High Stakes Chattel (20 page)

Samantha really looked at him for the first time and realized he was absolutely right. John was handsome and sweet. She’d be lucky to have him. Too bad her heart was already taken.

“Yes, I will think on that,” Samantha said gently, giving him a hug. Then she turned and left the barn, heading to her room to pack to go home.

All too soon, she’d gathered up her meager belongings and had no excuse to linger. With a sigh, she put her bag by the door and then went to Nico’s lab, knowing there was no use putting this off.

She opened the door, smiling at the sight of him bent over his worktable, so intent on what he was doing that he didn’t seem to have heard her come in. This is how she’d always think of him, concentrating on making the world a better place. Perhaps she could content herself with the fact that he would surely go on to do great things and save many lives.

“I’m leaving now,” she finally said quietly.

He took off his glasses and gloves and came over to her. “I have something for you.” He picked up an envelope from the desk and handed it to her. “This should be enough money to make sure your mother is comfortably taken care of for as long as it takes,” he said, rubbing her arm gently. “If you need more, don’t hesitate to ask.”

She held the envelope tightly, touched and embarrassed. She hated accepting his help, but this money, which she knew was nothing to him, meant everything to her. “Thank you, Nico,” she whispered, her voice choked with tears. “For giving me the chance to give my mother the best possible care. It means a great deal to me.”

“You’re welcome
,” Nico said, his voice filled with sadness. “Samantha, I'll be thinking of you, dreaming of you.”

“Goodbye
, Nico,” she said and turned to go, still hoping he would stop her and tell her that he loved her. As she crossed the room, she squared her shoulders, desperately fighting to keep from turning around and begging him to let her stay. When he didn’t say anything, she shut the door carefully behind her, and leaned against the wall in the hallway, crying as her heart broke.

* * *

Nico stared after Samantha longingly, fighting the urge to go after her. She’d been quiet and withdrawn on the ride home, obviously hurt that he hadn’t returned her sweet declaration of love.

He’d wanted to. The words had been on the tip of his tongue. But the moment had been so poignant, so profound, for him, that he hadn’t wanted to ruin it by saying something she’d be sure to think was forced, especially since he hadn’t really known until that very moment how much he did love her. He’d been so overwhelmed that he’d become tongue-tied.

This morning, as they’d ridden home, he’d given the whole situation a lot of thought, trying to decide what was the best thing to do. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but he also didn’t want to say anything she’d take as a promise, not until he was certain what he wanted to do about their relationship.

In the end, he’d decided now was not the right moment. Her mother was dying, and Sam needed to be there. He didn’t want her to be worrying about him when she needed to focus completely on her mother. God knows, he wished he could go back in time and be there
when his own mother was dying. He would give her that time. Give them both that time.

With a sigh, he turned back to his work, wondering how he was going to survive the next few weeks or months without her.

* * *

For Samantha, the next month crept by painfully slow. S
he had to witness the gradual deterioration of the wonderful woman who had raised her, the utter transformation from a woman who loved to sing throughout life to a shell with no voice and no memory.

Thankfully Mrs. Potter was there to help. Samantha tried to remain cheerful for both of their sakes but it was difficult.
Often she would simply go outside and try to lose herself in farm work. Seeing her mother like this ripped the joy from her until the only bliss she had was in the prayer she spoke every morning at dawn before her mother awoke.

During one of these mornings
, a blessed note arrived from Lady Bellamy. Charlotte had invited her to come for tea. It seemed like an odd request. Why on earth would someone like Charlotte want to have tea with someone like her?

However,
Samantha could think of no reason to refuse, and she was desperate to have a moment away from this pain. The Earl’s house was not far from the village, so Samantha set out early and arrived in good time.

The house was similar in style to Bentley Park in that it had a long drive and beautiful gardens. There weren’t any olive trees, though. She looked across the fields behind the house wondering if she could see Nico’s house from there, but she could not.

Samantha rang the bell, introduced herself and waited for the butler to get Charlotte. Charlotte swept into the room, looking radiant in a yellow flowered gown, taking Samantha’s hands.

“I'm so
happy to see you,” Charlotte rejoiced, giving her a little hug. “Ever since I met you, I thought we could be good friends. I would have invited you to tea earlier, but we've been away to London for the last month. I'm glad you're here.”

“Thank you
, Charlotte,” Samantha replied, stunned by the warm welcome. They talked of the weather and Charlotte told her of the parties they had gone to in London and the changes in fashion. It was fun to get lost in the talk of dancing and fashion after such a difficult month.

“There's actually another reason I invited you here,
” Charlotte admitted, after Samantha had just started to get comfortable in these strange surroundings.

“Y
es?” Samantha asked, slightly fearful of what was coming. She should have known this was too good to be true.

“I’
m holding a ball in a couple of weeks.” Charlotte beamed. “Since you’ve completed your official mourning period, I would love for you to come.”

“A ball? Charlotte. I adore being here with you, but surely you know we are from different worlds.
I’m a farmer’s daughter, not ball material. I wouldn't know the first thing about how to talk or walk or anything.”

“I could teach you,” Charlotte exclaim
ed excitedly.

