Page 24 of The Rise of a Forsaken Lady
“Excuse me then,” Heath said as calmly as he could. With a nod, he continued off down the corridor and back to the cutlery closet where he should have been polishing the silver in the first place.
Halfway through polishing the silver, Heath groaned and let his hands fall on the drawer’s edge. He was sure that he had made a fool of himself. He had no business in that part of the house, and if Miss Bell told Lady Penelope about him being there, which he was sure she would, the lady would know exactly why he had been there.
There was no explanation—well, there was one, but it was the farthest thing from rational or reasonable—he could give to make the Lady not feel as her privacy had been violated. He shook his head and went back to his task. If Lady Penelope felt that averse to his action to the point that she would ask for his dismissal, he would give no objections.
Every time I follow my intuition, it is for a reasonable reason…what in God’s name had I been thinking merely ten minutes ago.
He finished polishing the silver and closed the drawers with the keys. He lingered in the room until he felt a cool gust of breeze coming from the window. It was a cool evening, almost a night breeze in actuality. Had time gone by so quickly? Dinner must be ready to be served.
Making toward the kitchens, he got there in time for Mrs. Burcham to look up from the food she was plating into the large serving dishes. “Ah, Mr. Moore. Just in time. These are ready for the dining room.”
“I will—”
“Mr. Moore,” Mr. Gastrell called as he entered the room, “How fortunate you are on time. However, I will take care of this as His Lordship would like to see you in his study.”
Not even three days and I have endangered my position.
“Understood, Mr. Gastrell,” he said with a curt nod and went to the study with dread almost as heavy as lead in his chest. He stood at the doorway and knocked.
“Enter, Mr. Moore,” Lord Allerton commanded.
Stepping in, Heath immediately spotted Lady Penelope, Miss Bell and the Lord himself. He did not dare look at Lady Penelope as he feared that she knew what he had done.
“My Lord?” he asked.
The Earl sat back in his seat, “In a surprising turn of events, Lady Penelope has decided to try courtship again, and as you are her guard, you will be with her throughout her endeavors. The season has ended, but there is no deficit of bachelors. Your tasks, Mr. Moore is to be at her side whenever she is out of this house.”
This was not the dismissal he had feared, and when he dared look at Lady Penelope, he saw a soft smile on her lips and a knowing look in her eyes. Miss Bell had told her then, Heath knew, but she had not said a thing to her brother. Her look was loaded with understanding and kindness and the fear running through his mind calmed.
“I understand, My Lord,” Heath said, while daring to look at the lady sitting there with the same serene smile on her face.
She knew. She knew what he had done but…she was not making an issue of it. Relief flooded through his veins, she knew, and she was all right with that. He did not know if he should thank her when they had a private moment or if he should let it alone.
“It will be my honor to guard Lady Penelope,” he added.
The Lord looked between him and his sister, but then turned back to him. “All right then, we are agreed. I think dinner is in order.”
“Yes, My Lord,” Heath replied. “Mr. Gastrell has laid out the repast in lieu of me. Everything should be in order when you get to the dining room.”
Lord Allerton stood and held out his arm to his sister who rose and took it. Briefly, their eyes met over the Earl’s shoulder and his thankful look was met with a forgiving and understanding one. A look Heath felt he would treasure for the rest of his life.
If I am allowed to anyway.
Holding the door for the two, he felt Lady Penelope’s eyes on him and met her eyes briefly only to nod his head once again in appreciation of her not telling her brother about his eavesdropping.
Back at the dining room, he served the courses from the sideboard and listened with a half-ear at the conversation between the two. The spoke about Lady Penelope’s tentative decision to go back to the social scene.
“There is a ball at the Blackwell’s home next week,” Lord Allerton added. “I had planned to go alone, but now that you are ready to get back in the ballrooms, I suppose we can go together.”
“And alienate yourself by arriving with me on your arm,” Lady Penelope’s lips twitched. “And here I thought you did not love me.”
“Oh,” Lord Allerton wiped his mouth, “I love you enough that I will pawn you off to the highest bidder there.”
Eyes narrowing, Lady Penelope said acerbically, “Aren’t you a dear.”
“I know,” the Earl grinned. “Speaking of, since you are going, sister dear, Mr. Moore, you will be there as well.”
His words felt a bit rhetorical, but Heath gave his affirmation anyway. The dinner continued with discussions with Lady Penelope lamenting that she had to resurrect her ballgowns from the darkest corner of her wardrobe. When she requested a cup of tea and a slice of cake, Lord Allerton excused himself and asked Heath to accompany him to his study.
