Esther clamped down on the terror that she would be labeled a fraud and put out on the street with no way to feed her little one. She gave her head a toss and attempted to show confidence. Doug had his own responsibilities; she wouldn’t burden him with hers.
“I’m well, Sergeant Marsh. Thank you kindly for enquiring.”
The lines around his eyes softened, and a smile lurked at the edge of his lips, lips she found entirely too attractive. She felt her own smile soften into a more natural response.If only we were more to him than a charity case!
The servants carrying furniture through the passage paused, lingering just within hearing distance. They tended, she found, to gossip as much as the Society dragons at Almack’s did, and with more acute perception. “Please tell your aunt I am grateful for her support,” she said in a more carrying voice.
Doug glanced up, followed her line of sight, and answered in an equally carrying voice. “She said to tell you that you are more than welcome, and she looks forward to seeing you again soon.”
Her brows shot up.Does he mean that as an invitation or as something for the gossips to ponder?“She has done more than enough,” Esther replied. She dropped her voice and went on, “And you have as well. I will tell the dairyman to forward his bills directly to me as soon as I am paid.”
His oddly disappointed expression surprised her. “The ferret hasn’t paid you yet?”
He had to mean Fowler. Esther bit back a grin at the wordferret. “We get paid mid-month once a month, and that would be the day of the Valentine’s Day Ball, Sergeant. New employees are on sufferance for the first pay, but I’ve been promised payment the day of the ball.”
The furrows between his brows deepened. “They better keep their word—and I’ll have none of this nonsense about the dairy bill, at least until you have time to find your feet.”
She held his eyes, determined to have her way. She would not be a burden to the Marshes if she could help it, and yet the security of his assurance her son would not go hungry gave her courage. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“My aunt really does want you to come to dinner again,” he said without breaking eye contact.
“I can’t…”Can’t what, Esther? Take advantage of their generosity? See Douglas Marsh without longing for more than he offered?
“You there! Why are you lingering by the cloakroom? We do not pay our employees for standing around talking.” A scurry of feet, servants hurrying on, followed. Panic induced by Fowler’s voice cut through her thoughts. She could feel the pulse in her throat almost choke her. She wanted to blurt out her other fear to the man standing in front of her, to describe the way Fowler’s leering inspection made her skin crawl, but she wouldn’t burden him. She glanced to the door and saw the little manager staring with narrowed eyes.
“Thank you for conveying the earl’s kind words, Sergeant Marsh,” she said breathlessly, “but I really must get back to work. We have had such a flood of requests for tickets to the ball.”
Doug looked for a moment as if he would speak, but he didn’t stop her when she turned back to the table and sat, her heart pounding in her chest. She heard his receding footsteps behind her.
“Fowler,” he said in greeting.
“Good day, Marsh. Kind of you to convey greetings for Mrs. Linder from her friend the earl,” Fowler said. Esther wondered if the ironic twist he gave to the word “friend” was her imagination. Any response Doug may have made was lost to her hearing when the two of them walked away.
She applied herself to her work, determined to make herself too valuable to fire even if they found out the earl had led them to believe falsehoods on her behalf.
CHAPTER9
Fowler made his demand that Esther attend him the night of the Valentine’s Day Ball sound like a favor. The kitchen, he explained, would be in want of assistance; the cloak-room would be chaotic at the start and end of the evening; tickets required verification from time to time, but it would be a treat for her wouldn’t it? It wouldn’t. She hadn’t expected to work in the evening, and Fowler left her with only two hours after work to find care for Dougie. Worse, she hadn’t expected to have to avoid the toad during the ball. Esther had noticed very quickly that the maids hid from him, and female tradespeople kept to public rooms.
He surveyed her person insolently and wrinkled his nose. “Do dress well, Mrs. Linder. Wear something pretty. You will serve as one of the ornaments of our establishment.” His wandering eyes made her skin crawl. “You will not mingle with guests, of course, or—God save us—dance, but the music carries to the cloak room…” He met her eyes. “And the darker corners of the building. It is, after all, a night for lovers. You know about lovers, don’t you, Mrs. Linder?”
She wasn’t such a fool as to trust him, but she couldn’t afford to jeopardize her employment. His emphasis on the wordsloverandmissusbrought bile to her mouth, and a desperate need to spit it out seized her. She swallowed instead. “Will this normally be part of my duties?” she asked.
The corner of Fowler’s mouth twitched. “Perhaps. We will see how well you… perform tonight.” His self-assured posture and confident expression didn’t waver. Fowler wielded power with a word, a tipped chin, and a pointed glare.
“I thought we were to be paid today, Mr. Fowler,” she said in an attempt to divert the subject. She had, in fact, overheard two footmen complaining about the amount in their pay envelopes.
“You may recall that you are new here, Mrs. Linder, and serving on sufferance until I see how you perform. If you satisfy me, you will be paid after the ball.”
Her heart sank to her toes.Satisfy me… The worm. I’ll have to be extremely cautious not to be cornered tonight. If I do my work well and ask for my wages in public, he won’t be able to deny me, will he? Even if I don’t work another day, I need my wages.
Esther grasped her only weapon, weak though it was. “The Earl of Chadbourn will be pleased to see my work these weeks rewarded.”
Fowler backed up a step; his mildly affronted expression gave her satisfaction. He raised his chin, however, and huffed. “I understand the man will not attend; he may have left town already.” At least, Fowler avoided her the rest of the day.
* * *
Dougie lay on a blanket in Winny Potter’s parlor while the woman’s youngest daughter tickled his nose with a length of yarn, causing him to laugh and bat it with his chubby little hands. As much as Esther hated being away from him, she knew him to be well cared for in the Potter’s comfortable little house. The need to pay them added to her anxiety about getting her wages as promised.
