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Chapter Nine
Chastity wrinkled her nose. Floris’ Lime again. Why did the earl have to insist on wearing it? Just a mere whiff made her shudder.
“Is something the matter?” asked Rose as she stripped the bed down and flung the sheets into a huge basket.
Chastity unfolded the clean sheet across the earl’s mattress. It had been so long since John’s death she never did understand why the scent still affected her. With one sniff, she found herself young, married and dealing with a manipulative, critical husband.
“The cologne the earl wears,” Chastity explained. “It reminds me of my late husband.”
“Oh goodness.” Rose took the other side of the sheet and tucked in one corner with a swift efficiency Chastity had yet to learn. “I am sorry. You must miss him so.”
“I do.”
The lie nearly fizzled on her tongue. To even give that man an ounce of her attention rankled her. He deserved none of it and she could not bring herself to mind that he went to his grave early. After all, he brought it upon himself. But Rose had yet to share much about herself with Chastity and she spied an opportunity.
“Have you ever been married?” she asked.
Rose shook her head, but a blush lingered on her cheeks. Could her quiet temperament and rosy cheeks mean she was Julian’s secret love?
“Have you ever been asked?” she pressed with a smile.
“Perhaps.”
Chastity affected a sigh. “It is a shame there are not many attractive men in employment here.” She pressed folded the sheet under the corner of the mattress and moved up the bed to do the final corner. “Not for me, of course,” she added. “I do not think I could ever marry again.”
“Never?” Rose’s eyes widened. “You would wish to be alone forever?”
“I cannot imagine doing it all again.”
“You make it sound like a hardship.”
“It can be,” Chastity admitted.
She imagined even for those who were happy, there was work to be done, though the effort was worth the outcome for those who truly loved one another. Her parents had enjoyed love and mutual respect and though their match had not been perfect, particularly given her father had sired Eleanor out of wedlock, she’d witnessed them working hard together until her mother’s death to create a good marriage. She did not think John even cared if theirs was good or not, so long as he could control her.
“But for a good man, it can be worth it,” she added.
Rose made a face. “There are few good men. The man who proposed to me turned out to be a drunkard.”
“A lucky escape then.”
“For certain. He was mightily handsome, and I might well have ended up married to him had I not caught him drunk one evening.”
“Did he work here?”
“No, thank goodness.”
“I heard the man who died was handsome. Did you think so?” Chastity asked and held her breath while she waited for Rose’s response. The question wasn’t as subtle as she might like but such a drought of information had grown infuriating.
“Oh yes, Julian was handsome indeed. God rest his soul. He caught many an eye.”
“Was he courting someone?”
She shrugged. “Maybe someone back home. He had not worked here that long.”
“Where was home?”
“Not far from London, I believe.” Rose pressed a finger to her lips. “I think he said his parents were in Surrey. I’m not certain.” She sighed. “He was such a nice man.”
