Jude felt himself redden beneath her sharp scrutiny. “Does she? I didn’t notice.”
“Poppycock,” said Sally, in a hard voice. “I see the way you look at her. You are like a dog with its tongue hanging out.” She paused. “I saw you walking with her again the other day. You were both entering the estate from the woods. Were you chaperoning her again, Jude?”
Jude was silent for a moment, feeling his face flush deeper. He knew he was making a mess of this. He couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“Coachmen rarely chaperone ladies on their walks,” continued Sally, in a thoughtful voice. “I thought it strange when I saw you together the first time, but seeing it again has given me much food for thought.”
“I do not know what you are inferring, Sally,” he said, his voice wavering slightly. “She is a lady. The daughter of a duke. She wouldn’t look at me sideways, even if I dared to approach her in that way.” He hesitated. “You are being ridiculous.”
“Am I?” said Sally, her face twisting. “I don’t think I am. And perhaps it explains a lot about the puzzle of you, Jude Huxley. Most men do not say no when something is being handed to them on a platter. And you did.”
“I told you,” he said, feeling cornered. “I am not sure about my feelings for the girl I left behind in Shrewsbury…”
She gave a short laugh. “I do not know whether I believe there is any girl in Shrewsbury,” she said. “I think you have your eye upon a girl right here. A girl that you shouldn’t be looking at sideways, as you say.” She paused, stepping closer to him. “You know what would happen to you if the Duke found out, don’t you? He would string you up and leave your carcass for the ravens.”
“There is nothing to find out,” he said, feeling a surge of pure anger. “I know my place, Sally. And the lady would never look at me like that, anyway. Do you think she would lower herself to be with a common coachman?”
“I don’t know what she is capable of,” said Sally, in a disdainful voice, shrugging her shoulders. “She doesn’t seem head over heels for that gentleman who has started calling here to see her.” She paused. “She seems like a cold fish to me. But then, upper-class women usually are. Any passion is bred out of them. Even if you had her, you would probably regret it and think it wasn’t worth the trouble.”
“You are being disrespectful,” he said in a low, angry voice. “You shouldn’t talk that way about the lady, Sally.”
“What do you care?” said Sally, her eyes hard, filled with challenge. “Why are you being so defensive about her if she means nothing to you?”
“Because she is the lady of the house,” he said in a tight voice, barely controlling his anger. “You should never speak that way about the people who are paying your wage. You would not eat if it wasn’t for the people who you so clearly despise. Think about that, Sally.”
They glared at each other. Suddenly, Barnaby approached them, his face filled with thunder.
“Cook is calling for you, Sally Potter,” said the head coachman, in a grim voice. “And you need to finish tightening the bolts on that wheel, Jude Huxley. This is no time for gossip.”
Sally turned abruptly, walking away quickly towards the back of the house. Jude swore underneath his breath, then turned to Barnaby.
“I am sorry,” he said in a terse voice. “She interrupted me. It won’t happen again.”
“There is a time and a place for chasing a maid,” said Barnaby, fixing him with a hard look. “This is not it, Jude. You are here to work. I won’t tolerate slacking on the job. Do you understand?”
Jude nodded. “I do. And it will not happen again. I promise.”
Barnaby nodded, walking away. Jude sighed heavily before sliding underneath the carriage again. His hands were shaking slightly as he started tightening the bolts again. Anger was still coursing through his blood. He almost dropped the hammer.
Damn Sally Potter, he thought, trying to focus.Why can’t she just leave it alone?
But as the anger subsided, he felt a bit scared. He had handled all of it the wrong way. He shouldn’t have been so blunt with her, even though he felt he had no choice. Sally had pushed him to it.
The maid’s pride was wounded. And to salvage it, she was looking for reasons he had rejected her. A girl like Sally couldn’t, or wouldn’t, believe that a man simply wasn’t interested. There had to be another reason.
His heart seized with foreboding. Sally strongly suspected there was something going on between him and Evelina, and she wasn’t wrong. He wished he had handled it differently now. He may have made an enemy of her and hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Chapter 28
Evelina walked into the village hall alongside Jude for pantomime rehearsal, glancing at him quickly. His face was set, and he didn’t look happy today. But it wasn’t the time or place to ask him what was bothering him.
She frowned slightly. She had seen him talking to the maid again this morning near the carriage. The pretty maid with the flame coloured hair who he had squired to the village dance. She felt a flash of confusion. He had consistently told her that the maid meant nothing to him and that the girl was pursuing him, not the other way around, but how could she be sure?
Stop it, she told herself firmly.You do not need to be insecure about him. He desires you and not the maid.
But she was in the grip of jealousy again now and she couldn’t shake it. It was an ugly emotion and she didn’t like feeling at all. Despair swept over her. Perhaps she should encourage him to pursue the maid or some other girl, even though the very thought of it made her feel slightly ill.
This wasn’t fair to him. Their illicit affair was destined to end, anyway. Perhaps they should just try to stay away from one another now. Cut their losses and move on with their lives as they inevitably must, anyway.