“My lady, I have your chocolate.” A maid, probably about seventeen or eighteen, entered the room bearing a tray with a steaming cup atop it. Brownish hair curled around the bottom of her mobcap, framing her delicate, pale face.
“Muriel,” Lady Chesterfield said, “this is our guest, Leah Ramsey. You are acquainted with her dear friend Miss Jamie Marten, or should I say Lady Dunnington?”
The maid nearly dropped the tray in her excitement.
“Miss Jamie?” She set the tray hurriedly on the bedside table and rushed to Leah’s side. “How is she? And my lord Dunnington? Mrs. Knightsbridge told me they were to wed. Was it lovely? I know it was the most beautiful ceremony, for they were so in love.”
Leah had to laugh at the maid’s excited outburst.
“Muriel, you’re exactly like Jamie described you. Yes, it was a beautiful wedding, and they’re really happy.”
It was nice to think about her best friend instead of the mess Leah had made of her own life recently.
The maid turned her shining eyes to Lady Chesterfield.
“How may I assist your ladyship?”
The woman propped her hands on her ample hips and smiled broadly. “Our Miss Ramsey here is destined to wed the Duke of Granville. And we, my girl, shall help her.”
“The Duke of Granville?” Muriel’s tone was surprised, but not in a good way. “But he is so old!”
Leah shifted uneasily in the chair. Muriel had just blurted out her biggest misgiving about this whole shebang.
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Chesterfield sniffed. “And mind your tongue, Muriel.
As you know, a gentleman’s age is of no real impedi-ment to a match. I do not know His Grace personally.
His mother is a harridan of the first water, I must own.
Still, it is of no consequence. We shall see to it that our Miss Ramsey weds advantageously, you can be assured of that.”
“Lady Chesterfield,” Leah said, rising to her feet with only a slight wobble. “I might have been wrong about the duke. Mrs. Knightsbridge told me that my true love was in the Duke of Granville’s household, but she never actually came out and said it was the duke.” Unease swirled in her stomach as she looked at her hostess and the maid.
A quizzical smile appeared on the baroness’s face. “But there are no other eligible gentlemen in the household.”
Avery’s face popped into Leah’s mind’s eye, and she laughed awkwardly. “Well, a gentle man, but not a gentleman, if you get me.” Leah cleared her throat.
“What I mean is, I kind of made friends with someone in the house. The duke’s valet, actually. And I’m wondering if I may have made the wrong assumption about the identity of the man I’m supposed to fall in love with.”
Pursing her lips, Lady Chesterfield paced in front of the wide hearth. Muriel looked on, fingers twisting her apron. The only sound for several long moments was the soft crackle and pop of the fire. Leah linked her fingers in front of her, willing her lungs to draw in oxygen deeply and evenly. Hopefully Lady Chesterfield could help her figure this out.
“May I be plain, Miss Ramsey?”
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Leah nodded. “Please.”
Lady Chesterfield continued, “In your position as a temporary servant in the household, it is only natural that you would develop a tendre for another servant, as a presumed equal. But”— she crossed over to Leah and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder— “I cannot think that your Mrs. Knightsbridge wished for you to marry a mere valet.
With my patronage, you will be welcomed into society.
You need not settle for a commoner.”
Leah sank back into the chair as Lady Chesterfield continued.
“Is it not possible that your feelings were magnified by your difficult position? Should you not pursue what you had desired in order to discover its worth?” The woman grasped Leah’s hands. “I only wish to assist you, dear.
And I would be very remiss indeed if I allowed you to set your cap for a valet when you could have snared a duke.”
Doubt began to creep into the edges of Leah’s consciousness. She’d really enjoyed Avery’s kiss, she knew that. But was it because she was so desperate for this to work? Was it because she was scared and lonely, and she’d mistaken his kindness to her for something else? Or was it because she was afraid to put herself out there and be rejected again?
Her grandfather would never let her relax if she settled for less than the absolute best. Only one way to know.
Her mind made up, Leah gave a tight nod.
“Let’s do this.”
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