LITMIR.BIZ

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was pacing like one of the caged lions at the Tower. No, Maude silently corrected herself. Those animals were confined behind bars. However menacing they looked, with the muscles bunching under their sleek hides and the flash of white fangs, they were impotent.

      This man was free. This man made things happen, just as she had sensed he would. He turned from checking a ledger someone had handed him and Maude moved back between the flats, stumbling slightly over the grooves they ran in. The paperwork dismissed, Hurst strode to the front of the stage and began a highly technical discussion with someone invisible in the pit about the placing of the instrumental players to achieve a certain required effect.

      He had discarded his coat and rolled up his sleeves. There was no sign of last night’s exaggerated tailoring, unless one counted the very whiteness of the linen shirt that made his skin even more golden in contrast and the expensive cut of his pantaloons and waistcoat. There were no diamonds in his ear today, just the ring to give emphasis when he swept a hand down in a gesture to reinforce his orders.

      Maude found her eyes fixed on the point where his waistcoat had been laced at the small of his back, emphasising the balance between broad shoulders and narrow waist, slim hips and long legs.

      Now he put his fists on his hips and leaned back to stare up into the gods to where a hand was shouting a query. The line of his throat was that of a Greek statue, she thought.

      ‘Extraordinarily beautiful animal, isn’t he?’ a dispassionate male voice asked, just by her ear.

      Maude felt herself colouring: she could hardly deny to herself how she had been looking at him. ‘Mr Hurst appears very fit,’ she said repressively, turning to find one of the walking gentlemen at her elbow.

      ‘I’m not interested in him that way, you understand,’ the man continued, still watching his employer through narrowed eyes. Maude tried to appear sophisticated and unshocked at the suggestion he might be interested. ‘I just wish I could move like that. I watch and watch, but I’m damned if I can get it. New, are you? Nice gown, by the way. My name’s Tom Gates, walking gentleman and hopeful juvenile lead if that clot Merrick upsets the apple cart.’

      Maude regarded him with some interest. He looked about twenty-one, but from a distance, with make-up, she could see he could easily pass for a lad of seventeen. ‘Thank you, it is one of my favourite gowns. I’m sure you’d make a very good juvenile lead. Is Mr Merrick prone to trouble, then?’

      ‘He will be if he doesn’t stop lifting La Golding’s skirts,’ Tom confided frankly. ‘Either Susan Poole will run him through with a hat pin or the guv’nor will have his balls for making trouble in the cast. What’s your line, then? Too classy to be a walking lady, I’d have said.’

      ‘I am not an actress, I’m an investor,’ Maude explained, watching the blood drain from the young man’s face as he realised his faux pas. ‘I am early for a business meeting with Mr Hurst.’

      ‘Oh. My. God.’ He smote his forehead dramatically. ‘Should I go and pack my bags now, do you think? Let me see, have I remembered everything I said that you’ll be complaining about?’

      ‘Lady Maude. Gates? Be so good as to explain what will cause her ladyship to complain to me.’ Eden Hurst was standing right behind them, his expression one of polite interest. Maude thought that it was just how a shark would look before sampling one’s leg.

      ‘Good morning, Mr Hurst. There is absolutely nothing to be concerned over. I arrived somewhat early and Mr Gates has been so helpful in explaining things, but he seems conscience-stricken because he forgot to address me by my title. I do not regard it at all.’ She shared a sweet smile between both men. Gates shot her a look of adoring thanks, Mr Hurst merely raised one eyebrow in a manner calculated to infuriate anyone else who could not manage the same trick.

      ‘I’ll get your coat, Guv’nor.’ Gates shot across the stage like a retriever and returned with the garment, brushing it assiduously. His complexion had returned to normal.

      ‘Thank you. Have refreshments sent to my office.’ Hurst took her arm. ‘Alone again, Lady Maude?’

      ‘My maid is waiting in the Green Room.’ Maude had left Anna there, wide-eyed in anticipation of witnessing some of the scandalous behaviour she was convinced must go on in such a wicked place. So far, Maude imagined she had been seriously disappointed. The language might be colourful, but everyone was focused totally on their work. Mr Hurst ran a tight ship.

      ‘I will leave the door open, then.’ He showed her in, gesturing to the chair she had sat in the night before.

      ‘Why? Do you fear you may be unable to restrain your animal impulses again, Mr Hurst?’ Maude sat and placed a folder of papers on the desk.

      Behind her the door shut with a sharp click. She pursed her lips to restrain the smile; it was part of her strategy to keep Eden Hurst on edge and she did appear to be undermining that control, just a little. ‘I was not failing, Lady Maude, and I was not acting upon impulse. I fully intended to do what I did. I always do.’

      ‘Excellent. So do I. And I prefer to keep my personal business confidential, so do, please, leave the door shut.’

      She waited, hands folded demurely in her lap while he circled the desk and sat down on his sorcerer’s throne. He steepled his fingers, elbows on the carved arms, and regarded her in silence. The light from the window was behind him, no doubt intentionally. Maude, who had trained in the hard school of the Almack’s patronesses, waited, outwardly unruffled. Inwardly her stomach was executing acrobatics that would have impressed at Astley’s Amphitheatre.

      ‘In what way may I help you, Lady Maude?’

      She felt she had scored a point by not babbling to fill the silence. She wanted to babble. She wanted him to kiss her again. She wanted to climb into that big chair and curl up against him. ‘By moving my chair to the side of your desk, Mr Hurst. I dislike holding a conversation with someone whose face I cannot see.’

      Without a word he got to his feet, came round the desk again, waited for her to rise and then moved the chair. ‘Here?’ How many people challenged him on his own ground? Would it impress him or merely irritate?

      ‘Excellent, thank you.’ Unasked, he moved her papers too, then shifted his chair so he could face her.

      ‘I wish to invest in the Unicorn, Mr Hurst.’

      ‘Indeed.’ Damn him, he might at least look faintly surprised. How many unmarried ladies did he have coming in offering him money? ‘And what makes you think I require investors, ma’am?’

      ‘I have heard some gossip to that effect and I should imagine all theatres need funds. And Miss Corwin tells me her father is thinking of investing with you.’ His mouth twisted wryly for a second, whether at the thought of Miss Corwin or of her father, Maude was not certain.

      ‘And what does your father think of this, might I ask?’

      ‘I have not discussed it with him as yet. Mr Hurst, I am five and twenty and I have had control of my own money for some time.’ An exaggeration—it was only since last year, in fact, when Papa had recognised that withholding control of it was not going to force her into the marriage with Gareth Morant, Lord Standon.

      A gallant man would have exclaimed in surprise at her claiming such advanced years. It surprised Maude herself sometimes to realise how old she was and to acknowledge that most people would consider her almost on the shelf. Eden Hurst made no reference to her age at all. Now, was that galling or refreshing?

      ‘I have always been interested in the theatre, so this seemed an obvious thing to do. I am not intending to overcommit myself, I realise this is a risky business, however well run.’ That earned her an inclination of his head. Still no smile. The shark appeared to be circling, perhaps puzzled about what kind of prey had swum into its territory.

      ‘You have been a leading light in country-house amateur theatricals, no doubt, Lady Maude?’ The way he said her name made her swallow hard, every time. It was difficult

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