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“Try not to worry, dear,” Aunt Amelia said. With her arms full holding the cat, she was unable to stifle her yawn. “Oh…excuse me. I am just fully exhausted. Why don’t you take the chamber at the top of the stairs for tonight?”
Leticia gave her a dubious look. “But we never use that chamber. You always say it is too close to the end of the hall where the men lodge.”
“Yes,” Aunt Amelia replied, giving Leticia a small smile. “And as it is never occupied, I see no reason that you shouldn’t be able to slip in there tonight.”
“Ah…yes…thank you, Aunt. And I do hope you have a good rest of your night. As for you, Colonel Fluffington—”
Aunt Amelia snickered and lifted a hand to smooth down some of Leticia’s flowing locks. “Do try to sleep well, dear.”
Leticia waited until her aunt disappeared into her own chamber then she crept down the hall on tiptoe. She had stayed up rather late, playing cards with Harry, the Dowager, and Aunt Amelia. Richard had adjourned to his own chamber hours ago, and Leticia certainly didn’t want to make a sound now to disturb any of the others who might be already deep in their slumber.
The hall was lit minimally at this time of night, but when Leticia swung open the door that led to the chamber at the top of the stairs, she was surrounded by darkness. The heavy drapes had been pulled closed, and no candlelight filtered into the chamber. Leticia tried to remember the layout of the chamber as she didn’t want to trip over a chair or stub her toe on the corner of a bedpost in the dark. As the chamber was not one of the larger ones, she held her hands out in front of her and felt her way around until her fingers brushed the soft satin sheets.
“Ahh…” she murmured, “finally.” She lowered herself to sit on the bed when her bottom connected with something that felt oddly like a hand.
“I say—” Richard grumbled and at the same time, Leticia leaped off the bed.
“Richard, is that you?” Leticia whispered into the darkness.
“Leticia? What are you doing in my chamber?”
“I—” She scrambled to find her bearings. “My aunt told me this chamber was vacant.”
“My mother told me the same thing.” Richard sighed wearily. “One of the cats, I do believe it was that beast Colonel Fluffington, had run amuck in my chamber. Do you know he chewed through one of my finest shirts, and he lay about on my bed, leaving his hair all over the place?”
Leticia grunted. “I can well believe it. Colonel Fluffington seems to have made himself at home in my chamber as well.” She tightened the sash on her robe and strode toward the door. “Have no worries. I’ll just walk down the hall and take up lodgings in some other chamber.”
“Allow me,” Richard said. He walked to the door and gave it a good, hard yank. “Hm…” he hummed, “I think the handle must be stuck.”
“That cannot be possible,” Leticia said, moving forward and nudging him aside. “I just came in through that door.” She reached forward and twisted the doorknob, but it would not budge. “It seems to be locked. Do you have the key?”
Richard’s empty hands rose helplessly. “I wasn’t given a key.”
Leticia tugged on the door. Then, since it wouldn’t give way, she knelt and placed her eye on the keyhole. It was practically impossible to see anything, so she pressed her lips to the hole and whispered, “Mrs. Phillips? Are you still out there? Have you gone to bed yet?”
“Your lady’s maid?” Richard asked. “Do you really think she followed you down the hall and waited just in case you needed help?”
“Do you have a better idea?” Leticia questioned as she turned toward him and put her hands on her hips. “Thanks to my aunt and your mother, we are somehow locked in this chamber together. While this door was functioning perfectly fine a moment ago, neither of us can pull it open now. Do you think we should shout and attempt to wake up the whole house?”
“No, no,” Richard said, waving away such a ludicrous idea. “We don’t want anyone to know that we’re in here together.”
“Of course not,” Leticia added, determined to have the last word. “We wouldn’t want to break any of the precious rules.”
Richard groaned lightly as he backed away from the door. Her eyes were beginning to adjust now to the gloom, so when Leticia tromped after him, she didn’t worry any longer about bumping into anything. He went straight to the bed and snatched up a pillow as well as the soft quilt that sat atop the covers. “Are you still angry about what happened between us the other day?”
“No,” Leticia retorted. “I have quite forgotten all about how you kissed me and laid me down in the tall grass, but when I suggested we take things further, you—”
“Enough,” Richard cut her off. “We both know why moving forward would have been disastrous. Instead of allowing your annoyance with me to grow, you should be thanking me.”
“Thanking you? For what?”
“For preserving your dignity,” he snapped, and while Leticia knew he was being perfectly serious, she couldn’t stop the giggles from bubbling up inside her.
“Oh, Richard, what am I to do with you? I wasn’t asking you to deflower me right there on the banks of the river. I just thought it might be fun if we did a little more.”
He shook his head and threw the pillow and blanket to the floor. “I do not understand you, Leticia. First, you refuse my kisses. Then, you want more.” He huffed. “I’ll sleep on the floor. You take the bed.”
“Ah,” she gasped, “are you afraid if we share this big sturdy bed, you might be tempted to want to do more with me, and then—horror of all horrors—we might do something other than share a few kisses?”
