Heired Lines

by Magan Vernon

  “You’re welcome, miss.”

  …

  “Do you want me to draw your bath and get you some tea?” Meredith stood at the door to my bedroom. I just got done with some items in the ballroom, dust all over my hair and possibly other crevices. All I wanted to do was get in the shower and get ready for this dance. And ignore everyone else.

  Didn’t help my mood that I had the historical society personnel asking me questions every two seconds. And some kind of fancy event planner who was breathing down my neck as she pointed at people to put up different banners and decorations.

  “No, I’m fine, but thank you. You should probably head over to help Lady Cecily and Lady Helena.” I waved my hand, wondering why she was even offering. I’m sure both the ladies had some fantastic ball gowns they needed to get into along with intricate updos.

  “Lady Cecily and Lady Helena have their own maids awaiting them. Lord Gavin didn’t need my help and wanted me to see if there was anything you needed. I’m at your service.”

  Just hearing his name had goose bumps prickling my arms and a yearning bearing down in my chest. It hadn’t even been that long since I’d seen him.

  Well, if you count a fleeting glance as he went to inspect something in the ballroom or dining room.

  But we hadn’t talked since the night he was in my room.

  The time I was so sure he was going to kiss me, but I had willed it not to happen because, if he did it again, I’d be a goner.

  “Well… I guess maybe you could help me with my hair? I’m not exactly sure what to do with it. I always just have it up in a bun or down and curly. Anything you’d recommend?”

  She smiled. “I have some ideas.”

  …

  The woman in the reflection in the full-length mirror did not look like the girl from North Carolina who spent her Saturdays digging for flea market treasures.

  Meredith had taken my mess of chest-length red curls and tamed them into soft, loose waves, pulling my locks into a stylish bun while the rest framed my face.

  I’d applied my own light makeup of gloss and mascara, but the real crowning glory to the look was the dress. The most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen, that fit like a glove. The bodice hugged the curves of my hips with the lace flaring around my feet. The sweetheart neckline dipped right above my chest with a layer of lace sweeping up to my neck.

  “This is exquisite,” I whispered, my breath catching in my throat. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me, dear. It’s as if this was made for you. I just highlighted what you already have.”

  I smiled back at the gray-haired woman before doing a once-over of her A-line gray uniform. “Don’t you need to get ready, too?”

  Her lips went into a thin line as she shook her head. “No, miss. I’ll be with the other maids tonight.”

  My eyes widened as all the elation I felt now fizzled like a balloon that had the air seeping out.

  “So, you won’t be attending? That doesn’t seem fair that I’m going and you’re not.”

  She put her hand on mine, lightly squeezing it. “Miss, we both know that you and I are different.”

  I frowned, trying to control the wave of feelings going through me. “That’s silly. We both work here at Webley.”

  I sighed as I tried to ignore the rapid beating of my heart that pulsed into my ears. “No, maybe I’m being silly. If you aren’t going to be there or anyone else, then maybe I shouldn’t go.”

  “Natalie.” For the first time her voice was clipped, and the sudden outburst forced me to look into her eyes, which had slightly softened.

  “You may be the curator here, but we’ve all seen the way you two interact. This night is for you to shine. To show his family that you aren’t just some American girl helping out in the castle.”

  “I… I don’t know about all that,” I stuttered, looking down and attempting to keep from biting my bottom lip and ruining my makeup. So I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to control the beating in my chest that now raked through my body.

  “I do. Show them who you are, Natalie.”

  I took in a deep breath and one last look in the mirror. I thanked Meredith again then headed down the long hallway toward the ballroom.

  The room that had once sat unused had now been transformed into something straight out of a fairy tale.

  Crystal chandeliers sparkled among the painted ceilings, displaying works that dated back to the fifteenth century.

  Curtains had been drawn back from the windows so that the setting sun cast an orange glow onto the golden carpet.

  A quartet played on a small stage near a wall of mirrors while women in the fanciest dresses I’d ever seen danced with men in tuxedos, or sat in golden tufted settees placed in the corners of the room.

  I swallowed hard, scanning the room for a familiar face. When one approached me, carrying a tray of champagne flutes.

  “Drink, miss?” One of the wait staff, who I believe was named Joseph, asked.

  “Oh, no, thank you. I’m afraid I’ll spill something on this dress if I drink anything. Unless you could also grab me a Tide pen or something. That should come with each glass, huh?”

  “Natalie, glad you could make it.”

  The familiar purr of Gavin’s accent took me by surprise, and if the bodice of the dress wasn’t so tight, I might have actually gasped before whirling around to see him approaching.

  I’d seen him dozens of times in suits or button-down shirts and even a polo uniform. But there was something especially mouth-watering about the way the black tux was tailored for his meticulously sculpted body.

  But it wasn’t just the tuxedo or the way he styled his golden-blond hair. It was that damn smile and the sparkle in his eyes.

  The smile.

  The thing I’d been waiting for forever.

  And damn was that pearly white glittering of teeth worth it.

