The Housemaid’s Scandalous Secret

‘I’ll do that when I go and change.’ Ross frowned with concern. ‘I shall not delay in leaving for Castonbury. But first I shall have to visit my tailor—which I shall do first thing tomorrow. After that I shall be free to go.’

‘The Season is almost over. Araminta can go with you.’

‘Are you to accompany us too, Aunt?’

‘You know how I prefer to be in town. However, I will give you the loan of my travelling chaise to take you to Castonbury. It could do with an outing and it will give the grooms something to do. Do you require a valet, Ross?’

‘I’ve brought my own man with me, Blackstock, a young subaltern in my regiment. I left him at the dock sorting out the baggage. He should be here shortly.’

In the privacy of his room, Ross opened the letter from his cousin Giles, and found he was greatly disturbed by its contents. It contained a hurried account of a mysterious woman claiming her son was Jamie’s heir, and that the family was in dire financial straits. Indeed, the news was so dire it seemed as if the house of Montague was about to come crashing down. Giles asked Ross to go and see this woman, who was in lodgings in Cheapside, for himself, and afterwards to seek out his brother Harry while he was in London and explain the situation. Ross must also emphasise to Harry the importance of finding out what had happened to Jamie, and that it was imperative that Harry left for Spain as soon as he was able.

Folding the letter, Ross sat down to draft a note to his cousin Harry.

Before sitting down to dinner, Ross sought his aunt’s company in order to see what other troubles might have befallen the Montagues in his absence. He was shocked to discover that his sister had broken her betrothal to Lord Antony Bennington, son and heir of the Earl of Cawood in Cambridgeshire. Ross was disappointed. From what he remembered of young Bennington the man was an agreeable sort. Was there any good news to be had? he wondered to himself.

‘Araminta must have had good reason to cry off her betrothal to young Bennington,’ Ross said with a troubled frown. Having played nursemaid, surrogate father and guardian to Araminta all her life, she was in part the reason why he had returned to England, to provide the final direction she needed to cross the threshold into matrimony. It would seem he was going to have his work cut out to have her settled before he could return to India. ‘How has it affected her?’

‘Araminta is a girl of too much resolution and energy of character to allow herself to dwell on useless and unseemly sorrow for the past,’ Aunt Grace said. ‘Naturally she was regretful for a while, but she has wisely turned her attention towards the future, which is vastly more important to her than pining for what is lost.’

‘Do you know what happened to make her break off the betrothal? Did she not speak of it to you?’

‘No, she did not. The only reason she would give was that they did not suit—but I heard from a reliable source that Araminta caught him in a dalliance with a young woman by the name of Elizabeth Walton.’

Ross looked at Araminta with concern when she walked in and sat beside her aunt on the sofa. Looking at her now he noted her eyes held a certain sadness, and Ross was not at all convinced that she had put her broken betrothal behind her.

‘You haven’t forgotten that we’re going shopping tomorrow, have you, Araminta?’ Grace said as they settled down to dinner. ‘I thought we might start by visiting the Exchange. Of course, all the best shops are on Bond or Bruton Street. If we have the time we can go there after.’

‘You may have to go alone. I swear I have the onset of a headache. I think I shall lie in, if you don’t mind.’

‘But I do mind. Fresh air will be more beneficial to you than lying in bed all day. I’ll send Sarah in to pamper you if you like.’

‘How very generous of you, Aunt Grace. You know I’m in need of a maid of my own, for while Sarah is diligent, she has so much to do. She is always in a hurry and knows nothing of dressing me properly. Little wonder I appear at dinner looking half dressed and my hair all mussed up,’ Araminta complained.

Ross pricked up his ears and looked at his sister, an image of the delectable Miss Napier drifting into his mind. ‘You require a maid?’

‘I most certainly do,’ Araminta replied adamantly. ‘I’ve mentioned it to Aunt Grace before but she never seems to get round to it.’

‘That’s true,’ Grace said. ‘There always seems to be so much to think about. But I agree, Araminta, you really do need a maid of your own.’

‘Then might I suggest someone?’ Ross said, feeling a strange lift to his heart. ‘I met a young woman yesterday. She’s been in India and is employed as maid to a lady and her daughter who reside in Chelsea. Her position is to be terminated in three weeks and she is looking for another post.’

