our dalliance would bring. An unwanted child? Stigma if caught? We could spend the night together and no one would ever uncover the truth, or it could ruin me for good.
The sudden thump of footsteps startled me from my thoughts. A footman walked by, giving me a knowing glance, no doubt realizing this could be the last time he’d ever see me again. Word would get through the house within ten minutes that I’d been in Mrs. Finch’s chamber. Vi would be upset. Worried. Angry. I couldn’t destroy her chances here.
I took in a deep, trembling breath. Mrs. Finch had been looking for an excuse to get rid of me from the beginning, so it could be any number of pathetic reasons. Only one way to find out. Steeling my nerves, I lifted my fist and knocked.
“Come in,” Mrs. Finch barked.
I pushed open the door and stepped into her tiny, yet neat room. It smelled of talcum powder and starch. A cross hung above her narrow bed, a desk against the far wall. Other than the cross, no other décor added life to the austere space. Not even a twig of mistletoe. Sleet beat against the one small window, a chilling reminder of what lurked outside. She looked up from her desk, a pen in hand. I could read nothing within her round face.
“Sit,” she demanded.
I moved across the room and settled on the rickety chair near her desk. The small fireplace was cold, no indication that she was blessed with heat at night. She was treated barely better than we were, yet she remained so loyal. Lady Landcaster could have demanded she cut off her right arm, and she would have without pause.
“Have I not given you a chance, Ginny, despite your obviously less than ideal breeding?” She set her pen down. “Did I not warn you that when you started you would have one chance and only one?”
I flushed, feeling slightly ill and curious all at once. What had she seen? What had she heard? I knew better than to admit guilt unless the proof was staring me in the face. “Can I ask what this is about, Mum?”
“Cheeky child.” She brushed her letter aside, folded her hands primly atop the desk, and glared at me. “It’s about the fact that you were seen dallying with a man at the ball last week. A lord, I might add.”
Bitter cold reality washed over me. She knew. Somehow, she had uncovered the truth. It was bad enough knowing what I had done; it was a million times worse realizing someone had watched us. I could feel the color drain from my face. The very chair below me seemed to disappear and I was no longer connected to my body. Someone had seen us? Someone had watched as Lord Chambers had drawn his hands over my body, pressed his lips to my neck. Dear Lord. My stomach clenched. I was going to be ill.
“You’ll get no good reference from me,” the woman proclaimed.
It didn’t make sense. Most of our kissing had taken place in the linen closet. I’d made sure we were alone. And after Gabe had left, I’d searched the halls. But for the couple having their own dalliance near the windows, I could have sworn no one had been upstairs.
A shiver of unease raced down my spine. Had Gabe…
No. Certainly not. Yet, once the thought formed, it took root. Growing, growing…
“Do you dare deny it?” Mrs. Finch snapped, interrupting my mounting fury. “Do you deny it, gurl?”
Had Gabe told her on purpose? My fingers curled around the wooden arms of the chair. Had he sought revenge? Or had he told her, assuming I’d have no choice but to go to him, & take him up on his indecent offer? “Does it matter?”
She narrowed her beady gaze. “Pardon?”
“Does it matter?” I quirked a brow. I’d kept my mouth shut for weeks now. I’d bowed and scraped, not daring to look anyone in the eye, as if I wasn’t even fit to clean the bottoms of their boots. It didn’t matter. One indiscretion and she was going to let me go no matter what I said. “If I deny it, will you believe me?”
She looked away, opening a missive as if she had something more important to do. “How haughty you are when you haven’t any right, lowly servant indeed.”
“Oh, do pray tell.” I leaned forward, catching her gaze. Although I knew I would be tossed out on my ear, I