“That fool adores everyone,” Lady Swithun said weakly.
“And I dislike most people, yet I am utterly besotted with her.” Lady Swithun gave an inelegant snort of disbelief at this declaration. “If she can eventually bring about you and Venetia, she must truly be unique. But I’m not delaying my proposal to see if she meets with your approval.”
He tugged her hands to move her gently away from the door. She moved stiffly and slowly, as if the shock of his announcement had affected even her motor functions.
“But…but…You could have anyone…To throw everything away for some young girl…”
“She isn’t that young. I think she and Georgiana are of an age.”
“Oh, even worse. Couldn’t you just…do whatever young men do? I hardly think marriage is necessary.”
“I was foolish enough to think the same. Thankfully, I was rightfully put in my place.”
He released her hands, and she backed up and sat heavily on the bed, the crinoline under her skirts flaring up in front her. Fear for all her children’s places in society, their very future, was apparent on her lightly lined face.
And suddenly, Dominic realized how old she had become in the past decade. She had always been a formidable force in his life, her determination and infallibility only strengthened by his father’s perfidy. He no longer saw her as the most intimidating force of society and in his life; she was an older mother, distraught over her son’s decision and frightened for its consequences. She had not appeared so defeated even after his father’s actions had come to light. If the discovery of Dominic’s intentions were enough to bring her this low, how would she manage the gossip, the loss of status from his actions?
“Mother.” Dominic crossed the room and kneeled in front of her, impatiently crushing the obstructing crinoline out of his way. “You are the Countess of Swithun. You are the daughter of the Earl of Kenwick. What you declare is appropriate and good is what will be. No one would dare gainsay you on any subject. And Georgiana and Edith will make brilliant matches for the mere fact that you are their mother.”
“You are gainsaying me,” she reminded him, her voice quavering and her eyes shining brilliantly with unshed tears.
“But no one else will have such audacity, I assure you. I only dare because I’m the Earl of Swithun and the grandson of the Earl of Kenwick.” He smiled apologetically, and she choked out a laugh. “I don’t intend to hurt you. I pray that you find peace with this.”
She remained silent, but he didn’t expect a reply. He rose to his feet, walked swiftly to the door, and twisted the doorknob. As he entered the hall, he did not look back at the dejected figure on the bed. He was rushing towards his future and he had never felt such exhilaration.
That was when he heard a faint but unmistakable scream.
At first, the sound had barely registered in his brain. His thoughts were already winging to the third floor where he hoped – but knew there was little chance – to find Mia.
When he did recognize the sound, he stopped in the middle of the hallway, trying to place its origin. One of the ladies could have ruined their hair with an iron – he clearly remembered Georgiana screaming in hysterics when the maid had singed her hair years ago. Someone could have sat on a brooch. Or imagined they saw an intruder wandering the grounds. Or had seen a mouse or excessively large spider. All were plausible and even likely.
“Dominic, did you hear a noise? Like that of a fox yipping?” Georgiana asked, her brown ringlets bobbing as only her head poked out of Lavinia’s – or perhaps Sylvia’s, Dominic neither knew nor cared – bedroom.
“Yes.” He briskly knocked at the first of door on his right, intent on discovering the scream’s source, but there was no answer.
“That’s Venetia’s room, and she’s still downstairs,” Georgiana called. She disappeared back into Lavinia’s bedroom for a moment before exiting purposefully. “You investigate the doors on the right, and I’ll inspect these on the left.”
Dominic strode towards the next door and had raised his hand to sharply tap when a dull thud at the end of the hallway caught his attention. Before he could change direction or ask Georgiana if she too had heard the noise, the servant’s door, well hidden behind intricate wallpaper, burst open and Lord Felling and Mia tumbled to the floor.
Chapter 20
It wasn’t as though Mia had never thought of herself in this scenario. Before her father had secured her first position, he had instructed her in how to defend herself against both overly friendly men and overtly dangerous ones. She knew to first damage the most delicate part of a man’s anatomy and then escape at the first opportunity. And if that proved more difficult than expected, she should bite, claw, and kick anything within reach though facial features should be her next point of attack.
