Page 82 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke

‘Wot about you, missy? Not got a bun in the oven, I hope?’ Flo pulled the pins from her headpiece.

‘A bun—’ Rose gasped at the implication. ‘No.’

‘That’s good, then. Wot did you want?’

‘I don’t know what to do. We argued and now I’m to leave.’

‘He’s probably got another girl.’

Her heart wrenched. ‘Do you think so?’

‘That’s usually wot happens.’

Did that explain his sudden withdrawal? The picture had been an excuse. Rose eased the gown down Flo’s arms and helped her to step out of it. ‘Did you...? Have you seen him with someone?’

‘Me?’ Flo turned around. ‘How would I have seen...? Who is he?’

Rose swallowed and leaned close to her friend’s ear. ‘Westmoor.’

‘The Duke?’

‘Hush. Someone will hear you.’

Flo wriggled the next costume up her body and stood waiting for Rose to fasten her up. ‘Oh, Rose, you couldn’t have picked a worse ’un, I can tell you.’

Her heart sank. ‘Why?’

‘He’s a right one for the ladies, he is. Always a new one on his arm, they say.’

‘Youhaveseen him, then?’

‘Well,’ Flo said grudgingly, ‘not recently. But a leopard don’t change its spots, you know. Off with the old, on with the new.’

Feeling sick to her stomach, she tied the tapes off. ‘Do you know if he’s here tonight?’

‘Oh, he’s here every night, according to what I heard Mr Bell say to Mrs Parker. Stays in the office all night. Working.’

Rose knew where the office was. She’d cleaned its grate on many occasions when the gentlemen were absent. They demanded their privacy. But she had to speak to Jake. She just must. She finished Flo’s hair and attached the feather plume. ‘There you are. All done.’

‘I really do miss you,’ Flo said, giving her a hug. ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’

‘You can keep old Mr Bell busy while I sneak past him to have a word with the Duke.’

‘Employees aren’t supposed to go in there.’

‘Well I am not an employee any more, so the rule doesn’t apply to me.’

Flo chuckled. ‘All right then. And by the way, thanks for that lovely hamper you sent over. It were a proper treat.’

‘It was simply a thank you for all your kindness when I first started working here.’

A bell jangled in the corridor.

‘Are you ready?’ Flo asked. ‘I’ll have to go up in a minute.’

‘As ready as I will ever be.

Flo whisked out of the door and Rose followed a few moments later. As she passed the housekeeper’s door, she could hear Flo complaining loudly inside. A moment or two later and she was up the stairs and passing through the green-baize-covered door that led to the owners’ inner sanctum.