‘Why?’ Araminta asked suspiciously. ‘What has she done?’

‘Nothing. Her employers are moving to Brighton and she will no longer be required.’

Ross’s suggestion cheered Araminta somewhat. She studied the almost fond smile upon her brother’s face as he spoke of the girl and noted the gleam in his eyes. He seldom smiled, she knew, unless the smile was seductive or cynical, and when he was in the presence of his uncle, the Duke of Rothermere, he rarely laughed. It was almost as though he believed sentimentality silly and anything that was silly was abhorrent and made a man vulnerable. She was intrigued. Was it possible that he’d developed a special fondness for this maid?

‘What is this extraordinary female’s name and what does she look like?’ Araminta asked, anxious to discover more about the girl who’d had such an unusual effect on her brother.

‘Her name is Lisette Napier. She is quite tall, slender and dark haired. Her speech is as cultured as yours and mine. Her manners are impeccable and she is presentable.’

‘And how old is she?’

‘I believe she is twenty.’

‘I see. Isn’t that a little young to be a lady’s maid?’

‘And will she make a suitable maid?’ Aunt Grace asked.

‘I really have no idea about such things, but I’m sure Mrs Arbuthnot would not employ her if she wasn’t any good at her job.’

‘Well, heaven forbid if she’s prettier than Araminta. It would never do for a maid to be more becoming than her mistress.’

‘Oh, that doesn’t matter,’ Araminta remarked happily, having already decided to take Miss Napier on—for her brother’s sake as well as her own need and curiosity. ‘I should very much like for you to hire her, Ross.’

‘I expect you could do worse than give her a chance—perhaps for a trial period of a month. See how she gets on.’

‘Yes—yes, I will. Decent servants are neither easy to find, cheap to train, nor simple to keep. I would like to meet her first.’

Ross nodded and began to attack the roast lamb with renewed relish. ‘I’ll do my best. I have no doubt that Mr Arbuthnot’s address can be located through East India House.’

The Arbuthnot family had been at home in Chelsea for a few days when Lottie dressed early and told Lisette to prepare for a trip to the Royal Exchange to do some shopping. There were some items she wished to purchase before she left for Brighton. Glad of the opportunity to escape the stilted confines of the house, where she found the work hard for both Mrs Arbuthnot and Lottie demanded their pound of flesh, and eager to see more of London, Lisette put on her coat and bonnet and prepared to enjoy herself for a couple of hours or so.

When the carriage turned in to Cornhill, both girls were in good spirits. They stared with excitement at the immense stone front of the facade of the Exchange with its high arcades and column and the clock tower reaching skyward.

Alighting from the carriage they went through the archway where the arcade square of the Exchange opened up before them. It was filled with merchants and traders and hawkers of wares, mingling with people of all occupations and positions and gentlemen in military uniforms. It was a fashionable place to shop and used as a rendezvous, much frequented by beaux waiting to meet a lady bent on flirtation.

‘Oh, what a wonderful place,’ Lisette murmured, breathing in the different smells that reached her, from roasting chestnuts to hot pies and horse dung. She was captivated by the sight and would have stopped, but Lottie was moving on through the yard. She hurried after her.

Taking hold of Lisette’s arm, Lottie was unable to conceal her excitement, blushing delightedly when a handsome young soldier touched his hat and winked at her. ‘I think I would like to have a look round the little stalls in the yard first but the shops upstairs are always the best.’

And so they passed a pleasant half-hour browsing among the stalls with Lottie dipping into her silk purse for coins to buy fripperies and handing them to Lisette to place in her basket. They mounted the staircase and strolled along the upper gallery. It was thronged with shoppers and Lisette found it difficult to keep Lottie within her sight at times. When she disappeared inside a shop to purchase some gloves, telling Lisette that she would probably be a while since she wished to browse, Lisette slipped in after her. She was distracted when some beautiful lace collars caught her eye. Pausing to take a look, she could only wish she had the money to buy one. It would certainly enhance the grey dress she wore day in and day out.