  The waiter excused himself as Gavin approached, and I couldn’t help but notice his gaze slide over me before our eyes met again.

  It was as if so much time had passed, yet none at all. When he looked at me with that smile, the one I got so infrequently, it was as if the rest of the world melted away.

  “Well, you did send me the invite,” I said with as much oomph as I could muster.

  “And I’m glad you accepted. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to talk to you. Or get one of your history lessons.”

  “I could tell you about these paintings or what I researched about the origination of the Iris Festival,” I said, folding my clammy hands in front of me.

  I had to get a grip.

  It was just Gavin.

  No matter what anyone said, it was still him as the lord and me as the girl working in the manor.

  “How about we discuss that over a dance?” He put his hand out as the beginning chords of Nat King Cole’s Unforgettable carried through the room.

  I should have said no. I should have said that I couldn’t dance or made an excuse.

  But I put my hand in his and let him lead me to the middle of the dance floor.

  And everything else melted away.

  The last time I danced with anyone was during a free ballroom dance class that I took in college so I could understand more about England’s aristocracy.

  The bumbling history major who stepped on my feet had nothing on the swift moves of Gavin. One strong arm wrapped around my waist and his free hand held mine.

  We glided together as if we were on a cloud. Soaring away from the rules that said he was a lord and I was a common American girl working for him.

  “I didn’t know you could waltz. You really are full of surprises,” he mused.

  I felt a blush creep across my cheeks as I couldn’t hold back my smile. “I can also do a really bad fox-trot and jitterbug.”

 
He laughed, a real one that had his stomach vibrating against my chest as it sent goose bumps all along my exposed skin. “I don’t think we’ll be doing any of that. But sometimes if the baronesses from Spain drink too much, they’ve been known to request Shakira and rub up against some dignitaries.”

  I bit down on my lip to keep from laughing. I had to keep my head straight so I didn’t go looking around for a woman who had too much to drink and started singing “Hips Don’t Lie.”

  But even as my head might have swiveled, Gavin’s eyes were continuously locked on me.

  There was so much I wanted to say to him in that moment and so much that needed to be left unsaid.

  I didn’t want to let go. I wanted to live and breathe in that moment as long as I could.

  “Pardon, Lord Gavin,” A haughty voice said, and over his shoulder stood a smirking Hallie, decked head to toe in sparkling crystals.

  While my dress was vintage and modest by all accounts, the sparkling gold number dipped so low, I swore I could almost see nip. It was probably some fancy couture designer that I’d never heard of.

  A few men’s eyes in the room noticeably fell on her, or well, more likely her ass.

  But not Gavin’s.

  His eyes stayed on me; his arm gripped tightly on my waist as though he didn’t want to let go.

  “Yes, Hallie?” he asked with annoyance painting his gritted tone.

  “May I borrow you for a moment? I wanted to introduce you to Lord and Lady Harrington. They’re in for the Iris Festival and wanted to meet the man who put this all together.”

  “Natalie, do you want to meet Lady and Lord Harrington with me? They might be incredibly boring, so I could use an escape to be whisked away for another dance.”

  The fire was back, flushing my cheeks as Hallie’s eyes narrowed.

  “Actually, I’d like to borrow the wonderful curator for a moment.” A cold chill crept down my neck as I turned to see Lady Helena standing behind me.

  As always, she was dressed impeccably in a long sleeve, dark-blue lace gown. Her silvery-blonde hair swept into an elegant bun to show her flawless skin.

  I glanced back at Gavin but before I could say something, his mother spoke again, her cold hand resting on my shoulder. If I wasn’t already chilled to the bone, I’d be a damn ice pick by now. “Don’t worry. Just need to ask her about some of these art pieces in the corner by the settee. She’s the expert, after all.”

  Gavin narrowed his eyes toward his mother.

  I nodded before forcing a smile, even though everything in my brain was telling me to run as fast as I could. Obviously, my mouth didn’t get the memo. “I’ll be glad to help you, Lady Helena.”

  Letting go of Gavin was like pulling through wet cement. Each movement harder than the last.

  But I couldn’t stay in his arms forever, and whatever his mother thought of me, it wouldn’t help if I ignored her request.

  So I followed her across the room, the heat of a few stares and lingering whispers brushing along my back.

  I kept my head down until we were in the corner near a large oil painting of a sunset falling over a field of lilies.

  “This piece? I believe it’s eighteenth century. The artist’s name currently escapes me, but it was one of the pieces exhibited at the royal academy in 1932,” I said, the words easily rolling off my tongue instead of facing the stone-faced woman next to me.

  “I don’t really give a fig about the painting, I just needed to get your grubby claws off my son,” she spat.

  The words hit me like a wet towel, and I closed my mouth, trying to figure out how to even respond to that as a cold chill raked over my body.

  She took a step forward, lowering her voice. “You may have a pretty face and can put on one of my sister-in-law’s old Italian lace dresses. But we both know that at the end of the day, you’re just an American commoner who took this job because she’s in a lot of debt.”

  I bit down on my bottom lip, trying to gather the courage to say something. Hell, anything. But my shoulders shrunk into my neck.

