Olivia studied the young woman as she adorned Olivia’s hair. She was a slender slip of a girl—petite and slight. Freckles dotted the bridge of her aquiline nose. Her sparse eyebrows matched the tone of her tresses and contrasted against her milky complexion. The bond between servant and mistress here appeared very strong. Tabitha might be in a situation where she was loyal without question. Or perhaps there was a reason for that loyalty. “You seem quite protective of her.”
“Mrs. Milton’s been good t’ me.” Tabitha lifted her thin shoulder in a shrug. “I ’ate t’ think that Mr. Wainbridge might be takin’ advantage o’ ’er.”
Olivia winced at the choice of words. “What do you mean, taking advantage of her?”
“People are not always as they seem, ’tis all.” Tabitha smoothed her finger across the ribbon, straightened it, and then crossed the room to the wardrobe, signaling an end to the topic.
Unwilling to let go of the opportunity to learn more about Mrs.Milton, Olivia forged ahead. “How long have you been at Cloverton Hall, Tabitha?”
“Me whole life, I s’pose.” She returned from the wardrobe with a gown of blush netted silk gauze folded over her arm. “Me mother was Mrs.Milton’s chambermaid a’fore me, and I used to ’elp me mother in Mrs.Milton’s chamber as a child.”
Olivia had no idea the relationship ran so deep. “She must trust you very much. She said that you and Teague were the only ones she allowed in her chamber.”
“’Tis true. Even with Louis she’s suspicious. I’m t’ only one permitted t’ see t’ his care and feeding, almost like a governess. For a dog! None of t’ footmen are allowed near ’im.”
“But why?” Olivia stood and stooped to allow Tabitha to slip the gown over her head. “There has to be a source of her suspicion.”
“If ye ask me, she’s afeared of what’ll happen when she’s not in authority. Mrs. Milton ’as experienced betrayal. She trusts no one. To make it worse, now that Mr. Wainbridge is master o’ Cloverton Hall, she’s had little more freedom than Teague or me.I s’pose all t’ money in t’ world does not guarantee a life free from sorrow.”
The words resonated in the still, silent room, challenging Olivia. She herself knew what it was like to want freedom and autonomy. To starve for it and chase it.
The door separating her chamber from Mrs.Milton’s chamber opened, and Mrs.Milton swept in, as elegant as ever, in a brocade gown of shimmering deep aubergine that hugged her ample figure. Amethysts shimmered from a gold chain about her neck.
The polished woman’s presence filled Olivia with dread. How could she pretend to be at ease after the exchange she’d just witnessed? Even so, Mrs.Milton’s tone was unaffected, as if nothing had transpired. “I’ve arranged for you to be seated next to Mr.Avery at dinner. I want you to find out from him why he’s here.”
“Mr.Wainbridge told us why he’s here,” Olivia argued, pivoting to allow Tabitha to secure the small ties at the back of her neck.
“No, no. I want to know specifically what pieces he is interested in. Is it the chinoiserie? The statues? I must know.”
“I can’t do that, Mrs.Milton.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course you can.”
Olivia adjusted the lacy fabric on her crossover bodice and turned to fully face the woman. “If Mr.Avery is working with Mr.Wainbridge as a client, I know for a fact that he’d never discuss the details of such with anyone. Don’t forget, he knows my family and their business. I think the more distance I can keep from him, the better.”
“Oh, poppycock.” She marched toward Olivia and, without a word, retied the ribbon at the high waist of Olivia’s gown. “I will know what it is he is after.”
Retreating from the physical contact, Olivia sharpened her tone. “I am not comfortable asking that. It would not be appropriate.”
Mrs.Milton turned a hard eye on her. “You don’t think it would beappropriate?”
“No. I’m not the person to inquire about such a thing.”
“I think you are. You know him.”
“I knowofhim, which is a different matter altogether. Mrs.Milton, you have engaged my services to evaluate a collection, but I—”
“I engaged your services, yes. And I have provided you with clothing and invited you to a party. All of this was done out of respect for your father. Do not fool yourself into thinking that you had anything to do with it.”
The words shocked her. And stung.
“If you do not wish to assist me, then you are free to leave anytime you choose. But if you do, then I will definitely not partner with Brannon Antiquities to sell my pieces. It might behoove you to rethink what you considerappropriate.” Mrs.Milton spun on her heel and left the Blue Room.
Olivia clenched her jaw in the wake of what had been said.
It was becoming too much—all of this.
She loathed being told who to talk to and which gown to wear. What was more, she despised that the woman was threatening to take this job away from her.
