“It’s fine,” he replied thoughtfully. “I was going to say something only forgot what. Trying to think of anything at the moment is so incredibly difficult that it’s become a daily struggle. I hate it.”

“It will get better,” Jerry assured him.

In spite of his encouraging words, his voice was laden with concern.

Conversely, in spite of his cloudy thoughts, Aidan didn’t think he would forget Petal at all. There was something about her that had captured his attention. Mired in a thick fog that continually troubled him, she was the one vision that stood out amongst everything else. It was so unusual that he needed to find out why now and, more importantly, why her.

“Petal,” he murmured softly. “That is an unusual name.”

Jerry studied the maid in question, who looked deuced uncomfortable at being singled out. He couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her. Aidan had never shown this much interest in any of his servants before. This new maid was delightfully gorgeous in her own right, but nothing particularly special. What was it about her that had caught his brother’s attention? Turning to study Aidan again, he began to wonder.

Oblivious to the waiting staff, Aidan rolled her name around in his mind. It immediately turned his thoughts toward flowers; in particular, the elegant, soft petals of a rose. Such sweet temptation; it reminded him of spring; new beginnings; fresh starts; the burgeoning

of new life; the dawn of a new season. It gave him hope. It made him want to smile, and that was something he hadn’t done in a very long time indeed.

Confident that it was the right decision not to ask Rollo to move her downstairs, he gave Petal one last, lingering look, and decided he would make an assessment of her sturdiness personally. If in a few week, he didn’t think she was up to the job then he would have her moved downstairs.

Satisfied that the initial spark of interest in her was down to nothing more than an employer’s concern for his staff, he turned his attention to his butler.

“Would you like me to introduce the rest of the staff, sir?” Rollo asked courteously.

“No, let them go about their duties. My arrival didn’t warrant a receiving line. You know I can’t abide all of this pomp and circumstance. It can’t be any fun for them either,” Aidan replied briskly.

He almost smiled when he felt the atmosphere within the room lighten considerably as everyone heaved a barely hidden sigh of relief.

“How many people work here?” Jerry asked, running his gaze along the rest of the household and doing a mental headcount. He pursed his lips. “It will be enough to look after you, Aidan.”

“There are ten, sir; eight inside the house and two outside. We kept the numbers down as you requested. They are the most reliable staff, sir. They won’t gossip, and are accomplished,” Rollo assured them both.

“I know. I am sure I will meet them all in due course. For now, I think I had better go and rest for a while. I need to recover from the journey. It has been most taxing.”

Rollo clicked his fingers. The footmen immediately began to make their way up the stairs.

It was only when Petal disappeared from his line of sight that Aidan realised he had been staring at her for an overly long period. He hadn’t even noticed the three or four other members of staff standing on the opposite side of her. Reluctantly, he turned his attention to the high arch of the ceiling as it passed by, and yawned widely while he thought about that.

“Tired?” Jerry asked fondly as he climbed the steps beside him.

Aidan snorted. “I am, but I don’t see why I should be. All I have done is lie in bed and eat. Why, I shall be as fat as a goose if I carry on like this.”

“You have just travelled all the way from London,” Jerry reminded him pertly. “It is a tiring journey for someone who is able bodied. You have barely recovered from a near-fatal carriage accident. It is unsurprising you are exhausted.”

Petal watched the procession turn out of sight at the top of the stairs and almost slumped with relief that they were gone. To her dismay, Sir Aidan’s gaze had remained on her until he had no choice but to look away. She wondered if she had soot on her face or something. Before he had arrived, she had hurried to his room to light the fire but hadn’t had the time to check that she was presentable other than to make sure her uniform was clean.

“What was he looking at?” Petal demanded of Mrs Kempton suddenly, her voice full of panic. “What’s wrong with me? Why was he staring?”

“Now, now, Petal, I am sure it was nothing,” Mrs Kempton soothed. “He is just curious about you, that’s all. I have known him since he was a wee boy. He is kindly, that one. He hasn’t seen either you, or Aggy, before. The master has always taken an interest in what is going on below stairs. Never you mind, my dear. If he had a problem with you, he would have said so.”

Before Petal could say anything else, Mrs Kempton focused her attention on the rest of the staff and clapped her hands to halt the dull murmur of conversation.

“Do I look alright?” Petal demanded of Aggy as she peered down at her dress.

“Come along everyone. Best get back to work,” Mrs Kempton said before she scurried off to the kitchens.

Petal barely heard Aggy assure her that she was fine. She hurried over to the mirror right next to the door and looked at her hair. It was all neatly tucked away as she had left it.

With answers not forthcoming, Petal had no choice but to re-join the rest of the servants now shuffling to the back of the house. She had heard many staff mention that the new master was an exceptional man with a fine, upstanding reputation for being a good person to work for. That being the case why had he singled her out like that? Did he not know that the servants below stairs would gossip and speculate about such things?

As if to confirm that notion, a couple of the kitchen staff smiled secretively at her as they returned to their posts. Petal turned away from them and blanked out their whispers, but could do little about the tide of worry that began to build.

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