Desperately Seeking Seduction (Scandalous Brides Book 2) by Heather Boyd

Author:Heather Boyd [Boyd, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heather Boyd
Published: 2023-04-17T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Winston was tense as she entered Ravenswood Palace. Stratford was to blame, of course, not that she regretted the morning outing or falling victim to her own newly awakened curiosity about intimacy between men and women.

Lovemaking was better than she had assumed. So was kissing Lord Stratford. He’d made her surrender less awkward than she feared it might be. It was only after that doubts had surfaced.

The rider racing away was her current concern. She had seen no lady on her long walk back to the palace.

The promise that Lord Stratford would take care of the rider sat oddly on her shoulders. She was not used to leaving others to clean up her messes. The right course of action was to leave before she was identified. Before someone she’d come to care for ended up with their reputation in ruins or married to her instead.

She could always find another position. But husbands and wives were bound together for life. She had known that every acquaintance or friendship she struck up would be as temporary as her time with Lord Stratford surely must be now.

Winston removed her hat as she strode boldly into the Palace and glanced into the cavernous kitchen in the hope of getting a drink. Everyone seemed too busy to notice her at first, scrubbing pots and putting things away.

“You, there. New man,” a woman called out.

Winston spun about, looking for the speaker. “Yes?”

The cook, strands of sweaty hair stuck to her brow, emerged from a storeroom, and scowled at Winston. “I know what you’re about. Special treatment is for the duke alone.”

Winston frowned at the woman and dug a finger into her cravat in a vain attempt to cool herself down. The long walk and accompanying panic had heated her but the kitchen was stifling, too. She set her fingers lightly to the nearest tabletop to steady herself. “Special treatment?”

“Meals are served at nine o’clock, two o’clock and ten o’clock in the evening.”

“Yes, I know,” Winston sighed, leaning a little harder on the table. “Seymour explained that. I will eat later with everyone here.”

The cook’s scowl darkened, and she slammed what she was holding onto the table and punched her hands to her hips. “Was the tray Lord Stratford supposedly demanded this morning not enough?”

“What tray? What demand?” Winston shook her head, utterly confused. Perhaps it was the heat but most likely her many exertions that morning that had fatigued her. She needed desperately to sit down a moment and gather her strength. “I’ve only just returned from a distant hillock. Lord Stratford had the urge to see the sunrise and paint it, and is still there. We left while the palace was still in darkness without eating or requesting any tray. What might be the time, if you don’t mind telling me, so I won’t miss my luncheon?”

If she did, she might just faint clean away.

The cook’s lips pursed tight; her eyes narrowed.

“I would give anything for a sip of water,” she said, looking at the cook hopefully, but the woman just stared.

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