by Rebecca King
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she replied smoothly trying to appear completely disinterested.
She was convinced she was in the right. Jerry had seemingly encouraged her endeavours toward getting Aidan to eat something more substantial than toast and a few mouthfuls of cake here and there.
Edward’s didn’t know this, though, and persisted with her attempts to threaten Petal to stay away.
“You are the maid, nothing more. A little scrubber. Just remember that.”
“And you are the nurse, nothing more. Just remember that,” Petal replied coldly. “He has no interest in you either. In spite of your obvious attempts to elevate your standing within this household. You are merely an employee, just like the rest of us.”
“Shut up!” Edwards breathed through clenched teeth. “Believe me, when I tell you that you do not know who you are messing with, I mean it.”
Petal ignored her profound sense of vulnerability and squared her shoulders. Neither Mrs Kempton, nor Rollo, had hidden the fact they didn’t trust the woman before her. It was doubtful she would get into trouble for refusing to be bullied by Edwards, and standing her ground. With this in mind, Petal straightened her shoulders militarily, and looked Edwards’ square in the eye.
“Or what? You have no authority over anybody. You should watch who you threaten. Rollo has already threatened to call the magistrate if you lay a hand on any of the staff again, and that includes me.”
“I am warning you now that if you challenge me, you will regret it. You will see, my position here is guaranteed. It is only a matter of time before I am moved upstairs where I belong. When I am, it won’t be long before I am mistress of this house and then you shall be sorry. Not only do you need to remember your position in this house, but I shall make sure you are deemed completely unemployable once you leave. You shall be sent packing without references.”
Petal snorted inelegantly but, before she could say anything, the faint jingle of a bell rattled in the kitchen.
“It’s for you. The master wants you to fetch another tray for him.” It was evident from the disparaging tone in Edwards’ voice just how menial she felt this job was.
“Then I shall do so and gladly because he should be in a sorry state without food and drink to wash down the Laudanum he doesn’t know you keep giving him.”
The pointed look she gave the nurse made Edwards’ face blush, but Petal suspected it didn’t have anything to do with guilt. Anger flared in the woman’s cold grey eyes to the point that Petal wondered briefly if she was actually going to strike her. Before a hand could be raised, she hurried out of the room and took to the servants’ stairs without a backward look.
She was deeply shaken by the venom behind the altercation. It was unnerving to think that she had been subjected to that level of hatred, but had done nothing to the woman to deserve the venom other than defend herself against the unfair accusations being levelled on her.
Once in the hallway upstairs, she took a moment to compose herself. Relishing the precious silence that enveloped her, she leaned her head against the wall and willed herself to keep the tears at bay.
For the first time since she had entered the house she truly began to wonder whether she would be able to keep her job after all. It was disconcerting to think that it wasn’t likely to be due to any mistake she had made. Or the master’s displeasure with something she had done. It would be down to another servant’s determination to elevate her standing within the household.
She wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.
Wiping away her tears, she jumped when Rollo left the master’s bedroom.
“Oh, there you are. I was just ringing for you,” he said as he walked steadily toward her.
He frowned at something over her shoulder.
Petal turned to see what it was and gasped when she saw an upended plant sitting to one side of the hallway at the far end, its contents strewn everywhere.
“That wasn’t there earlier, I swear it,” she protested as she walked toward the mess.
Rollo followed her. “Just clean it up. Before you do, would you do something for me?”
Petal looked at him.
“Don’t mention it to anybody.”
Their eyes met. She knew then that he suspected Edwards was the culprit. She nodded.
“I will tell the master that you are on your way. He is awake again and wants you to read to him.”
She nodded and felt a now familiar flurry settle deep in the pit of her belly. Inwardly, she was thrilled at the special arrangement they had. Not only did it fulfil her love of reading but she got to spend some time with rather dashing a new master of the house. While she knew it was foolish in a way to encourage the burgeoning affection she felt toward him, as long as she continued to remind herself that nothing could, or ever would, come of it then what harm would it do? He would soon be on his feet and able to move about a bit more freely. Then he wouldn’t need her to read to him. After the events of the afternoon, that day wouldn’t be too far away.
She quickly cleaned up the mess on the floor and was tidying away when Edwards swept past laden with a heavy tray full of the master’s dinner.
“Seeing as you are busy, I shall serve Aidan his dinner,” she smirked.
Petal watched her go, but voiced no objection. As soon as Edwards had disappeared from sight, Petal lifted the plant off the dresser and took it down to the library. She placed it carefully on a side table out of the way and returned to the kitchen.
It was hard to ignore the slightly bereft feeling she felt at being denied the opportunity to read. However, what disturbed her more was the realisation that her disappointment had more to do with not being able to spend more time with the master than the written word.
“Get back to work,” she ordered herself.
“What’s that?” Aggy asked from the doorway.
Petal looked at her friend. “I have brought you a new plant. It keeps being knocked over upstairs. Make sure you keep it away from Edwards.” She frowned at the foliage. “It needs some tender loving care.”
“What’s wrong?” Aggy followed her curiously when Petal didn’t answer.
