“Smith” had not returned for the evening. Had she changed her mind? Lost her nerve?For her sake, he should hope so. If, as he suspected, she had no illicit connections in her past, he should discourage this highly improper decision she had made.Of course, she would certainly not be the first woman to be driven to prostitution by pure need, if that were the case, though he still suspected it had to do with the squire’s lost estate. It happened more often to working-class women, but he felt sure that it was not unknown in the upper classes as well.He should, but truth be told, he wanted her back….He kept remembering the curve of her neck where it met her shoulder, and how her hair had smelled of lavender when he had stood behind her, and how he had wanted to pull the strands out of their pins and allow it all to fall free down her back….And that wistful expression he had glimpsed in her eyes…how long had it been since someone had made her truly happy?He tried to put her out of his mind.