  “Don’t think we didn’t do a full background check, especially after my son insisted on hiring some girl who just graduated Uni. I just didn’t think he’d actually look at you the way he does.”

  How did he look at me?

  My heart skipped a beat then thudded hard when the woman narrowed her eyes.

  “You need to leave Webley. I’ll have the rest of your salary in your bank account by the end of the day. As soon as that hits, you will leave. Tell Meredith you have to go home for a family emergency or whatever you need to do. But you will take the money, you will pay your mother’s medical debt, and then you will never return here. Is that understood?”

  “Why?” I managed to croak.

  She shook her head. “Don’t be daft, dear. We both know you and my son don’t belong together. It’s just easier this way if you leave now so he can find someone worthy.”

  Balling my hands into fists, I clutched them against my stomach. It was as if all the air had been whooshed out of my lungs, and now I had to slowly swallow it back.

  “And if I don’t?”

  Her eyes narrowed slightly, her lips quirking into a smirk. “Then you’re fired, of course.”

  “You can’t do that. Lord Gavin is the one who hired me,” I said, trying to keep the trembling out of my voice.

  She took a step closer, her hot breath pouring out like venom. “My dear, it wouldn’t be that hard to say we found some pieces from the castle had gone missing and were found on your shabby little website, selling for a profit.”

  “You can’t do that,” I hissed, trying to keep it together, but my entire body shook.

  “All you have to do is accept the money and leave. Your debts will be taken care of and I’ll be sure to give you a glowing recommendation so you can work in an American museum or wherever it is you want to go.”

  She kept a smile on her face even as the malicious words poured out of her.

  What choice did I have?

  I could say no and wonder if she’d really follow through on her threat.

  By that slimy grin and the venom in her voice, I knew she would.

  A cold chill pricked the back of my neck, even though the room was stifling.

  “I have to go,” I muttered.

  I didn’t look back at the woman as I made my way through the crowd, then exited the ballroom. Not stopping until I was back in my bedroom, I saw notifications flashing across my phone on the nightstand.

  More money than I’d ever seen in my life had just been deposited into my account.

  Enough to pay off all of mom’s medical debts, my college loans, and then some.

  Sinking onto the bed, I tried to control the shudders raking through me.

  What could I do?

  I couldn’t exactly refuse the money. Now it was sitting in my account, staring at me, begging me to just make all of mom’s financial worries go away.

  And if I did? What would happen? What did she have up her couture sleeve?

  What would I tell Gavin?

  I couldn’t tell him the truth.

  She was his mother. Even if she was sort of evil, she was doing what she thought was best for him. Unfortunately that included getting me out of the picture.

  Sucking in a deep breath, I stood up and headed toward the armoire, grabbing what little clothes I had and shoving them into my bag.

  There was no point in staying here, anyway. I could just pack and find the next train to London, then fly home from there. Even if there was an ache in the back of my throat, one that seemed to be telling me there was something else. I had to push it aside. I had to keep moving forward.

  But as I tried to crouch down to go through my drawers, I stopped mid-bend, the whalebone of the corset digging right into my ribs, and I curled to the
side, my insides pinching.

  “Holy hell, I have to get this thing off,” I muttered to myself.

  A knock came at my door and, like the angel she was, I hoped it would be Meredith on the other side to unlace me from this thing and not a scowling Lady Helena, trying to rip me a new one.

  I bounded over to the door, throwing it open only to gasp when Gavin stood there, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “Hi,” I said quickly, trying to let out all the air that was held hostage in my throat.

  “I didn’t see you when I was done hearing Hallie and the Wellingtons drone on and was afraid Mother scared you off.”

  I forced a laugh, a nervous tingle bubbling in my stomach. “No, no. I just, um, well I was going to try to change out of this dress. Not exactly used to a corset.”

  “Do you need help getting out of it?” he asked, and the low timbre of his voice had a direct connection to the parts of me I was trying to ignore.

  I probably should have told him no and then found a maid, but maybe it was the tightness of the corset or the beating of my heart so loud and thundering, that I turned around, swooping my hair to the side.

  “It’s a lace back,” I murmured.

  The sound of the door closing behind me echoed through the room.

  Then there was silence. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on my breathing.

  Featherlight touches traced the back of my dress before Gavin’s fingers curled around the lace edges of my corset. In a firm grip, he pulled me at the waist, pushing his body to mine.

  A small gasp escaped my lips as his warm mouth met the bare skin of my arms, the lace top sliding down my shoulders.

  Closing my eyes, I let out a slow breath, relishing in the warm vibration of his mouth as he placed light kisses along my searing skin.

  I should have pulled away. Should have told him that I was leaving.

  But when the fabric pooled at my feet, leaving me in just my thin cotton panties, I did the one thing I shouldn’t have. But the one thing my humming body was begging me to do.

  If I was going to leave anyway, then I couldn’t fall for him. This would be it for both of us.

  Leaning into his strong body, I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting him continue to pepper my bare skin with kisses.