Page 77 of Lady Waldrey’s Gardening Almanac for Cultivating Scandal

James smiled. “I fear our hostesses would grow tired of us if we returned that quickly.”

“Not at all,” Vera interjected quickly. “Feel free to visit as often as you like.”

Candace hurried to agree. “You are always welcome, though we probably cannot always offer the level of amusement we did today. Mrs. Penn was fretting about all of the missed chores by the time we were finished.”

“The house is spotless,” Vera said over the rim of her teacup. “I hid all the way in the back of a cupboard and emerged without so much as a speck.”

Candace added, “She’s a very efficient housekeeper. Percy is lucky to have her and her loyalty.”

She hid her smile as James frowned and shook his head at Arthur—the boy had been trying to sneak a piece of his crust onto the floor for Seamus.

“Then you should visit us, and we can make our servants play,” Arthur said, his eyes bright, the moment of discipline all but forgotten.

James said, “Or perhaps we’ll leave the servants alone and play a game of Old Maid. Four is more than enough for that game.”

“Oh, please come visit so we can play Old Maid!”

Candace smiled. “We’ll visit you on the next day the weather is poor. It’s a promise.”

But the following day, when storm clouds roiled low over the horizon, Vera claimed she had the sniffles and couldn’t go.

“You’d better go on without me,” she said, giving a weak cough into her handkerchief. “Arthur will be dreadfully disappointed if you don’t go just because I can’t; you did promise him, after all.”

So Candace and Hortense bundled up and huddled beneath umbrellas on the way to the carriage. They clambered in and Candace shivered, her hands shoved into a fur muff. Not even the warming bricks were enough to chase away the damp chill of the day.

It was the first time she and her maid had faced an expanse of uninterrupted time alone since the fateful game of hide and go seek. The previous evening, Hortense had been a dervish, making a production over polishing Candace’s boots—even though they already appeared spotless—and reorganizing her jewelry trays.

Candace had narrowed her eyes in suspicion but left her to it without pressing the issue. Perhaps Hortense needed more time to privately consider what had occurred behind the library curtain.

But now they were alone. Candace delicately cleared her throat and thought about how to proceed without embarrassing her.

“Please don’t fire me, my lady,” Hortense blurted, even before the carriage set in motion. “It was a momentary lapse in judgement, nothing more.”

Candace couldn’t help herself—she laughed in surprise. “I’ve no intention of firing you, Hortense. You’re the best lady’s maid in all of London, and even if that weren’t the case, I consider us to be friends.”

Hortense sagged against the seat, looking completely exhausted.

Candace shook her head. “Is that why you were avoiding me last night? I thought you were still plagued with nervous excitement, not with fear for your position.”

Hortense held a trembling hand to her forehead. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I beg your pardon; I assure you it won’t happen again.”

“It definitely shouldn’t,” she mock-scolded. “At least, not until he’s declared his intentions.”

“His...intentions?”

“To marry you, of course.”

Hortense jerked as if someone had just prodded her backside with a fork. “Marriage?”

“I assume you’re familiar with the concept,” Candace said dryly. “You see, when a man falls in love with a lady...”

“But I’m not—a lady, I mean.”

“What a shocking proclamation. If you aren’t a lady, you’re certainly the most beautiful man I’ve ever laid eyes on. Though I suppose it makes you helping me bathe quite scandalous.”

Hortense squeezed her eyes closed and rapidly shook her head. “I’m not noble.”

Candace’s flawless forehead wrinkled before she caught herself and smoothed it. “What does that have to do with anything? One doesn’t have to be noble to fall in love and be married. In fact, if recent events are any indicator, then I’d daresay it might help that you aren’t a member of the ton.”