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Over the following weeks, couriers and letters came and went. Sophia didn’t completely follow the web of lies and falsehoods by which Nicole arranged her marriage, but Nicole informed her that they were spending the week leading up to the event with her husband’s family.
Rather than leave Sophia alone to tend the bride and her two sisters, they dressed Louise in simple, rough clothes as another maid. Nicole let her in-laws know that her youngest sister was staying behind with their dying father. Sophia had the dubious honor of tending to the bride.
The carriage ride was just as harrowing as the one before, but the distance proved long enough that the sun set before they arrived, to Sophia’s relief. As soon as they were washed from the travel, Nicole and Claudette hurried to join dinner.
“How can you stand it?” Sophia asked Louise once they left to eat with the family. The maids made their way to the basement kitchen for their own meal.
Louise shrugged. “It’s not so bad. I know I’m more comfortable with this than prancing around in a gown and bowing to all the wrong people.” She giggled at herself. “Nicole was so angry with me!”
“Nicole can hang herself.” Sophia muttered the curse rather than put any heat behind it. She hadn’t forgiven the woman and wouldn’t any time soon. “I’m sure you flattered everyone.”
Their conversation ended when they entered the earshot of other servants, switching to mundane things like cosmetics and mending clothing. Louise went into detail on the gown that Charles’ family were making for Nicole.
One of the men in the kitchen bumped up against Sophia and smiled as his gaze slipped down the front of her dress. “Pardon.”
“Of course. Henri, yes?” The same man had tripped over her at the previous gathering, distracted while examining her figure.
“Y-yes. I hope I didn’t offend.”
Sophia chuckled. “Not at all. Perhaps we’ll run into one another again. After my lady goes to bed?” Without her trusty dairy farmer, she was limited to drinking from Louise, a dangerous proposition. She’d been hoping someone would take an interest.
“Y-yes. T-thank you.” He hurried off and Louise couldn’t help but make a joke at his expense.
“I hope he doesn’t trip over his pants as he does his words.”
Sophia laughed and was echoed by a few of the women in the room.
“You don’t need me, do you?” Sophia asked Louise.
Between bites, she mumbled, “No.”
“I’m going to follow him.” She flashed her friend a bright smile that made Louise chuckle and then cough.
“Enjoy!” she managed to cough out.
“Thanks! I’ll see you later.” She headed in the direction Henri had gone. Before she found him, another maid crossed her path. Her stiff stance made her seem poised for a fight.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m looking for Henri. Is he this way?”
The maid relaxed and smiled. “Yes. He will be in the master’s chamber, preparing it for tonight.”
The idea of being in Charles’ room almost put her off the encounter entirely. Fortunately, by the time she reached that door, Henri opened it and stepped out.
“Oh, h-hello.”
“Hello.” She reached up and brushed his hair behind his ear. “Is there somewhere we can go?”
His nervousness evaporated. “Yes.” He took her hand and turned back to the stairs that had brought her here. Climbing another floor, he led her to what she presumed to be his room.
Opening the door, he held it for her to enter. She made a point of brushing up against him as she passed. His firm arms, hidden in a loose-fitted shirt, became clear. As did his tight behind. She almost palmed one cheek but hesitated until he followed her into the room and closed the door.
“M-m-may I?” He lifted a hand to her cheek, but Sophia had already stepped between his arms and set both palms against his buttocks.
“You may. In fact, you should. No, you will.” Her mind whirled through some of her more enjoyable sexual encounters. One man had taken charge of her, instructing her explicitly on what to do. It allowed her to give him exactly the pleasure he sought, which, in its way, gave her pleasure, too. Would Henri obey her commands? She would know very soon.
He tipped his head to hers, holding her cheek while he kissed her. His lips were nearly as firm as the rest of him, hard against her plump ones. She parted them to touch her tongue to his mouth.
Gasping, his jaw cracked for her, taking in her tongue and her saliva. If he’d been at all ambivalent before, the rush of pleasure from that would put any doubts to rest.
He murmured so softly even her extraordinary hearing couldn’t decipher the words. They weren’t stuttered, though. The longer he whispered, the more obvious it became that he’d left his speech impediment back with his modesty.
