A faint smile hovered about James’s lips as he raised an expectant eyebrow.
‘
Has it indeed?
’
Retrieving the envelope from the tray, James d
ismissed the butler
with a curt nod. T
hen, with his back to his
over-attentive audience, he proceeded to rip open the envelo
pe and quickly scan the missive
. His reading complete, he tucked the note into his jacket pocket and turned back to face the party. The faint smile that had been playing on his lips a moment earlier had now developed into one of unabashed smugness.
‘
I am afraid,
dear ladies,
that my plans for this
evening have changed yet again.
Do please forgive
me but I shall not
now be able to join
you for dinner
after all
.
’
A wave of
disappointment spread over Lady Carmichael’s countenance.
‘
Oh dear
’
she sighed
, her fan flutter
ing coming to a deflated end.
‘
Felicity was
so
looking forward to your company, James.
As indeed were we all
,
’
she added quickly
,
as
Felicity’s foot
sharply
met her
mother’s
shin.
N
auseous with the pathetic adoration being poured upon such an obnoxious rake, Eleanor was unable to hold her tongue a second longer.
‘
Indeed we were all
so
looking forward to it, my lord
’
she added archly,
‘
that
upon hearing such devastating news, my appetite has quite deserted me.
’
James
turned to face her, the sardon
ic glint once again present in his dark eyes.
‘
Deserted you has it, m
y lady?
Then in that case, may I suggest you retrieve it
immediately. After all, as my a
unt has already pointed out, you could do with a little more meat on
some
of your bones.
’
A
rush of pink stained Eleano
r’s cheeks as a surge of
anger shot through her
. O
f all the rude, i
ntolerable, impudent, arrogant-
She opened her mouth to reply but in a
flash James turned on his heel and disappeared
through the door, leaving her seething.
Eleanor awoke the next morning feeling no more refreshed than when she had retired; every bit as furious as when she had retired; and even more despondent than when she had retired, which
,
in itself
,
was not insignificant given the evening she had
endured with the
unbearable Carmichaels. Not usually prone to melancholy, she attempted, as she lay in bed gazing at the delicate anthemions of the ceiling cornice, to find something positive in her situation. Other than the fact that she
was in excellent health
, she failed to think of a single thing. She w
as immured in a labyrinth of a c
astle in which she had little hope of ever finding her way around
. She was
surrounded by domineering (her godmother), arrogant (James) people
. S
he was being forced to spend her evenings in the presence of insuff
erable guests (the Carmichaels)
a
nd her days engaging in ridiculously boring
pursuits (too many to mention). She had no friends around her. A
nd, as if all that were not bad enough, in a matter of months – or even worse,
weeks
- she was to be married off to the first man
who showed the slightest
inte
rest in her.
Feeling completely wretched, s
he pulled the coverlet over her head
wishing to postpone the start of
the day for as long as possible.
Completely absorbed in her self-pitying musings
Eleanor
failed to hear the timid knock
on her bedchamber door. Indeed
, she was so immersed in her depressing thoughts that she wasn’t even aware of the door being cracked open and a little head being put round it, followed shortly by a slim body. It was onl
y the sound of a
discreet
little cough, which alerted her to the fact that
someone was in the room
. Hesitantly, she pulled back
the cover
from her face and found herself looking at a pretty girl,
a couple of
years youn
ger than herself, with
strawberry blond
e
curls and a
sweet,
heart-shaped face
jam-packed
with
golden
freckles. She w
as wearing
a plain, navy
-
blue dress, much too large for her and looking, in equal measures, both nervous and awkward. She bobbed a curtsy and blushed furiously before s
aying
,
in a thick cockney accent,
‘
B
egging your pardon, miss, but her ladyship se
nt me up to help you dress,
and I did knock like
,
but there weren’t no reply and I didn’t know what to do, miss
,
so I just came in like
and I’m not sure if I should have
done, miss
,
but that La
dy Ormiston sent me up here
and I don’t wan
t to make
no trouble with her ’
cos
she can be a bit of a tyrant whe
n the mood takes her
and -
’
‘
I
see,
’
interjected Eleanor, sensing that if she did not do something to bring the explanation to a halt
,
then the gir
l may carry on for some time
.
‘
What is your name
, girl
?
’
she asked
,
propping herself up on her pillows.
