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“We chose not to have one. Given this wasn’t something either party wanted, we just stuck to the reception.”
“And that didn’t last very long. Your wife ran off almost as soon as she got there. I’m surprised she didn’t set herself on fire with the speed she left.”
Rafe did not want to talk about that. He gestured towards the breakfast table at the far end, which looked to have been prepared.
“You help yourself to food. I’m going to have a word with Manning.”
“You’re not going to give him trouble for kissing a maid, are you? I’m sure it happens all the time when we’re not paying attention.”
Rafe didn’t care what happened with his servants when it came to intimacy. He did care that it was Victoria’s servant Manning was kissing. Was the man mad?
Storming through the house, he entered the study and found Manning waiting nervously by the desk. He jumped as Rafe approached him, holding up his hands as if to ward him off.
“Listen, my lord, I know it was inappropriate to do what we did….”
“You’re right about that. What were you thinking, Arthur?”
“I…I guess I wasn’t thinking as I should.” Manning hurried on as Rafe arched an eyebrow. “It’s nothing nefarious. Whenever I’m around her, I just…forget. And now she’s in the same house….”
“That’s enough. I don’t want to hear it.” Rafe folded his arms. “Are you courting her or are you just toying with her?”
Manning’s cheeks went a little pink.
“We’ve actually been seeing each other for some time now. We got our afternoons off to match each other’s about a year ago now.”
“So, you’ve been courting Victoria’s maid for a year? And Abigail’s mistress doesn’t know?”
“No! If she knew, she would be furious. Abigail said she didn’t want to upset her any further.” Manning shuffled from foot to foot. “We’ve not done anything more than what you saw. I’m not about to get her into any trouble….”
“I don’t care if you do that with her or not.”
“You don’t?”
Rafe shook his head.
“I’m not like my father. If you want to gallivant around with a maid, you can do it. But you had better not run away from her if you leave her bearing your child.”
“What? Of course not!” Manning shook his head quickly. “I wouldn’t do that to Abigail. I love her.”
“Then why haven’t you asked her to marry you yet?”
“Mostly because I’m trying to save up so I can buy us that small cottage on the estate that the groundskeeper used to live in until he passed away. I want to provide for her properly. Also,” Manning spread his hands, “considering who we work for, we didn’t think we would actually get approval from our respective employers. We could have lost our jobs. I wasn’t about to do that to Abigail. I can take care of myself, but I’ve got to take her into consideration.”
Rafe listened to this in growing surprise. How had he not noticed that his valet was sneaking off with Victoria’s maid? From the way Manning was speaking about Abigail, it was clear that he loved her. He had seen it in the way the two were kissing a moment ago. This man was willing to do whatever he could for the woman.
Something shifted in Rafe’s gut, and that gave him pause. Was he actually jealous? That couldn’t be possible.
“You’re not going to be angry at us, are you?” Manning asked nervously. “I know what we did was not….”
“I’m not impressed that you decided to do that while you were meant to be working, but I’m not angry.”
“Really?”
Rafe frowned.
“But you have to be incredibly careful. What if that had been Lady Blackmore coming into the room? How do you think she would have reacted if she had caught you?” Manning looked a little paler now. “Whatever you do when you’re not working has nothing to do with me but keep away from each other when you’re meant to be doing your jobs.”
“I know. And we’ll not do it again.” Manning looked at the floor. “I won’t do it again, my lord. I promise.”