“Yes, Henri. That and more. Remove your clothes.” She stepped back and sat on the edge of his bed. While she rolled down her stockings, she watched him.
The shirt fluttered to the ground in seconds, but he stopped with his hands on the knot holding his pants up. His gaze locked onto the inside of her thigh, exposed by the stockings.
“Come. Kiss it,” she commanded, spreading her legs farther.
He sank to his knees and sealed his lips to her skin. With gentle suction, he teased to life every nerve running from her knee to her sex.
“Yes, Henri. Very good. Now here.” She pointed to the other thigh, her bare leg. Although distracted by his tongue and suction, she managed to pull the other stocking free.
Her breathing came in heavy pants when she pushed back on his shoulders. “Stop, stand.”
To her delight, he surged up. “Yes, Mademoiselle.” The honor made her heart flutter, too. She was certainly not a young lady, but he would obey her as though she were.
Taking hold of the cord holding his pants up and together, she pulled until they pooled on the floor. Pointing right at her nose, his cock dripped a single bead of moisture.
“Oh, yes.” She wrapped her hand around the base of his phallus and licked the wetness up, running her tongue over the head. She stroked him twice before closing her lips around him and sucking.
His quiet whispering began again, and she let him continue until she was happy with his firmness and length. He looked down at her and she noticed her bodice was still tied.
“Touch me,” she ordered, pulling at the lace to expose her breasts.
“Yes, thank you.” He knelt again, one hand on each breast. “May...”
Rather than let him ask, Sophia gripped his hair and pulled him to her left breast.
He dropped his hand and latched onto her nipple. Sucking on it, he also flicked his tongue in a way that made her toes curl.
Lost in the pleasure of his kiss and touch, Sophia forgot the free hand he had lowered. Henri shifted until his thumb was running up her inner thigh and brushing the curly hair covering her sex.
When she grabbed his wrist, he stopped, his lips breaking from her nipple.
“Kiss me here.” She shifted back, planting her feet on the edge of the bed and spreading her knees wide.
Dropping down to all fours, he used the same suction against her inner labia, tongue flicking and licking at her swollen bud.
“Yes, yes.” She touched her fingertip to her clit, pulling up on it and making her clench.
His finger covered hers and she pulled her hand back, holding her shaking thighs to keep them open.
He rubbed her for a few moments, until she had a better idea. “Suck here.” She tapped his finger. “Fingers here.” She touched his chin.
Without pause, he sealed his lips on her throbbing nub and plunged two fingers into her. As soon as he did, she started grinding on them, grinding against his face as her orgasm built.
He didn’t stop when she cried out, didn’t stop when she squirmed. His persistent fingers kept her coming until she had to push his head back.
“Stop, please. Stop. Oh, God, so good.” She cupped her hands over herself, rolling to her side.
He pushed up her skirt and laid a kiss on each of her round globes.
“Henri, take me, this way.” She planted on hands and knees, waiting for him to grasp her hips.
He did as instructed and thrust into her, sending her cheek to the sheet. It felt like her arms had just folded under the weight. Weight wasn’t the problem. Her impulses were all focused on the cock spreading her wide, fucking her slowly and deeply. Balling her fists full of rough cloth, she arched her back and leaned into him.
“More. Faster.”
Ever compliant, Henri picked up the pace, his cock rubbing her already stimulated pussy until she clenched around him. Another orgasm tore through her, making her buck and grind even while he fucked.
Following her release, she relaxed back against the sheets, but he still held onto her hips. After a brief pause, he began a slow and steady rhythm again.
“Oh, fuck me. Fuck, yes.” She swayed on her knees, pleasure building again. “Come in me, Henri. Come with me.”
He didn’t, not then, but a few minutes later, when she thought she might start tearing up the sheet in her hands, he groaned, and leaned over her back. “Cherie,” he whispered into her ear as his cock pulsed. “Thank you.”
“Thank you!” she argued.
He slid face down on the bed beside her, his knees hanging from the edge to the floor. “Now, a little rest, then back to work.”
Sophia wrinkled her nose. The last things she wanted to do right then was prepare Claudette for the night.
“We have a few moments still,” he assured her. “They will be having drinks.”
