Evie’s relationship with the marquess was becoming too close for comfort.
She made it home without being seen and was safely in her room before her aunt returned to see her. She almost forgot to feign an illness, but she managed to pull herself into bed in her clothes from that morning and, fortunately, the rush of it all had given her the perfect reddened complexion.
“You look terrible,” her aunt muttered upon entering. “Do make sure you are better by morning.”
“I cannot control my sickness, ma’am.”
“You will do as you are told. It has been bedlam here without you today.”
“But Francesca was meant to help.”
“Yes, and she is not as efficient as you. One does not need to work as hard when they do not owe as much as you do. You are not expecting me to blame Francesca for this, are you?”
“No,” she replied weakly, “of course not. I was only trying to say that I am surprised that today has been so difficult. I did not mean for that to happen, and you have my sincerest apologies.”
“I do not want words. I want actions. I expect help from you tomorrow. Am I clear?”
“If the girl is sick, then she is sick,” her uncle said suddenly from the hallway, though he did not enter. “It is no use forcing her to be out of her room if she is not up to the task. It will only take her longer to recover.”
“That does not signify. I need her.”
“Then give her time. If you continue with this, she will not be at her best. You do want your maids to be at their best, do you not?”
Her aunt curled her top lip up, though she did not make any noise to indicate her feelings.
“Very well.” She sighed before turning to leave. “But the second that you feel better, I expect you to make up for this.”
“Of course, ma’am.” She nodded, breathing a deep sigh of relief when her aunt had left.
Soon enough, Francesca and her mother arrived, both of them glowing and both of them looking very demanding, indeed.
“You must tell us everything,” Francesca whispered. “The countess is nearby, practically stalking the hallways, but I cannot wait until she retires to her bedchambers. I must know now.”
“It was wonderful.” Evie sighed wistfully. “It ended abruptly because I saw my uncle, but other than that, it was almost magical.”
“Because of the marquess?”
“Because I was outside,” Evie huffed. “The paintings were truly magnificent, and even when we were simply outside, the sunlight felt different somehow.”
“That, my dear,” Rose said with a smile, “is because it was truly freedom that you had, and you were not outside simply because you had to do work there. It is beautiful, is it not?”
“It was incredible. It was something that I have so missed for the last while without even knowing it.”
“And, of course,” Francesca said as she nudged her, “the marquess was there.”
Evie knew that she could only hold her friend off for so long.
“Yes,” she said with a gentle laugh. “The marquess was there.”
“Was he equally as wonderful?”
“He was the perfect gentleman to accompany me during my visit. He is easy to talk to, and understanding of my situation. I can hardly ask for more than that.”
“You could always ask for another outing.”
Evie rolled her eyes at her, nudging her.
“I have already tempted fate once. I do not wish to do it a second time, as I might not be so fortunate. Besides, I have caused enough strife today.”
“What do you mean? I handled your work easily. It is impressive what can be achieved when you have a good reason to do something. I even finished early.”
“That is not what my aunt said. She told me that you struggled, and I had to recover so that I could make up for it.”
“That is because she is angry.” Rose chuckled. “She was unable to tell you what to do all day, and it will have infuriated her to no end. Believe me, everything has been perfectly fine today.”
“Well, I suppose I would see him again, should the opportunity arise, but only so that I might see some of the world. I have no other intentions besides that.”
“To be sure,” Francesca agreed, though she was smirking. “We ought to leave you be now. I would not wish to disturb someone who is so terribly unwell.”
Evie smiled, faking a cough, and the two ladies left her alone. Lying in her bed, she wondered whether or not the marquess would want to see her again. She hoped so; she had left him very suddenly and had not been able to apologize for it.
Fortunately, she did not have to wait long to have her answer.
The following morning, she was awoken by Francesca clearing her throat, standing over her, and holding out a note.
“You need not worry,” she explained. “I have taken the liberty of reading it for you. It is from the marquess. He wants you to meet him at the Thames this weekend. I believe there is an event of sorts.”
Evie, still in a haze from her sleep, rubbed her eyes and blinked at her. She took the paper from her, eyebrows furrowed.
“Francesca, you know it is not right to read letters meant for another.”
“There was no name on it. Only a folded piece of paper was given, but once I read it, I knew it was meant for you.”
“I see.” She nodded, reading the words over and over.
He wanted to see her the following day, as there was a sailing event. In his words, he had been to a gallery with her, and it was her turn to repay him and follow one of his passions. The opportunity to see him again had arisen, and all she needed to do was see him there, and yet…
“I cannot,” she whispered.
“Oh, but you must,” Francesca smirked. “You told us that if he ever wished to see you again, you would do so.”
“I said I would consider it,” she corrected her. “And, considering that my aunt is already angry with me, I cannot go. It is too large a risk. Could you imagine what would become of me if I were recognized?”
“I cannot see that happening. Your aunt and cousin cannot stand water.”
“No, not after that one incident with the bath. You know, it was the one time I pitied Imogen.”
“So they shall not be there, and the ton will not care at all about who you are if you are dressed as a maid. I do not mean for that to hurt your feelings, of course.”
“No, of course not. Well, I would very much like to attend. It is the right thing to do, given that he took me to Somerset House.”
“So do it. It all worked out well for you last time, did it not? You might as well do it a second time. What have you got to lose?”
“My job,” Evie quipped, but she was smiling. “Very well. I shall be of help today, though.”
“Certainly not! If your aunt knows you have recovered then she shall not believe it tomorrow when your sickness returns. Take the day for yourself.”
