With that, she set the box down and held up a velvet mauve gown with burgundy roses sewn around the neck and hemline. While it was like the riding habit and a few years out of date, it was still the best thing Mara had ever worn. She reached out to rub her fingers over the material and smiled. “It’s perfect.”
“And that’s not all,” Sophia winked. Setting the dress down, she picked up the box and opened it. “While they are only paste, I thought they would go perfectly with your ensemble.” She held up a strand of glittering rubies, a pair of matching earbobs, and a tortoiseshell comb.
A giggle the likes Mara hadn’t felt in ages bubbled up out of her chest. “Let’s get started.”
The maid quickly joined in her enthusiasm, and after Mara’s dress was changed, she sat at the vanity and faced the mirror while Sophia brushed out her hair. It was such a novel sensation, for Mara had always done this for Lyra, but she had to admit it was rather nice to be on the receiving end. It was all something she could get used to rather easily, but while this was only temporary, at least she could live out the fantasy, even if it was only for one evening.
Tonight, she was the mistress of Eversleigh Hall, and Roarke was hers.
She was so caught up in her daydream that she nearly missed what Sophia was saying.
“I think it’s wonderful that the master has returned after all this time, what with that awful business with his father and a former maid…”
Mara froze. Her gaze instantly shot to the mirror, but Sophia didn’t have any sort of malevolent or knowing expression on her face. Since she would have been too young to have worked here when Mara was employed, she was obviously only repeating what she’d heard, but Mara knew that was enough to get tongues wagging. She had to know what else the girl knew, but she must tread carefully.
“That all sounds rather scandalous. What happened?”
Sophia set down the brush and began to style Mara’s hair, all the while chattering like a magpie, unaware that with every word she uttered, she was shattering Mara’s world anew.
“The way I understand it from my mum, who was employed as a housemaid herself at the time, there would have been an awful scandal if Lady Eversleigh hadn’t patched things up like she did. Apparently, one of the ladies’ maids became a bit too cozywith the current viscount while he was still the heir. They’d had plans to elope when he came back from school, but while he was gone, something terrible happened.” Sophia lowered her voice, and Mara felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck prickle uneasily. “The master was caught trying to shag the girl, and shestabbedhim.”
Her lips were wooden, but Mara managed to say, “How dreadful.”
“Indeed,” the maid agreed, unaware of Mara’s inner turmoil. “It was bandied about that Lord Eversleigh’s father suffered a heart attack, but since the local doctor was paid rather handsomely to keep his silence, as well as the local magistrate, no one ever knew the truth. Except for the family and my mother, who had to help get rid of the bloody sheets as evidence.”
Mara was half afraid to ask, but she had to know. “What happened to the maid accused of this crime?”
As Sophia pinned her hair, she said, “I’m not sure, exactly. My mother was told that she’d died, but she never believed it. She thinks Lady Eversleigh paid her off as well and sent her packing, but I suppose we’ll never know.” After a final pat on Mara’s head, she asked, “So, what do you think?”
Mara glanced at the mirror once more to see an elegant coiffure shining back at her. The tortoiseshell comb set at a jaunty angle at the back of her golden blonde crown, while a single curl wrapped around her shoulder to lie across her breast. It was elegant and more than she could have hoped for. The necklace and earbobs completed the ensemble, and for a split second, Mara knew she could have passed for one of the local gentry, if nothing else. As it was, she was a fraud in more ways than she cared to recall.
Mara mustered up a smile, however stilted, for she knew that Sophia was waiting for her reply. “It’s lovely, thank you.”
“I’m so happy you’re pleased, miss,” Sophia gushed. “Can I do anything else?”
“No, that will be all.”
As the maid bobbed a curtsy and turned to go, Mara couldn’t stop herself from calling out, “Do you happen to recall the name of the former maid?”
Sophia twisted her lips in thought. “Morgan?” Shaking her head, she said, “No. Mary?” With a snap of her fingers, she announced proudly, “Mara! That’s it. Her name was Mara Miller.”
