He began by trying to get her to explain her situation. “Well, Emily, is it? I can see you have been well taken care of by my staff. Now maybe you can tell me what you were doing stealing a ride in my carriage last night.”
He tried to look stern as he questioned her, but he marvelled at the look of proud defiance he saw her trying to control as she gazed at him without a word. Despite his irrationalennuiof late, Philip had a deeply abiding tendency to root for the long shot, and this girl was obviously trying to deal with some sort of burdensome problem. The earl was intrigued. Despite his haughty consideration for his own consequence, he sincerely wanted to assist the girl. He admired the courage that was obviously a part of her character; the fact that she would hide in his carriage was a testament to it. Of course, he would not mind seeing her beautiful face about the estate either, he thought to himself with a small smile, fascinated to see the play of emotions dance across her face as she tried to answer his questions.
“Yes, my lord, I am Emily," she replied with a dignified lilt. "I truly did not mean to steal from you; I just needed to get away. I was serving as lady’s maid in a grand house, but I could no longer stay there. I saw your carriage and hopped aboard, as I did not see the harm. I am without a post now, and hadn’t the fare for the stage, you see,” she continued somewhat cajolingly. “Thank you so much, milord, for the meal and the place to stay last night. Your generosity was deeply appreciated. Perhaps if you need a maid, I would be most happy for a position, sir,” Emily concluded, the hopeful note clear in her voice. She then lowered her eyes and seemingly waited to see what the earl would do. Philip watched as she tried valiantly not to fidget.
“Who was the lady you were serving?”
“I would rather not say, my lord. I ran away and will not be going back. They were cruel,” Emily replied fiercely and with a note of finality.
Philip wondered at the dignified and refined speech and recognized a real thread of fear in her voice, despite the defiant tilt of her head. It was obvious there was much she was leaving out, however there was a note of sincerity in her voice as she expressed fear of the cruelty she had experienced. Looking at her beauty he cynically surmised that the lord might have made improper advances. Perhaps she hadn’t actually run away but had been thrown out by the lady, maybe she was even in a "delicate situation," he speculated. But, good naturedly he decidedWe will cross that bridge when we have to. I can’t turn my back on her, she is obviously in some sort of trouble.
As she had answered his questions, he had watched the play of emotions running across her face; she had vacillated between defiance and fear. Fear seemed to be winning out, and he hesitated to press her.In the meantime, Mrs. Simms says we could use another housemaid. She doesn’t look too sturdy. I wonder if she will hold up to much work?he thought to himself before speaking aloud to her.
“Well, Emily, I could perhaps offer you a post as a maid. What were your duties for the ‘grand lady’ you were working for before?”
“I assisted her with keeping up the library, and with her correspondence. I also worked with the gardeners a couple of afternoons each week when milady went out visiting, besides looking after milady’s wardrobe and toilette.”
“Sounds like you were kept quite busy. Did you enjoy your work, Emily?”
“Oh yes, particularly in the library and in the garden,” Emily exclaimed with so much enthusiasm Philip’s eyebrows rose in surprise before he narrowed his eyes with a touch of suspicion.
“Okay, Emily, my secretary Mr. Dale is the one in charge of the library, you can assist him with his duties here, and perhaps Henri can use an extra pair of hands in the gardens. Mrs. Simms will tell you what duties she has for you as well. We shall see how this works out for the time being.”
“Thank you, milord,” Emily murmured with deference.
“You may familiarize yourself with the library for now and when Mr. Dale is available, he can advise you on what assistance he might require.”
“Thank you, my lord. I will try not to disturb you while you work.”
She might have promised not to disturb him, but Philip couldn’t help being distracted by her periodic gasps of pleasure and reverent sounding whispers as her fingers skipped from book to book. He was amused by her seeming overwhelm at the splendour of his library. The girl seemed engrossed by her examination of his collection of books.
Philip watched Emily with a mixture of curiosity and appreciation.The girl obviously has an understanding of literature. What an odd little baggage she is. What serving wench, even a lady’s maid, knows anything about Greek philosophy? Who is this girl so lovingly handling my books? He watched the classic profile as she bent over the next volume she was examining. Her skin was slightly flushed and her eyes were sparkling as she absently glanced up at him. She startled to catch him watching her and her gaze turned wary.