She relaxed and leaned to the side, into Henri. “Let’s enjoy the little while we have.”
“Agreed.”
***
A few days later, the morning of the wedding, Claudette surprised Sophia with a request. “Sophia, I need your help.” Claudette gazed into the mirror, her creased forehead reflected.
“I am your maid, Claudette. I think that’s my job.” She continued to brush the woman’s fine, fair hair.
“I fear you might change your mind when you hear what I need.” She took a deep breath, breasts rising and falling in her fine gown. “I have been trying to gain Lord Jean-Pierre’s attention since he arrived. He seemed interested at first but hasn’t approached me since then. He’s not too high in status and seems a good man. I don’t know what to do and was hoping I could use you to...lure him?” She shook her head, hair falling out of Sophia’s hands. “Lure him, like you’re bait in a trap. Forget I said anything.”
Sophia grinned and picked her hair and pins up, setting about arranging it. “I think I understand, Claudette. Is there a reason you waited until now to ask me?”
“I hoped, in all the festivities, we might have a better chance of doing something that wouldn’t be immediately noticed.” Nicole had given Claudette one of their mother’s necklaces to wear for the wedding and she toyed with the pendant, twisting it between her fingers. Sophia tried to remember ever seeing her fidget before.
“The wedding feast is a good time. Now I have an idea that you might not like. Stay by his side and make sure he drinks heavily. As the night progresses, I will try to lure him away from the party. Once I have him alone, I will indulge his fantasies and drink enough from him to leave him in a stupor, or even better unconscious. Then I bring him here, you lie with him, and we have Nicole or Louise bring one of his female relatives by looking for you.”
Claudette’s eyes widened in alarm at the mention of drinking his blood, but she nodded as more and more of the plan came together. “Yes. That is exactly what I was hoping for. Why do you need me to stay close through the feast?”
“So he won’t be surprised when he wakes with you. If we get him drunk, he might forget me entirely. You know, it would be simpler if you invited him to your bed.”
She gasped and her hand flew from the necklace to her mouth. “I couldn’t! I wouldn’t know what to do, and he could hurt me, couldn’t he?”
Sophia put the last pin in place and leaned on the vanity to regard her lady. “You are so different from your sisters, both. Nicole has no shame, no fear, and Louise is adventurous, but you just want a simple quiet life.
The other woman nodded. “Yes, and since Father died, that hasn’t seemed further away. Do you think he will honor our marriage if he wakes to it in surprise?”
Sophia huffed. “I haven’t met many of the male guests, so I don’t know your Baron at all, but I think his mother or sister will hold him to it.” Standing straighter, she picked up the white powder from the vanity. “Now, let’s get you ready. Nicole will be likely to kill us both if you are late.”
As soon as Claudette was on her way to the church, Louise rushed in wearing one of Nicole’s gowns. “Sophia, help me. I want to go to the feast when they come back. Daniel’s here!”
Chuckling, she circled Louise, pulling the dress in places, finding threads she could use to tighten the skirt at her waist, shifting down the kirtle slightly to show off more of her cleavage. “Sit.” She pointed to the chair Claudette had used and the youngest sister plopped into it. “You are quite infatuated with him, aren’t you?” The brush flew in Sophia’s hands, rushing to get Louise ready in half the time she’d spent on Claudette. “Doesn’t he know who you are, that you should be at home?”
“I never told him.” Her eyes danced and her grin warmed Sophia’s heart. “That’s part of the fun!”
Sophia laughed and reached for the extra pins. “What will you tell those who wonder where you came from?”
Louise shrugged. “I don’t plan to stop dancing long enough to answer them.”
“Between you and Claudette, I think I’d best try to attend the feast. I hope the kitchen has a use for me. I want to see this.”
“Claudette? What about her?”
“She’s trying to snag a man as well. We are going to work together to bring him back here. In the morning, Nicole will bring his mother or sister to meet Claudette.”
“And he will have to marry her. Clever. I hope I don’t have to be so canny.”
Sophia smiled as she painted Louise’s lips. In minutes, she wouldn’t look anything like the maid that tended Nicole. “I expect you won’t. Your Lord seems quite taken with you.”
“Perhaps, but Claudette and I have little to offer. Nicole got the dowry.”
