by Rebecca King
He looked to be completely unharmed from his torment, but she had no way of knowing how he actually felt.
“A little cloudy, and livid, if I am honest,” he replied.
Petal nodded. If she had been drugged by someone she would be incredibly angry too.
“I will find a footman to send to your brother.”
“Are you alright, Petal?” Aidan asked gently, aware that she seemed a little subdued this morning.
“I am fine,” she replied with a half-hearted smile and hurried out of the room before he could probe further.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Once out in the hallway, she paused and leaned against the wall to steady her beating heart. Her knees shook from nerves at having to face him again. All the while she had been in the room what she had shared in that bed with him had remained in the back of her mind. She couldn’t see Aidan the same way anymore. Everything had changed, and she was struggling to know how to deal with it.
By the time she reached the kitchen, the bell to Aidan’s room was ringing again. When Edwards immediately looked hopeful, Petal turned to Rollo.
“The master wants you,” she murmured to the butler. He didn’t, but she didn’t want Edwards to go.
Rollo nodded and disappeared, leaving Petal to return to her duties.
In Aidan’s room, Rollo quietly let himself into the chamber to find the master teetering on his feet, the bell pull still in his hand.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked.
Aidan grinned at him. “Get me over to the window but then take a seat. I want to talk to you as well now that you are here.”
“Petal said you wanted to see me,” the butler intoned.
Aidan snorted. “Was Edwards around?”
Rollo nodded.
“That is why then,” Aidan grunted. He was pleased that Petal was doing her best to protect him, although was at a loss to know what to do to protect her.
Once Aidan had taken a seat, he instructed the butler on where to find the small plate of food. Carefully cutting a small piece off each item, Rollo warily tasted one piece. He quickly turned around and tried to spit it discretely into his hand.
“Throw it in the fire,” Aidan ordered.
“It’s laced with something,” Rollo declared flatly.
“I know. Laudanum. Some of it was in the food she brought up here this morning.”
Rollo looked horrified. “Did you eat any? Do you want me to fetch a doctor?”
Aidan shook his head. “No, thankfully Petal arrived with another tray.”
“Thank Heaven for Petal,” Rollo muttered beneath his breath.
Aidan heard him though and nodded emphatically. He explained about yesterday, and watched Rollo stiffen with anger.
“I will tell Mrs Kempton to keep the stores locked from now on,” Rollo assured him.
“Would you like me to throw her out, sir?” he asked hopefully when Aidan didn’t speak.
Aidan shook his head.
“Not at the minute, Rollo. Just keep an eye on her. I have the strangest feeling that our Edwards is up to something nefarious, and it doesn’t involve ensnaring me into marriage. There is some reason why she wants me half out of my mind on that stuff. Before I can decide whether to throw her out on her ear or deliver her to the magistrate, I need to know what her goal is. Given how much she challenges everyone in this house, and ignores my orders, I don’t think she is bothered about losing her job. Just make sure that my food is watched from the moment Mrs Kempton prepares it, to the second Petal delivers it to me. Petal is doing her bit and helping me as much as she can, but I don’t want her vulnerable either.”
“Yes, sir,” Rollo replied. “However, I think there are already problems there.”
“Oh?” Aidan studied the butler. “Tell me everything, Rollo, at once.”
Rollo explained about the numerous incidents that had happened of late both with the mysteriously upended plants, and the direct threats Edwards had made toward Petal.
“Edwards wants her out of the way,” Aidan murmured.
“I can’t say, sir, but let me put it this way. None of the plants had fallen over before Edwards turned up.”
Aidan nodded. “Where is Petal now?”
“I will send her up,” Rollo promised.
“Make sure that someone is able to help her out with her duties for the time being. I want Petal, and only Petal, to bring all of my food and drinks up. All of it, Rollo. I don’t care what Edwards does. Make sure that Petal is protected as much as possible. I don’t want that woman targeting her too.”
“As you wish,” Rollo drawled.
At that moment, Petal appeared in the doorway. Her heart was locked in her throat as she found both men staring at her.
“I have informed the master of the altercations Edwards keeps having with Mrs Kempton,” Rollo announced. “He knows everything.”
Petal gasped and looked at him, her eyes round with surprise. Her cheeks flushed. She was helpless to keep her face bland. Did he know everything? Her gaze flew to his.
“Everything?” She parroted.
“Yes, everything,” Aidan replied.
He wouldn’t pry with the butler watching them both so avidly, but he sensed there was something wrong with Petal. There were dark shadows beneath her eyes that hadn’t been there before, and a certain wariness about her that set him to wonder if something was going on even Rollo didn’t know about.
Beckoning her closer, he found that he wanted to touch her again, only couldn’t quite understand why he felt as though he already knew what she felt like.
The dream he had experienced last night had been rather lurid in detail, and had lingered in the veritable fog that had rendered him useless. He felt as though it had crossed him over some invisible boundary that had thrown him into a world of confusion where he didn’t know whether it was memory or fantasy. Either way, he suspected the only way he could know for certain whether it was memory or just wishful thinking was to touch her again.
