The Housemaid's Scandalous Secret

by Helen Dickson

  ‘That will be Ross—impatient as ever.’ She bade him enter.

  Contrary to Araminta’s comment, Ross sauntered in and made himself comfortable in a chair facing his sister. He’d made it a practice to visit her in her room each day, and although he kept his visits brief, he found himself nevertheless looking forward to them because it gave him the opportunity to see Miss Napier. Out of uniform, Colonel Montague was the very epitome of an elegant gentleman. With his dark hair brushed back and shining, he was the image of relaxed elegance in his black and white evening clothes and one well-shod foot propped casually atop the opposite knee.

  ‘I thought I’d come and see what’s keeping you, Araminta. We’re expected at the Bosworths’ in half an hour.’

  ‘I know, and I’m sorry, Ross. As soon as Lisette has finished arranging my hair I’ll be ready.’

  ‘I’m sure they’ll understand if we’re a bit late,’ he said, content to sit and observe the delectable Miss Napier put the finishing touches to his sister’s toilet. Even his expression was casual.

  Looking at Lisette through the mirror Araminta eyed her in watchful curiosity, noticing her wandering attention and the soft flush that had risen to her cheeks when Ross had entered. She wondered what lay behind her maid’s lovely face, for she really was exceptionally beautiful and in the right clothes she would be stunning.

  ‘Tell me, Lisette, do you speak any other languages besides English?’

  ‘I speak Urdu and Hindustani,’ she answered, aware of Colonel Montague’s eyes observing her every move and willing herself not to think of it. ‘My parents taught me well and were quite insistent that I learn the language in order to understand the people and the culture of India.’

  ‘That must have been difficult.’

  ‘Not really. I was young so it came naturally.’ Suddenly she felt like disappearing into the floor, for her announcement might have sounded like boasting and probably branded her a bluestocking in her mistress’s eyes. But it had done no such thing. It had only increased her mistress’s growing respect for this unusual maid of hers.

  ‘Do you play the pianoforte and sing too?’ Ross asked with a teasing smile.

  Lisette returned his smile through the mirror and said, ‘Oh, no. I can’t do either. I gave up the piano in frustration, and when I opened my mouth to sing, to my immense relief my mother covered her ears and gave up on me.’

  ‘And do you like working here, Lisette?’ Araminta asked.

  ‘Of course. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be working for such a fine family.’

  ‘I am glad my brother brought you to my attention.’

  ‘Our meeting on the docks was brief. I’m surprised he remembered me at all.’

  ‘I’m not. You’re very pretty, Lisette. Exceptionally so, and never have I seen hair so dark as to be almost black—in fact, I do believe it is. It’s a beautiful shade—exotic, even, the perfect frame for your features and creamy skin. Do you not agree, Ross?’

  Caught completely off guard, Ross said cautiously, ‘Forgive me, Araminta, I’m not sure what you mean?’

  ‘Either you’re extremely unobservant or else your eyesight is afflicted. I was talking about Lisette’s hair. It’s quite extraordinary, don’t you agree?’

  ‘I am sure Colonel Montague has many things to think about other than my hair, Miss Araminta,’ Lisette remarked. ‘It is black and quite ordinary, which I do not find in the least exciting and is a common shade in India.’

  ‘You don’t like it,’ Ross summarized.

  ‘Not really,’ she answered, touching Araminta’s light brown tresses with something like envy in her eyes, ‘but one must be satisfied with what one is born with. I would imagine that living in India and seeing nothing but dusky skins and black-haired natives day in and day out you would find monotonous, Colonel Montague.’

  ‘Not at all—quite the opposite, in fact,’ he replied, his gaze shifting to that exotic hair twisted and coiled neatly about Miss Napier’s well-shaped head, with not a hair out of place. His fingers ached to release it from the pins and to let the heavy mass tumble in waves over her shoulders and down her back, to run his fingers through the tresses and to smell its fragrance.

  It began to register on Lisette that the expression on his face wasn’t dislike at all. In fact, he really did look almost admiring—and she saw something primitive flare in his eyes, which stirred her alarm and which she chose to ignore. Meeting his gaze she favoured him with an irrepressible sidewise smile. ‘You mean you really do like it?’

