Page 62 of Ghost in the Garden
Unless she no longer wanted to.
*
Pat had clearlyblabbed about what he had seen in the mews, for Constance was teased mercilessly from the moment she stepped back into the kitchen that evening. She turned it all off with jokes and laughter, a rather professional performance accomplished without the necessity of thought.
She couldn’t think because her mind was in such turmoil. And that, in her position, was dangerous. She received a sharp reminder when she walked upstairs and, her mind still busy with Solomon and her reactions to his touch, into the main bedchamber.
She knew Angela was in her parlor, for she had rung for tea there. But she had, unforgivably, forgotten about Lambert.
By the light of one pale lamp, he stood by the bedroom window, one curtain drawn back just enough for him to see onto the street below. He didn’t immediately notice her entrance, which at least gave her a moment to hide her shock and to observe him while he was unaware.
He wasn’t what she expected.
In that first moment, there was no sign of the entitled, brutal man who had fought, stolen, and murdered his way out of the gutter, who had caused the death and injury of his tenants and stood by in the shadows while his partner was vilified for it. To say nothing of murdering that partner.
If she hadn’t been so sure he had murdered Gregg, she could almost have imagined he had just learned of the body’s discovery and was grieving.
She could not stand gawking at him. Nor could she bolt back out again without being obvious. So, without closing the door, she merely carried her bundle of Angela’s freshly laundered underclothes and put them quietly away in their correct drawers.
Was thatsorrowshe had glimpsed in his face? Certainly, it was something softer than she had ever seen or expected. For the first time, she had an inkling why Angela remained with him, and for his sake strove to better herself. It was not simply his power over her, or the convenience of his wealth.
Constance knew what it was like, to be so desperate to escape that one would do anything. And then the path was set and you couldn’t stop. You were afraid to stop in case you went back there.
“Silver,” he said from the window, as though both recalling her name from a thousand others and relishing the sound of it on his tongue. “Are you settling into your new position?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, remembering to curtsey as she closed the drawer and turned to face him. She should say,Excuse me, and leave, but this unexpectedly human side of Lambert was a rare opportunity, fascinating in its way. “Everyone is very kind and helpful.”
“I understand you are, too. My wife likes you. That is rarer than you might think. And she finds you useful.”
“A basic requirement of servants, sir.”
His lip twitched upward. “I suppose so. Tell me, where did you learn all your ladylike speech and manners?”
“Observation. And mimicry.”
There was a hint of derision in his smile now. “Work for many noble ladies, did you?”
“I have served my share of the nobility,” Constance said with perfect truth, and then wanted to laugh, because it was the sort of remark that had always amused and shocked Solomon.
But she should not have let down her guard. Lambert had crossed the room and stood closer to her now, and there was no softness in his eyes, only sharp observation, a sheer distance that caused her stomach to plummet. This manusedpeople for his own ends. Beyond that, they had no value to him. A moment’s sadness did not make him a kind or sensitive man. Her skin prickled with alarm.
“Fall from grace, did you?” he asked, his lip curling.
“You’ve no cause to think that, sir,” she said, allowing self-righteousness into her voice.
“Why else’d you be slumming it with the likes of us?”
“Your coin’s as good as anyone else’s, sir. Better than some of them noble households.” She hoped he noted her grammatical slip, that it would put him at his ease.
Amusement sparked in his eyes. “Are you saving up for a reason? Got a young man who wants to marry you?”
She dropped her eyes. Had word got back to him already about her meeting with Solomon? Inevitably. Very little would be allowed to happen in this household without his knowledge.
“Maybe, sir,” she said coyly, “though that’s a long time away.”
“Doesn’t have to be,” he said. “It you’re loyal. Might even find a place for your man, if he fits. What does he do?”
“He’s a clerk, sir. For a shipping company.”Sort of, in a very senior capacity…
