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Chapter 9
Nick watched Miss Pepper’s face scrunch up in thought, her adorable little nose wrinkling as though she smelled something sour, her fine eyebrows pulled together in concentration. Something was definitely bothering her. And he wanted to know what it was.
He opened his mouth to ask but closed it when he heard the soft footsteps of Tilly bringing his breakfast. He had seen the maid a thousand times since coming to Halstead, but never once had he known, or even cared what her name was until Miss Pepper arrived. The woman was an enigma.
She spoke to Tilly by name—which, on its own, wasn’t so strange. But Giulia addressed the maid kindly and asked for things instead of relaying orders. It was bizarre for a woman of her status to treat a servant with such regard. Giulia’s thoughtfulness was evident in everything she did, from her gentle ministrations to Nick’s shoulder to the way she treated the servants.
Yet, Nick noticed something else between the little blonde maid and Miss Pepper. Loyalty and respect. He commended Miss Pepper for finding that so quickly in the help, but he had a feeling she probably commanded it everywhere she went. People liked her.
Jack certainly did, at least.
Jack.
Nick was going to have to give his valet a set down once he was out of this dratted bed and on his own two feet again. The man was insufferable. Miss Pepper was niece to the earl. She was not some lowly housemaid the valet could woo on his own time.
Nick shook his head. He wasn’t being fair. Jack was more than just some valet. He was something of a friend. Distance had grown between Nick and Jack as they aged out of short coats, the chasm widening when Nick was sent off to school. But the quiet conversations and gentle support Jack offered since agreeing to become Nick’s valet and come to Halstead with him were closing the gap, creating an odd bond between the men.
To speak nothing of the debt Nick owed Jack’s father, who had agreed to become his steward when he left for Halstead, taking on both the responsibility of Nick’s farm and tenants, but also seeing to the needs of Nick’s mother and sister.
“This is wonderful, Tilly. Please set it right there. Perfect.” Miss Pepper’s voice cut into his ruminating, her tone carrying gratitude.
That must be it, Nick thought. The help must appreciate being…appreciated.
“Yes,” he said to the maid. “Thank you, Tilly.”
The maid and Miss Pepper both shot looks at him filled with surprise and…concern? Miss Pepper stepped forward and laid her graceful hand over his forehead, her own puckered in thought. “No fever,” she muttered to herself.
Nick’s fingers circled her wrist, pulling it away from his face. “Is it so very odd that I would thank Tilly for bringing me my first solid meal in years?”
“No,” Miss Pepper said hesitantly. “But years is a bit of a stretch.”
Tilly bobbed a curtsy and scooted away as quickly as she could, pulling the door shut behind her with a soft click. Bless the girl. Miss Pepper did not seem to notice.
Nick yanked her wrist softly, pulling her to sit beside him on the edge of the bed. “That smells divine,” he murmured.
Miss Pepper watched him warily. “Sir, why are you holding my arm?” She spoke quietly, as if she was skirting a wild animal.
“Will you do me a favor?”
“That would depend on what you ask of me.”
Ideas flooded his mind; there were so many things he could think to ask of her. He redirected his wayward thoughts to the task at hand. “I want you to call me Nick.”
Her eyes grew wide as surprise etched her face. “But we hardly know one another.”
“I don’t know about that,” Nick countered. Her hand had fallen slack in his and he started drawing circles on the underside of her wrist with his thumb. “You’ve told me quite a bit about yourself. Except, oddly enough, for your name.”
She watched him. She said nothing, but she did not pull her hand away either. He continued. “I feel as if I know you quite well, actually. And we’ve told each other things in confidence, if you will recall. Surely that makes us something like friends.”
“In regard to?”
He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “How very fast you can run, of course.”
She let out a light laugh, but it wasn’t much. It certainly wasn’t enough. She was being polite.
“And,” he continued, “we are business partners.”
She arched a brow.
