A Lady Never Tells(31)
“No, I suspected they would not. But let me assure you that they are a trial to everyone in the family—and outside, I suspect. I make it my business to avoid Aunt Euphronia whenever possible. I hesitated about coming tonight, truthfully, but I pulled my courage together. I could not in good conscience allow you to face her on your own.”
Mary chuckled. “You are a brave soul.”
“I have suffered enough cuts from that razor tongue to be wary.” He smiled wryly.#p#分页标题#e#
“Thank you for your kindness tonight.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “I appreciate your words, but I don’t know what you mean.”
“I noticed how you indicated which fork and knife to use. I would have been lost without your direction. And do not try to deny it. I appreciate the help—heaven knows we need all the help we can get here, I fear.”
Royce shrugged. “’Twas little enough. I know how difficult it is to be an outsider among the Talbot family.”
They stopped at the foot of the staircase. The other girls were already running up the stairs, chattering, but Mary paused and turned to face Royce, holding out her hand. He took it in his.
“I am mindful of all you have done for my sisters and me, and I am most grateful. We are all most grateful,” she amended quickly.
Royce did not let go of her hand. She knew that he should, that she should pull free of his grasp. Instead, she looked up into his face, neither of them saying a word.
It would be easy to get lost in his eyes, she thought. They were dark green now in the candlelight, the large pupils softening the sharpness they had held earlier in the day. She was aware of an urge to reach up and caress his cheek; she wanted to learn how his skin felt against her hand. Indeed, she wanted, God help her, to feel his lips on hers again.
Mary wondered if he was thinking the same things as he looked down at her, if his mind, too, strayed to the kiss they had shared the evening before. When his eyes darkened further and his gaze flickered for a moment to her lips, she knew that his thoughts had indeed mirrored hers. He would not be so brazen as to do it again, she thought, not here, but there was some part of her that boldly wished he would.
His mouth softened, and Royce bowed, his lips brushing the back of her hand. Mary shivered, feeling the velvety touch all through her. He straightened, his eyes glinting, and a slow, knowing smile spread across his lips. He knew her reaction, she thought; indeed, he had intended to produce exactly that response.
“Good night, Miss Briscombe.”
“Good night.” She could barely get out a whisper. She turned and ran up the stairs, not looking back. But when she reached the top, she could not keep herself from turning and glancing back down the steps. Royce was still watching her.
Mary hurried on to her room, unable to erase the smile from her face.
Rose was in their room undressing. To Mary’s surprise, the maid Jenny was there too, efficiently undoing the buttons down Rose’s back. Rose shot Mary a pained look as the maid bobbed a curtsey to her.
“You needn’t have stayed up to help us,” Mary told the girl.
Jenny gazed at her in the puzzled way that Mary was becoming accustomed to. “But, miss, it’s me job.”
“Yes, well, I’m sure you could do with a bit of extra sleep, and Rose and I have been helping each other with our buttons for years.”
The maid hesitated, looking at Mary, and Rose took the opportunity to slide away from the girl, holding her dress up with a hand to her chest.
“But what about your hair?” the girl protested. “Don’t you want me to take it down and brush it?”
“We are quite capable of doing that ourselves as well.” Jenny stood there indecisively, and Mary remembered how the earl had dismissed the butler that afternoon. “That will be all now.”
“Yes, my lady.” She bobbed another curtsey and left the room.
“Thank goodness!” Rose exhaled a sigh and let her dress drop. “When she told me she was here to help me undress, I didn’t know what to say to her! I didn’t want to be unkind, but how can I take off my clothes in front of a complete stranger?” She bent and picked up the frock, carefully folding it and setting it aside before she began to undo her petticoats. “I don’t understand these people. They don’t even brush their own hair!”#p#分页标题#e#
“It is a very different place.” Mary turned so that Rose could unfasten the back of Mary’s dress. “If we are helped to dress and undress, they certainly will not stand for our sweeping the floors or even dusting. It is nice not to have to work, but … what are we to do all day?”