The Housemaid's Scandalous Secret

by Helen Dickson

  Raising his head Ross looked down at her upturned face. ‘I love you, Lisette. I think I loved you the first time I saw you—I remember you were wearing a pink, star-spangled sari.’

  Catching her breath, Lisette raised her brows in amazement, silently questioning, hoping.

  ‘When Araminta told me you had left Castonbury I went dead inside. You see, I had come to realise just how much you mean to me. I have never had any real feeling of love for anyone. I’ve had the experience of many women, but that wasn’t love. Since I first set eyes on you, you had an effect on me and I wanted you and needed you more than I imagined I would ever want or need anyone in my life. You have caught me in the tenderest trap of all.’ On a sigh with a whimsical smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, he admitted the truth of it. ‘What we have transcends all else. You are a rare being, Lisette Napier. We’ll never be separated again, my love. Do you hear me? Never.’

  ‘Thank you for saying that,’ Lisette whispered, an aching lump beginning to swell in her throat. Lowering her eyes she raised his hand and solemnly placed her lips against his fingers. ‘I love you, Ross. I love you as much as it is possible for a woman to love a man. I have loved you for so long, ever since you jumped into the river and saved my life, and when you kissed me as I held on to you, it sealed what I felt for you in my heart.’ Raising her eyes, she looked at him, and the gentle yielding and the love in their melting amber depths defeated him. ‘Does that make you happy, Ross, to know I loved you from the start?’

  ‘Happy? Bless you, my darling,’ he murmured hoarsely. ‘I don’t deserve you.’

  ‘Yes, you do. How did you know...?’

  ‘Where to find you?’ She nodded. ‘I heard what happened and that you’d had to face the wrath of Aunt Wilhelmina, for which I am deeply sorry. Araminta told me you had left for London.’

  ‘I didn’t go to London. I went to Oxford to see my father’s lawyer. My father left me a legacy—more than I could ever have expected, which was why I decided to go back to India. I—I haven’t decided what I will do when I get there....’

  ‘That’s not for you to worry about. Marry me, Lisette. Marry me today—now. Be my wife.’ As she made to pull away from him, he held her tight. ‘What is it?’

  From within the circle of his arms, she stared up at him in wonder. ‘Marry you?’

  Ross probed for an answer. ‘Do you understand, Lisette?’

  ‘Of course,’ she breathed. ‘You want to marry me, you said.’

  ‘Isn’t that in the order of things when two people love each other?’

  ‘And...you do love me?’

  ‘More than anything. I’m sorry, Lisette. I should have made my intentions clear. If I had, perhaps you wouldn’t have left Castonbury without seeing me.’

  ‘Yes, you should. But it wouldn’t have made any difference. Your family would never accept me and I wouldn’t expect them to.’

  ‘I have told you before, Lisette, that I make my own rules. Do you really think the difference in our backgrounds would make any difference to the way I feel about you? That sort of thing is not important to me. Come, my love, why are we playing this game? The past is past for both of us. There is only the future.’

  The thought of being his wife filled Lisette with many contradictory emotions—shock, fear and a burgeoning excitement she didn’t dare consider at the present moment.

  ‘I’ve had a lot of time to think on the journey down here and then waiting to see which ship you’d book your passage on. Araminta told me what you intended doing. I was disappointed that you didn’t tell me about your legacy and that you meant to go back to India.’

  ‘I’m sorry, I knew you could never commit... Your family, Ross? How do you think they’ll respond if I become your wife?’

  ‘I can’t let them govern my life. My life is my own and I must live it how I wish. But if it makes you feel better, we have the blessing of Araminta, Giles, Phaedra and Kate. Aunt Wilhelmina will no doubt never speak to me again—but it can be borne, since she is not really a blood relation of mine. You know she is my cousins’ aunt, not my own. My uncle, the duke, has his head filled with dastardly plans of receiving his grandson at Castonbury, of separating the mother from the child. There is no room in his life for anything else at this present time.’