After deploying all her skills, it was quite terrifying that Lord Felling still had the advantage.
After Mia had screamed, he had immediately slammed her up against the stairwell’s wall. Before she could catch her breath, he had clamped a hand over her mouth so tightly that she tasted blood, likely because he had jammed her lips against her teeth.
She hadn’t waited to hear what excuse he would make or what he would demand. She had stamped on his instep, but her soft-soled shoes had hardly made him flinch.
He had grunted out, “I tried to be generous but, you, like so many women…”
Mia hadn’t waited to hear what faults so many women had. She’d balled her fist and planted it firmly against the side of his chin, but he had been so close that it had only stunned him for a moment. In that second that he loosened his grip, she had bit down upon his index finger, uncaring if she was still tasting her blood or now his. He had yelped but his body was blocking both escapes and, as she had tried to slide past him, he had caught her from behind again.
“You hellcat!” he had rasped. He had wrapped an arm around her ribcage and began to half-carry half-drag her up the stairs towards the third floor.
Mia was unsure if anyone was in the servants’ quarters, but she knew she couldn’t rely on someone coming to her aid. She continued to struggle, her wriggling and flailing arms hampering Lord Felling’s progress. Her movements managed to unsteady him enough that he slipped on the step, causing them both to nearly topple to the stairs’ landing. As he shifted his stance in an attempt to hoist her up once more, Mia took advantage of the narrow staircase. She placed her feet against the staircase wall and pushed back with all her might, knocking Lord Felling against the second-floor door that he hadn’t closed properly.
The door swung open on its well-oiled hinges and they both fell with a thud to the floor, Mia’s skirts and petticoats up about her knees. Mia scrambled to her feet, tempted to give him a good kick but knowing that her best course was to escape while she still could. She was too intelligent to get within arms’ reach of Lord Felling again. She had only taken a step when Lord Felling regained his feet too, an ugly snarl on his usually blandly pleasant features. She doubted she’d be able to outrun him.
But it didn’t matter because Dominic was there. With two hands, he picked up Lord Felling by his evening jacket and smashed him against the wall. The gas lamps shook and flickered with the force, making the light dance down the hallway. It seemed that Dominic wasn’t satisfied with Lord Felling’s astonished sputtering because he repeated the action.
“Dominic!” A voice squealed and Mia turned to see his sister, the brunette, charging down the hall, and various bedroom doors opening as the commotion alerted the entire floor to the drama.
“Oh, oh, oh!” yelped another sister, the younger blonde one. All their names escaped Mia at the moment. She was too concerned for Dominic’s wellbeing. But then, Lord Felling didn’t seem to be putting up much of a defense.
Footsteps pounded up the main staircase, but Mia didn’t look to see who else had arrived. Dominic slammed Lord Felling into the wallpaper a third time. One of the portraits of a disapproving ancestor fell from the wall to land with a c
runching sound on the hall rug and various females gasped in unison.
“If you ever dare…” Dominic punctuated his words with another shove. “I will…”
“Should I assist Dominic?” A male voice questioned.
“Not necessary, darling. It seems he has things well in hand.” A female attempted to sound unperturbed, but her voice was tight.
“Dominic! Desist at once!” Mia glanced down the hall. Lady Swithun, unflappable and imposing in her evening gown, seemed merely irritated by the commotion.
Once Dominic had dropped Mia’s assailant to the floor, Lord Felling sat, his legs sprawled crookedly like a rag doll tossed in the corner.
“Whatever is happening?” Lady Darwinkle’s voice trembled as she raced to her nephew’s side and helped him to his feet. Her hair was not pinned properly, and she only was wearing one earring.
“I am at a compete loss, Aunt. First, I am accosted by one of your maids and then physically attacked by Lord Swithun,” Lord Felling said, managing to appear highly affronted, as he rose to his feet and attempted to straighten his jacket.
