Thankfully, she had just left the woman downstairs arguing with the housekeeper over whether she should do her own laundry or not. That was an argument Petal was more than willing to leave behind. She rather suspected the nurse would not win over the older woman, but had no prior knowledge of the pecking order within such vast houses so couldn’t form an opinion either way. It was down to the master to decide who should get their own way, and taking that to his bedside was certainly something for Rollo, not the upstairs maid.
Eager to get her last duties over with so she could go to bed herself, Petal entered the master’s bedchamber. She peeped cautiously at the bed.
Good, he is asleep, she thought with a sigh of relief, and hurried over to the fire to get her jobs done quickly before he woke up.
Once the fire was lit, she stood and turned around only to catch the edge of the table with her backside. The dull thud of a book hitting the floor echoed loudly around the room. She gasped and froze, her wide eyes locked on the man in the bed. Time passed slowly as she waited for him to twitch. Thankfully, he didn’t wake up, so she bent down and picked up the thick tome. Before she put it back, she read the spine: The Adventures of Jacob Sago by Rochester Millenhall.
“Can you read?”
“Oh!” As she spun around to face the bed, her grasp on the book loosened, and it toppled out of her hands and came to rest at her feet. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“I thought I told you not to keep apologising,” Aidan replied wryly, sitting up with a yawn.
He wasn’t angry with her. Unless his eyes were deceiving him, she could read. When she didn’t answer, he nodded toward the book she picked back up again and slid onto the table.
“Can you read?” He repeated.
Petal nodded. “Yes, I can,” she replied with a slight frown. “I didn’t mean to poke into your business. I was just looking at the title.”
“Have you read it before?”
She shook her head.
Aidan studied her. It was highly unusual for an upstairs maid to be literate to the point that she could read something like the material he enjoyed. Determined to find out just how well she had been taught, he heaved himself higher on the bed and nodded to the book.
“Hand me the book, please,” he murmured.
When she held it out to him, he nodded to the chair beside the bed. “Take a seat.”
“I can’t,” she replied. “I am not allowed to sit on the furniture.”
Aidan stared at her. “Pardon?” He hadn’t stopped to think about that.
“I am staff. I am not allowed to sit on the furniture,” she repeated dully.
Aidan mentally cursed. “Well, I am the master of the house, and I am telling you to take a seat.”
He cursed aloud when she looked at the chair as though it was a beast about to strike her. Thankfully, though, she was dutiful enough to do as she was told and perched cautiously on the edge of the chair.
“Now, read a bit to me.”
“Would you like me to fetch Edwards for you, sir?” She asked and popped straight back up only to freeze when he lifted a hand to stop her.
“No, I do not want you to fetch Edwards. I want you to take a blasted seat,” he ground out through clenched teeth, his patience ebbing.
Aware that she must be under some sort of ridiculous order from Rollo, he took a moment to steady his anger. “While I don’t want to see any of my servants lollygagging around on the furniture, on this occasion it is necessary because I should like you to read to me. I have a headache, and it is affecting my ability to read. Now, if you would kindly sit back down and read to me, it would be appreciated. I know it is not your duty, but this is a special request from me to you.”
Petal felt a little sorry for him and sat back down. She opened the front cover and hesitated.
“Where were you?” She lifted the book when he looked askance at her.
“Start at the beginning. I will tell you when to stop.”
After a moment’s pause, Petal settled back in the chair and began to read.
Her soft, melodic voice echoed soothingly around the room as she recounted the escapades of a rather rebellious explorer who was busy trying to acclimatise back to London’s social climes after several months in a far off distant jungle. Aidan shook his head in disbelief. Her reading was fluent and expressive. Whoever had taught her had done well. As he listened, he had to wonder just what other secrets Petal had that he should know about. For now, he was happy he had discovered this one, mostly because he could benefit from it.
Lost in her gentle voice, he settled against the plush pillows behind him with a contented sigh. For the first time in a very long time, he began to relax.