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Petal snorted and hurried over to the bed to change the sheets while it was vacant.
Lost in thought, Aidan glanced out of the window and sighed in delight. The lavish gardens rolling over the landscape were interwoven with carefully tended borders bracketing a ribboning footpath that encompassed the manor house were a welcome boon. After spending several days staring at the fireplace, it was lovely to see something new, and so brilliantly colourful. He had almost forgotten there was a view outside of the window. His eyes feasted on the miles and miles of uninterrupted fields and woods spanning as far as the eye could see in either direction, and his soul sighed. It brought him a sense of peace unlike no other. It was fabulous to be able to gaze out over the lushness of the early spring and know that all he surveyed was his. Just seeing the spectacle gave him renewed determination to get back onto his feet so he could wander around out there.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” he murmured eying the stunning display of flowers the gardener was carefully tending.
Petal nodded as she folded the new sheets in at the corners, but then realised he was gazing out of the window and wouldn’t be able to see her.
“It is.”
A rather companionable silence settled over them for several moments. It was in such stark contrast to the earlier tensions that for a moment she actually started to enjoy her job.
She realised that she was getting drawn into his world too much. She gave herself a stern, mental shake and turned her attention back to remaking the bed.
“Well, Edwards should be along any moment with your tea. I need to be getting back to the rest of my chores,” she announced when she was done.
She picked up the soiled sheets she had just removed from the bed and turned to go. Before she could move, Aidan spoke.
“You still have to read me that second chapter.”
He didn’t want her to go just yet. She was a servant; of course, he could never forget that. He only had to look at her and the reminder of her position in the house was evident by how Petal was dressed, but he liked her company. She was beautiful, funny, and willing to eschew silly social strictures he abhorred and help him, in regardless of the trouble she might get into. In spite of their positions in life they really did have a lot in common. Petal didn’t know it, but if he had been in her shoes he would have done exactly the same.
He made a mental note to tell Rollo not to reprimand her for helping him, and refocused his attention on the book.
“You still have to read me that second chapter,” he said. “Come and sit in the window seat, there, and read to me.”
The seat he pointed to was sufficiently far enough away that not even Edwards could accuse either of them of anything untoward, and watched Petal walk reluctantly toward it. It wouldn’t create an intimate atmosphere between them either while they were alone. After receiving her help getting into the chair, he needed the distance as a physical reminder that Petal could never be anything more than an outstanding member of staff.
He turned his attention to the view outside of the window while she sat down. Inevitably, as she read, he found his gaze drawn back to her time and again. His gaze is settled on the way sunlight burnished her golden tresses. Every time she moved it seemed to come alive and practically shimmered. He suspected that once it was released from its tight confinement, it would be long enough to reach her waist. It was a pity he wouldn’t be able to see it. His fingers positively itched to be able to touch it to see what it felt like, but he couldn’t. He daren’t. He knew exactly where it would lead them, and he just wasn’t that kind of employer.
“Who taught you to read?” he interrupted casually. He hadn’t even realised he had actually spoken the words aloud until he saw her hesitate and look at him thoughtfully for a moment. It seemed she was as engrossed in the story as he had been; well, almost. He had been lost in his thoughts of her and had no idea what had just happened in the story. Unfortunately, without revealing to her that he wasn’t paying attention, he couldn’t ask her to re-read the chapter from the beginning.
“Pardon?” she asked with a frown.
“You read exceptionally well with just enough expression for the story to be interesting, but it is not too overly dramatic to detract from the story.”
Petal was aghast. She hadn’t paid any attention to the w
ay she read before. It was just something she did without thinking.
“My father taught me. He always said that there were two things I needed to accomplish in life to get anywhere; to read and to cook. Without either I couldn’t live properly.”
Aidan nodded. “He is right as well.”
After a moment of thoughtful silence, when Aidan didn’t speak again, Petal turned her attention to the page before her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember where she had left it and stared blankly at the words.
“Just start at the beginning,” Aidan murmured, leaning his head back against the chair and sighing with deep contentment as he stretched out his legs before him.
“If you are sure?”
He nodded.
The story held little interest for him now. Instead, his thoughts were engaged in trying to find a way to lift Petal out of her humble life. She should be doing considerably more with those skills of hers. Unfortunately, he was painfully aware that it was hardly likely to ever be a reality. There was nothing he could do except employ her and pay her well.
This time, when he turned his attention to the scenery outside of the window, he forced himself to keep it there.
Petal read the end of the chapter and closed the book.
“Sir?” she prompted when Aidan didn’t appear to have realised. She wondered if he had even heard the story and doubted it given the thoughtful scowl on his face.