Sophia shook her head. It wasn’t the French words that confused her. “I never understood any of that property nonsense. You will be a good wife, that should be all they need.” Dusting off her hands she moved out of the way so Louise could see her reflection. “Go find Daniel, Louise. And be happy.”
Louise squeezed Sophia tightly, kissing her cheek and leaving a bright red mark. “And you. Please, find someone or something for yourself?”
She snickered. “I have no trouble finding men to make me happy. It’s much easier when you don’t worry about sullying yourself. I’m past the point of shame.”
“I don’t believe that. You’re just too strong to let others tell you who and what you are.”
Sophia remained standing there, staring at the place Louise had stood for several minutes after she descended to the feast and festivities. She had never thought about her strength, about being anything other than a vampire. In the last months, she had been something else, but a maid was hardly a position of strength either.
Claudette had come to her for help. Nicole had blackmailed her, but obviously trusted Sophia to keep her secrets. Could she be a lady like the others? No. She would never be able to sit and embroider or weave in a sunny sitting room. Where did a woman who worked at night go?
She gasped in epiphany. She could work as a prostitute. How had that never occurred to her before? They only worked nights and she could disguise her small bites as part of the sex. There was no place for such a profession here, in the country, in a duke’s home, but in a city? She could hide among many people, less noticed by each.
Giving herself a shake, she headed down the servants’ stairs to the kitchen. She could pursue that idea later. Right now, she needed to be aiding one sister, and keeping an eye on the other.
Finding Claudette and Jean-Pierre, Sophia moved closer with every intention of keeping his mug full. She could also catch his eye, in the event Claudette couldn’t lead him away.
“Pardon me.” Wine slopped over the side of her pitcher when a man collided with her. “Ah! More please!” He held out his cup and Sophia poured.
When he returned to his friends, Claudette had vanished. Searching the room, Sophia spied Nicole and despite being the bride and the center of this feast, the crowd around her had definitely thinned.
Elbowing around people, Sophia drew closer until her pitcher hovered over Nicole’s cup. “Claudette is planning to take Baron Jean-Pierre to her room tonight. If you could bring his mother or sister around in the morning—”
“They’ll be discovered. I will see it done. Never thought she’d take the initiative.”
“He made an impression on her, as has Louise’s beau.”
Nicole frowned. “Where is Louise?”
“Hidden.” Sophia stopped short of adding among the guests. Judging Nicole, that may have been for the best.
“Good. See that she stays there until I need her tonight.”
Sophia added tending Nicole to her list of chores for the night. “Where? Charles’ room?”
“No, he plans to come to my room.” She frowned into her mug. “The peace I’ve had the last few nights has been golden.”
“Reap what you sow,” Sophia muttered, expecting the words lost in the noise.
“Is that Sophia? Please tell me you’ll be in my wife’s room tonight.”
Sophia bristled, back straight at Charles’ voice. She held herself as any of these well-bred women would. “I will not.”
“Pity. Perhaps we should retire with you now.” Charles reached for her and she caught his hand in her free one.
“You will never touch me again.”
He smirked. “Is that so? I think I’ll be twice as rough to beat that notion out of you.” He tried to pull his hand back and she shifted her grip to his two largest fingers, snapping them like twigs.
“You fucking cunt!” he yelled, screaming in pain. “I’ll kill you.”
They’d drawn attention and Sophia knew she had to end this now or assure mutual death. “If you try, I’ll do the same to your dick. Yank your balls right off your body. In case you believe I can’t or won’t...” She grabbed his smallest finger and pulled, popping the bone from its socket.
He screamed again. “Get her out of here! I want her held until I can deal with her.”
Sophia stepped back, falling in with two other maids, and to all guests, she disappeared. Nicole took the opportunity. “Which one? Surely you will be forgiving today.” Despite dropping her voice, Sophia could hear the words lost to all others. “Pursue her and she will kill you.”
Charles huffed and turned on his bride. “I will claim you now. Perhaps that will improve my mood.”
So much for tending her. Charles would strip her to the skin before a maid could be summoned.
Nicole, flush with wine, paled. Silently, she followed Charles out.
