Devoted to You

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“I will stay here as long as I damned well please, Edwards. Remember that you are also a servant in this house,” Aidan warned darkly.

It was evident to everyone that something was going on between the master and the woman that was less than pleasant. Unless Petal was grossly mistaken, they didn’t like each other very much.

At least he isn’t staring at you anymore, Petal sighed with relief as she watched the interplay between the Sir Aidan and the nurse.

“I am looking after your best interests,” the woman named Edwards remarked snidely. “I am your nurse, after all.”

She looked around the hallway down the length of her nose, as if attempting to reaffirm to everyone that her position within the household would be considerably more elevated than the servants.

“Come along now,” Edwards ordered the footmen.

Aidan lifted a hand to stop them moving.

“Get out of my sight, Edwards. I shall not have you issue orders to anyone in my house,” he declared coldly.

Edwards opened her mouth to argue but then took a closer look at the closed expression on Aidan’s face. There had already been enough conflict between them for her to recognise that Aidan was angry, and matters would be awful between them until she was able to find a way to get around it. Shaking her head in disgust, she skirted around her bag now resting in the middle of the hall and made her way upstairs empty-handed, apparently expecting the staff to take her luggage to her room.

“Your room is downstairs, Edwards,” Aidan reported coldly as he watched her take two steps up the main flight of stairs. “With the staff. Where you belong.”

Edwards froze and turned to glare coldly at him. “I beg your pardon?”

Aidan sighed and levelled a disinterested glare on the woman.

“You are a servant in this house. Therefore, you will remain in the servant’s quarters. However, seeing as the upstairs quarters are full, you have to reside in the downstairs quarters, in the old housekeeper’s room next to the kitchens. Off you go now, and don’t forget your bag.”

The atmosphere within the hall thickened as everyone waited to see what she would do.

Edward’s cheeks flushed angrily. Petal expected the woman to launch into a tirade and protest against her treatment. In the end, she sucked in a deeply affronted breath before stiffly descending the stairs. Once there, she picked up her bag and skirted around the master without even bothering to look at him again. Petal thought that was the end of the matter until Edwards reached the door to the servants’ quarters at the back of the hall. Once through the door, she slammed it behind her with such force that the portraits shuddered against the wall.

Petal’s eyes grew wide. The urge to puff her cheeks out at such a blatant display of bad temper almost happened. Until she realised the master had turned his attention to her once again. She couldn’t move, and swallowed nervously while she waited to hear what he had to say to her.

Something deep inside jolted with the alarming awareness that was nothing to do with her employment status but was infinitely more feminine. Appalled at the inappropriateness of her thoughts, she swallowed harshly and tried to ignore the heavy beating of her thundering heart. As the minutes ticked by, she found her gaze inevitably drawn down to meet his, in spite of her sternest warning that it was foolish to do so.

Their gazes met. His were calm and reassuring, if alive with curiosity; not at all what she had expected. Not after how angry he had been with the nurse. It was perplexing. Something in that soft gaze left her with the impression he wasn’t upset with anybody. So, what had that scene been all about with the nurse?

Aidan looked deeply into her sharp, crystal blue gaze and was hooked. They seemed to beckon him in and render his thoughts token wisps of nothingness that had little relevance or meaning beyond the two of them. Her gaze was nervous and unsure; as though her very life depended on whether he was happy with her or not. He wanted to reassure her but had no idea what had frightened her in the first place.

Petal hated feeling this menial. It was the first time she had felt anything like this in her entire life but was helpless to do anything about it. It was horrifying to experience it now; in the eyes of someone so stunningly handsome. An undercurrent of something she had yet to identify swept between them. Awareness, yes, but there was something else. Some inner connection that brought forward a yearning she had never expected to experience. Not with her new employer anyway. She was at a loss to know how to deal with the burgeoning feelings. An inner sense of self-preservation began to scream at her to look away, and do it now, and she did. But, moments later, she found herself wishing he would do the same.

Aidan couldn’t take his eyes off her, and read horror, fear, worry, nervousness, and all sorts of other emotions in her eyes. It amazed him that he understood another human being in this way. He had certainly never been able to do so before. Even though her face didn’t move, he was aware that she was feeling all of those things, and more, although had no idea how he know. He just did. Surprised, he wanted to find out as much as he could about her; like why he had such a link with someone he barely knew. Someone who was, by far, the complete opposite of everything he had known, and was.

“They are new staff members,” Aidan drawled, forcing his attention onto the somewhat plain young lady beside the stunning beauty.

“That’s Petal, sir,” Rollo replied, motioning to the delightful creature. “She is the upstairs maid.”

“Petal?” Aidan murmured thoughtfully.

He wouldn’t have called her Petal. She looked more like a Rose, or a Hyacinth, or some kind of exotic orchid, but never Petal. He only half listened to Rollo recount all of her duties. She looked small, fragile even; as though she wouldn’t have enough strength to withstand a good gust of wind. How on earth Rollo expected someone like her to fetch and carry heavy trays and buckets up and down the stairs was beyond him. It was on the tip of his tongue to order the butler to swap her with someone from downstairs but then wanted to see more of her. If only to make sure she was up to the job she had been employed to do.

“Petunia Biddeham, sir. Everyone calls her Petal.” Unaware of Sir Aidan’s thoughts, Rollo moved on to the next maid. “This is Agatha Taylor, the downstairs maid. Everybody calls her Aggy, sir.”

Aidan nodded and tried to appear interested in the second maid, but failed miserably when his gaze instinctively slid back to Petal.

“Are you alright?” Jerry asked with a frown when the length of time Aidan had been staring at the servant had gone beyond politeness.

Aidan looked at his brother.