Page 28 of The Remarkable Myth of a Nameless Lady
Between the two of them, the room was done in no time at all. “Should you not be in the kitchen?” Alicia asked, as her tongue finally came unglued enough to speak again.
Meghan shrugged. “I make sure that it is my job every morning to fetch the trays from the rooms. With so many guests, there are always a few who choose to eat their breakfast in bed. If I do not tarry overlong, then no one notices.”
“But you…your actions…you are so…” Alicia gave up and laughed. “Perhaps I should not judge. These are, after all, your own affairs.” But the lightness could not hold for long in her tone for her own sensibilities had to set in. “But are you not worried? To act so…”
“Shamefully?” Meghan sank down on the chair near the door, her own expression somber. “You have to understand, that I never intended this. When he first…looked…at me, it was thrilling. To catch the eye of a Lord is an exciting thing, and maybe even a touch wicked. I knew he was not serious so I avoided him. But he did not likewise avoid me.”
Alicia paled. She had heard of such things, and it shocked her now to hear it spoken of so casually. She felt a chill go down her spine, wondering if her own infatuation with the Duke was somehow a similar thing, that she could easily be bent to his own wishes. Was it so easy to fall for someone that you should not, to the point of compromising your very virtue?
The Duke is a good man. He would never…
“Lord Owen is a good man. He would never take undue advantage of a girl he had no true interest in,” Meghan was saying, and her eyes seemed brighter, her sunny disposition not one to be beaten down for long. “Maybe now that his brother is here, he will not be so intent upon appearances. Would it not be something were he to decide to make me his Lady after all?”
Meghan got up and fluffed out her skirts, taking a moment to straighten her cap upon her head. “I had best hurry with those trays. I am so glad you know. It makes it so much easier. You will not mind if I come in late tonight, will you? Of course not. How silly of me.”
“I…” Alicia’s tongue seemed to be wanting to misbehave again for she truly could not get out a word to save her life.
Meghan laughed. “We shall be two of a kind, you coming in late as you did the other night.” With that she gave Alicia a nudge and a sly look before slipping out into the corridor on feet that fairly flew in taking her to the next room.
Alicia stared after her, feeling the import of the last words sinking in, coupled with Elias’ dire warning.
Be careful who you trust.
We will be two of a kind.
The room was done. Alicia had three others on her list. She flew through them, making each bed with such violence that the blankets were pulled so taut upon the frame that you could have bounced a shilling upon it. An hour found her still shaking with barely suppressed rage, though whether it was directed at herself or the Duke she had yet to ascertain.
Be careful who you trust.
We will be two of a kind.
Her feet found their way to the study door almost of their own accord. Alicia stood a long moment in indecision, then chided herself for being silly. She had no idea if he was even in the room.
With that thought in mind, she grasped the doorknob firmly and stepped into the room.
He was there, as he had been every other time, immersed in those heavy dusty books. He looked up now at the intrusion, impatient and even put out by her appearance. She had not even knocked.
“I cannot do this,” she said without preamble. “There is no way I can continue on this path you have chosen for me. I am not yours to command, despite my being in your employ. I am here as a maid and nothing more, nor will I be. I become fascinated by you regardless of the way my heart races whenever you are near, for despite my appearance I am a Lady and will be treated as such.”
With that she sank down in the nearest chair and burst into tears.
Chapter 20
She was gone as quickly as she had come.
Jacob stared at the chair where for a full minute, perhaps two, the little maid had sat, her capped head bowed, curls peeking out beneath the brim. She’d sobbed as though her heart would break, then stopped as suddenly as she’d begun, apologized prettily and left without another word.
She never once noticed the guest seated in the chair off to the side of the desk.
“I expect that was not meant for my ears,” Tom said, somewhat laconically as Jacob bent over his books again, looking for the entry he’d been about to share with the man when they’d been so interrupted. Somehow, sheep and goats did not seem quite so important just now.
“Tell me again what you have learned about the girl’s father,” Jacob said softly. “I want to make sure that I understand.”
“He was once a Lord in his own right. At about the time that the British took possession of Ireland, his wife died of a long illness, leaving him two children to raise, a boy and a girl. Twins. Your Alicia and her brother.”
“Who died in the wake of Garvagh,” Jacob said, with a somber shake of his head. “Ribbonmen. It seems hard to believe. What did they hope to accomplish? They were not even armed.”
“There is much you do not understand about Ireland, Your Grace. They are a passionate people, who feel that they have lost everything to a country who does not understand their needs, nor care to ascertain what those might be,” Tom replied, his expression very serious for once.