Seeking Claudette, Sophia discovered Louise dancing with her Lord. His round, rosy cheeks and errant curls gave him a cherub quality. It left no question why the youngest sister had fallen for him. He was young, too, which could hamper turning their infatuation into something more. An older man might have more say in his bride.
If Claudette got her husband tonight, there was a possibility Louise could live with one of her sisters, as a spinster aunt. That required Sophia help the middle sister succeed in her endeavor.
Finally, she found them in a foyer, enjoying the cool breeze outdoors. Jean-Pierre held Claudette’s face in his hands. She wouldn’t need help or deception if things continued to progress in this direction. Lurking within view, she watched tentative kisses and light touches shared. Without wine, would he take her bait? Did they need to overcome his hesitation?
Hours ticked by, and Sophia followed the couple, at a distance, as they danced, snacked, danced again, and found a quiet corner to themselves. It was this last that turned her away. Claudette did not need her and Louise, still dancing, might.
The youngest sister had a flush to shame the bride, rosy cheeks and bright eyes more a result of her company than the contents of her cup. Sophia came close enough to fill that after watching the young man drain his.
“Thank you.” He held his mug out and Sophia filled it.
Bent over Louise’s, she asked, “Has he guessed who you are?”
“Shall we?” He took Louise’s hand and Sophia understood how she had spent two events with him and talked about nothing at all. Her vampiric nature would allow her to stay up and active all night without being aching in the morning. Louise, however, might not make it out of bed.
Thinking of beds, she turned a circle, searching for Claudette. Jean-Pierre held her hand and led her up the main staircase. Sophia raced up the back stairs to reach Claudette’s room before them. There would be no deception tonight, but the middle sister might need some help or prompting.
Light from the hall made a thin stripe along the floor as the door cracked open.
“Yes, Cherie, you are beautiful.”
“Please, slowly. I’m not experienced.”
“I understand, nothing to fear.”
The swath of light expanded, shadows of the couple stark within it. Sophia hadn’t lit the lamps and wouldn’t now. She did step closer, making her presence known by calling to Claudette.
“My Lady? Shall I help you out of your gown?”
Gasping, Claudette held her hand to her chest. If in surprise or modesty, Sophia couldn’t be sure.
Coming close enough to whisper, she told the other woman. “Relax. This is what you wanted. If he is to be your husband he will have to see you.”
“Let me help.” Jean-Pierre lifted Claudette’s skirt to roll down her stockings. She let out a little shriek. “Lovely legs, shapely.”
Sophia tried to work faster, but it seemed Jean-Pierre wasn’t inhibited, hauling the skirt up and over his head. Claudette let out more cries as he enjoyed himself there. Although she couldn’t see it, Sophia was certain he was kissing his way to her sex. That is, if he wasn’t there already.
“You smell wonderful, Claudette. Do you taste as sweet?”
Ignoring her squeals, Sophia worked the gown off and took the woman’s chemise with it. She stood in only the stockings caught on her shoes.
“Ah, yes.” Jean-Pierre took advantage of the exposed skin to cup and kiss Claudette’s breasts. Sophia used her speed to pull pins from the lady’s hair so she wouldn’t need to rise from the bed once she was in it.
“Are you finished?” he asked. “Can I take her now?”
“Pardon me. I have finished. Enjoy your night.”
Slipping out, she headed for the back stairs and found Louise.
“What are you doing here? You’re dressed like a lady!” Sophia hurried her on. “I guess I’ll need to get you ready for bed too.”
Louise, swaying as though she’d had too much to drink, waved her off. “I’m exhausted.” She yawned, her jaw cracking.
“Let’s get you out of here. People will ask questions if they see you.”
“I don’t care. Oh, Sophia, I think I’m in love!”
Sophia shook her head. She’d seen enough as a vampire to know that love wasn’t as eternal as some might like to think. “I’m sure you are.” She opened the door to the room they shared but didn’t light a lamp, stripping the woman in moments and ripping pins free.
“Ow!”
“Just hold on. I’m nearly done. There. Now go to sleep. In the morning, we’ll peel off that paint and you can be a maid again.”
Louise pouted, which Sophia could see clearly despite the dark. “I don’t know that I want to be a maid again.”
“You didn’t bring clothes for anything else.”