  Lisette stared at him in disbelief, unable to understand the duke’s cruelty. ‘He intends to remove the child from his mother?’ Ross nodded. ‘But...that is a wicked, cruel thing to do. He must be completely heartless. I hope your cousin’s widow refuses to comply with his wishes.’

  ‘My uncle is a powerful man, Lisette. He will have his way, although he has let the whole thing go to his head before it’s even been settled.’

  ‘Then I pray your family will make him see how wrong it would be. I have so much to learn about you, Ross. I’ll never be able to live up to your position.’

  He took her face tenderly between his hands and looked into her eyes, as if the only peace he could know would come from locking gazes with her. ‘That’s a trivial thing, of no importance to me. I’d like to gamble all I’ve got on the fact that I’ll be the envy of every man who meets you. Now, ours is going to be the shortest courtship on record so I want your answer now. Lisette, will you marry me—now, here on the ship? The captain is prepared to officiate this very minute and Blackstock to bear witness if you accept. Yes or no?’

  Looking at him now she no longer had any doubts. This man would always see her and know her, whatever she was doing, whatever she was wearing—his look had nothing to do with status or the concerns of the world. It was as simple as that.

  ‘Yes,’ she whispered, and the ship and the world seemed to tilt beneath her as he caught her up in his arms.

  * * *

  Ross led Lisette to the captain’s cabin where the captain, Will Blackstock, his face split from ear to ear by a wide grin, and a first mate were assembled. Lisette was astounded that Ross had already planned this. The time had come upon her in such a rush that she wasn’t at all sure she was mentally prepared for the nuptials.

  Ross smiled into her eyes and, reaching out to take her hand, pulled her against him. The unease that Lisette had felt a moment before dissipated as her husband-to-be slid an arm around her waist and pressed his lips against the hair above her temples. Her eyes were as brilliant as the champagne they would drink afterwards. They glowed with some emotion which seemed to be a mixture of satisfaction, hope, excitement and something else known only to them.

  ‘Are we really going to be married?’ she asked wistfully.

  ‘Don’t you doubt it.’ Ross smiled gently.

  The captain, a grey-haired, middle-aged man with kindly eyes, stepped near.

  ‘You are Miss Lisette Napier?’ he queried with a friendly smile.

  ‘I am, sir.’

  ‘And you are entering into this marriage of your own free will, without coercion of any sort?’

  The question was unexpected, and she glanced up at Ross in some surprise. He squeezed her hand reassuringly. ‘Did you agree of your own free will to marry me?’

  Though Ross asked the question, it was to Captain Cookson that she looked and answered in soft tones. ‘Yes, sir. Yes, I did.’

  With a satisfied smile, Ross took her hand and held it tightly, and facing Captain Cookson, they spoke the words that bound them together, the words reverberating through Lisette’s heart. Lisette could feel her eyes misting as she repeated her own vows, and she lowered her gaze to the strong, lean hands that held hers in a gentle grasp.

  * * *

  After celebratory toasts and much ribald banter, Ross took Lisette off to their cabin. Inside there was peace and semi-darkness. Only one candle was lit on this nuptial night.

  Lisette came to her husband in pale beauty, her face pale and ethereal, her luminous eyes penetrating the very depths of his being. She paused to stand before him, wide-eyed, trembling. Her breath was fragrant from champagne and the freshness of her youth.

  A grea
t tenderness welled up in Ross and caught his throat. His hand moved out and gently touched her cheek. She reached up and grasped his hand. Moved by an impulse, he half turned her and lifted her in his arms. Her arms went around his neck. She shook visibly, laying her head on his shoulder.

  ‘We are both going home,’ Ross said. ‘Whatever happens when I rejoin my regiment, I shall see that we are together always. Are you happy, my love?’

  Looking up at him her trembling ceased. ‘I have never been happier in my life.’

