"In the library." Mrs. Bird looked glum. "Lot of nonsense, this is. Don't see why we cannot stay put like normal folk. No need to go chasing off to London."
Jared ignored her. He walked into the library and closed the door. Olympia was seated at her desk, her head bent over a copy of one of the London papers. She glanced up quickly when she heard him enter the room.
"Jared. I mean, Mr. Chillhurst, you're back." She studied him anxiously. "Did all go well?"
"Squire Pettigrew will not be bothering you or the boys again. I will explain it all to you later. What is this about a trip to London?"
"A famous notion, is it not?" Olympia smiled brilliantly. "It occurred to me that with the three thousand pounds we received from my uncle's shipment of goods, we can afford to go all the way to London. It will be a wonderful experience for the boys and I shall be able to use the time to do some research on the diary."
"Research?"
"Yes. I would like to consult some maps of the West Indies that belong to the Society for Travel and Exploration. The diary makes reference to an island which I cannot seem to locate on any of my own maps of that region."
Jared hesitated as he swiftly calculated the potential problems involved in a journey to London. "Where do you plan to stay?"
"Why, we shall take a house for a month. It should be a simple matter."
"No."
Olympia blinked, astonished. "I beg your pardon?"
Jared realized he had momentarily forgotten his position in the household. He was supposed to take orders from Olympia, not give them to her. Unfortunately giving orders was an old habit.
"A trip to London at this particular juncture strikes me as a very unsound notion, Miss Wingfield," he said carefully.
"Why is that?"
"For one thing, I would be obliged to find lodgings, too. They would most likely be located at a considerable distance from the house you obtain. I do not care for the thought of you and the boys being alone at night in London." He paused delicately. "Not after what happened here two nights ago."
"You mean that business of someone creeping about my library?" Olympia frowned in thoughtful consideration.
"Precisely," Jared said smoothly. "We cannot take any chances, Miss Wingfield. Here in the country I am only a short distance away down the lane. I can hear you if you call for help."
It was only one more small deception, he assured himself. He would tell her soon enough that he was certain last night's intruder had been Pettigrew's groom. In the meantime he needed an excuse to avoid this harebrained trip to London.
Olympia hesitated and then a look of satisfaction appeared in her eyes. "The solution is obvious. You shall stay with us in town."
"With you? You mean in the same house?" Jared was staggered at the thought.
"Of course. There is absolutely no need to go to the extra expense of paying for separate lodgings for you. It's a waste of money. Furthermore, if we must take steps to defend ourselves against this Guardian person, whoever he is, then you should be near at hand at all times."
"Near at hand," Jared repeated blankly.
"Under the same roof," Olympia said helpfully.
"I see." The same roof.
The notion of spending his nights under the same roof as his lovely siren was enough to take away his very breath. He would no doubt sleep in a bedchamber next to Olympia's. He would hear her when she got dressed in the morning and listen to her get undressed at night.
Jared's mind churned out a myriad fascinating visions. He would see Olympia in the hall when she was on her way to have her bath. He would join her on the stairs when she went down to breakfast or a late night cup of tea. He would be near her morning, noon, and night.
He would go mad, he thought. His passions would consume him. He would have every opportunity to abandon himself to the siren's call.
It would be heaven living under the same roof as Olympia.
Or hell.
"Is there some problem with my plan, Mr. Chillhurst?"
"I believe so." For the first time in his entire life Jared found it extraordinarily difficult to think clearly and decisively. "Yes. There is a problem."
Olympia tilted her head inquiringly. "What is it?"
Jared drew a deep, steadying breath. "Miss Wingfield, need I remind you that your reputation in this district is already hanging by a thread? If I go to London with you and reside under the same roof, you will soon have no reputation left at all."
"My reputation is of no concern to me, sir, but I am aware that we must take care to protect yours. After all, as I pointed out earlier, you cannot afford to have gossip follow you to your next position."
Jared seized on that argument. It was the only one she seemed willing to concede. "An excellent point, Miss Wingfield. Gossip can be quite harmful to a tutor, as you so wisely noted."
"Have no fear, sir. I would not dream of jeopardizing your reputation." Olympia smiled reassuringly. "But I do not see that there is any difficulty here. After all, no one in Upper Tudway will know we are staying in the same house in London."
"Ah… well… yes, there is that, however—"
"And no one in London knows you, either, except your friend who disposed of Uncle Artemis's goods. Surely he will not gossip about you."
"Ah… well…"
"It is not as though we shall be going about in social circles. Indeed, we shall be quite anonymous in the crowds that throng a large city such as London." Olympia chuckled. "Who would even notice us, let alone gossip about us?"
Jared struggled to inject some common sense into the situation. "The landlord of the house you propose to rent, perhaps? The members of the Society for Travel and Exploration whom you plan to contact? Any number of people might talk about us, Miss Wingfield."
"Hmmm." Olympia tapped her quill gently against the desktop.
Jared did not care for the expression on her face. "Miss Wingfield, allow me to tell you that a young woman in your position simply cannot—"
"I have it," she declared suddenly.
"Have what?"
"The perfect answer. If we are discovered and your reputation appears to be in danger, we shall pretend to be a married couple."
Jared stared at her, stunned into speechlessness.
"Well, sir? What do you think?" Olympia waited expectantly. When Jared failed to respond, she prompted him gently. "Do you not think it an extremely clever scheme?"
"Ah… well—"
"Come now, Mr. Chillhurst. It is the logical thing to do, not only for the sake of economy but for the sake of efficiency and safety. There really is no other intelligent solution to the problem."
Jared wanted to inform her that intelligence was a commodity that was singularly lacking in this matter but he could not seem to find the words. The thought of not only living in the same house as Olympia but of pretending to be married to her was dazzling him to the point of lunacy.
The siren's song had rendered him mad.
"What will you tell your nephews?" he finally got out.
Olympia scowled briefly as she mulled that over for a few seconds. Then her glorious smile returned in full force.
"They need know nothing about it, of course," she said. "It is highly unlikely that they would come into contact with any adults who might think to question them in depth on our connection. You are their tutor, nothing more nor less. No one will pry further. Is that not correct?"
"I suppose so," Jared agreed reluctantly. Adults rarely came into contact with young children.
"And we will not be entertaining visitors so there will be no problem from that quarter," Olympia continued with enthusiasm.
"We are headed for disaster," Jared muttered under his breath.
"What was that, Mr. Chillhurst?"
"Nothing, Miss Wingfield. Nothing at all."
And there, in the blink of an eye, Jared thought, went the benefits of a lifetime's cultivation of common sense, practicality, and sober consideration.