Page 16 of Desperately Seeking Seduction

Algernon’s lips pressed together as he smiled and accepted the toast as his due, especially when there was a thunderous hear, hear and the stamping of feet from those who surrounded him.

CHAPTER 6

Winston had expected some form of harassment from Lord Stratford when he’d returned to his room last night. He’d stumbled in seemingly exhausted, stinking of drink, and had gone straight to bed. Not that he should have needed to speak more than a few words to a mere servant, but his low mood bothered her. Her employer was normally an unusually talkative man.

Last night, she’d feared he had discovered her secret when he’d talked about her wearing a gown. But all he saw was a small man who might pass as a woman in a certain light. The relief of knowing her gender was still safely hidden had nearly made her swoon on the spot.

Now that might have been a true disaster. Valets should be made of sterner stuff than a maid.

Winston strode to the window drapes and threw them wide, before putting her hands on her hips to look out at the extensive grounds of the Ravenswood estate. She had seen little more than this view since arriving and the dark kitchen garden when she’d been locked out. Lord Stratford had gone off riding early with his brothers, clutching his head, and she’d been left in peace more or less.

But when he returned, he would likely set to work on his latest and most frustrating painting, as usual.

She glanced over her shoulder at the giggling maids taking their sweet time beginning their duties. They were a silly pair and fond of gossiping about their betters. Given all she’d heard spill from their mouths so far, the house party was going as well as expected.

Drinking and heated discussions were common.

She kept her back to them, not wishing to seem like someone who might encourage a closer friendship, and listened to every word. She wanted to know what issue had pre-occupied her employer last night.

“Did you see the brothers riding out this morning? So very fine.”

“I always make it a habit to be near the window facing the stables at seven, just so I can,” a maid answered in a whisper, and they giggled again.

“His Grace smiled at me today,” one said proudly.

“Just don’t be thinking it means anything, Nan. You know he hardly notices whether a servant smiles at him.”

“Course he doesn’t care about us that way. He’s not at all like Lord Jasper. But it still pays to show him kindness. He’s grieving for his papa,” Nan insisted.

“I’m not sure he should,” the other whispered. “His father only got meaner over the years. You heard how he barked when they crossed him.”

“I’m glad they’re not like him,” Nan continued, clearly besotted by the brothers. “None of them are cold…well, except perhaps Lord Nash. I swear when he looks at me, I can’t help but shiver.”

“He’s more pressing matters on his mind, I’m sure, than worrying what we think of him.”

“I’d rather him not look at me, Milly. I can still taste that concoction he made me drink when I had a sore throat last winter. Disgusting,” Nan said.

Winston shook her head. “At least he didn’t suggest a bleeding for a sore throat. It never works.”

The pair behind her fell silent.

Winston sighed and kept her eyes on the view.

“Did he mean to talk to us?”

“Who?”

There was silence for a few minutes. “I don’t think so.”

Winston stood a little taller and set her feet wide apart as she stared out the window, aware she was now being whispered about behind her back. She should not have interrupted the maids’ gossiping and drawn attention to herself. But sometimes it was difficult to remain apart from everyone. Hearing the women compare those they served, master and family guests, made her sometimes wish it could be different.

After a few minutes, the pair resumed their prattle in a louder tone.

The duke, of course, was considered the most handsome according to the maids. Ravenswood perpetually wore black, as did a cousin, George Sweet, and it was said to suit the duke better. The next brother, Lord Nash Sweet, might have been as handsome if he might ever attempt a smile. His two sons were somewhere about upstairs in the nursery with a rather stern governess presiding over them. Nan and Milly, the maids, never mentioned a mother for the children, she noted.

The next brother, Lord Jasper, sounded like a devil, having seduced every unrelated female houseguest—including married women—since he’d been old enough to drop his own trousers. They thought his favor worth dying for.

Winston rolled her eyes in disgust. Maids had no good sense. She could not understand throwing away a perfectly good position and reputation for such a dubious thrill herself. There wasn’t a man alive she would give her virtue to. Of course, in her current guise, no man would realize she could be seduced, either.