She deflated slightly, eyes drooping. “You’re right. But we’ll be leaving soon.”
“That’s right. Come now, sleep.”
She kept a tight grip on Sophia’s hand. “Stay with me?”
With a small sigh, she pulled free long enough to remove her dress. “You won’t want me tonight. I don’t have the right parts.”
Louise laughed, ending in a snort that made her laugh harder. “I guess not, but I do want someone to hold, to kiss, and you can do that as well if not better.”
Sophia scoffed. “Not better. Not if you are in love.”
Louise’s humor turned abruptly sour. “I haven’t made you jealous, have I?”
Chuckling, she pulled Louise’s head onto her breast, combing her fingers through her dark hair. “Not of your beau. Perhaps of you and how happy he makes you. I’ve come to a realization tonight.” Louise didn’t answer but calmed, yawning. “I will be heading to Lyon soon. There I can work nights and slake my thirst on the men who are willing to pay for me. I worry about taking too much from you.” Her next breath brought the rich scent of Louise’s perspiration, her blood beneath that, making her mouth water. “You need to sleep tonight. I’ll be taking my share from you tomorrow, though.” Still Louise didn’t answer and as she listened, Sophia recognized the slowness of her breath and pulse. Already asleep, Sophia felt no reason to stop her confession. “I do worry that you won’t find happiness with your love. That you’ll be alone with your less sympathetic sisters. Nicole gave me to her husband and they hurt me. I will never forgive her and can’t properly trust her with your well-being. Please, Louise, look after yourself and don’t let her keep you as her maid. You deserve happiness more than she does.”
Louise snuffled and started to snore a little. Reluctantly, Sophia eased herself out from under the sleeping woman. The first shots of pink could be seen on the horizon through their bedroom window. She would have to wake Nicole soon. She prayed Charles had gone back to his own room by now.
The kitchen was quieter than expected, the ovens baking bread with only one cook tending them.
“What are you doing awake? Didn’t you stay out all night? Everyone else has. I don’t imagine I’ll be serving anything before noon.” The portly woman shook her head.
Sophia chatted with woman about recipes and the benefits and drawbacks of sleeping during the day. She was chased out when the rest of the kitchen staff arrived.
Before she left, she asked for Nicole to have tea once it was prepared. Then she hurried off to wake the newlywed.
Dodging one window and the sunlight coming through it, she hurried on to Nicole’s room and opened the door. She closed it loudly when she didn’t see Charles inside.
“No! Please! No more!” Nicole started awake and clutched her sheet to her chest. “Charles?”
“No.” Sophia opened the curtain a crack, just enough to allow Nicole to see her.
“What are you doing here? Where is Louise? How early is it?”
Storming the bed, Sophia yanked the sheet off. As expected, Nicole was naked beneath, exactly as Charles had left her. Bright red marks on her ribs and legs writ large the events of the night before. “You must get up. I have tea on the way and then you have to take one of Baron Jean-Pierre’s relatives to Claudette’s room. They went to bed late, but he won’t slumber long.”
Nicole nodded and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Yes. I remember now. Will you prepare me?” She approached the vanity and Sophia swept past to bring shift and gown. “Where is Louise?” Nicole asked again. “You said she was hiding.”
“She was awake late into the night, as late as Claudette.” Once the gown was in place, Nicole sat while Sophia brushed and prepared her hair. She was just refreshing Nicole’s face paint when there came a knock at the door.
“I have tea?”
Sophia hurried to the door, opening it and accepting the tray. “Thank you.” The maid scuttled down the hall and back to the servants’ stairs. She carried the tray to the vanity and set it before Nicole.
“Hmm.” Nicole didn’t pick up the biscuit sitting beside the teapot and cup, pouring for herself instead. She pushed it farther away as she sipped the amber liquid.
“Do you need anything else?” Sophia itched to get out of the room and away from the eldest sister.
She set the cup down with a clink. “Yes. I need to know if either Baroness Jacqueline or Priscilla are up and about. I don’t want to wake anyone.”
Sophia nodded understanding. “I will return when I know.” In the hall, she had to dart around to avoid the sunlight that filled more and more of the corridors as morning progressed. Eventually she found another maid. “Can you show me to Baroness Jacqueline’s room?”
