secret. Very few people knew the truth.” Now all of London and beyond would know. Ada should know before any of them.
Ada’s eyes were wide and dark. “Now, you’re making me quite anxious.”
“Before I left London for Cornwall, where I met you, I was a courtesan named Mirabelle Renault. My last protector was Lucien.” She paused as Ada’s jaw dropped and waited until she’d snapped it closed. “He offered me a job managing the club and then later decided he needed patronesses and wanted me to be one of them. I didn’t see how any of that would be possible since I’d been a courtesan. He came up with the plan for me to leave London for a period of months and return as a widow.”
“You were undergoing that change when I met you,” Ada whispered. She stared at Evie’s hair. “I noticed recently that your hair is darker now. Did you change it at first?”
Evie nodded. “I used a powder to lighten it. I wore almost no cosmetics when I became Mrs. Renshaw, and of course, I changed my entire wardrobe.”
“I remember you wore nothing but gray and lavender for many months after we met.” Ada stared at her. “I’m just… I hope you didn’t thinkIwould judge you.”
“I would never think that.” Evie moved to sit beside her on the settee. “And that’s not because you also engaged in trade, if only for a short time. I would have trusted you—Idotrust you—because you are the best friend I have ever had. I knew from the moment we met that we were kindred spirits. You understood what it meant to have to fight for yourself, to do whatever it takes to survive.”
Cast out by her family before she was grown, Ada had struggled for years, ultimately becoming a governess, which had also turned out poorly. When she’d met Evie, she’d needed help as much as she’d needed a friend. “We found each other at the exact right time,” Ada said, a tear leaking from her eye. She wiped at her cheek.
“Yes, and the only reason I didn’t tell you the truth was because I had to keep myself safe from exposure. I also, foolishly, believed if I didn’t tell anyone about it, didn’t even think about it, I could more easily pretend it had never happened, that I had always been Evangeline Renshaw. I only recently began to understand how it was in fact hurting me to keep everything hidden, particularly from those closest to me. In hindsight, I wish I’d told you. Not just about being a courtesan, but my entire story. I was born in France, actually.”
“I look forward to hearingeverything.” Ada took Evie’s hands and squeezed them. “Please don’t feel bad about not telling me before. It doesn’t matter. I’m here for you now, and it sounds as though you need a friend.”
“I do, thank you.”
Ada released Evie. “I won’t be as effective as Lucien in actually helping you with this, but I’ll be at your side providing all the support you need.”
Evie almost smiled at Ada’s misplaced certainty. Lucien was a wonder, but he couldn’t work miracles. “Lucien can’t fix this. Not even he can keep the Hargroves from ensuring my secrets are exposed. If he doesn’t give in to Millie’s demands, the club will suffer.”
“But he can’t!” Ada’s voice rose. “Youwill suffer. And the club will suffer if she’s allowed to stay.”
Evie appreciated her friend’s outrage, but it wouldn’t solve anything. “We are all in agreement, not that it matters. Lucien has built a wonderful place here, and he can’t let it falter. I don’t see any outcome that doesn’t include my exposure.” She was surprised to find that the numbness she’d felt earlier persisted. Good, she didn’t have the energy to despair.
“I wish that weren’t true,” Ada whispered. “This is so unfair.”
“Perhaps, but we both know that fairness rarely enters into anything. I’ve had a lovely run the past two years here. Now, it’s time to move on.”
“Must you really? Surely, no one will resign their membership if you stay. And people will still come. The population of the Phoenix Club is made up of people who have either been maligned or ignored by Society or are so far removed from it to not give a damn.”
“Mostly, yes. However, there are some who will see the expulsion of a patroness and the well-respected Lord Hargrove as unjust. They may not resign their membership, but they may very well stop coming to the club, at least for a while or perhaps the entire Season. Or they may never return.” Evie could see the calculations going on in Ada’s head.
“That would be devastating,” Ada said quietly.
“Yes.” Evie wouldn’t let that happen.