He could remember the way the delicate curve of her lips had glistened in the candlelight and the slumberous look in her eyes as she had lain beneath him. He frowned absently at the bedsheets and willed the hazy memory to clear. When he lifted his gaze back to her, he found her staring at him.
Was she also remembering what they had shared? His gaze dropped instinctively to her lips, studying, assessing, but they gave him no clues.
Her eyes spoke volumes to him. There was wariness in that solemn gaze, but also something more. Something worried, as though she had committed some cardinal sin and expected him to punish her for it.
Get a hold of yourself, you have no proof of this either, he sternly reminded himself. First things first, focus on Edwards and how to get her out of the house.
“Sit down and read to me, Petal,” Aidan asked softly. He kept his tone gentle because she looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Petal dutifully perched on the edge of the chair and picked up the book.
“Before you begin, I would just like you to tell me one thing,” Aidan murmured.
Petal’s heart sank. She waited with bated breath for him to raise the issue she wanted to avoid the most.
“Oh?”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Edwards?”
“Pardon?” She stared at him blankly.
“The mess she keeps making upstairs,” he prompted.
Petal sighed. “Because there is no proof it is her.”
“It looks like it, though.”
“Well, yes,” she replied hesitantly.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked again.
It was imperative to him to find out why she had avoided taking him into her confidence, especially when it took so much of her time to put right.
“I thought you had enough to deal with at the moment. Besides, I don’t have any proof,” she replied quietly.
Aidan nodded. “I want you to promise that if there is anything else you will come s
traight to me and tell me about it. Anything, Petal.”
“What goes on below stairs is usually dealt with by Mrs Kempton or Rollo. If they consider it worthy of your attention, they will be the ones to bring it to your attention,” she replied with a frown.
While she didn’t want to emphasise the differences between them she knew it would be foolish not to do so.
“But this is not a typical household, Petal. You know that. I am asking you,” he leaned forward, and waited until she looked at him. “Come to me if there is anything else.”
“Why?” She whispered. “Mrs Kempton will be terribly put out with me if I do.”
“I know, but Mrs Kempton isn’t under threat from Edwards. I am not saying that Edwards is likely to spike your dinner with Laudanum, or anything. That treat is specifically for me. However, I don’t trust her at all. Just be careful,” he whispered.
“Do you think she poses a risk to me as well?” Petal asked. “Why? I have never done anything to her.”
“I think that Edwards poses a risk to everybody, Petal. That is all I am saying. Although I cannot get downstairs myself at the moment, I do want to know everything that is going on, especially if it is unusual in any way, and might involve Edwards.”
Petal nodded but sensed that he wasn't entirely honest with her. When he continued to study her rather than lean away, she waited.
“What do you think she has planned?” she asked, desperate to do something about the tension that crackled between them.
Rather than answer her, he carefully stood and moved toward her, and bent down until she had to tip her head back to look up at him. So very gently, he placed his lips upon hers. The kiss was just the faintest of brushes, but it branded her. It scored her very soul.
She knew then that he remembered everything they had shared last night.
“Petal,” Aidan whispered having completely forgotten about the book on her lap.
“Aidan,” she replied, unsure what to say. Her heart was heavy as she waited.
“Tell me what happened last night.” His voice was part plea, part command.
“It was nothing really,” she replied, determined not to shed the tears that had threatened to overspill. “You were nonsensical. You kept mumbling words that didn’t make much sense. I spoke to you. You answered me. Then fell asleep.”
Aidan knew from the way she kept her gaze on the floor that she was lying to him.
“That’s all that happened? You talked to me. I insisted on you calling me Aidan. Then you left?” Now that she had explained, hazy memory began to shift, and turned into reality. He could remember the soft feel of her as though it was emblazoned on his mind, and the passion they had shared. He had no doubt in his mind that he had tumbled her onto the bed.
“I am sorry if I overset you.”
“I thought you were behaving oddly, but I didn’t realise she had laced your dinner with that stuff,” Petal replied sadly.
He was at a loss to know how to comfort her because he wasn’t sure if she was upset by the kisses, or worried about what he would do now.
Petal turned her attention back to the book, but the words swam before her watery eyes. Thankfully, she was spared having to read any of it by the arrival of Edwards, who glared fiercely at her as she swept into the room.
“Have you returned the tray to the kitchen?” she demanded rudely.
“I don’t believe that is any of your concern, Edwards. You are here in the capacity of a nurse, are you not?” Aidan replied.
“Of course, I am,” Edwards snapped defensively.
“Then concern yourself with remaining within your remit. It is nothing to do with you,” Aidan reported coldly.
Stunned that Edwards would have the audacity to challenge the master of the house in such a way, Petal waited to see how she would take to being put very firmly in her place.
“It is important that we get you back on your feet. I am just making sure you are eating properly.” Edwards declared.
As if to prove her point she began to make the bed.
“I don’t need your interference, Edwards. I don’t even want you in the house.”
“Being awkward again, are we?” The dowager drawled from the doorway.