“But that is not fair on you.”
“It is what I want. It is what we all want. You deserve this, and you know that you do.”
“But—”
“I shall not hear another word. Take the day to do as you please, possibly rest before tomorrow. You shall need it after all that has happened of late.”
As Francesca left, Evie realized that she did, indeed, need to rest. Her body was exhausted, and now that she had finally allowed herself to stop, she had crumbled altogether.
***
She did not know, the following morning, how her aunt felt about her missing another day of work; she was gone before she saw her. Rose had promised to show the countess a strange mark that had appeared on a wall in order to make a distraction, and it seemed to have worked. The ride was enjoyable, possibly because, for once, she had slept adequately, and when she arrived, she realized that Francesca was right.
Nobody cared to look in the direction of a maid.
“Good morning, my lord,” she smiled as they met. “I trust that your journey was pleasant.”
“In truth, I would have preferred to have ridden myself rather than sat in a carriage. It is a terribly warm day.”
“I certainly enjoyed the ride.” She nodded. “The breeze in my hair felt exquisite.”
“And yet there is not a hair out of place. How do you do it?”
“I am certainly not one to ask for advice pertaining to fashions, my lord.”
“I would not ask if I did not trust your judgment,” he replied with a smirk, and she felt her heart beat a little more strongly than usual. She pushed the thought aside.
“So,” she continued, “you wanted me to come with you today?”
“Yes. I must admit, I had no idea whether or not such a thing would interest you, but I was hoping that my insistence that you make it up to me would help, and it appears to have done so.”
“You only succeeded because it is the one sort of event that my family would not attend. My aunt hates the water because of something that happened a few months ago.”
“Oh? Might you enlighten me?”
“It was Lady Imogen,” she explained. “She had been at a ball all night, and she had insisted on bathing alone as she always does. She fell asleep and slipped under the water. She was perfectly fine, but now she is terrified of it, and in turn, so is my aunt.”
“I can see why. Then again, there are people less deserving of such a thing to happen to them.”
“You may dislike them, but they are still my family,” she warned him. “Besides, you might want to stay on their good side if you wish to continue sneaking into their household.”
“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose I ought to wise up and act right.”
Evie eyed him carefully. She had been trying to make him reveal something about his intentions, but he seemed determined to deflect until that moment.
“What are your intentions with me, my lord?”
He seemed to freeze up, as though she had caught him doing something he should not have been. He always seemed to have an answer for everything, but he had fallen silent.
“I enjoy your company,” he replied after a while. “If you were to ask me for my exact intentions, I couldn’t possibly tell you, for I do not have any. All I know is that I like you a great deal, and you interest me greatly, which not many can do.”
“And why is it that I interest you? It is not as though I have led some great, exciting life that fascinates and inspires. I am simply me, some maid in some household.”
“That is just it. There are no pretenses with you, and you treat me as though I am any other person. There are not many that can do that.”
“My father insisted upon it,” she explained. “Some people enjoy being seen as greater-than, but those are not the sort you would want to keep company with. It is those that want genuine connection that you want to keep close, few and far between as they may be.”
“Your father was a wise man.”
“I had always thought as much, yes.”
“Do you miss him?”
“Every day. I wake up each morning and I feel as though I will leave my bedchambers and he will be sitting in the drawing room waiting for me. He never is, of course.”
“I do the same thing, you know.”
“I thought eldest sons were supposed to clamor for the day they can claim their title. My uncle certainly did, at least.”
“He is an exception, especially when we do not feel prepared for it. That is to say, one is never prepared for it. I feel as though he always knew exactly what to do, and I cannot seem to get that right. It is perhaps a sign that I am not meant to have the role in the first place.”
“Or perhaps it is simply growing pains?” she suggested gently. “I believe you said your father passed quite recently. Taking on a role such as yours takes some time, and I assure you that you are doing perfectly fine if you have not been stripped of your title.”
“Sometimes, I wonder if it would be better if I did have the damned thing taken from me. I cannot be the man that my father was, and I miss that part of him terribly.”
“Well, soon enough, you will learn what to do. You are being unkind to yourself. Give yourself time, and everything will fall into stride eventually, I assure you.”
“You speak as if you have experienced the same thing.”
“As a young lady who became a servant when her father died, I can understand how you are feeling, simply on a smaller scale.”
“When you say that it makes me feel dreadful for being upset about my own situation.”
“You mustn’t! My experiences do not negate yours. I only mean to say that I understand how you are feeling.”
“You do, and I think you might just be the only person I have ever met that does.”
That familiar, comfortable silence fell over them again, and they simply enjoyed the event for the rest of the day. It was enjoyable, though Evie had never really been on boats, and she adjusted to the rocking motion rather quickly. It felt as though the day had passed far too quickly because just as she felt ready to ask the marquess about his brother, everyone began exiting the boats.
“I shall accompany you back,” he informed her.
“There is no need,” she replied quickly. “My uncle almost saw us last time, and it meant that I could not give you a proper goodbye. It is perhaps better that we say our goodbyes now, so that we are able to actually do them.”
“Very well,” he replied, though he seemed disheartened by it. “Until next time, Evie.”
“Until next time, my lord.”
With a curtsy, she hurried away to her horse and rode away. She had escaped once more, and had not been seen as far as she was aware, and she knew that she could not continue tempting fate as she did, but she wanted to. She liked the marquess; he was the only genuine man that she knew and she had to cling to it.
As long as he was being genuine, of course.