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“Oh,” the maid blushed. “That’s Hattie’s. She works in the kitchen. I apologize, it’s not quite the right size… the Lord doesn’t keep a lot of nightdresses.”
I laughed, and the girl grinned in return.
“That makes sense. Well, tell Hattie thank you, please.”
She nodded.
“Would you like me to dress you? Lord Marsden has already dined, but I can have a dinner brought to you.”
I stared at her, unsure of what to say. Never in my life had I been dressed. I had helped Cassandra’s maid to dressher, but as for myself…
“Sure.” I said softly, deciding it would be rude to refuse. “What’s your name?”
The girl smiled as she began to untie the nightdress.
“Charlotte, miss.”
“It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Charlotte. I’m Amelia.”
The nightdress dropped to the ground, revealing my pale body. In only a moment, Charlotte had already begun to tie the new dress around my waist. It was a nicer gown than the one I had worn there, though its style was out of date.
Once I was dressed, Charlotte folded the nightdress and walked towards the door.
“I will bring your dinner shortly, miss.”
“Thanks, Charlotte.” I responded, tucking strands of loose hair behind my ears. I could see in the mirror’s reflection that my hair was a bit wild from sleep.
“Of course. And don’t worry, miss.”
I looked at the maid, unsure of what she meant.
“What do you mean?”
She smiled.
“We don’t gossip here, so your reputation’s safe with us. That’s a requirement of working for Lord Marsden.”
With that, Charlotte departed, leaving me standing in the middle of the room. Her words, surely meant to be kind, instead made my stomach twist uncomfortably.
A requirement of working for Lord Marsden.
Of course his staff was discrete. He was a rake. Why was I surprised?
But I couldn’t help but wonder… how many women had he had in this same room?
How many women had worn this dress?
I swallowed, staring at my wild curls in the mirror. I knew who Lord Marsden was. Sure, part of him was a virtue-stealing scoundrel – I knew that to be a fact.
But that wasn’t all of him.
The way he had defended me to Richard earlier… well, that spoke for itself.
There was something of the old Will I had once known left. I knew there was.
I would just have to trust him. He had given me reason to today, had he not?
After only a moment’s consideration, I opened the bedroom door and crept into the hallway outside. I would take my dinner… but first, I had to find the Lord himself.
