The Lord's Secret: A Victorian MM Romance by V.W. Jackson

Author:V.W. Jackson
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Published: 2018-05-24T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

The day seemed to take forever to pass. In between bouts of indolence, Benjamin would occasionally push himself up from the bed and go to the window, to see if the woman’s carriage was still there.

Of course it was. And each time Benjamin laid eyes upon it, his mind filled with images of Lord Harrington and that handsome, emerald-eyed woman doing all kinds of things: strolling around the grounds hand-in-hand, perhaps taking a boat out onto the lake that Benjamin had glimpsed at the very back of the house, or maybe they were lunching together beneath a parasol on the lawn?

And each time he thought of these images, he felt a little more wretched than before, as his lowly place within the house was confirmed to him, over and over again.

At around six that evening, there came a hurried knock at the door, and in came Mary carrying Benjamin’s supper on a tray.

“Now remember what I told you and make sure to prepare yourself this evening, young Benjamin,” Mary stated coldly as she set Benjamin’s food out on the table for him. “For the Lord will no doubt want to pay you a visit later tonight.”

“And why is that?” Benjamin replied, for he suspected the answer, yet knew that Mary would never confirm her fears aloud.

Perhaps Benjamin’s little indolences of the day were not over. For why else would he want to tease poor, prudish Mary so?

“Why, have you not seen the carriage?” Mary asked, blushing, and once more, her eyes were fixed firmly on the floor.

“Yes, of course I have,” said Benjamin innocently. “Such a beautiful carriage. Who does it belong to?”

“Why,” Mary said quietly, “that carriage belongs to Lady Middlemiss. She is a particular friend of Lord Harrington.”

And as Mary spoke of the Lady, her face brightened. She was clearly a particular favourite of Mary’s too.

“Lady Middlemiss,” Mary continued, “is the eldest daughter of one of the most prominent land owners in all of the country. She’s a great beauty, and so accomplished! Yes, it would be a great match ...”

At this, Mary tailed off, lost in thought, clearly imagining the beautiful Lady Middlemiss as her new mistress. And the pangs of jealousy that had been rising in Benjamin’s chest all afternoon, now boiled over.

Benjamin cursed his foolishness. He had wanted to punish Mary – to punish her for catching him outside of his room that morning, to punish her for his prudishness, to punish her simply for no reason the way a child might destroy its favourite toy – and now he was the one who was hurt. Hurt by his own stupid jealousies.

Mary busied herself around the room, collecting laundry, while this time Benjamin’s face was turned away from Mary, for he did not want the maid to see that this time it were his cheeks that were burning scarlet.

“I shall leave you now,” Mary said. She gestured towards the untouched dinner tray. “If I were you, I would make sure I ate something. For I suspect that after this visit from Lady Middlemiss, our master may wish to summon you.

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