“Why? Why bother?” As soon as the words were out of Samantha’s mouth
, she already knew the answer. “Lord Chattel put you up to this, didn't he?” She stood abruptly and began pacing the floor in front of Charlotte. “Why would he do that? What does he hope to gain with my elevation from farmhand to belle of the ball?”

Charlotte looked a little flushed.
She was obviously struggling with how to reply. “Calm down, Samantha. I can explain.” Charlotte took a slow sip of her tea while Samantha waited impatiently.

“
I did see Nico, and he didn't look well. I think he's missed you horribly and is taking it out on himself, working night and day.” She paused, searching Samantha’s face, obviously trying to read her reaction to that. “I suggested that perhaps a little merriment would be just the thing for both of you. You could receive an official introduction to him. No one would ever have to know about the way the two of you actually met, or your past history.”

“You plan to
turn me from a plow horse into a show pony? In two weeks? I have callouses on my hands, for goodness sake!”

“
Don’t be so serious, Samantha. We have beautiful gloves for that.” Charlotte’s face was full of enthusiasm.

She
didn’t want to crush her new friend’s hopes but she also didn’t want to be anyone other than herself. “This is who I am, Charlotte. I guess Nico thought I wasn't good enough. I'm not going to make a fool of myself more than I already have by transforming myself into a pretend lady.”

“
Nico did not ask me to change you and you won’t be pretending to be anyone other than yourself. You will be Samantha at a ball. Wouldn't you like to dress up? To dance? To have a little fun, a little cake?” Charlotte asked pleadingly. “Just think of how handsome Nico will look in formal evening wear.”

The image that filled Sam’s mind was almost too
much to bear. “The cake does sound good,” she said, and they both laughed. How could she fight this, when she wanted it so badly? “Let the show pony training begin.”

“Oh
, good!” Charlotte said, clapping her hands together in obvious pleasure. “I love transformations. You should see what I did to my cousin. She went from a mouse to an angel overnight.”

Samantha didn’
t enjoy the comparison to a mouse, but she smiled at Charlotte’s enthusiasm.

“Let's waste no time. Come upstairs and meet my maid, Lau
ra. She’s a wonder with hair and I will tell you all about the protocol of a ball.”

Not waiting for an answer,
Charlotte grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs. Samantha trailed reluctantly in her wake, patting her short auburn hair, which was starting to grow out but was still far too short to be fashionable. She wondered if Charlotte possibly had the skill to turn her into someone Nico could be proud to join in a waltz.

Gazing at her reflection in the floor-length mirror, Samantha barely recognized herself. She no longer looked like Sam the stable girl. Instead, she almost looked like someone who might come to this evening’s ball on the arm of Lord Nico Chattel.

She wore a light blue velvet dress that hugged her curves and exposed a little more of her than she was comfortable with. She’d ordered the dress when she was married to Henry, but he’d died before she had a chance to wear it. After his death, the dress had been one of the few things she didn’t sell. Though it was slightly out of season, it was well made, and Charlotte assured her that it would be perfect.

Thanks to the accessories
Charlotte had loaned her, she felt very well put together. Charlotte’s maid Laura had done an amazing job with her hair, forming it into soft shiny curls clipped up with matching sapphire blue clips.

Charlotte had lavished her with attention and prepared her thoroughly for this assembly
, and Samantha’s confidence rose by the moment. She could do this. After all, she’d pretended to be a man several times now and had managed to pull that off. It would certainly be easier to pretend to be a lady. With one last smile, she turned from the mirror and made her way downstairs.

Charlotte’s house had been transformed
into a wonderland of glittering chandeliers and fragrant flowers. A string quartet had arrived and was tuning up in the corner.

Samantha stood by Charlotte in the receiving line and
greeted the arriving guests. Charlotte introduced Samantha as her dear friend, Henry Blake’s widow, who was reentering society after a long mourning period. The guests were clearly a mixture of ton society as well as neighbors and villagers. No one dared to insult or behave rudely toward Samantha when she was obviously under the countess’ protection. Several times, Samantha reached over and squeezed her new friend’s hand, very aware of how much she owed Charlotte for making this happen. Even after tonight was a distant memory, she knew people would regard her in a better light. After the damage her mother-in-law had done, she would welcome a return to normalcy in everyday interactions with villagers.

An hour into the party, Samantha felt a prickling on the back of her neck and turned, only to find Nico staring at her
across the crowded room. Her heart thrilled to see him, because she’d begun to fear he would not show. He looked devastatingly handsome in black eveningwear with a white silk cravat. His dark hair shone in the candlelight, and his eyes sparkled with mischief. The myriad of emotions he roused inside her left her lightheaded. Her corset was so tight she worried she might faint.

With a wicked grin, he went to fetch Charlotte, and then the two of them made their way toward her.

Char
lotte looked very formal as she made the introduction. “Lord Chattel, I would like to introduce you to my friend, Mrs. Blake. She is Henry Blake’s widow and is just back into society.”

Nico executed an elegant bow.
“It's my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Blake.” His dark eyes pierced hers and in them she saw the reflection of every moment they’d spent together. He’d gone to some trouble to arrange this new beginning, and hope swelled within her.