She had not been inside the shop very long when she had an odd feeling that she was being watched. The short hairs on the nape of her neck rose on end and her spine tingled. As she began to turn slowly to see if her suspicions were correct, she was half expecting to see Lottie behind her for she was sure now that she was only being fanciful.

Her eyes flicked round the shop and turning round she passed the stranger with hardly more than a glance, not even pausing for the sake of politeness as the man swept his hat from his dark head. Instead she lifted her skirts to descend a step.

Ross leaned back against the fixtures and smiled his appreciation as his eyes caressed her trim back. Suddenly Lisette stopped, and sensing his eyes on her she whirled to gape at him, her amber eyes wide in disbelief on finding herself face to face with Colonel Montague—tall, lean and strikingly handsome, recklessly so, with magnificent dark brows that curved neatly, a straight nose and a firm but almost sensuous mouth. The lean line of his jaw showed strength and flexed with the movement of the muscles there.

‘Colonel Montague?’ the question burst from her.

‘The same, Miss Napier.’ Now having her full attention, he held his hat before his chest in a bow of exaggerated politeness, before taking her arm and drawing her aside.

He had appeared too suddenly for Lisette to prepare herself, so the heady surge of pleasure she experienced on seeing him again was clearly evident, stamped like an unbidden confession on her lovely face. For a long, joyous interval they held each other with their eyes, savouring the moment, enjoying afresh the powerful force that sprang between them. Then he smiled.

‘Miss Napier! How odd to find you here.’ Desire was already tightening his loins—and that with just the sight of her. He didn’t understand why she had such a volatile effect on him, but he understood that he wanted her—he wanted her warm and willing in his arms, in his bed.

Chapter Two

Lisette stared at Colonel Montague, her heart doing a somersault. ‘It is?’ His smile sent a flood of warmth through her body to settle in a hot flush upon her cheeks and other, less exposed places.

‘Most certainly.’

Without relinquishing his hold on her arm, his touch igniting fires inside her, fires that flared to a startling intensity when he led her to a private place at the back of the shop. She found herself standing so close to him that she could almost hear the beating of his heart. He looked down at her so intently that he might have been trying to commit every detail of her features to memory.

As before, when he had met her on the dock, Ross felt a faint stirring of recognition, like the ghost of a memory long submerged, but it drifted away when he saw the warmth in her eyes.

He didn’t waste time on unnecessary words of politeness. ‘This is a trace of luck our meeting like this. Are you alone?’

She shook her head. ‘No, I’m with Miss Arbuthnot. She wandered off. I suppose I must go and find her before I lose her altogether,’ Lisette said, although she was most reluctant to do so on finding herself in the presence of Colonel Montague once more. She could not rightly say what it was about him that held her attention. She felt utterly fascinated, like a child beholding a favourite toy. He was quite unlike anything or anyone she had ever known.

Ross stared at her profile, tracing with his gaze the classically beautiful lines of her face, the unexpected brush of lustrous ebony eyelashes. He had never seen the like of her. She was quite extraordinarily lovely. She had an untamed quality running in dangerous undercurrents just below the surface, a wild freedom of spirit that found its counterpart in his own hot-blooded nature.

Something in his stare made Lisette’s fingertips tingle. The tingle crept up her arms with sweet warmth, into her chest, and straight into her breast. She did her best to ignore the sensation.

‘Tell me, Miss Napier, how are you finding London? Is it to your liking?’

‘I have seen little of it. This is the first time I’ve been away from the house, but I must confess that I am finding it all so strange—and exciting, of course, and so different from what I am used to.’

‘I imagine you are missing India.’

Lisette was spared answering his question when a pretty, fashionable young woman dressed in a beautiful blue gown with a matching hat perched atop a riot of gleaming brown curls appeared at his side.

‘Ah—so this is where you’ve got to, Ross. Little wonder I couldn’t find you when you were lurking at the back of the shop.’ Her eyes looked Lisette up and down, in an appraising way. A little smile formed on her lips. ‘And I can see why. Will you do me the honour of introducing your companion?’

‘Of course. Allow me to present to you Miss Lisette Napier. Miss Napier—my sister, Miss Araminta Montague. This is the young lady I spoke to you about, Araminta.’