  Ross liked it. He liked every damn thing about her. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to thrust his sister out of the room and snatch Miss Napier into his arms, to kiss the smiling mischief from her lips until she was clinging to him, melting with desire. She’d indicated a feminine concern about her hair, then calmly accepted it. This gave him the distinct impression that pretence and pretension were completely foreign to her, and that she was refreshingly unique in those ways and probably many other delightful ways as well.

  He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers beneath his chin, continuing to watch her from beneath hooded lids. ‘That is what I said.’

  ‘And my brother’s opinion matters,’ Araminta said smoothly, regarding Ross with fascinated disbelief. It was time for them to leave for their appointment, but there was something about the undercurrents flowing between her brother and her maid, something so very strange about everything, that she was reluctant to break the mood.

  ‘I am glad you think so, Araminta, since it is my opinion that Miss Napier is in need of some new dresses as befits her position—although it would be more pleasing to the eye to see her decked out in satin and lace.’ He studied Miss Napier surreptitiously. Beauty was moulded into every flawlessly sculpted feature of her face, but her allure went much deeper than that. It was in her voice and her graceful movements. There was something inside her that made her sparkle and glow, and she only needed the proper background and situation and elegant clothes to complement her alluring figure and exquisite features.

  ‘Really, Ross,’ Araminta chided lightly, ‘it’s very ungentlemanly of you to remark on that.’

  A lazy smile transformed his harsh features. ‘Surely I haven’t done anything to give you the impression that I’m a gentleman!’

  It was the exaggerated dismay in his voice that brought a smile to Araminta’s lips. ‘Nothing at all, and if you must know a trip to the modistes to purchase Lisette some new clothes is imminent—but ball gowns are quite out of the question.’

  ‘Of course they are,’ Lisette said quietly. ‘It’s quite ridiculous to contemplate such a thing—although Colonel Montague has my gratitude.’

  He gave her a puzzled look. ‘For what?’

  Those candid eyes lifted to his in the mirror, searching, delving, and Ross had the fleeting impression that with time she might see straight into his devious soul. She obviously hadn’t gotten his true measure, however, because a warm smile touched those soft lips of hers.

  ‘Why, for providing me with this opportunity.’

  Her gratitude only made him feel guilty about everything, more of a disgusting fraud, for letting her think of him as some gallant white knight, instead of the black-hearted villain who had every intention of luring her into his bed.

  Having watched the byplay between Ross and her maid and quite enthralled by this teasingly flirtatious side of her brother, Araminta’s eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘Ross never forgets a pretty face, Lisette. I’m quite certain that if I hadn’t mentioned that I was in need of a maid, he would have concocted some other means of renewing your acquaintance.’

  Lisette flushed with embarrassment. ‘Oh, I—I never meant...’ She saw Miss Araminta’s pitying look and knew she was being seen as completely besotted.

  ‘No, of course you didn’t. But be wary,’ she said, meeting her brother’s eyes with something akin to cynicism. ‘Don’t let my brother’s charm sway you. Many a villain has been god-like
in appearance, and such an attribute can be to the dire cost of the poor victims.’

  And there speaks the voice of experience, Lisette thought, beginning to realise that her young mistress might not have come out of her broken betrothal as unscathed as some might think, after all.

  She was proved right a moment later when Araminta pulled herself up straight and smiled, her eyes meeting Lisette’s in the mirror. ‘As clever as you are, Lisette, and looking as you do, you no doubt will want to find a husband eventually.’

  Lisette stiffened at those words and tried to ignore the fact that Colonel Montague was listening most intently. She could not detect any hint of ridicule in Miss Araminta’s voice, but she must be laughing at the very idea that someone might want to marry her.

  ‘As a matter of fact there is nothing further from my mind, but if I were, I see nothing wrong with that.’

  ‘Well, if marriage is your goal, pray let me dissuade you from it. You may think me something of a radical, but I have come to think that womankind is rendered helpless by her dependency upon men. At their mercy we are no better than rabbits in a trap. It is far better in life to remain unencumbered, if possible.’

