The footman had nearly caught up to her when a door she’d already passed opened and Sir Reginald of all people came out. Frances froze and held her breath as if that simple act alone would keep the man from noticing her should he happen to glance in her direction. Thankfully, he did not. Instead, he turned away from her and made his way toward the staircase. Even with his back toward her, she was certain it was him. She recognized his bald spot and sloping shoulders.
There was no more time to waste. Sir Reginald might turn around at any moment.
“In here?” she called to the footman in a loud whisper. She did not wait for a reply. Instead, she yanked open the very last door and darted inside. If she’d made the wrong choice, the footman would just have to come in and tell her so. A few moments later, the footman pushed open the door and followed her in.
“I’m terribly sorry if I’ve made a mistake with the room,” she said, hurrying over and shutting the door soundly behind him. “It’s just that I…” Hmm. What could she possibly tell this poor chap that would make any sense of her odd behavior?
“No mistake,” the footman replied, hoisting her trunk off his shoulder and onto the floor near the window. “This is the correct room. You do seem to be in quite a hurry, however.”
Frances, who’d been standing with her ear to the door to listen for Sir Reginald’s receding footsteps, blinked. First, she had the fleeting thought that the footman’s speech sounded quite cultured. Second, had a footman just commented upon her behavior? Well, that was certainly impertinent. Did the lad want a coin or didn’t he?
Upon further reflection, however, she supposed she couldn’t blame him for acting oddly after the wayshe’dbehaved. At any rate, Mama would be here soon, and no doubt would be seriously displeased to find Frances alone in the room with a footman.
She needed to pay the chap and send him on his way. Still listening at the door, her back turned away from the servant, she fumbled for her reticule that dangled from her wrist. The reticule contained a bit of pin money that might tide him over.
She stuck her gloved hand into the small bag until she felt the outline of a coin. She pulled it out to look at it. A half-pound. Good enough. Clutching the coin, she turned to look at the footman who stood not two lengths behind her and…sucked in her breath.
Good heavens. This was no lad, but a full-grown man, and perhaps one of the tallest and certainly most handsome she’d ever seen. He had intelligent dark-green eyes, and a face that looked as if it had been carved into marble. Dark eyebrows, a perfect nose, wide shoulders, and full, masculine lips. Unconsciously, she pulled the coin up to her lips and exhaled, staring at him as if he were a statue come to life. Good heavens. Seems somehow she’d managed to close herself into a bedchamber alone with God’s gift to footmen.
CHAPTER FOUR
Lucas narrowed his eyes on the pretty young woman he’d just helped. She was leaning back against the closed bedchamber door, one gloved hand pressed to the wood, the other holding a coin near her rosy lips. Was it his imagination or was she shaking? He’d never seen a young lady in such a hurry before. She’d acted as if the devil had been on her heels. Now she was standing there in quite a state, her bosom heaving with her deep breaths, her skin flushed a lovely shade of pink.
He’d seen her look at him. Twice. Then her eyes became deeply focused. She was staring at him. There was no mistaking it, and the look on her face was utter surprise.
For an awful moment he wondered if she recognized him, but he quickly discarded the notion. He didn’t recognizeher. He was quite certain he would have remembered her if they’d been introduced.
He’d spent the better part of the morning hauling trunks upstairs for a variety of young women and their mamas, but this was the first young woman who’d caught his attention so thoroughly. Not only because she was beautiful—and she truly was, with dark-brown hair, a pert nose and lovely dark eyes that hinted she was up to something— but she’d mostly managed to catch his attention due to her unexpected behavior. She’d certainly been the first young lady to abandon Mrs. Cotswold and her own mother and rush up to her room ahead of him. Not to mention asking him to follow her up the grand staircase. At first, he’d simply guessed she had a desperate need to use the privy, but when Sir Reginald Francis emerged from his room, she’d turned ashen white and leaped into the first bedchamber she’d come across. What precisely was the matter between the young woman and Sir Reginald? Or was she merely painfully shy and doing her best to avoid all other guests? The way she was looking at him, however, made him seriously doubt she was at all shy.