Lisette bobbed a respectful curtsey, looking from one to the other. ‘For what reason did you have to discuss me, Colonel?’ she enquired, surprised and deeply touched to know he had spared her a passing thought.

‘I recall you telling me you were looking for another position. When my sister mentioned that she was in desperate need of a maid, I thought of you.’

‘And now we’ve met it will save us the trouble of writing to you,’ Araminta said.

‘Would the position be to your liking?’ Ross asked, cocking a quizzical, amused eyebrow. ‘Although, when I recall you telling me that you are wilful, stubborn and headstrong, perhaps I should question your suitability!’

His wry tone made Lisette burst out laughing, and Ross found himself captivated by the infectious joy, the beauty, of it. He’d never heard the music of her laughter before, nor seen it glowing in her magnificent eyes.

‘I also recall telling you that I am not proud, Colonel—although I would be honoured to be offered the post of your sister’s maid,’ Lisette said, fighting down a sudden absurd surge of happiness.

Standing against a backdrop of ribbons and lace, laughing up at him, Lisette Napier was unforgettable. Ross realised it as clearly as he realised that if he became her employer, there was every chance he was going to find her irresistible as well.

‘My brother tells me your present position is shortly to be terminated. Is this correct, Miss Napier?’

‘Yes. My employer will have no need of me when the family moves to Brighton.’

‘Why don’t you ask Miss Napier to come to the house, Araminta? It’s highly irregular to carry out an interview in such a place as this and for you to be doing it. Shouldn’t Aunt Grace—or is it the housekeeper who usually sees to the hiring of servants?’

Araminta gave him a cross look. ‘Usually it is but since I am the one requiring a maid I shall have a say in who is employed to see to my needs. I am in London for the Season and will shortly be leaving for our home in Derbyshire,’ she said, addressing Lisette. ‘Would you mind?’

Lisette stared at her. Mind? Of course she wouldn’t mind. From what she could recall of the English geography lessons her father had taught her, Derbyshire was miles away from London—somewhere in the north. That would suit her perfectly. Colonel Montague had thought of her when he knew his sister was requiring a maid of her own and put her name forward—like a friend would. She looked at him. Her heart was beating hard in her chest. She wanted beyond anything to accept the post since it represented decency, security, respectability and a release from the gnawing fear and uncertainty of the past months, and going to Derbyshire would certainly solve her current predicament.

‘No,’ she said. ‘That would suit me very well.’

‘Still,’ Araminta said, suffering some discomfort when she was jostled from behind by an exuberant shopper, ‘Ross is quite right. This is hardly the place, but I think you will do very well. Can you come to the house?’

Lisette shook her head. ‘Unfortunately that’s not possible. There is so much to be done before my employer leaves for Brighton. I shall be fully occupied.’

‘Then come to the house when they have left. Ross will give you directions. Present yourself to the housekeeper and we will take it from there. I shall tell her to expect you.’ Tilting her head to one side she looked at Lisette with renewed interest. ‘Did you travel from India on the same ship as my brother, Miss Napier?’

‘No. I sailed on the Portland. Colonel Montague was on the Diligence—the first vessel of the fleet to dock in London.’

Araminta’s eyes opened wider, more and more intrigued by the second. ‘Then how did you meet?’

‘My horse panicked when he was taken off the ship and Miss Napier calmed him,’ Ross explained shortly, ‘which was immensely brave of her and for which I was truly grateful.’

‘Oh, I see. You are not afraid of horses, Miss Napier?’

‘Far from it,’ Ross quipped before Lisette could open her mouth. ‘Bengal’s a peppery beast at the best of times. She handled him admirably. But I cannot see that this has anything to do with Miss Napier being your maid, Araminta.’

Araminta looked at her brother and laughed. He really did look put out by her questioning. ‘Forgive my curiosity. You know what I’m like. Now are you ready, Ross, or is there something further you wish to say to Miss Napier before we leave?’

Ross turned his back on his sister to speak to Lisette, giving her directions to his aunt’s house in Bloomsbury. Meeting her gaze he realised that when he had met her before and looked into her eyes, he had thought them strange. Now he could not understand how he had ever thought that. He now saw those astonishing eyes as the perfect expression of her unique self. Now she seemed absolutely perfect.