  He undressed her and caressed her and laid her down. His gaze moved over her body, taking in its beauty. The soft breasts, the small waist and slender hips and thighs did not move him to lust as it had before, but to a kind of awed ecstasy. Instead of the urge to take her quickly, he felt the need to be gentle and tender, to caress with body, mind and spirit. Every part of them drew the other as if filling a vacuum, thrilling, vibrating. He loved her until they were both sated and she closed her eyes and snuggled into his arms and slept.

  She was his wife, to have and to hold as long as they both would live.

  When Lisette awoke during the night with her husband’s arms about her, she knew a sense of protectiveness and belonging such as she had never dreamed possible. She seemed to be merging with him into the womb of timelessness, in which there seemed to be no bodies but a single entity.

  * * *

  For Lisette the most surprising thing about sighting India at last was how familiar everything seemed. The gently waving palms against the lines of white sand and the splendid vivid blue sea—it was exactly as she remembered. On the shore she saw the native porters and coolies, naked except for a brief loincloth, baskets of spices and salt fish and wicker panniers full of oranges and limes, and the familiar smells of garlic, coriander and hot oil were wafted on the breeze. It was like finding herself back in a well-loved, well-remembered dream.

  Standing by the ship’s rails she looked at the beautiful clipper ships, the sturdy merchantmen anchored alongside. The water rippled deep gold in the sun, turning slowly with the sky to a lovely blue. She sighed and there was no sadness in that sigh, only sheer pleasure and satisfaction. When someone came to stand beside her she turned expectantly, her eyes gleaming in anticipation.

  Ross smiled lovingly down at her. She wore a gown of apple green and silver grey. She looked lovely and elegant, her thick black hair neatly netted beneath her bonnet.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked.

  Tucking her hand through the crook of his arm, she smiled up at him. ‘I am now.’

  They both took a deep breath and prepared to leave the ship.

  Lisette knew she had come home.

  * * * * *

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  Read on to find out more about

  Helen Dickson

  and the

  series…

  Helen Dickson was born and lives in South Yorkshire, with her retired farm manager husband. Having moved out of the busy farmhouse where she raised their two sons, she has more time to indulge in her favourite pastimes. She enjoys being outdoors, travelling, reading and music. An incurable romantic, she writes for pleasure. It was a love of history that drove her to writing historical fiction.

  Previous novels by the same author:

  A SCOUNDREL OF CONSEQUENCE

  FORBIDDEN LORD

  SCANDALOUS SECRET, DEFIANT BRIDE

  FROM GOVERNESS TO SOCIETY BRIDE

  MISTRESS BELOW DECK

  THE BRIDE WORE SCANDAL

  DESTITUTE ON HIS DOORSTEP

  SEDUCING MISS LOCKWOOD

  MARRYING MISS MONKTON

  BEAUTY IN BREECHES

  MISS CAMERON’S FALL FROM GRACE

  And in Harlequin Historical Undone! eBooks:

  ONE RECKLESS NIGHT

  Did you know that some of these novels are

  also available as eBooks?

  Visit www.harlequin.com

  Author Q&A

  Apart from your own, which other heroine did you empathise with the most?

  I feel it is a little unfair to select one heroine in particular, since they are all appealing, feisty ladies. However, I do empathise with Kate. She comes across as being a mixture of rebel and conformist and I sense she would like to escape the confines of her upbringing. In possession of a sharp mind, she has the most pronounced views on most things. I like the fact that she devotes her life to worthy causes, that she has her own ideas on equality between the sexes, and is of the opinion that women should try and rise above their servitude.

  And which hero did you find the most intriguing?

  I have to say that the hero I find the most intriguing has to be Giles. Family circumstances and the loss of two of his brothers necessitate that he resign his commission. With a strong sense of duty—and little enthusiasm—he assumes his role as heir to the Dukedom, while, with tremendous fortitude, he romances his beloved Lily throughout all eight books, until he finally makes her his wife.

