Will this unlikely romance survive the shock and the scandal? Can a simple servant without even the slightest hint of poise in the face of public scrutiny master the etiquette, grace, and manners necessary for a proper Duchess?
Or is the romance, and the reputation of the Bedford family, destined to shatter as thoroughly as the hearts of the hopeful ladies of the ton?
Scarlett huffed as she finished the story. “Well, I like that. I do feel sorry for the maid, though. All that gossip.”
Nora winced. “Indeed.”
Something in her tone must have caught Scarlett’s attention, for the redhead looked up at her sharply. “Nora.. .the Duke of Bedford... is he not…?”
“He is my employer, yes, or rather, his Lady Mother is.” The milk was warmed enough, and Nora tipped it into a cup and gave it to Lydia, who sipped happily with a hum of pleasure. She took the opportunity to turn to her housemate. “And I know you are wondering, so I will tell you... yes, I was the maid.”
“You were! What happened? Do tell, Nora darling, now.” Scarlett scooted closer. “How on earth did you…?”
“It was nothing I did; I do not think. In truth, I’ve no idea what the Duke is thinking. It is only... just a month ago, he rang for service, and I happened to be the one to answer his call. And he…” She blushed slightly. “He had been entertaining a lady—a tryst, if you will—in his study, and desired that she should be escorted from the house without encountering his mother.”
“And how didthatavoid the scandal sheets, I would like to know?” Scarlett made another sound of exasperation. “A nameless maid they’ll talk of without worry, but the Duke having a tryst is kept quiet?”
“I should think because the Duke and his lover would not speak of it, and I do not think the Dowager knew the name of the woman and did not desire that only her family name be tarnished.” Nora sighed. “In any case, it seems that I somehow caught the Duke’s eye at that point, though I cannot say how. I encountered him again that night, as I was leaving... that was the night I was late, you know. He was flirtatious. And soon after he had the gall to ring for a servant after most had retired. I cannot help but think it was deliberate because he knew I would not be retiring like the rest. And he greeted me fresh from bathing, in only a towel, mind you, and had the audacity to hint at impropriety with me!”
“You’ve been fending him off for a month? No wonder he’s become bold.” Scarlett quirked a brow in her direction with an arch look.
“If I had, I would have been less taken aback. But I have taken pains to avoid his presence since then. Why I haven’t spoken more than four words to the Duke since that night, I’m certain of it.” She sighed. “I thought for sure that he would turn his attention elsewhere.”
“And yet, he seems to be rather persistent.”
“So I noticed.” She sighed again and folded her hands in her lap, watching as Lydia drank her milk. “His mother asked me to serve at the ball, and I could not refuse, not when she’s been so accommodating of me and asked so few questions of my reasons for leaving the estate every night.”
“No. You could not very well refuse your benefactor. But how did serving at the ball result in a proposal in front of the ton?”
“I have no idea!” She tightened her hands in her skirt, though she felt like throwing them up in the air instead. “I was refilling the punch, and the man accosted me, spouted poetry as though he was either drunk or taken leave of his senses, and proposed there on the dance floor! And acted as if he had planned the whole thing!”
“And how do you know he did not?”
“He couldn’t know I would be serving. And, in any case, his mother, the Dowager, said afterward that hehadplanned, but I saw his expression when she did, and I’ll wager that the announcement was her improvisation. Besides…” She sighed. “He did say afterward, in private, that he had not meant the proposal in any seriousness.”
Scarlett tossed her head with a sniff. “Then he should not have done so.”
“So I thought, but the truth of the matter is that the proposal has happened, and it has most certainly been witnessed, and I have been asked to take today and think it over before giving my answer.”
Scarlett nodded. “Well, I cannot fault your impulse if you wished to refuse, but if you have not answered... perhaps it does merit some consideration.” Her expression took on a sharp and calculating edge. “There are some benefits to agreeing.”
“Come again?” Nora sat back in her chair, taken aback by Scarlett’s suggestion.
“Well, think of it. If you refuse, then you might be branded a cast-off. A maid who aspired to be mistress and was proved unworthy of the title. Such a stigma would ostracize you among members of Society and most likely destroy your chances of any sport of proper employment or another marriage opportunity. You know how fast a reputation can be made or destroyed in London. Why take the risk when you can assure your future? And Lydia’s?”
“Lydia’s? However do you mean? I cannot think the Duke would welcome a child by another man into his marriage.”
Scarlett waved it off. “That’s a matter that can be got around with little effort.”
Something must have shown in her face because Scarlett shifted closer and took her hands in a gentle grip. “Nora darling, what is stopping you? It isn’t some fear of losing a true love, for I’ve never seen you pursue any sort of match. And you know as well as I that the matter can be managed. Yet you act as if this proposal came from the Devil himself.”
Nora shivered, remembering what else had transpired the previous night. “As far as I’m concerned, it is close enough.”
“Is the Duke truly that awful?”
It was tempting to say yes, to let the matter rest. But she could not tell Scarlett, her truest friend and confidante these past four years, such a falsehood. “The Duke himself is... he is a bit of a rake and sometimes foolish, and sometimes he does behave in a brash manner. But he... I do not think his character is truly so bad as he sometimes attempts to present it. A little reckless and unthinking. But, even so... the people he associates with…”
“Whatever do you mean? I’d not noticed you had a particular dislike of theton.”