Innocence (6 page)

“So, are you going to tell me,” Nathaniel continued. “Or am I going to have to
force
you to give me the information?”
 

Looking up, Lisa was surprised to see him standing mere inches away.

“My lord?”
 

“Your. Name.” He enunciated clearly.

Feeling her cheeks catch fire, she stammered a reply. “Li—Li Lisa.”
 

“Well, Li—Li Lisa, that’s an unusual name. How about I call you Lisa, or would you prefer Li—Li?”

In hindsight, she should have chosen a name that wasn’t derived from her own,
especially
considering Nathaniel was an acquaintance of Lord Copeland’s. But it was too late to do anything about it now.

“Lisa. I prefer Lisa.”
 

“From Elizabeth?” he asked, and she blinked.
 

“Um, yes, that’s right. From
Elizabeth
.”
 

Anneliese had been named after her Danish great grandmother on her mother’s side, or so she had been told, the name not common on English soil.
 

“I couldn’t make the zed sound when I was little, so I was called Lisa not Liza,” she said, trying to fit her story to his quite understandable assumption.

“How adorable.”
 

“I suppose that’s one way to describe a childhood lisp.”

“Not just the lisp,
you
.” Nathaniel smiled.

Lisa’s mouth dropped open. He thought her adorable? Maybe Ruth and Sally were right and Nathaniel was attracted to her even though he believed her a servant.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to speak with you about. The other morning—”

“You mean the one where you had me banished from serving in the breakfast room on my very first day?” Lisa interjected, forgetting her place once more.

“So you
were
offended.” He rubbed his jaw.

“Er, of course not, my lord.” She modified her tone, not wanting to get herself banished altogether. “I could have spilled the coffee on you or one of the other guests. It was gracious of you not to have me dismissed.”

“Ah, Lisa, you misunderstood. I wasn’t concerned about your inability to serve the coffee. The excuse to hold your hand was most welcome.”

“What then?” She blurted the words then snapped her mouth shut. Holding her tongue was not a strength, and the unobtrusive nature of her new role was proving a challenge. Fortunately, Nathaniel did not appear offended.

“Are you aware of my father’s unusual standards
concerning the treatment of his staff?” he asked, running his fingers over the satiny smooth finish of the side table. She nodded, though it was difficult to think clearly with him standing so close.

“His Grace wasn’t always so
honourable
. When I was growing up, I distinctly recall him enjoying the odd dalliance with willing maids, and he did little to hide the existence of his mistresses.”

Lisa frowned. Dalliance was not a word she was familiar with, and as far as she knew, a man’s wife was the mistress of his household, a role that need not be hidden and did not come in multiples.
 

Nathaniel’s gaze rose to her face. “Don’t worry. You’re quite safe here at Worthington Hall. My father had a rather dramatic change of heart a while back, a
conversion
of sorts. He now devotes a substantial portion of his time and wealth to the betterment and protection of the working classes, despite the cost to his reputation.”

Lisa had heard as much from her father who had shared the Duke’s opinion.
 

“Do you follow a similar creed?” she asked.

“Mostly.” Nathaniel shrugged and took a step closer. “I’m happy to honour my father’s wishes, especially in his own home. Although the effort does sometimes come at
personal
cost.”
 

Reaching towards her, he ran his forefinger slowly down her cheek. “You have amazing skin. Soft as silk.”

Staring unblinking into his handsome face, she swayed towards him.

“There you are, Marsden. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
 

A cultured female voice scolded from further down the hallway, startling Lisa back to her senses.

Lady Cahill.

One of the first things Lisa had learned from the staff at Worthington was to get her head down and her hands busy whenever Eleanor was around. After bobbing a curtsy, she turned to fiddle with the flower arrangement Nathaniel had rescued.

“Good morning, Lady Cahill.” He bowed and then placed his body between Lisa’s and his cousin’s wife. “Is there a problem?”

There was always a problem with Eleanor, and she immediately launched into a long list of complaints about disrespectful staff, unskilled servants, and general incompetence. Nathaniel murmured reassurances at appropriate intervals and began to steer her further down the hall. Lisa was almost in the clear when his cousin-in-law turned and looked over her shoulder at the vase of flowers.

“This is exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about. This arrangement is atrocious. Honestly, Mrs Donaldson will hire any riff-raff. What’s your name, girl, and who gave you permission to make a travesty of His Grace’s flowers?”

Lisa bristled at her tone, but when she opened her mouth to reply Nathaniel interjected.

“You’ll have to blame me for this particular
travesty
. Lisa had done an admirable job when I decided to try my hand. Made a right mess of it, I’m afraid.”

Eleanor’s look of surprise transformed to one of suspicion.
 

“I see what’s going on. Uncle Thomas is away and the golden son will play.
Lisa,
how interesting.”

Nathaniel straightened abruptly. “You’ll leave her out of this. Is that understood?”

Eleanor sniffed. “I’ve often wondered about your type, but really, Marsden, where’s your taste? The girl has the most garish hair, though I’ve heard that’s quite appealing in a tart.”

“That’s enough.”
 

Lisa flinched at Nathaniel’s tone, but Eleanor seemed unperturbed. She eyed him archly before turning and walking away, her full skirts swaying in her wake.

Sighing, Nathaniel turned to face Lisa. “I’d like to assure you nothing will come of Lady Cahill recognising my interest in you, but I’d be lying,” he said. “The best I can do is to keep my distance and hope she forgets the incident, though do let me know if she gives you too much trouble.”