“I can.” She turned and headed back down the hall, making Sophia run the gauntlet again. The maid pointed. “This one. Good day.”
“Good day,” Sophia murmured to the woman’s back. Opening the door a crack, she peeked in. Baroness Jacqueline sat at her vanity and Priscilla, her daughter, lounged on the bed in her chemise.
“Yes?” the Baroness asked.
Sophia entered the room completely, closing the door behind her. Holding her head high, she delivered her message. “Lady Nicole would like to speak with you this morning. Can I tell her when you are available?”
“You may. I’ll be with her shortly. In one of the parlors?”
Bobbing a curtsy, Sophia assented. “The one in the west wing. We will await you there. Thank you, Madame.”
She slipped out the door and nearly ran to Nicole. “She will meet you in the west parlor.” Turning to walk away, Nicole tapped her elbow to stop her.
“You are still a maid, Sophia. I owe you much, but you can’t merely dismiss me like that.”
Her brow and lips both drew and tight in a grimace, and she looked over her shoulder at the woman who would hand her to a rapist. Nicole’s expression startled her and she cocked her head to the side. Rather than disdain, coldness or haughtiness, she found the woman regarded her as she would any other lady of the house. “I understand. Is there anything else you require?”
Nicole’s lips quirked on one side in an expression Sophia not only recognized but feared. “Yes. Linger outside Claudette’s room. Try to keep them from waking.”
Sophia’s own face mirrored Nicole’s, now that she could recognize it for merriment rather than mischief. “That I will. Excuse me.”
Claudette’s room wasn’t far, but Sophia had trouble finding a reason to stand around in the corridor. It also became more difficult as the sun through the windows lengthened to cover more and more of the floor.
“I’m looking for the woman I met last night. I must know who she is.” The masculine voice came from the bottom of the staircase on Sophia’s right and she tiptoed closer to hear a little better through the bustling that was picking up with the morning. “Has anyone left yet this morning?”
“Only the Marquis, sir.”
“Good. I will be in the foyer to bid farewell to the guests. Please ask the Duke to meet me there.” Her keen ears allowed Sophia to hear him walk away, in the direction of the main staircase and entrance. Turning her attention that way, she saw the approach of Nicole with Jacqueline and Priscilla alongside. She nodded once to Nicole before tucking herself farther out of the way in a corner of the hall.
Nicole didn’t knock before opening the door. “Claudette! I know you had an interest in—” She cut off in a gasp that was echoed by the two ladies.
“Mother!” Jean-Pierre shouted and Sophia moved to a spot where she could peek in. He clutched the covers to his crotch even as Claudette tried to bury herself beneath them.
Jacqueline released a long sigh. “You have sealed yourself, boy. I hope your bride proves as dignified as her sister. She certainly can’t get much less dignified than she is now.” She turned to Nicole. “I apologize, my dear. We will take our tea in the parlor until your sister is ready to join us.”
“That would be lovely. Would you give me a moment with her?”
The two women nodded to one another and left the room. Jean-Pierre seized his pants and stuffed his legs back into them. Claudette was bright pink down to her chest with tears watering her eyes.
“Sophia, close the door, please.”
Stepping inside, she complied, going to Claudette.
“There is no point in rushing now,” Nicole told Jean-Pierre. “Take a breath, give her another kiss, and then go.”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes.” He turned to Claudette, slowly peeling the blanket out of her fingers. “Fear not, my love. This will pass, and I’ll be with you again.” He put his lips to her forehead and Claudette seemed to melt. The color drained from her face, leaving its usual pallor, and the tension disappeared.
“I eagerly await that.”
He cupped her cheek. “And next time, I promise, there will be no pain.” Sealing his lips to hers, he pulled her to his chest and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Nicole cleared her throat.
“Yes,” Jean-Pierre agreed. “You must hurry. Maman hates to wait.”
Stealing away from the room, Nicole waited until the door shut again before laughing.
“Oh, my dear, you have done marvelously!” Nicole sat on the edge of the bed and hugged Claudette.
“I did? What?” She looked over her Nicole’s shoulder at Sophia who nodded.
