Page 52 of Enslaved to the Seduction of a Lady
Chapter Nineteen
The hut was infused with the stench of death. Jack still lay across his pallet, with Luke sitting vigil by his side. Jenny had washed the body and dressed him in the finest clothes she could find, and then arranged him in a respectful position.
They had received many visitors for the past two days, each of the servants arriving to pay their respects to the passing of one of their own. Jack had worked at the estate since he himself was a boy, and so he was famed across the whole household.
He would be buried the following morning, shrouded in wool and carried to the communal grave at the chapel in a rented coffin. The Duke, in recognition of Jack’s good service, had offered to pay the burial fees, and Luke himself would say a few words in lieu of paying a priest.
Luke was tired. His eyes felt dry and itchy, his face felt as though his skin sagged from his bones, and he was weary throughout. Behind him, he could hear Jenny pottering around, and he knew that she was too tired to even sit still any longer.
He heard the knock at the door, but he didn’t turn around. He knew it would be another well-wisher, another face expressing their sympathies.
“Oh, My Lady,” he heard Jenny said, and his ears pricked in interest. “I… can I help you with anything?”
“I’m sorry to bother you. I realize this is highly unusual, but—”
“Alison,” Luke said, his heart leaping at the sound of her voice. He dropped Jack’s cold, stiff hand and swung around to look at her, haloed by light in the doorway.
Even in his grief he could see how beautiful she was. Even with the pain that prickled through his bloodstream, he knew that with her there, everything would be all right.
She had come in disguise, her golden hair hidden by a grubby maid’s cap, a cloak thrown around her to hide her gown. She had even gone so far as to smear a little dirt on her cheeks.
And she still looks beautiful.
“I s’pose you’d better come in, then, My Lady. Out of the damp weather.” Jenny shot Luke a worried glance. “Although I don’t want to get into trouble. This is highly irregular, and—” “It’s all right, Jenny,” he said, hoping to calm her fears.
Jenny took a shuddering breath and nodded to him. She would be petrified, he knew, of what Alison being there meant. Terrified of losing their home, their positions.
“I came as soon as I heard,” Alison said, rushing into the hut and to Luke. She put her head on his chest and he enveloped her in his arms, breathing in deeply as he inhaled her scent. He buried his face in her hair and held her tighter.
“Ahem,” Jenny said, and as Luke pulled away, he saw her disapproving glare. She leaned with one hand on the back of the chair and watched them carefully.
Alison stepped back, face to the floor and very clearly embarrassed.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know that was inappropriate, but when I heard the news, I just—”
“I’m sorry, too,” he said, feeling the love radiating from him as he looked at her. “I should have found a way to tell you sooner.”
“Yes,” she said. “I was worried. I thought maybe Father had—”
“His Grace has kindly offered to cover the burial costs for Jack,” Jenny said, interrupting their loving gaze.
“He has been very kind,” Luke added, and he could see the relief in Alison’s face.
“That’s good,” she said, nodding, and then she looked over to the body, laying repose on the pallet. “Did he—?”
“Suffer?” he asked. “No. At least, no more than he already had been. It was quick.”
“Good,” Alison said. “Good.”
She looked around the hut, examining the parts of his life she hadn’t seen before, and Luke felt oddly exposed. She had never before witnessed this side of his life, and while he had never been—and never would be—ashamed of his position, he was fully aware of the stark differences in their lives.
“Shall we take a seat?” Luke asked. “I’m keeping vigil until the morning, but I suppose we can talk a little at the same time.”
“I’d like that,” Alison said, smiling sadly at him.
Luke took her hand and led her to the two chairs by Jack’s bed.
“I—” Jenny interrupted, a hand to her throat and her face crushed with concern. Luke knew she would be worrying over what she should do. “I guess I’ll get some fresh air. Leave you alone for a few moments. But I won’t be long!”