  What is your hero’s favourite childhood memory of Castonbury Park?

  Ross’s favourite memories of Castonbury Park are of the times he spent growing up there. As youths, Ross and his male cousins fought together and were wild, as young men are. As young as she was, his sister Araminta took after them. She was his only sibling and Ross treasured the times he spent with Araminta. She laughed often, for she was a madcap who revelled in all the mischievous things her big brother and cousins got up to.

  What are you researching for your forthcoming novel?

  At present I am researching my next book, which is set in medieval times. It is something quite different for me. I have set all my books after the Elizabethan period, so I am finding writing about knights and castles an enjoyable challenge.

  What would you most like to have been doing in Regency times?

  If I had lived in the Regency period I would like to have been born into a large and loving wealthy family—noble or gentry, either would do. I would enjoy all the physical pastimes the country had to offer and go to town for the Season’s pleasures—and to relieve my mind from boredom. I would write romantic novels.

  AUTHOR NOTE

  When I started writing The Housemaid’s Scandalous Secret, I began by working out the structure, approach and theme for the story. But this book is not like my others, because threaded through is the continuity story and it includes characters featured in the other books in the Castonbury Park series.

  I have always found the glory days of the British in India a time of enchantment—of vibrancy, oriental princes and potentates glittering with fabulous jewels living in medieval state in fantastic marble palaces. All this, combined with the heady images of sailing ships laden with spices and sumptuous goods from the east belonging to the East India Company, a uniquely British creation which took on the world, inspired me to use India as the setting for the prologue of my book. Books and television have vouchsafed me, as an outsider, a precious glimpse of India, but it is my dream that one day I shall visit and see for myself the real India.

  Following the death of her parents, knowing she must earn her own living to survive, my heroine, Lisette, decides to return to England to find work. She has an unemotional approach to life. She is a reasoning person, yet passion burns nonetheless beneath the surface. It is an act of bravery for a young woman to embark on a journey that takes her from Delhi to Bombay, alone in a foreign land.

  Masquerading as an Indian girl, she finds her life saved when Colonel Ross Montague pulls her from a raging river. Their lives become braided tog
ether by desire, but it is many months after this event before she is unmasked.

  The story is set in the Regency period, which was one of the most turbulent, glittering and romantic times in our history, when rakes and dandies, outrageous gambling and scandals abounded. But Lisette, working as a lady’s maid at Castonbury Park in Derbyshire, is as far removed from this glittering world as she had been in India.

  The story is consistent with what I perceive to be the atmosphere of the times and the class divide. Lisette is aware of the gulf between her lowly status and that of Ross Montague, a dashing soldier stationed in India who is home on leave. Men of his ilk are not for the likes of her. Lisette has to overcome many pitfalls and prejudice from below stairs before she attains her heart’s desire—Ross—and is able to return to her beloved India.

  Writing this book has been a challenge, but I found it an absolute delight to write.

  Don’t miss the next instalment of Castonbury Park—

  THE LADY WHO BROKE THE RULES

  by Marguerite Kaye

  ‘Your rebellion has not gone unnoticed…’

  Anticipating her wedding vows and then breaking off the engagement has left Kate Montague’s social status in tatters. She hides her hurt at her family’s disapproval behind a resolutely optimistic façade, but one thing really grates… For a fallen woman, she knows shockingly little about passion!

  Could Virgil Jackson be the man to teach her? A freed slave turned successful businessman, his striking good looks and lethally restrained power throw normally composed Kate into a tailspin! She’s already scandalised society, but succumbing to her craving for Virgil would be the most outrageous thing Kate’s done by far…

  THE LADY WHO BROKE THE RULES

  Marguerite Kaye

  I’m so glad you decided to accept my invitation,’ she said brusquely, for it was embarrassing enough, this girlish reaction, without letting him see it.

  ‘I could not pass up the opportunity to visit this school of yours.’