His tone was apologetic, but it was his admission of interest that caught Lisa’s attention. It made her want to smile and remain standing with him in the hallway beside the now crazily leaning flower arrangement indefinitely. But then she realised she
was
smiling . . . widely.

Nathaniel was not.

Embarrassed, she curtsied before turning to flee.

Lisa couldn’t wait for the working day to be over and the girls to finish preparing for bed. As soon as they were all huddled beneath their blankets, she asked the question that had been bothering her all afternoon.

“Do either of you know why Lady Cahill would be jealous of Lord Marsden for
liking
another lady . . . I mean woman?”
 

Sally sat up and stared at her.

“Care to explain wot ye’re on about?”
 

Lisa hesitated before telling the girls the whole story, leaving out the part where Nathaniel called her adorable, stroked her face, and said he was “interested” in her, of course.

“Lisa, ye must be careful around the lords. It doesn’t take much to encourage ’em.” Ruth warned.

“Oh, bosh,” Sally muttered. “Although, I’d be careful for another reason if I were ye. Lady Cahill’s not one ye want to cross.”

“But Lady Cahill is married. Why should she care who Lord Marsden speaks to?”
 

“ ’Cos ’e’s the one she really wanted,” Sally said. “She ’ad her sights set on being the next Marchioness of Marsden and duchess in waiting, not that the King was likely to approve, as her father’s only a viscount. Either way, Lord Marsden wasn’t interested, so she ’ad to settle for Lord Cahill. I think he thought he was getting’ a bargain wiv her bein’ so beautiful and all, but ’e didn’t take into account the icy water she’s got runnin’ in her veins. I don’t think he’s particularly enjoyin’ his conjugal rights, wot wiv gettin’ his man parts frozen in the process.”

After taking a moment to decipher Sally’s explanation, Lisa nodded. It sounded as if Lady Cahill was punishing her husband in some way for not being her first choice, though how his parts could be frozen in the process, she wasn’t sure.

Lisa briefly wondered what sort of lady Nathaniel
would
choose, or have chosen for him, but shied away from the painful thought. It was then she realised she was in danger of becoming enamoured with the son of a duke and her prospective protector. Despite the exhilaration that accompanied her burgeoning feelings, it was the height of foolishness to think they could lead to anything but misery.

“All I’m saying is ye should watch out for Lady Cahill
and
Lord Marsden,” Ruth said. “He might be lovely to look at, but that doesn’t mean he won’t chew ye up and spit ye out if it suits him.”
 

Lisa considered arguing Nathaniel would never do anything to harm a lady, or a serving girl for that matter, but she kept her mouth shut. Henbury was an isolated village, after all, and her experience with members of the nobility extremely limited.
 

Staring into the darkness after her companions fell asleep, Lisa missed her father more than ever. She had never spoken to him about liking a boy, well, a man, in truth—Nathaniel must be as old as twenty-three or even twenty-four—as the situation had never arisen. But she was sure his counsel would have been wise, his presence comforting. With her feelings wavering between sadness at the memory of her distant home and excitement over her brief encounter with Nathaniel, sleep was a long time coming.
 

Chapter 6

The Hunt

The next day, Lisa was assigned to work with Chef Peters for the morning as well as afternoon. A mountain of pastries were needed for the hunt being held the following day, not to mention cakes for afternoon tea and an array of desserts for dinner. Even without the duke’s presence, the hunt was still a noteworthy event, one not to be missed. Guests began arriving early in the afternoon, swelling the number of society members in residence to over sixty. Few of the neighbours lived within easy riding distance, so most chose to enjoy Worthington Hall’s considerable hospitality and came prepared to stay for several days. Nathaniel’s presence ensured every family within fifty miles with a remotely marriageable daughter made the effort to attend.

Lisa spent the day on tenterhooks, worried Eleanor would seek to cause her harm, but to her relief nothing untoward occurred. She felt rather proud of herself at the end of the long day when she tallied how much she’d contributed towards the feast prepared for that night and the morrow.

The next morning saw the staff up even earlier than usual as there was much to accomplish before the hunt began at nine. Lisa wasn’t the only servant to speculate Nathaniel had chosen the early start to encourage the more frivolous female guests to remain abed. He was only partly successful, though there were some clearly fractious tempers to be observed amongst the young ladies all vying for his attention—or so Lisa heard from the unfortunate servants assigned to attend them.

She didn’t expect to escape the kitchen so was pleased to be asked to deliver a tray of fruit pastries to the courtyard where the riders were indulging in a light repast and shots of brandied tea before the hunt.
 

“The footmen are all busy,” Mrs Donaldson explained. “Just make sure to stay out of the way of the horses, and you’ll be fine.”

Lisa wasn’t afraid of horses, having ridden since she was young and to hounds many times, but she merely bobbed a curtsey in response. Dusting off her hands, she removed her flour-stained apron and took the tray the housekeeper proffered before heading outside. The day was fine but very cool at this hour, and she shivered after exiting the warm kitchens.
 

Momentarily taken aback by the sight before her, Lisa stared at the milling crowd of highly strung hunters and their impeccably dressed riders. Liveried footmen bearing trays of refreshments scurried to meet the imperiously issued demands of the lords, ladies, and sundry society members in attendance, while grooms hovered at the ready. Locating the tables set up for food and beverages on the far side of the vast courtyard, she headed in their direction, hugging the wall to keep out of the way. Halfway to her destination, she heard her name called in a chillingly familiar tone.