Lucas’s suspicions were confirmed when the young woman stepped toward him and said, “Would you mind very much peering out the door and ensuring that a man about five inches shorter than you, with graying hair at the temples, a bald spot, sloping shoulders, and probably a smug look on his face is no longer in the corridor?”
Lucas had to bite his lip to keep from laughing outright. That was a description of Sir Reginald if ever Lucas had heard one. In addition to being unpredictable, this young woman was also humorous. Both of which made her interesting. Interesting and a bit mysterious. But why was she hiding from Sir Reginald? He was hardly worth the intrigue.
Lucas smiled at the irony of his own thought.Hewas hiding from Sir Reginald too. In fact, Lucas had been slightly worried earlier when he’d noticed Sir Reginald’s coach pull up. They knew each other from Parliament. One glance and Sir Reginald might recognize him in an instant. Unless, of course, Bell was right, and the upper crust rarely noticed servants.
Regardless, Lucas had made a mental note to ask Clayton why the devil he’d invited the knight to the house party. Clayton had been under strict orders to keep the guest list to a minimum to reduce the risk of recognition.
There would be time to discuss Sir Reginald with Clayton later, however. At the moment, Lucas fully intended to humor this poor young lady. If she needed a confirmation that Sir Reginald was no longer in the corridor, Lucas would be happy to provide her with one. Of course, Mrs. Cotswold hadn’t taught him anything about the propriety of peering after guests in the corridor, but he was already quite certain he shouldn’t be alone in a guest room with a young lady, so what did a bit of peering matter?
He moved closer to the door and the young woman hurriedly stepped aside, but not before he caught a whiff of her perfume. A light and airy flowery scent that made his head reel.
“Pardon me,” he said, clearing his throat again. Why did this young woman’s presence make his throat tight?
Her lips rounded into a small O and she stepped farther sidewise from the door. “My apologies.” She glanced away, blushing slightly.
He’d made her blush? That was adorable. Lucas stepped forward, turned the handle, and opened the door a crack. He peeked out into the corridor. James, the other footman, who was carrying the mother’s trunk, was entering the bedchamber next door. Otherwise, the hall was empty. The girl’s mother must still be speaking with Thea downstairs. Lucas briefly wondered at a woman who hadn’t even seemed to notice that her daughter had run up the stairs and disappeared. The entire situation was quite strange. He felt slightly sorry for the young woman.
Lucas shut the door again and turned back to her. “He looks to be gone,” he reported.
The young woman heaved a sigh and leaned back against the wall, letting her head tip toward her right shoulder. A lock of dark hair had escaped her bonnet and it lay on her shawl. He wanted to wrap the lock around his finger, see if it felt as soft as it appeared.
“Oh, I’m so glad. Thank you. Thank you very, very much,” she exclaimed.
“Was he…bothering you, my lady?” Lucas couldn’t help but ask. Mrs. Cotswold would no doubt disapprove of a footman being so nosy. Butfaçadeor not, he was still a gentleman and a gentleman always protects a lady. But who was this young lady, and what danger did she face from Sir Reginald of all people? The man could be a pompous ass, but harmless otherwise, as far as Lucas knew. Though the knight had certainly been a thorn in Lucas’s side over the summer. Sir Reginald had been teetering between defense of the Employment Bill and rejecting it, which meant Lucas had spent the better part of the last few months trying to convince the knight of the bill’s merits.
Normally, Lucas would have been pleased to find one of the men he still needed to convince at the same house party. It would give him more of an opportunity to make his case, but at this particular house party, it would be nothing but embarrassing if Sir Reginald recognized him, which was entirely possible, powdered hair or no. Lucas would definitely have to steer clear of the man.
“He wasn’t bothering me…yet,” the young woman replied with what looked to be an irrepressible grin. “But that’s why I wanted to get away from him so quickly. I’m certain he shall bother me in future.”