‘
Milly, miss,
’
replied the girl, obviously relieved that she was not to be scolded for her uni
nvited entrance
.
‘
I’m your new lady’s-
maid, miss. Com
e to help you get ready, I have.
’
She beamed p
roudly
, clasping
her hands in front of her.
‘
Well
,
Milly, that’s very good of you, I’m sure,
’
replied Eleanor kindly, taking an ins
tant liking to the young woman
, ‘b
ut
I’m quite
capable of dressing myself. I
have no need of a lady’s-
maid.
’
A
sweep
of disappointment spread over Milly’s face as she assimilated th
is
information.
‘
Oh,
’
she muttered
, gazing at her feet and nervously nibbling her bottom lip. The
n, obviously having had an
inspired
thought, she raised her head and fixed Eleanor with her sparkling blue eyes.
‘
Well, t
hat’s all well and good, miss,
’ she declared brightly, beaming once again, ‘
but her ladyship says I’m to look after you so that’s what I’ll have to do.
’
Eleanor bit b
ack a smile at the girl’s
enthusiasm.
‘
I’m afraid
,
Milly,
’
she said gently,
‘
that whatever her ladyship says is of no consequence. I have never had a lady’s
-maid in my life and,
to be honest, I really wouldn’t know what to do with one.
’
‘
Oh.’
Milly
dropp
ed
her gaze to the floor and
began
nibbling her lip
again
.
‘
But that means, miss,
’
she said
,
after a few seconds contemplation,
‘
that
I’ll be sent back to them
kitchens. Not that I don’t like them kitchens, mind
,
but her ladyship had said
that if I did a good job
there
, then if a
nything else came up like,
she’d think about giving it to me. And I have done a good job, miss, honest I have. You can ask
c
ook and everyone down there. Been working there nigh
on two years now and this
post came up and her ladyship said I could have a go at it like and my ma w
ere dead proud and pleased it being
a whole tanner a week more and now I’ll have to go back and tell her ladyship that you ain’t wanting no lady’s
-
maid and my ma’ll be dead di
sappointed
what with
our Tommy needing new shoes and
Theresa
needing a decent
coat and-
Oh, I’m sorry, miss,
’
she gulped
,
as two plump tears rolled down her pretty face.
‘
None of this ain’t any of your business. If you’re not wanting a lady’s
-
maid then that’s up to you and you’ve every right to say so, I’m sure. Now if you’ll excuse me, miss, I’ll be on my way and begging your pardon for disturbing you so.
’
And with that, she pulled a large white handkerchief from her sleeve, turned
around and
made to leave the room.
Eleanor, completely taken aback by the devastating effect her news had had and the brief insight into the consequences of her refusal to accept Milly as her maid, suddenly leapt out of bed and blocked
the girl’s
path to the door.
‘
Wa
it
,
’
she said, taking hold of the girl’s slim shoulders.
‘
I’m sorry. I didn’t realiz
e the job was so important to you. If you don’t mind staying, then I would like very much if you would be my maid.
’
Milly fixed her with her clear blue eyes, brimming with tears.
‘
I don’t want to be no trouble, miss,
’
she said, twisting the handkerchief between her hands.
‘
If you’re just saying that
’
cos you’re feeling sorry for me, then I’d rather go back to them kitchens. I don’t want no pity, miss, re
ally I don’t
, a
nd I shouldn’t have gone telling you all them things about my family and the like. No, if you’re
not wanting no lady’s
-
maid
,
miss,
then them
k
itchens it is for me and I’ll be glad of it.
’
‘
I’m sure you would,
’
said Eleanor, smiling warmly at the girl.
‘
But, come to think of it, I am pretty dreadful at dressing myself
. A
nd I haven’t the first idea about how to style my hair
o
r anything of those things that I’m supposed to do. So … if you could help me, Milly
,
and not go back to the kitchens, then I’d be mighty glad of it.
’
‘
Oh, do you really mean it, miss?
’
s
niffed
Milly, her lips curving into a watery smile.
‘
I mean I haven’t had much practice, not with being st
uck down in them kitchens
, b
ut
I do have lots of sisters
, miss,
and we’re always
larking
about like, pretending we’re ladies and all. And I’ll do the best job I can, miss, to make you look grand and all. Which shouldn’t be too hard, given how pretty you is and everything.
’