Yep, innocent, and missish besides.Trust her or not, he needed her advice.And North and the dukes were right about the pitfalls of tupping staff.Damn his infernal attraction to her.He needed to avoid scaring her off.Stepping back, he released his hold on her and said, “I beg your pardon, Miss Mullens.”
She ran her fingers along her lips.
He turned away, willing his cockstand to abate, and groped for words.“I—it shall not happen again.Please forgive me; I did not mean to take advantage.”He gulped and guessed at her biggest concern.“Your position here is safe, you have my word.”
She stood where he had left her, still outlined by the lamplight.
He looked away quickly.
“You did not take advantage, sir.I mean, I suppose you did, but it was not entirely unwelcome.”
At her words, his gaze shot back to hers.Thank goodness.She had been flirting with him as much as he had with her.
“’Twas…surprising.Overwhelming.And I agree, it should not happen again.”She turned away.
He thought he heard “more’s the pity” muttered under her breath, but he could not very well ask.A grin threatened, and he pressed his lips flat to stifle it.
“My workday begins early, so I should return upstairs.Good night, my lord.”
He smirked.She hadn’t prevaricated about returning during the day for the missing pages.The reminder of her deceit sobered him.He’d do well to keep in mind that the little flirt was also a liar and not to be trusted.“Good night, Miss Mullens.”
* * * *
“Explain to me how you know so much about Parliament,” Xander requested at the start of their meeting the following afternoon, attempting to act like he didn’t know how her waist dipped in and her hips flared beneath the loose, ill-cut servant’s garb.It was for the best that she was sitting across the desk from him, where much of her was out of sight.
“I know nothing about process and procedure.You shall have to ask the other dukes about that, or friends you make in London at the start of the session.As for the content, I know what I read in the newspapers and what I’ve heard discussed in my past roles.”
“Do most housemaids read the newspapers, then?”
Evie narrowed her gaze.“About as much as bartenders, I suppose.Some do, some don’t.”
He winced.Sure, he could have stayed more abreast of happenings in his country and the capital.’Twas simply that Northumberland was nigh a week from London, at the northernmost point of England before one crossed into Scotland.And most of these laws did not affect his daily life.
However, the more he read, the more he realized how many working-class peoplewereaffected by these bills and how poorly they were represented in the country’s government.He had begun to form a silent plan to use whatever leverage he had to move toward reform for working conditions for many of his peers.Well, perhaps his ex-peers?His head hurt again.
“Right, then.So Insolvent Debtors Act expansion to Ireland, good.”He put it aside.
She jerked her head back.“You’re going to trust my thoughts on it?”
“I didn’t see the original one, but this is progress at the very least.And yes.”He watched her calmly.He couldn’t explain why, but he trusted her opinion on these.Besides, as a servant, wouldn’t her interests align with his?
“You should not.”She narrowed her gaze.“You should have a rough idea of what each bill does and its merits and weaknesses.What if its goal was to put all debtors in gaol?”
“I read enough to know that is not the case.I am prioritizing as you suggested.”He arched a brow.“Now, what about the Steam Engine Furnaces Act?”
She looked like she wanted to say more regarding his trust in her.
He leaped forward.“Can you summarize the issue, please?”At her glance, he adopted a faux stern visage and growled, “Summarize the issue at once.”He grinned, sharing the joke with her.
She caught her breath, looking taken aback, making him wonder if it had been too much, before she returned his smile.
“Certainly, Your—Rutland.They’ve already been deemed nuisances when not properly vented or situated too close to neighboring properties.This allows affected people to pursue remedies through the courts without having to pay all those fees; instead, it mandates that the offender pays the costs of litigation and prosecution, as well as any remedies.”
Slicing a hand through the air, he said, “Why is there a question around this?They are terrible pollutants, and the explosions are known to be dangerous.”
“The Tories would tell you the law impinges on the rights of a landowner.He”—she accented the pronoun, and her lips twisted for a moment—“should be able to do what he likes on his property.”She scratched at the edge of her cap, something he’d seen her do a few times.
Staring at her, he realized he’d only seen her hair by candlelight and only once.“Remove the cap.”