She hesitated, and then said politely and formally, “You have a wonderful library, my lord. It will be a great pleasure to work with your books in whatever capacity your secretary sees fit. Thank you for this opportunity.”
“You are quite welcome, Emily. I have never seen anyone take such pleasure in my library. You obviously have been well educated.” He said this last bit with a questioning lilt in his voice again assailed by curiosity about this mysterious young woman.
With that, Emily’s face closed up and lost its animation. “Yes, my lord,” she replied and turned her back on him in what some might consider a rude manner coming from a servant. But the earl realized she was desperately guarding her secrets, whatever they might be, and did not take offense at what was obviously an instinctive effort at self-preservation. His curiosity, always ready to surface, was fighting to get the better of him. He wanted to press her for answers to all the questions burning in his brain, but he was unable to think of a way to get her to tell him what he wanted to know.
He turned back to his papers and tried to ignore her presence in his sanctum. As the time passed, he could almost do it, but then he would hear her sigh over some tome she was examining and he could not help himself as his appreciative glance would rove about the room and gaze admiringly at her youthful beauty as she peered into his books. The night's rest had obviously served her well and she had apparently been scrubbed to within an inch of her life, he thought with a smile as he noticed her pinkish hued, squeaky-clean skin and the obstinate curls that were trying to defy the severe hairstyle she had forced upon it. Her allure was strongly distracting and he was increasingly frustrated with the maid's innocent presence in his library. Despite his rakish experience with women, he knew she was not in any way trying to attract him and that somehow added to the effect and his frustration.
He was never so happy to see James enter the room as he was that day. “Where have you been?” he demanded crossly.
James was startled at the uncharacteristic snarl in his master’s voice. “It is the usual time for me to arrive, milord. Is aught amiss?” James questioned with concern.
“No, no, James, I’m sorry, I thought it was much later. It has been a strange morning. Come in, sit down, and let’s get to work. Oh, you should meet your new assistant," he said with a rueful chuckle. "Emily, come over here and meet Mr. Dale. James, this is Emily. She will be helping you with the library and whatever other jobs you see fit to give her. She is quite taken with the books, maybe you have some assignments for her there.”
Philip watched in amusement as his normally unflappable and serious secretary had trouble keeping his jaw properly shut as he took in the young woman being introduced to him. James’ cheeks warmed as he gazed at the beautiful young woman. Never at his best around any women, it seemed all thought flew from his mind as he tried to think of something to say to this charming creature before him. Although able to converse intelligently upon many subjects with the aristocratic crowd the earl associated with, the young secretary occasionally became painfully shy when attempting conversation with women, particularly attractive young women, and the sight of this one clearly tied poor James in knots.
In a gesture that struck Philip as most gracious, Emily tried to put him at ease. She dropped a brief curtsy and said, “I am pleased to make your acquaintance, sir, and shall endeavour to do all the tasks you may assign me as diligently as I am able. Perhaps you have something in mind I could start on,” she suggested gently recognizing his shyness but oblivious to its source.
James gathered his composure and pondered for a moment, refusing to look at her in order to be able to control his thoughts. He shoved his dark hair off his forehead absently while he gazed at the earl in perplexity. “Well, the books desperately need to be catalogued, and an inventory taken of which ones need to receive some maintenance. Is that within your realm of experience?” he questioned hesitantly, unsure of the young woman's abilities.
“Oh, that is most excellent. I could start on that right away. Thank you, sir. Excuse me, my lord.” And she bowed herself gracefully away to start her work, obviously happy to have something to do that would put her mind off her worries.
James’ wide-eyed stare turned to Lord Yorkleigh. Philip just shrugged helplessly at a loss for an explanation, so they started in on the paperwork that is always piling up for the landlord of vast estates. James was better able to forget about Emily's ethereal beauty than the earl was, who required concerted effort to force his mind upon the day's tasks.
A few hours later, the two men decided to call it quits for the day, and the earl offered his secretary a glass of liquor. As he got up to ring for the butler his eyes caught on the shapely ankles of his almost forgotten new maid.
