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Breathless, they managed to pull themselves apart. Marilee knew she should be worried about being happened upon, but she could not find it within herself to care. What would they do? Fire her? She almost laughed. What the people of Blackwell house thought of her meant nothing.
She brushed her fingers through Mr. Crowley’s hair, setting it back to rights and laughed at his boyish features. For a moment there he had looked thoroughly mussed. No doubt she looked the same. He grinned again and pulled her back to him for one last taste. Marilee sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.
“I… er,” she gave a quick laugh and tucked one wayward curl behind her ear, “I’ve never kissed a man before.” The admission came out in a rush and the moment the words had been set free she felt embarrassment wash over her. He must think her a ninny she thought with an inward groan. “I didn’t know…I mean…” she broke off uncertainly.
“You’ll hear no complaints from me,” he replied, brushing his thumb along her chin. Marilee felt her smile return, bolstered.
“I don’t know if I, umm…” she began. “Well, you can tell me if I…”
“It was perfect,” he promised, and leaned down to kiss her once more just to prove the point.
Marilee glowed in the praise, silly though it may seem, or maybe the glow was just because of his presence.
It very quickly became late and though neither seemed inclined to leave the garden, they knew they must go. Still, the garden would be their sanctuary.
Nikolas bid her farewell at the door with a look that made the blush rise to her cheeks as red as ever. She ducked her head and raced through the kitchen before the doorman could notice than anything might be different than all of the previous nights. When she plunked herself down upon her bed, she gave a big sigh of relief and rolled toward the wall to hug her pillow.
“About damned time,” Peggy’s soft voice came from over the sounds of the others’ deep breaths of slumber. “I was starting to worry.”
Marilee only laughed to herself. Mr. Crowley’s grandfather had been right. Keeping one’s focus on the light made all the difference. Sleeping in this hell had often brought nightmares. Not tonight, she told herself.
CHAPTER15
The coming days were some of the happiest that Marilee had experienced in an age. Even her work seemed bearable when her mind could simply escape to the memory of her romance with Mr. Crowley in the garden. Over and over during the day the events of the previous evening played in her head.
At first, Marilee had been worried that Nikolas had come to regret their kiss when he did not appear at the usual time the following evening.
Marilee had paced the washroom, wringing her hands while Peggy cooed supportive words and supposed that he must have been delayed by some important matter. Marilee had wanted to believe that all was well, but to her dismay, doubt had crept in. What if he didn’t care for her? Or worse, what if Lord Edward had indeed taken some punitive action? What if he were hurt or dead?
It was not long, however, an hour at most beyond his usual arrival, when a package was delivered to the house for the maids. It had been addressed to both Peggy and her, but they knew straight away that it had truly been meant for Marilee. Marilee paused as she noted the torn packaging. She threw a look at Peggy over the wrappings before she unwrapped the package with Peggy watching. A single hothouse rose with a note that stated that he had been called to an urgent meeting with his brother.
“It is a code,” Peggy grinned. “If you recall, he said that his brother had an acquaintance that performed investigations for the magistrate. He must be meeting with that man and wanted us to know. How sly that he knew enough to suspect that the package would be inspected before it was delivered. And to address it to us both so as not to turn an eye to you.”
For it had been inspected, Marilee had noted. The seal had been broken and the contents in disarray. But being a simple, harmless note and a single flower, the message had been permitted to pass.
Peggy pulled the rose from the box, sniffed it, and handed it over to her friend. “This, I dare say, is for you,” she giggled, “to halt any doubt that you might have had as to his interpretation of last night.”
Marilee had clutched the flower like a lifeline. She had never been given a gift by a man, only Miss Caroline had ever made the effort to think of Marilee. He was a good man to know that she would have worried of a misstep, and that if he could not assuage her doubts himself, the sweet bloom would ring the message true. He had no regrets, and did wish to see her again. Her heart soared.
Peggy retrieved a wooden cup that would serve as a vase for the remaining life of the bud. When it had fully opened, Marilee thought, she would press it beneath a heavy object so that she might keep it forever.
The next evening, a similar note with two buds arrived.
“Good of him to think of me this time,” Peggy laughed. “Of course, he could not have at first, else you would have found a way to explain away his intent.”
Marilee had laughed at the truth of the words. By singling her out his meaning had been irrefutable. And while she was hopeful his delay meant that progress was being made, she did long to see him. Perhaps even allow him to kiss her once more, she thought with a flush. Still, the small reminders bolstered her spirit, and she waited with silent hope for the time that he would reappear at Blackwell house.
Marilee stumbled through the following morning with a lump in her throat. Something was off with Lady Lydia and instinct told her that whatever it was that was bothering the mistress did not bode well for the rest of the house.
James had been to deliver another note which had seemed to have brought upon the mood. Lady Lydia had grumbled and become fitful, sending Marilee and the other servants from her rooms while she set about penning a series of letters that were run out by the stable boy with orders of returning with an immediate response.
“What do you think could have happened?” Peggy wondered while she and Marilee patiently waited for the lye to do its work.
“I haven’t the slightest,” Marilee shrugged but her concern was evident. “Do you think it possible that it has something to do with whatever Nikolas has been about?”
“I hope not,” the laundress replied. “All we can do is wait and I hate waiting.” Marilee found this amusing for Peggy was by leaps and bounds the more patient of the two.
Still, it was the waiting that seemed more a burden than anything. When Lady Lydia was in one of her moods, it was hard to deduce whether her extremes were from something relevant or simply a result of her volatile nature. It could be an overreaction to anything, Marilee told herself. Lord Robert certainly had a way of leaving the female out of sorts. Lord Edward’s flirtations both soothed the lady and emboldened her fits. And more than once Marilee had seen the lady have a temper for even the smallest misstep on the part of her staff. It could be anything.