The scullery had rapidly turned into their favourite place to chat. Unfortunately, their conversation was postponed by the small bell Mrs Kempton rang announcing their dinner. Aware that the one thing the housekeeper refused to accept was tardiness at meal times, both girls suspended their conversation and hurried into the kitchen.
Petal had only just sat down when the jangle of the bell broke the quiet.
“The master wants you again,” Mrs Kempton called.
Petal groaned theatrically to try to hide her delight.
“Crickey, Petal,” Aggy replied in astonishment. “I don’t know why you don’t just take up position outside of his door.”
“That’ll do,” Mrs Kempton scolded.
Petal sighed and studied the pie longingly. It smelled divine. She realised then she hadn’t eaten for the better part of the day. With her stomach rumbling, she hurried off to answer the summons. It was only when she was upstairs that she realised Aidan probably wanted her to read to him still. With a sigh, she let herself into the room.
“I thought I told you to deliver my food,” Aidan announced as soon as she entered.
Petal hesitated and glanced at Rollo. “I was busy clearing up a mess in the hallway. Edwards appeared with the tray and brought it in before I could stop her. Why? What’s wrong?”
She studied the untouched tray of food but couldn’t see anything wrong with it.
“I am not eating anything that blasted woman brings up here. She isn’t to touch any of my meals, Petal,” Aidan reported.
“I am sorry,” she replied.
“I told you not to say sorry,” Aidan retorted.
Petal sighed and wondered what had happened to put him in such an irritable mood. Rather than speak out of place she remained quiet and picked the tray up.
“I will fe
tch you a new one.”
“The master wants you to read to him. I will fetch him some more food,” Rollo announced in his usual no-nonsense manner, and relieved her of the tray.
When Aidan remained quiet, Petal sat in the chair beside the bed.
“Where is Edwards?” Aidan asked.
Petal shrugged. “I don’t know. The last time I saw her, she was coming in here.”
“Keep her out of this room.”
“It is not my place to tell the woman what to do,” Petal countered, fully aware of Edwards’ reaction should Petal try to issue her orders.
Aidan eyed the worry hidden in the depths of her eyes and suspected there was something she wasn’t telling him.
“What is it?” He said, keeping his voice soft and non-threatening in an attempt to get her to confide in him.
“Nothing. You just need to get Rollo to do things like that. I am just a maid around here, and Edwards knows it.”
Aidan suspected that there had been some kind of altercation between the women again. He rather suspected that if he pushed, Petal would just deny it.
Making a mental note to ask Rollo about it later, he lay back against the pillows and listened to her read.
The following morning, Aidan eyed the tray full of breakfast waiting beside his bed hungrily. It was the first time he had ever felt the need to eat and eagerly sat up. He didn’t know why Petal hadn’t seen fit to wake him but, thankfully, the meal was still warm. Helping himself, he dug in.
At first, he was focused on assuaging his hunger. But then the strange taste began to filter through the delicious flavour of the bacon, ham, and eggs. The meal didn’t quite taste as it should do, and certainly wasn’t up to Mrs Kempton’s usual standards. It wasn’t that the meat was off or anything. He knew instinctively that his trustworthy housekeeper would be horrified to serve an old piece of meat. That’s what it tasted like.
Or did it?
He frowned absently at the fire while he chewed.
No, the food was just heavily peppered that was all.
Or was it?
He studied his fork and sniffed its contents, but couldn’t detect any aroma past the heavy scent of ham. He placed it back onto his plate and felt his stomach begin to churn. It wasn’t that he was going to be sick; he just realised that he had eaten something laced with Laudanum and it was too late to do anything about it. The room began to darken as a thick fog descended.
“Damn you, Edwards,” he snarled.
Rather than climb out of bed and ring the bellpull as he wanted to do, he lay down. He had no choice. The room swirled, and his eyelids grew too heavy to fight.
Seconds later, he was fast asleep.
An hour later, he was blissfully unaware of the silent figure that crept back into the room and removed the tray.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Later that night, Petal crept into the master’s bedchamber to complete her final chore of the day in an attempt to avoid any further confrontations. She wasn’t keen on giving Edwards another opportunity to accost her unless she absolutely had to.
Besides, she wasn’t in any fit state to argue with anybody. She was tired and hungry because she had missed dinner this evening. It wasn’t that she minded reading to Sir Aidan, far from it, but she was now starving and felt out of sorts.
Her personal discomfort was immediately forgotten when she entered the room. It quickly became evident that something was dreadfully wrong. The master was thrashing around on the bed, bathed in sweat, and mumbling incoherently beneath his breath.
Petal hesitated. She knew that Rollo should be informed but something made her hesitate. When Aidan cried out and began to tug ineffectually at the sheets, she hurried toward the bed instead. She was no nurse but had recently started to doubt that Edwards was either, and Rollo had already retired for the night.
“It is alright,” she soothed.
Aidan fought the thick fog that threatened to suck him under. He could hear her; the woman who was hidden within the swirling shadows. But he couldn’t see her; Petal. Where was she? He tried to call her, but couldn’t manage anything more than a mumble.
“It’s alright,” she murmured gently as she stroked his sweat-bathed hair away from his face.
