She glanced down at his proffered elbow in obvious surprise, ruby lips parting slightly. Then she swallowed, looking almost shy, and placed her hand on his arm.
Energy sparked through him at her touch, shooting straight to his groin.
He drew in a mind-clearing breath and got a noseful of sophisticated mélange— rosemary, lavender, lemon, and smoke—that struck him as all wrong. It didn’t match her pretentious, shallow existence. She should favor candy-sweet violet. This herb-infused scent bespoke elegance and made him want to nuzzle the place behind her ears in search of more.
And for the love of the saints, why was he spending any thought on this insanity?
Luckily, his feet had not stalled alongside his brain and their descent down the broad, spiral stone staircase proceeded at a normal clip.
Once in the dining room, he was never so grateful to relinquish his hold on anyone. He held out her chair for her, then made for his own adjacent seat at the head of the table. He should have instructed Nell to put the lady’s place setting at the opposite end of the table, he thought, snapping open his serviette.
Within minutes, Nell entered the room pushing a cart laden with several dishes. Babette came in behind her, evidently to assist.
“What has Cook prepared for us this evening?” he asked in a friendly tone, studying Babette as she placed one of the plates, her gaze transfixed on Annabelle.
He frowned a question at Nell.
“Och, in keeping with the cold, Cook thought some oxtail soup might warm you up, and some nice baked cod and roasted turnips, milord.” She looked up, then, and a dawning light of understanding crossed her features.
Babette was a lady’s maid, or had been in her previous life, before tragedy had left its ugly mark on her, leaving her somewhat touched. She did not normally function as a working maid inthishousehold.
Oh, he and the staff had devised tasks for her. Typically, she fluffed pillows, rearranged items on shelves to make them more aesthetically appealing, an odd skill for which she had a distinct flair, all the while wielding a feather duster like a wand. But she did not serve dinner.
Nell shifted her eyes toward Annabelle briefly in a silent answer. Though he could not be certain, he comprehended that his interpretation was that Babette had taken a shine to Lady Annabelle.
Good God. It was like a toddler drawn to a razor-sharp blade by its silvery gleam.
The moment Annabelle seemingly noticed Babette’s stare locked on her, she frowned in disapproval. Babette’s face immediately fell.
“Thank you, Nell, Babette, that will be all,” he hastened to say, gratified when Nell took the hint and ushered her helper from the room with an apologetic grimace.
That left him to serve, something he vastly preferred to witnessing one of Babette’s crying jags.
Unless he missed his guess, Lady Annabelle would not resist the chance to criticize. Might as well get this over with. Hereached for the ladle in the tureen with one hand and held out his other for her bowl.
She sniffed and handed him the dish. “You did say you have limited staff.”
He ladled out a generous portion and proffered the dish, which she accepted, placing it before herself.
Swiping up a soup spoon, she cocked her head. “The maid. What is wrong with her? Why does she stare like that, and more to the point, why do you allow it? No maid like that would last in my parents’ home.”
“Truer words,” he said, and something in his tone must have struck her, because out of the corner of his eye, he saw her head snap in his direction.
“My parents’ home runs like clockwork.”
“Congratulations,” he said dryly.
She spooned up several bites of soup in blessed silence. “You did not answer my question.”
He swallowed several spoonfuls himself, then said, “Not that it is any of your concern, but she was hurt.Someonehurt her,” he added a moment later, reading the intention to press for more on her beautiful, and yes, intelligent face. He hoped that would be the end of it.
It wasn’t.
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said. As it is not my story to tell, and I only came by it secondhand, I will merely share with you that she was employed, in a manner of speaking, by my family when the incident occurred, and, unlikesomefamilies of theton, mine does not toss out defenseless servants to fend for themselves when they become inconvenient.”
Her mouth fell open, not missing the implication. “How dare you? What do you know of my family? Precisely nothing.”