“You are sealed. You’ll be wed to Jean-Pierre. It will have to wait until our return and the funeral, but it will come, I’m certain of it. Now only Louise is left on the precipice. How are you? Did it hurt very much?”
Pink filled Claudette’s cheeks again as she shook her head. “No, not very much. He...was eager to make amends for it.” The color progressed up and down her face with her embarrassment.
This time Sophia laughed. “Then you’ve found better than she did.”
Nicole scowled at both of them. “This wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t. I will pay for this every night I share his bed, so you might show some gratitude.”
Sophia put her hands on her hips. “She can be grateful. I have not received any compensation. Come, Claudette, let’s get you ready.”
The eldest sister rose, smoothed her skirts and turned to the door. “I’ll leave you to it and try to keep the ladies entertained until you arrive.”
Claudette grabbed her sister’s hands. “Thank you, Nicole.”
Nicole’s expression softened. “You’ve made this happen. I just gave you the social opportunity. I never expected you to do something so...brazen.”
“Come,” Sophia said again, clicking her tongue.
“Yes, yes. We need to hurry.”
By the time Claudette was on her way to the parlor, the sun filled the main corridors, leaving Sophia stuck in the back stairwells. Once again, she heard a man asking after those departing. She descended to the kitchen, his voice coming more clearly as she did.
“You’re sure that’s everyone?”
“I can only tell you what I know. Surely there are those upstairs that are more informed than me.”
Peeking around the banister, Sophia recognized the man running his fingers through already unruly hair.
“They can’t help me. If she hasn’t left, she will be at dinner tonight, I presume.”
Alas, he wouldn’t. Louise would eat here with the rest of the staff.
The servant’s shoulders dropped and he nodded. “Yes, m’lord. I have several guests staying the night and leaving tomorrow. Your lady will be among them, I’m sure.”
Climbing the stairs as silently as she descended, Sophia headed to the room she shared with Louise.
Louise roused when Sophia closed the door. “Hm? Morning?”
“Barely,” Sophia said rolling her eyes. “It’s nearly noon. You have missed much, sleepy-head.”
Yawning, Louise stretched. “Should I hurry? Does Nicole need me?”
“I have no idea. She and Claudette were taking tea with Jean-Pierre’s mother and sister.”
“Jean-Pierre?” Louise found her maid’s dress and pulled it over her head.
“Ah, yes, you were preoccupied with Daniel. He’s the one she lured into her bed where they were discovered.”
Louise had been yawning but it turned into a gasp. “Really? I mean, you’d mentioned it, but I never thought she’d go through with it.”
“She did, and my guess is that they will be betrothed before leaving, and we’ll have another wedding after the funeral.”
“Right, for Papa. We couldn’t have one. He isn’t even properly buried, just a shallow grave near the house. It’ll be good to move him to the churchyard.” Louise’s eyes fixed on her wringing hands.
Sophia dipped a cloth in their washbasin and wiped away the paint on Louise’s face. “All will be well. And if you have trouble moving him, I’ll do it after everyone is asleep.
Louise nodded. A tear slipping from the corner of her eye was lost in the cloth Sophia held. “He’s been buried so long, I shudder to think what remains.”
“How long?” Sophia held Louise’s gaze while dabbing at her lips.
“Over a year. Maybe two? Long enough for us to go through all the coin and most of the jewels.”
Sophia nodded. “We’ll take care of that.” Taking Louise’s hands, she searched for some good news to life her spirits. “Oh! Daniel is looking for you. He’s been keeping track of everyone leaving in the hopes of finding you. He believes you’ll be there at dinner tonight.”
“Really? Could I... No. If I show up at dinner, everyone will need to know who I am. What am I going to do?”
“You are going to go and tend Nicole and Claudette, just as you have every day we’ve been here. Then tonight, after dinner, we can dress you up again and you can say goodbye, or explain who you are.”
Louise’s shoulders slumped. “I can’t explain, and I don’t want to say goodbye. I might be able to see him again at Claudette’s wedding.”
Sophia brushed Louise’s cheek and kissed her. “That is wise. Now, as much as I’d like to keep you in bed a while longer, you will be needed.”
“Right.” Louise shook her skirt and straightened her back. “I’ll see you tonight.”