His voice was laced with concern when he said, ‘Will you be all right? Would you like me to wait with you until Miss Arbuthnot appears?’

‘That will not be necessary. I see Miss Arbuthnot is in the process of purchasing some ribbons. You have been most generous, Colonel, and to be sure I am grateful that you saw fit to speak of me to your sister. If she considers me suitable for the post, then I shall appreciate the shelter, protection and stability of the position and to be valued for the qualities I know I possess.’

For a moment Ross didn’t move—he studied her with speculative blue eyes, pleasuring himself with the sight of her. ‘Which I am certain you have in abundance. I’m happy to have been of help.’ He reached out and took her right hand in his firm grip. ‘I’m so glad to have met you again, Miss Napier,’ he said, shaking her hand.

With her heart racing, Lisette sucked in a breath. For one definable instant she felt trapped. ‘Yes,’ she said, feeling utterly foolish. She was so aware of the touch of him, his skin against hers, the feel of her slim hand held in his broad grasp, and as she gazed into those penetrating blue eyes, she suddenly felt herself drawn to him as if by some overwhelming magnetic force.

She opened her mouth to tell him they had met before and to thank him for saving her life, then closed it again. As much as she wanted to she could not. A ribbon and lace shop was hardly the place for such an intimate revelation. And besides, to do so would bring about a change to their relationship. He would look upon her differently—he might regret the passion they had shared, feel ashamed, even, and decide against hiring her as his sister’s maid. She desperately needed the security of this employment and would do nothing to jeopardise that. In any case, it seemed he did not recognise her as the girl he had rescued, and in the grey of London colourful, vibrant India seemed half a lifetime away.

‘I shall look forward to seeing you if not in London, then in Derbyshire.’

Lisette could find no words to say, and merely bobbed a little curtsey and picked up her basket.

‘Good day, Miss Napier.’

Leaving the shop, Ross’s lips curved in a satisfied smile. He’d sensed the awareness that had flared at his touch, the quiver of consciousness she hadn’t been able to hide. Known among his contemporaries to be single-minded in pursuit of what he wanted, he was supremely confident that in no time at all he would succeed in tempting the delectable Lisette Napier into his bed.

As Ross approached the modest lodging house in Cheapside, the only thing that occupied his mind was that even after the horrors of war were over, the Montague family was in trouble. Ross feared that the arrival of this woman, Alicia, and her child into their midst, a woman who apparently called herself the Marchioness of Hatherton, had the power to shake the foundations of Castonbury Park to the core.

On seeing her, his first impression was that she did not remotely resemble the conventional image of a noblewoman, not even a lady of fashion. Her hair was fair and neatly arranged, her gown simple and unadorned, and over her arm she carried the freshly laundered clothes of an infant. But not even her plain clothing or the fact that she had probably laundered the clothes herself could make this woman look common. Petite and slender, she held herself with a dignity, a calm intelligence and a self-assurance he had not expected. Her hair framed a face of striking beauty; her skin was creamy and glowing with health. Her eyes were light blue, with long curling lashes.

‘I owe you an apology for turning up like this,’ Ross said, having thought that by not giving notice of his visit he would put her at a disadvantage. She seemed surprised and a little agitated by his sudden arrival and her eyes darkened with anxiety, but her generous mouth curved in a smile of welcome.

‘Not at all, Colonel Montague. You are most welcome. I thank you for coming to see me. I wrote to the duke informing him of the situation, explaining to him fully, in great detail, everything that happened before Jamie was killed.’

‘My uncle had already been notified of my cousin’s disappearance by the British authorities.’

‘So I understand. I wrote telling the duke of Crispin, our son, who is the duke’s heir now Jamie is dead. I made no claim to anything for myself in my letter, only that Jamie’s son is taken care of.’

Which showed great delicacy on her part, Ross thought with cynicism. But could the family reconcile themselves to the fact that the Jamie they knew, admired and loved would marry without their blessing?

‘I—I expected someone to contact me,’ Alicia went on hesitantly, ‘but … I did not know when or who it would be. Would you like some refreshment—tea, perhaps, or coffee?’

‘No, thank you. I do not wish to put you to any trouble.’