Petal almost groaned aloud when the woman pierced her with a horrified look and slammed to a halt in the middle of the room.
“You have servants lounging in your room now, do you?” she declared, outraged at the possibility.
Petal shot to her feet. It was on the tip of her tongue to apologise but then remembered what Aidan had told her – to stop apologising for everything.
“To what do, I owe this visit today mother?” Aidan sighed. “I take it you haven’t come here to sneer at my staff?”
“It depends on what you are paying her to do,” the dowager snorted disparagingly.
Edwards spitefully threw a smug glare at Petal.
A wave of humiliation swept through Petal so fiercely that she wished the ground could open up and swallow her. Both Edwards and the dowager were studying her too closely for comfort. She initially wondered if one of them had witnessed what she had shared with Aidan last night, but that was ridiculous. She would have seen anybody else in the room; she would have known they were there.
But then she had been rather busy.
She stiffly placed the book onto the table beside the bed, bobbed a curtsey, and hurried out of the room, painfully aware of the cruel smirk on Edwards’ face as she left.
“I have been telling them both that it is highly inappropriate for her to be in here so much. I mean, she is an upstairs maid. Nothing more,” Edwards said pointedly.
The dowager nodded. “Yes, you should be reading to him, Morgana. That is why I arranged for you to be here.”
Aidan watched Petal leave the room, her back ramrod straight and sighed. He knew she was upset, and wished he would offer her some words of comfort to take away the hurt caused by the other women’s scorn. He had seen the spiteful look Edwards had levelled on her and knew the woman was revelling in Petal’s put-down. Given the woman’s confidence in administering him medication against his wishes, he suspected she was arrogant enough to cause as much trouble as she wanted. However, there was far too much malice in that stare she had on Petal for comfort. If he didn’t do something to ensure that Edwards left the house soon, Heaven only knew what the woman was apt to do. He was sure that tipping over plant pots to cause Petal extra work was just the beginning of the woman’s machinations.
If there was one thing that made him want to tear at his own hair, it was the thought that something could happen to Petal. It was bad enough to have to witness Petal being insulted for doing nothing but help him.
“I don’t care what you have arranged for her to do while she is here, mother. I have told you I do not need a nurse. Given that this is not your house you are in, you are in no position to over-ride my wishes on anything. Either of you.” He glared at Edwards, and then the dowager.
When his mother opened her mouth to speak he lifted his hand to stop her.
“I have chosen Petal to read to me. She is excellent at it. Not only that but she isn’t watching every blasted thing I do, and doesn’t harass me. If you find that unappealing or offensive in any way, then you are entirely at liberty to stay away. Until then, I expect you to respect my rights to privacy and leave my bedchamber. At once.”
His voice was cold and hard; in stark contrast to the white hot rage that flowed through him. Without thinking, he pushed to his feet when nobody said or moved, and stalked angrily across the room to the door. The startled gasps from the women didn’t even register on him as he yanked the door open and waved toward the hallway.
“Out! Now! Edwards, get your belongings. Your presence is neither wanted nor needed in this house. Dowager, remember your manners and kindly do not stalk into my house uninvited again, or even attempt to bring your companion here with you. It is neither the time nor the place.”
He locked his trembling k
nees, ignored the pain shooting up his shins, and stood perfectly still while they filed out of the door. The dowager stopped in front of him and opened her mouth as if to say something but whatever she saw on his face made her hesitate.
“It appears you are feeling a little tetchy today. We shall call another time again. Meantime, although your condition seems to be improving, you are clearly still in need of care. Especially if you have to resort to getting one of the maids to read to you. Edwards has to stay here.”
“No, she does not,” Aidan growled. “Get her out of this house today, or I shall throw her out on her ear myself.”
“I don’t have any room for her. Abbeygate is being redecorated. She is the granddaughter of the Earl of Sprason, Aidan. You cannot expect to allow her to stay in a tavern unchaperoned,” the dowager argued. “What am I to say to her grandfather? That you threw her out on her ear because you didn’t like her?”
“Well, let her borrow your chaperone. She clearly doesn’t have anything to do with her time.”
“Miss Hornsby is essential to me. You know that. No, I shall hear nothing else of it. Edwards stays here until the end of her term. Hopefully, by then you will have come to your senses.”
Aidan opened his mouth and watched in stunned disbelief as the dowager sailed out of the door as arrogantly as she had arrived.
It dawned on him then that unless he was willing, or able, to march the women out of the house, then there was not much he could do. It made the small hairs stand up on the back of his neck to think of being snared by the irritating Edwards. If that were to be his Fate, he would have been better off succumbing to Death’s cold embrace in the carriage accident.
“It would serve them right if I married Petal,” he grumbled and slammed the door shut.
It was then that he remembered his legs. Without the solid support of the door to help him stand, he teetered precariously on limbs that were ill prepared to hold him upright. He began to sway alarmingly.
“Jesus, please don’t let me fall,” he cursed. He tried to stagger forward, but his feet seemed to be completely disjointed from the rest of him and wouldn’t move in time with his body.
