Free The Housemaid's Scandalous Secret by Helen Dickson

the very idea that someone might want to marry her.
    ‘As a matter of fact there is nothing further from my mind, but if I were, I see nothing wrong with that.’
    ‘Well, if marriage is your goal, pray let me dissuade you from it. You may think me something of a radical, but I have come to think that womankind is rendered helpless by her dependency upon men. At their mercy we are no better than rabbits in a trap. It is far better in life to remain unencumbered, if possible.’
    ‘Thank you for your cynical view on the subject, Miss Araminta, but it is not a view I share. I would like to think that marriage is a partnership based on mutual love and respect, and companionship, not an encumbrance.’
    ‘You are quite right, Miss Napier,’ Ross remarked. ‘I can see that when I single out the object of my matrimonial intentions, I would be wise to seek your advice.’
    Over her shoulder, Araminta threw him a glare of mock offence. ‘Ladies are not objects, Ross. Little wonder you have failed to secure yourself a wife. And if you did I can only assume that you would toss her over your shoulder, carry her off and beat her into submission.’
    ‘You mean,’ Ross said straight-faced, ‘that isn’t the way to handle the matter?’ His gaze shifted to Lisette’s in the mirror. ‘What say you, Miss Napier?’ He awaited her reply with more interest than Lisette realised.
    Lisette saw the humour lurking in his eyes; she burst out laughing, and to Ross it seemed as if the room were filled with music. ‘Ladies—that is all ladies, be they well-born or otherwise,’ she clarified a moment later with a look that clearly implied his past experience had probably been with females of quite another sort, ‘have very definite ideas of the way they wish to be treated by the man who wins their heart.’
    ‘Please enlarge on that,’ Ross said as she stuck another pin through a curl on Araminta’s head. ‘Just how do ladies like to be treated?’
    ‘With respect, loyalty and devotion—and she wants to think that he has eyes for no one but her, that he’s blind to everything but her beauty.’
    ‘In which case, he’s in imminent danger of tripping over his own feet,’ Ross pointed out, grinning broadly.
    Araminta shot him an admonishing look. ‘And,’ she said emphatically, ‘she likes to think he’s a romantic, which you obviously are not, dear brother.’
    ‘Not if I have to grope my way about like a blind idiot,’ he teased. ‘What else do ladies like, Miss Napier? I am all ears.’
    Having said more than she had intended and spoken more sharply to Miss Araminta than was seemly in a maid, under her mistress’s penetrating gaze some of Lisette’s confidence slid away. Apart from Messalina she had never known how to converse with people her own age, and for the first time since leaving India, she felt gauche and ill at ease.
    ‘I will leave you to work that out for yourself, Colonel. I am sorry, Miss Araminta. I was impertinent. I should not have been so outspoken when you voiced your opinion on marriage.’
    ‘Why on earth not? I like people who speak their mind and you were quite right. I was very rude and there was no call for it.’
    Standing up and smoothing her satin skirts, Araminta felt a new respect for her maid. Lisette knew her role but to be sure she was no dullard. Her impish smile and darting golden eyes betrayed the quick wit of an urchin. No doubt she had already knitted together the strands of Araminta’s own tragic story from below stairs gossip. Still, she was aware of Lisette’s capabilities and had already come to value her honesty and discretion. In just one week she had assumed far more than her intended measure of responsibilities and in doing so had made herself indispensable.

Chapter Three
    S eated beside the window to catch the light for her sewing, Lisette was surprised when, following a brief knock on the door, it suddenly opened and Colonel Montague strolled in. Her heart missed a