  ‘Thank you for your cynical view on the subject, Miss Araminta, but it is not a view I share. I would like to think that marriage is a partnership based on mutual love and respect, and companionship, not an encumbrance.’

  ‘You are quite right, Miss Napier,’ Ross remarked. ‘I can see that when I single out the object of my matrimonial intentions, I would be wise to seek your advice.’

  Over her shoulder, Araminta threw him a glare of mock offence. ‘Ladies are not objects, Ross. Little wonder you have failed to secure yourself a wife. And if you did I can only assume that you would toss her over your shoulder, carry her off and beat her into submission.’

  ‘You mean,’ Ross said straight-faced, ‘that isn’t the way to handle the matter?’ His gaze shifted to Lisette’s in the mirror. ‘What say you, Miss Napier?’ He awaited her reply with more interest than Lisette realised.

  Lisette saw the humour lurking in his eyes; she burst out laughing, and to Ross it seemed as if the room were filled with music. ‘Ladies—that is all ladies, be they well-born or otherwise,’ she clarified a moment later with a look that clearly implied his past experience had probably been with females of quite another sort, ‘have very definite ideas of the way they wish to be treated by the man who wins their heart.’

  ‘Please enlarge on that,’ Ross said as she stuck another pin through a curl on Araminta’s head. ‘Just how do ladies like to be treated?’

  ‘With respect, loyalty and devotion—and she wants to think that he has eyes for no one but her, that he’s blind to everything but her beauty.’

  ‘In which case, he’s in imminent danger of tripping over his own feet,’ Ross pointed out, grinning broadly.

  Araminta shot him an admonishing look. ‘And,’ she said emphatically, ‘she likes to think he’s a romantic, which you obviously are not, dear brother.’

  ‘Not if I have to grope my way about like a blind idiot,’ he teased. ‘What else do ladies like, Miss Napier? I am all ears.’

  Having said more than she had intended and spoken more sharply to Miss Araminta than was seemly in a maid, under her mistress’s penetrating gaze some of Lisette’s confidence slid away. Apart from Messalina she had never known how to converse with people her own age, and for the first time since leaving India, she felt gauche and ill at ease.

  ‘I will leave you to work that out for yourself, Colonel. I am sorry, Miss Araminta. I was impertinent. I should not have been so outspoken when you voiced your opinion on marriage.’

  ‘Why on earth not? I like people who speak their mind and you were quite right. I was very rude and there was no call for it.’

  Standing up and smoothing her satin skirts, Araminta felt a new respect for her maid. Lisette knew her role but to be sure she was no dullard. Her impish smile and darting golden eyes betrayed the quick wit of an urchin. No doubt she had already knitted together the strands of Araminta’s own tragic story from below stairs gossip. Still, she was aware of Lisette’s capabilities and had already come to value her honesty and discretion. In just one week she had assumed far more than her intended measure of responsibilities and in doing so had made herself indispensable.

  Chapter Three

  Seated beside the window to catch the light for her sewing, Lisette was surprised when, following a brief knock on the door, it suddenly opened and Colonel Montague strolled in. Her heart missed a beat. His grey coat of Bath superfine hugged his broad shoulders, its excellent cut emphasising his broad chest and much narrower hips. His dark hair glowed softly in the sunlight slanting through the windows. With rigid calm she placed her work on the table in front of her and, rising, she bobbed a small curtsey.

  He stopped just in front of her, and stood gazing into her eyes with a thoughtful expression. He seemed to peer down into her very soul.

  ‘Miss Napier,’ he greeted her, his blue eyes aglow, a beguiling little smile on his lips, ‘how pleasant to see you and how well you look. Please, do sit down. I have no wish to interrupt your work. I’m here to see Araminta.’

  Lisette did as he bade and sat back down, taking up her sewing. ‘Miss Araminta is taking a bath. She shouldn’t be too long—although sometimes she does like to wallow among the suds. Perhaps you would prefer to come back later.’

