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“Excuse me?” Millie said on a whim.

The maid halted and glanced at her over her shoulder before giving Millie her full attention. She had fair golden hair tucked beneath her maid’s cap, and a curl had broken free. She was pretty, with excellent posture and a directness about her gaze. “Yes?”

“I was hoping to ask you a question. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you…what is your name?”

“Clara.”

Millie pushed her door open. “I am Millie Hollis. I could have asked this of my maid, but she is unfamiliar with the customs in this house.”

Clara followed her inside, leaving the door ajar. “I am not very well acquainted with the customs either, I’m afraid. My employment here is fairly new.”

Millie pulled open the drawer to her writing desk but paused. Should she ask for someone else? Someone who knew the house and customs well?

“But I will do my best,” Clara said.

This was enough for Millie. “I received a few unsigned notes from a suitor, and they have been sealed with a stamp found in the library. But the oddest thing is the color of the wax. I wondered…do you know if there is a room in the house that might hold blue wax? Is this something the countess might use on particular letters to be eccentric?”

“Blue?” Clara asked, stepping closer and peering at the letter in Millie’s hand. “How odd. I’ve not seen that before.”

Millie’s hope flagged. “Will you tell me if you do happen to find any blue wax among the guests? Or the lady of the house, too, I suppose.”

“Or the earl?”

Millie paused. Could the man writing to her be Lord Dalmeer? She imagined not when he spent most of his free time looking at Nell. “I would be greatly surprised if these came from the earl.”

“Very well. I suppose his cousin is staying in his room, so he is not accessing his own writing desk at this time, anyway. The countess did not anticipate his attendance.”

“Since his cousin is a married man, I can strike him from my potential list of suitors as well.”

Clara smiled. “I will do my best to see what I can discover.”

“Thank you.” Millie put her letters away again. “I suppose he must plan to reveal himself at some point, but if I can learn who he is first, I will possibly save myself from a great shock.”

“I can only imagine.” Clara’s light blue eyes were soft and understanding. It might have been unwise to trust a maid she did not know, but nothing in Clara’s mannerisms or gaze gave Millie a feeling of unease.

Nell appeared in the open doorway, a bright spot of sunlight dressed in butter yellow.

“Good morning,” Millie said.

Nell glanced between Millie and the maid. “I came to ask if you’d like to go to breakfast.”

“Thank you, Clara. That will be all.”

The maid moved to leave, but seemed to remember herself and turned back to dip a curtsy. “I will find you when I learn anything.”

Millie was determined to uncover the man soon. If she had to personally check each room in this monstrous house for blue wax, she would. Hopefully, Clara would save her from committing that breach of privacy.

Charles leaned against the door to his and Helena’s bedchamber, his face folded into concern. Early afternoon light filtered through a window in the corridor, throwing a shadow over the creases of worry lining his face. “Is it typical behavior for a woman to cast up her accounts so often as this, Millie?”

“I am not sure,” she said gently. “I have never been pregnant.”

He scrubbed a hand over his eyes. “Shall I call for a doctor, do you think?”

“I thought she had been visited by Dr. Goring before choosing to come on this trip.”