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Her stomach dropped. She’d seen him in the village on market day and then last week at church. He’d been watching her, and she remembered the discomfort she’d felt under his open gaze.

“Margaret,” Papa said. “This here be His Lordship, Mr. Tidworth.”

“It’s Lord Tidworth.” A momentary look of disgust passed over the gentleman’s face as he corrected Papa. Then he quickly turned to Maggie and smiled. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Wentworth.”

Maggie’s heart stilled. A lord? On the doorstep of their little cottage? What did this mean? What should she do? Curtsy? Never in her life had she thought she’d be standing in front of a lord.

“He be in need of a new servant and offers you a place in his household,” Papa said, his lips spreading into a wide grin.

A lord come in person to offer me a place in his household? That makes little sense. I know nothing of lords and their doings, but I’ve never heard of one searching the countryside for servants.

“I don’t understand,” she said.

“Allow me to explain myself,” Lord Tidworth said. “I have been in Dorset these past few weeks, visiting my uncle, and I noticed you in the village and then again at the parish church. I watched you with your siblings and saw a particular kindness in you. I require a compassionate person to help tend to my ailing wife in London. When I inquired about you, I learned that you are most clever, hardworking, and well-respected. I am most particular about who tends to Her Ladyship, you understand.”

Maggie’s fear eased somewhat when she heard the gentleman talk of his wife. Perhaps she’d judged him too quickly. His wife was ill, and he cared enough to handpick her attendants. That was admirable. But she could not leave her siblings, nor did she want to leave Dorset. London was far away indeed.

“It’s kind of you, m’lord,” she said, feeling the twins cling to her legs. “But I be needed at home to help Mama care for the children.”

“Nonsense!” Papa said. “Mama will do what she must, and Maggie will do what her papa orders.”

“What of the money I bring home milking cows for Mr. Rippon, Papa? How will you do without it? I can’t be spared; you know as much.”

“The pay will be handsome and more than enough to aid your family, I assure you,” Lord Tidworth said.

“But…” Maggie said, uncertainty overwhelming her. This was all too much to take in. She needed time to think.

“You’ve done your part in this house,” Papa said. “In mere months, y’ll be eighteen. ’Tis time to earn your keep. Y’re to go with His Lordship now.”

“Now!” Maggie said, dropping her empty basket and putting her arms around her brothers. “But I’m not ready. I haven’t packed my…”

“’Tis done. Mama did it all,” Papa said, and only then did Maggie notice he clutched what looked to be a heavy sack of coins.

Seeing her gaze, Lord Tidworth said, “I hope you don’t mind if I took the liberty of giving your papa a little something for your siblings.”

Just then, a footman, dressed in the same red-and-gold outfit as the other two attendants, exited their small cottage, carrying a trunk that Maggie had never seen before. She watched as he fastened it to the back of the carriage.

“Say your farewells, Maggie. Lord Tidworth be in a hurry to leave.”

Chapter Two

Five years later

Mayfair, London 1815

Margaret Wentworth ran her hand across the rows of fine silk, cotton, and muslin dresses that sat neatly folded in her expansive dresser.

What shall I wear tonight? she mused. The royal purple, perhaps? That ought to sufficiently irritate the women of the ton when they met her on the arm of her lover, Lord Tidworth. They hated the way he treated her, his mistress, as if she were one of them. But Tobias Tidworth, 8th Earl Tidworth, had no qualms about bringing Maggie to the theatre or taking her to the opera. He allowed his mistress to mingle with the wives of his peers, and they could not quite forgive her for that. She saw their forced smiles turn to smirks as soon as the earl looked away, but she did not care. For they judged her unfairly.

Was it her fault that Lady Tabitha Tidworth was as mad as a sack of ferrets, as the saying went? She’d been that way long before Maggie had come into Lord Tidworth’s life—long before he’d arrived on her doorstep and rescued her and her family from a world of poverty. Maggie had been frightened at first, terrified even, when he’d ripped her from her home and her beloved Dorset, placing a hefty bag of coins in her papa’s hands. But the knowledge that the little ones at home would never go hungry again gave her comfort. And the luxurious world she stepped into was something her mind would never have been able to comprehend.

Her new life in London had begun as Papa had said it would. She’d been placed in the Tidworth household as an assistant to the lady’s caretaker, Mrs. Norris. The experience had been daunting. Lord Tidworth’s wife’s illness was on her mind. It made her violent, and she often had to be restrained. She hated having her hair brushed or body washed and routinely let out a string of curses every morning when Maggie patiently attempted to perform her duties. Meals, too, were an ordeal. The lady would smash the plates and cups if she had the chance, and so she needed to be restrained and fed. That did not stop her from spitting at whoever displeased her. But these displays were nothing in comparison to the hatred and foul language she would spew when her husband dared to enter her chamber. Nonetheless, he had nothing but tender and kind words for her.

Maggie’s heart went out to him. How could he endure such attacks on his person from his own wife? So when he’d started confiding in her, telling her of his broken heart that would not allow him to lock his wife away in an asylum, she listened with a compassionate ear. The more he spoke, the closer they grew. Soon, he was telling her that he could not live without her, declaring that she had saved him and shown him happiness again. And she, who’d been separated from all she’d ever known, found comfort in his arms too.

He gave her lodgings of her own, not far from his Mayfair townhome, and filled it with beautiful furniture and servants to care for her every need. Food became not only abundant but decadent. She’d never known such luxury could exist. His generosity was such that over the years, she’d not only come to love him, but she was wholly dependent on him. She never left her lodgings without him. She had no need to do so; all was provided for her. To stem her boredom whilst he was away, he’d provided her with tutors who’d instructed her in reading, speaking French, and playing the pianoforte. Learning came easily to her, and she mastered these new skills without difficulty. Lord Tidworth had taken her—an illiterate, country peasant—and transformed her into a lady. And now, as she approached the age of three-and-twenty, she could imagine no other way of living. Dorset and her old life were but a distant dream.

Maggie took the purple muslin gown from the dresser and laid it on her bed. Tobias had been preoccupied of late, but tonight all would be well again. She would sit beside him in the newly rebuilt Theatre Royal on Drury Lane and watch La Scala di Seta with the rest of the ton. It will be a magical night!