When Dominic took a threatening step toward him, obviously eager to give Lord Felling a more thorough thrashing, Lord Felling quailed slightly.
“I don’t…I…Lawrence…” Lady Darwinkle’s hands fluttered through the air, like butterflies unsure where to land and she turned from one man to the other as if she were watching an exuberant tennis match.
“I don’t wish to insult Lord Swithun, but it seems he misconstrued the situation. He made assumptions and thought he was rescuing a damsel in need.” Lord Felling sidled along the wall, pretending haughtiness but watching Dominic carefully. “But I won’t spend another moment in his presence. I shall likely take my leave in the morning. I cannot stomach the thought of dining with anyone tonight. Have my supper sent to my room.”
“You will explain yourself now, sir. If you take one more step, I’ll strike you with this,” Georgiana warned. She brandished a fire poker that Mia hadn’t noticed earlier. Everyone stared at her in astonishment except for Lord Pritchard who gave an impressed nod of approval.
“What is the meaning of all of this?” Lady Swithun demanded, after silently ordering Georgiana to stand down with a flash of her eyes and casting the still fluttering and sputtering Lady Darwinkle a look of disdain.
“This maid…lured me into the servants’ staircase. She pretended she needed assistance.” Lord Felling quickly spoke up, obviously thinking revealing his narrative first would make it more creditable. “Once we were isolated, she attempted to entice me into a sordid arrangement. She hopes to improve her station here, Aunt. It seems she’s made a habit of such propositions. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried such tactics on Lord Darwinkle himself though I’m sure my dear and honorable uncle would never find himself so entangled.”
Dominic lunged at him again, but Lord Bingham and Lord Pritchard rushed forward to hold him back. Lavinia and Sylvia Darwinkle held their hands to their mouths, completely aghast. Edith and Georgiana glanced at each other, wide-eyed and stunned at Lord Felling’s accusations, while Venetia merely raised a skeptical eyebrow. Lady Darwinkle weakly fanned her face with her hand as she slumped against the wall.
“I confess I was tempted momentarily by her dubious charms – she’s very convincing. A lesser man may have agreed to her suggestion. But when I told her that I wanted no part in it, she attempted to persuade me further and when I refused again, she became enraged. She even bit me…like a feral dog!” He held up his index finger where teeth marks were evident. “I fear for all of your safety. Obviously, this disturbed young woman has need of a doctor, perhaps even an asylum.”
Dominic cursed violently before the assembled group all burst into speech at once. The Darwinkle sisters murmured to each other while they shook their heads and gave Mia pitying looks. Lord Pritchard seemed to have decided he no longer needed to prevent Dominic from pummeling Lord Felling and he himself might join him.
Mia knew that she hardly appeared to be respectable at the moment. Her hair had come out of its pins, her lace trimmed cap was lost, likely in the stairwell, and she could feel her bottom lip was swollen from the struggle. She likely had blood staining her mouth and couldn’t be certain if it was Lord Felling’s or her own. Young women had found themselves in the sanitarium for far less.
“Yes, well, I don’t…oh, Quinby, you’re here. You can manage all of this…uh, her. And where is Lord Darwinkle? I can’t imagine…” Lady Darwinkle waved in an overwhelmed fashion to her butler, Quinby, as he rushed to the scene. Mia had very little contact with the butler; he rarely spoke to the maids and preferred to communicate only through Mrs. Greaves. She had heard he was stern but not unreasonable, but she doubted Quinby would consider biting a guest as forgivable behavior no matter the consequences.
As the butler strode forward, attempting to effectively manage this situation while remaining differential to his betters who appeared to be ready to start a row again, Lady Swithun held up a staying hand.
“And what is the maid’s version of these events? Perhaps she can shed some light on this whole debacle.”
The Darwinkles and Quinby seemed fairly surprised that this would even be considered.
