“You do not have to fear being honest with me, dear,” Mary soothed.
With an oddly wiggled shake to her head, Eleanor continued working with Mary’s hair. “The work is not hard if’n you ‘ave good shoes and a sturdy back, miss. It’s the—” her gaze flicked upward toward Gabe’s reflection in the mirror as he sat relaxed in the bed. The maid’s lips pressed tightly together before her tongue darted out nervously to wet them. “The work is right fine, miss.”
Mary would have questioned her further, but her behaviour toward Gabe spoke volumes where her words did not. Eleanor was afraid of men…for reasons Mary suspected were deleterious to the maid’s self-worth, emotional stability, and disposition.
Mary suddenly very much wished to eviscerate Lord Kerr for allowing such despicable behaviour to take place in his home and for not taking better care of his staff.
“There you are, miss.” Eleanor stepped back to admire her work. “Pretty as a paintin’.”
Mary smiled at the maid’s flattery. “Thank you, Eleanor. It takes magic fingers to tame my hair.”
“It were nothin’, miss. Will that be all?”
Mary had scared her off with her questions, then. Her smile slipped, but she put it firmly back in place. “Yes, thank you. You may go about your duties, Eleanor.”
The maid curtsied and hurried past the bed and out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
The moment the latch clicked, Gabe leapt from the bed, his bare feet hitting the floor silently as he dashed across the room to the wardrobe.
Mary swivelled in her seat at her dressing table to look at him. “Good heavens, you’re in a hurry.”
“It takes you women so damned long to get yourselves put together,” Gabe grumbled.
“I beg your pardon, but you were fully able to get yourself dressedwhileEleanor was helping me.”
He rejected her comment with a quick jerk of his head. “Would ruin the illusion and break me from character.”
Mary chewed her bottom lip. “I see your point.”
Gabe stepped into his fine dove grey breeches, leaving the falls open while he pulled a shirt over his head and tucked them into the top of his breeches.
“What about a valet?” Mary asked.
Gabe paused while buttoning his falls. “Now I seeyourpoint.” A heartbeat passed before he shrugged one shoulder and retrieved a cream coloured waistcoat from the wardrobe. “It is quicker when I dress myself. Besides, I cannot abide by someone fussing over every detail of my wardrobe.”
Mary nodded as Gabe began buttoning his waistcoat over what Mary now knew to be a remarkably beautiful chest.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” She ignored the nagging jealousy at the back of her mind at the thought that he might be going to see Lady Kerr.
You shouldnotbe jealous. Ninny.
He gave her an odd frown that was lined with an emotion that Mary could not quite interpret. “Youare dressed. We must break our fast, then begin the search for those documents.”
“Ah,” Mary brightened. “I had thought about that as I lay abed last night, and I thought that an excellent place to start might be the guests’ bedchambers.”
Gabe froze in the act of pulling on his coat, a fearsome frown marring his features and turning his blue eyes as cold as ice. “I think not.”
“Whyever not?” Mary asked in disbelief. “Surely you see the cleverness of the thought. Any man with sense would hide those documents somewhere close to them, and where is more personal than a man’s bedchamber?”
If it were at all possible, his scowl darkened even more. He pointed a finger at her. “I will not have you sneaking into men’s bedchambers, do you hear me?”
“But it is—”
“I saidno. It is too dangerous for a woman to do such a thing. If anyone is to search the men’s bedchambers, it will be me.”
“But what excuse will you have for being there? If I were to search, then at least I have the option to flirt my way out of any suspicion they may harbour for me.Youwill…what? Use brute force?”
His jaw clenched. “I will think of something.” He pulled a cravat from the chest of drawers and slid it under his shirt collar. “First we will search the study.”