  ‘I’m on my way out and would like to see her before I go. I’ll wait,’ he said, unable to think of anything better than spending a few minutes with this exotic young woman. It was the first time since she had taken up her position that he had found the opportunity to speak to her alone.

  Lisette was aware of his aroused interest. From beneath dark brows he observed her with close attention, and then seated himself in a chair facing her, and with quiet patience he waited, like a cat before a mouse hole. He was watching her steadily, and she sensed the unbidden, unspoken communication between them.

  Ross was thinking low lovely she was. Her hair drawn back from her face and coiled in her nape was very neat and tidy, and her cheeks were smooth and slightly golden. She wore a grey woollen dress and a starched and frilled white apron tied at the back of her small waist in a large and perfect bow, hugging her slender contours and emphasising their softness, leaving him with an urgent longing to fill his arms with their warmth.

  ‘I have to confess that in the beginning I wasn’t convinced you’d turn up here,’ he said softly.

  In disregard of the doubt she had felt during the time she had seen him at the Exchange, she said, ‘I had no choice. When the Arbuthnots left for Brighton, I had nowhere else to go. Besides, I am not all that enamoured of London and the thought of Derbyshire appealed to me.’ She could feel his gaze on her bent face. With a stirring of irritation and something else she could not put a name to, resolutely she lifted her head and met his eyes. ‘Have you had an edifying look at me yet, Colonel?’

  Quite unexpectedly he smiled, a white, buccaneer smile, and his eyes danced with devilish humour. ‘You don’t have to look so irate to find yourself the object of my attention. As a matter of fact I was admiring you.’

  Unaccustomed as she was to any kind of compliment, the warmth in his tone brought heat creeping into her cheeks. ‘You must excuse me if I seem a little embarrassed, Colonel. I’m not used to flattery.’

  ‘I was merely thinking how lovely you are, Miss Napier.’

  She shot him an amused look. ‘And how many women have you said that to?’ she asked, a smile trembling on her lips.

  ‘Several. And it’s always the truth.’

  ‘I dare say you’ll be eager to see Castonbury Park again.’ Lisette looked down and did another stitch, eager to divert the conversation away from herself and relieved that she had something to occupy her hands.

  His fascinating lips lifted fractionally. ‘Eager enough, Miss Napier. I am concerned with family matters just now and my uncle’s health is not wh
at it was.’

  Lisette wished his voice was not so very deep; it made her nerves vibrate.

  A moment passed before he said, ‘I wanted to have a word with you, Miss Napier.’ She raised her head and waited for him to continue. ‘You don’t need me to remind you how unusual it is for a girl of your age to be working as a lady’s maid. I know my sister has great confidence in you—indeed you will find as time goes on that she will confide in you in a way that is perhaps not entirely fitting, but because we have given you so much, because we chose you over a more experienced lady’s maid, I know you will always be discreet. I know you will soon pick up your duties, but the habit of loyalty cannot be bought. Do you understand me?’

  Lisette nodded. ‘Yes. Be assured, Colonel, that whatever Miss Araminta confides in me, will go no further.’

  Holding her gaze he nodded and smiled. ‘Thank you. I know I can trust you. Have you no family, Miss Napier?’

  She shook her head. ‘No. My parents died of the cholera in India. As far as I am aware there is no one else.’ As she said this she thought of the letter she had dispatched just yesterday to her father’s lawyer in Oxford informing him of her parents’ demise, and then her thoughts turned to Princess Messalina. Though not related, she was the closest she had to family.

  ‘You must miss your parents.’

  ‘Yes, I do. Very much.’

  ‘What was your father doing out in India?’

  She smiled. ‘My father was something of an eccentric as well as being an academic. Not only was he a linguist he was also a botanist. He was working out there for the University of Oxford.’

  ‘And your mother? Did she like India?’

  ‘Yes, although she would have gone anywhere my father asked her to go. They were very close. They met in Italy—she was half Italian on her mother’s side.’

  ‘Then that explains your hair colouring. The only other women I’ve seen with hair as black as yours are Indian women. It must have been a difficult time for you when you lost your parents.’