“Try to wake up for me,” she coaxed when he didn’t immediately respond.
She frowned and sensed there was something abnormal about his inability to wake up. A glance around the room revealed nothing untoward, but she knew, deep inside, that something was amiss.
“Aidan, can you hear me? Come on, wake up for me,” she demanded gently but firmly.
“Petal?” he croaked as he fought to open his eyes.
Aidan was so very thirsty and physically trembled. He felt as though he had just run a long distance but that was a ridiculous notion because he was lying down.
“Can you open your eyes?” Petal prompted. Thankfully, he had stopped thrashing about, but she still wasn’t convinced he was alright.
“Petal?” Aidan fought the thick swirling mists that threatened to suck him under, and latched onto Petal’s voice. He knew that if he could just reach her, everything would be alright.
“I am here. It’s alright.” She touched his forehead, but he didn’t feel as though he had a fever.
What’s wrong with him?
She wished she had some sort of training to be able to know what to do.
“Petal?”
When Aidan finally did manage to open his eyes, he found himself staring deeply into Petal’s eyes. Something shifted between them. The swirling fog immediately receded, and his room came into focus. Staring at her as though she was manna from Heaven, he reached up to touch her, entranced by the sight of his fingers moving against his cheek.
“Are you alright now?” she asked softly.
He nodded but still looked so lost and confused that she couldn’t deny him anything he asked of her.
“What happened? What took you so long?” he grumbled. He knew he had been waiting for her, but she hadn’t turned up like she was supposed to. “Why didn’t you come?”
“I was busy in the kitchen,” she replied gently.
“What?” Aidan asked with a frown.
“It is breakfast-time. I was helping Mrs Kempton get your tray ready,” she said gently.
“But I have had breakfast,” he said, his frown deepening.
Petal studied him and wondered if he had any awareness of what day it was.
“I was waiting for you to come back,” he murmured. “I was waiting for you to come to read to me.”
She looked at him blankly. Now that she came to think about it, he had been asleep a lot over the last couple of days.
“What do you remember?” she asked with a frown.
He scowled as he tried to recall what he had done. “I ate breakfast.”
Petal tensed. “And?”
“Nothing else,” he replied thoughtfully. “I don’t remember anything else.
“Can you remember what you ate?” she whispered.
“Ham, eggs, some toast.” He gave her a chastising look. “You should have woken me when you delivered it. It was nearly cold.”
Petal was already shaking her head. “I didn’t deliver it,” she informed him.
Aidan studied her. “But when I woke up, it was there, right beside me.”
Petal wondered if he was a little confused because of his dream, or whether there was something else going on.
Aidan eyed the moistened curve of her lips hungrily. His fingers tightened around hers, holding her steady in case the fog swallowed her up again like it had moments earlier. His gaze remained locked on hers as he tugged her closer.
“What is it? Would you like some water?” Petal asked with a frown.
She dutifully leaned forward, expecting him to tell her what he needed. As she did so, she eyed the bell pull and wondered if she should call Rollo because something was decidedly wrong with the master.
“Aidan?” she prompted when his eyes rov
ed over her face, and he didn’t answer her.
“I like it when you call me Aidan,” he whispered.
She smiled.
“I want you to,” he replied. “Call me Aidan.”
When she didn’t speak, he tugged her closer.
“Say it,” he prompted again.
When she was leaning over him as far as she could go, temptation got the better of him. Sweeping one long arm around her waist he swept her off her feet, rolling her over until she was beneath him.
Petal gasped. Her eyes widened as she pushed instinctively against his chest.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice pitifully weak.
Rather than reply, Aidan captured her lips with his. The kiss was no gentle persuasion, though. With the barriers of proprietary temporary lowered, he plundered the way he truly wanted to. There was nobody around to stop him.
This was something he had wanted from the first moment he had set eyes on her in his hallway. Nothing and nobody was going to stop him tasting those tempting lips.
A wild flurry of excitement swept through her only partly tempered by the scandalous way this felt. Lost in the strange and unusual feel of his lips against hers, Petal had little choice but to cling onto his broad shoulders. It was clear that he was too heavy to push away, even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. She wanted this. It was wrong because he wasn’t well; or was he?
Had he just been having a bad dream? Or, as she suspected, had Edwards given him Laudanum?
She tried to pull away, but even slumberous he was too strong for her. Even if she wanted to fight him off, she just couldn’t bring herself to. Curiosity propelled her onwards, and she began to mimic his caresses. He shifted a little until he lay fully over her. She tried to stop him but he was too heavy, and her lips were rather blissfully busy.
Ensnared in a sensual web he had so expertly woven over her, she couldn’t summon the strength, or the will, to deny either of them and began to return the kisses with equal fervour. Although she would never admit it to another living soul, this was what she had dreamed of since the moment he had been carried through the door. It was everything she had ever imagined in all of her girlish fantasies and more. But this was real. He was real. He was strong, courageous, and so incredibly kind. She simply swept aside all of her concerns and savoured the moment. She knew it was highly unlikely she would ever get another chance to experience this kind of affection from him, and wanted to explore Aidan’s embrace while she had the opportunity.