Page 43 of The Confessions of a Lady
‘I kept something warm for you on the stove.’ She nodded to a corner of the stove where a plate sat covered with a cloth. ‘Here’s his tray, love.’ She hefted a large platter from the bench. Multiple dishes were covered in silver cloches. A bottle of wine balanced precariously with a goblet sitting next to it.
‘I’ll get some ice for your poor foot and leave it in a bowl by the sink, then I’m off to bed, love.’ Mrs O’Brian nodded to the door. ‘The sooner you deliver that to himself, the sooner you can find your own rest.’
‘Wise council, Mrs O’Brian.’
Penny’s arms were already weak from her day of scrubbing, but she bit her lip and carefully balanced the heavy load. How she would manage the stairs with her limp, she couldn’t say,but if she dropped the tray, she didn’t dare think about the consequences.
Penny had a new item for her list of Liam’s pros and cons.
Forces his exhausted, injured maid to carry a bloody heavy tray of food up to his room after she’s spent all day scrubbing his filthy floor. Definitely the behaviour of a man deserving shackles.
A long, wild ride on Artemis had achieved Liam’s goal of reclaiming his equilibrium. The stallion also seemed to have a fine time. They’d each left the other’s company in much brighter spirits. Or so he thought, until Penny arrived at his door, a massive tray hefted in her shaking arms.
‘Dear, God. Let me help.’ Moving without thought, Liam swept up the tray and easily hoisted it from Penny’s grip.
Penny’s hands dropped to her side, her gaze moving from the table where he placed the tray, to the wingback chairs facing a roaring fire, briefly landing on the bed, before resolutely staring at a spot on his rug several paces from his feet.
Silence stretched tight between them, interrupted only by the crackling fire and ticking clock.
‘Will you look at me?’ Liam yearned for the connection, the glimpse of Penny’s soul he sometimes caught in her eyes.
Penny gripped her hands together in front of her apron. Wet patches turned the white material grey. She slowly lifted her chin. Eyes of the forest, full of secrets and shadows. He wanted to get lost in her dark places. Bury himself deep in her havens and hollows. ‘If that is all, my lord, I shall take my leave.’ Penny’s lip trembled.
She was avoiding him. Putting distance between them. It was unacceptable. The anger returned, far safer than the softer emotions beneath it. ‘No. That is not all.’ He hated her deference. She treated him like a servant should treat her lord and his entire body recoiled from such submission. ‘I wanted to apologise. For that man who came today. I shouldn’t have spoken so harshly to you, but he is volatile and violent. I did not want you in harm’s way.’
Penny’s eyes flashed. ‘He was upset. About his daughter. Was she a maid here? Did she work for you?’
Liam was caught off guard. Why would Penny be concerned about a maid she never knew?
Perhaps because she is a woman of compassion. Or maybe she worries she can’t trust me. Any maid in the Renquist household would have been a fool to trust my father. And I am my father’s son.
‘She still works for me. I moved her to my country estate in Cheshire. You saw but a glimpse of the violence Daisy had to endure every month when she returned home to visit her family. I offered her sanctuary in a place too far away for her father to reach.’
Penny blinked. She pressed her delectable lips together, refusing to share the myriad thoughts racing through her quick mind.
Infuriating woman!
‘I see. Well. I suppose she is lucky then.’ But her tone implied differently. She didn’t believe him. Then what did she think happened to poor Daisy? His thoughts wandered to dark places. Did she imagine he got her into trouble then sent her away? While he feared becoming his father, the beast inside rankled at the idea she might think so low of him.
‘Do you think I’m lying, Penny?’
Penny fiddled with the hem of her apron. ‘I don’t know. Usually, when girls disappear, it isn’t for any good reason.’
Liam clenched his jaw. ‘Yes. That is true. But Daisy hasn’t disappeared. And her transition to Holly House was for excellent reasons.’
Penny focused on a spot just over his left shoulder.
His anger bubbled over. ‘Either you believe me, or you don’t. I’m not going to spend the rest of my evening trying to explain myself to my maid.’ As soon as the words escaped, he wanted to call them back. She poked at his raw underbelly, and he reacted like a wounded animal. Snarling and snapping. It was unacceptable.
Penny’s eyes hardened. ‘Then I shall take my leave, Lord Renquist.’
She turned to the door, but panic threatened. He caught her arm and tugged her back around. She couldn’t walk out. Not like this. Not with such misunderstanding marring the space between them. ‘Don’t go. I’m sorry. I’m not used to being so openly doubted. A man comes in here screaming about his missing daughter. Of course you would have questions.’ He let his hand fall to his side.
‘Actually, as your maid, I have no right to question anything you say. And you seem to have far more important things to do this evening than converse with your servant.’ She pulled her shoulders back and clasped her hands in front of her. ‘Do you require anything else, my lord?’ She spoke through clenched teeth, the only sign of her impending anger.
‘Penny, please.’
‘Shall I tend to your fire? Lay out your dinner? Turn down your sheets? Whatever you wish, you need only say.’