“Well? Is Lord Felling’s account accurate? Were you attempting to seduce Lord Felling in the stairwell of all places, and, when he repelled your advances, you bit a peer of realm?” Lady Swithun kept her voice blandly factual as if she were perusing the estate’s menus for the week.
“No, my lady.” Mia managed to push her voice through her dry throat. Dominic moved to stand by her side, but his presence wasn’t a comfort. She already felt exposed and defensive and now they wanted her to recapitulate the most terrifying and humiliating experience of her life with an audience, not one of whom was likely to be sympathetic.
“So you didn’t entice Lord Felling into the stairwell?”
“No, my lady.”
“Did you…bite him?” Lady Swithun grimaced slightly. It appeared that she thought the word ‘bite’ was vulgar but couldn’t think of an appropriate substitute.
“Yes, my lady.” Mia’s stomach roiled at the memory of his hand preventing her from screaming. It would take a great deal of tooth powder to wash the taste from her mouth.
“Because you thought he was going to take advantage of you?”
Mia’s lips quirked at her phrasing. It seemed her betters had to find a more delicate term for even the most violent of actions. “He did not state his intentions, my lady. But I wasn’t interested in discovering what his final aim would be.”
Lady Swithun raised a dark eyebrow at her pert answer and studied Mia for an assessing moment.
“So we must now decide who we are to favor in this impromptu trial. We have no other witnesses so it must come down to character.”
“You know my nephew!” Lady Darwinkle said, her mouth gaping at the thought of her darling relation’s version being in question. “He is the personification of courtesy and honor. And he’d never dally with a maid.”
The whole room erupted into chaos again, Dominic’s protest being the loudest. Quinby stood awkwardly in the corner, obviously unsure what his next action should be, while the ladies and gentlemen explained to their closest neighbor whose testimony was the likeliest truth. Dominic’s eldest sister urgently motioned for him to lean closer and while she was whispering in his ear, Mia took the opportunity to slip back through the servants’ door.
∞∞∞
“You’re leaving now?” Gossip had managed to wing its way to the kitchen, and Annie had raced to their shared bedroom, with Mrs. Vincent’s blessing, to discover what had truly occurred. “But it’s already nightfall! And it’s freezing. There could be all sorts of dangers. Like spirits. Or wild animals.”
“I’m no more frightened of them than anything I know is already under this roof.” Mia finished tossing her belongings haphazardly into her trunk. It had only taken her a few minutes. There was an inn only a f
ew miles away, and she’d refold her things more neatly once she secured a room for the night.
“Mrs. Greaves won’t pay your wages in any case. She’s quite irritated that this couldn’t have been quieted before the guests discovered anything was amiss. I think the other maids who left were given twice their due since they didn’t put up a fuss.” Annie gave a giggle as she sat down on her bed, her light gray eyes wide with amazement. “I can’t believe you bit him.”
“He deserved far worse, I assure you. I should have bitten his finger clean off.” Mia snapped her trunk’s buckles shut, pretending that she was as inwardly composed as her indifferent tone suggested. And truly, why should she be tearful and tense? She wasn’t certain Lord Felling would have gone as far as raping her and she had escaped without lasting harm. Most would think she should consider herself fortunate and that she should beg Quinby and Mrs. Greaves to permit her to stay.
Mia placed her bonnet over her tangled hair and tied the ribbons with still trembling fingers. “Where’s my pelerine? Oh, I’m already wearing it.”
There was a noise, and both women turned to see Dominic standing awkwardly outside the doorway. He stepped inside and seemed to fill the whole room…just as he had when Mia had first met him in the cottage. His hair was hopelessly mussed, and his evening jacket’s sleeve had been torn from its seam. He gave a sideways nod of his head to Annie who immediately leaped to her feet and slid past him.
“I turned to find you had disappeared,” Dominic said.
“I thought it best to go before there was further dissection of my character.” Mia jerked the trunk from the bed, refusing to look at him. She felt perilously close to tears again and knew that the slightest kindness from him would set them loose.
One Enchanted Summer Page 23