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TWENTY

Moray Castle was an impeccably kept Victorian mansion, with most of the rooms shrouded in dust sheets except on the monthly tour days, when the public was allowed to visit for a tour, guided by the housekeeper, of course. Tours Alica King, Lily's new boss, didn't expect her to actually give as part of her duties.

"I'm sure I remember enough of the family history to conduct a tour or two, as long as you make sure the rooms are presentable. Mrs Parker always dusted and vacuumed the morning before, and the morning after a tour, of course. People will bring their children to these things, and there's always one with sticky fingers!" Alicia shook her head as she gave a delicate shudder.

"I take it you don't have any children, then?" Lily asked, crossing her fingers. If it was just her and Alicia in the castle, her job was going to be an absolute breeze.

"Just my son, but he's not a child any more. He's very busy with work at the moment, so I'm sure you won't see much of him. If he's any trouble, just let me know. He might be a grown man, but I'm still his mother, and if he needs a scolding, I will see that he gets it."

Lily believed it.

Alicia would scold the king himself, if she thought he deserved it.

Lily was both maid and housekeeper, but Alicia kept a cook and gardener on staff, too, though neither of those lived on the property, so Lily would have occasional kitchen duties, which mostly involved heating up whatever the cook had left for dinner, as per her strict instructions, and loading the dishwasher after dinner.

Much like at Mirror Academy, meals were included as part of her room and board, and Sher the chef had barely shaken her hand before demanding a list of both her dietary requirements and favourite dishes, which he insisted he would make better than anything she'd ever tasted.

Lily suspected Brenda could give him a run for his money, but dutifully gave him the list. She wasn't going to turn down a free meal made to order that she didn't have to cook. After choking down a couple of Chloe's leftover supposed superfood meals, Lily would happily eat just about anything.

Until Alicia's son arrived home.

Alicia King's son was Leo freaking King. The man she'd danced with at the ball, Bachelor of the Year, and all around hottie. Pity he was gay, but all the best ones were, right?

Lily did her best to avoid him – what if he recognised her? – and she managed fine until dinner on the third night.

The first course was something the Mirror Academy cooks had often made for the headmistress, which Lily had tasted, found she liked, and requested whenever it was her turn. Barszcz was a clear beetroot soup with mushroom dumplings, and as long as you didn't wear a white shirt, it was wonderful.

Well, until Alicia called, "Lily, dear, would you come out and meet my son?"

Then Lily had choked, spluttered, and spilled soup down the front of her shirt. A black uniform shirt, thank heavens, but it was still soaked. She swiped at it with a tea towel, but short of changing shirts, there wasn't much she could do.

She dragged herself to the dining room and met the eyes of Leo King.

Who looked her up and down with a complete lack of passion – well, he was gay, wasn't he? – before he turned to his mother and said, "They'll take one look at her and know I married the maid."

Alicia blew out a frustrated breath. "If she were wearing her uniform, maybe, but in a grand wedding gown, with full hair and makeup...Lily will make the perfect bride. Won't you, dear?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Lily blurted out. She couldn't have heard right.

Leo gave a tight smile. "My mother wants you to marry me."

Lily smelled a rat. "So you don't really need a maid. What you want is a mail order bride."

Alicia laughed. "Oh, no, I do need a housekeeper. But my son needs a bride. You can be both, I'm sure. Look at it as a business arrangement. A few extra duties for a lot more pay. Whatever wardrobe you need for the role will be included in your pay, of course, and you can keep the clothes afterwards. Just the wedding and the occasional public appearance on my son's arm, until he's successfully squashed this hostile takeover at work, that's all."

Lily hadn't ever considered getting married – she'd been more focussed on getting her degree, then reviving her parents' company, but this just didn't feel right. "Why do you need to marry me?" She met Leo's eyes and held them. She'd happily scrub floors and toilets all day, but she'd be damned before she'd marry a man who didn't want her. Even if he was an amazing dancer.

Leo sighed. "I'm the CEO of Pride Holdings. My uncle is trying to get me thrown off the board so he can replace me as CEO and cancel the project that was my dad's dream before he died, so he can do some dodgy deals with another developer instead. I have to stop him, and the only way to do that is to demonstrate that I'm not the playboy porn star he says I am, and instead I'm a steady, family man who's looking toward the long term future of the company."

A playboy porn star? Really? Lily tried and failed to stifle a laugh. The man probably looked amazing naked and damn, could he move, but a porn star wouldn't have danced so chivalrously with her at the masquerade ball. It had to be the only time she'd ever danced with a guy who hadn't even tried to grope her.

But there was no recognition in his gaze now. What with the mask then and the maid uniform now, he evidently didn't remember her, so she needn't have worried. But it was one thing to work as his maid, and another entirely to marry the man. What if she had to dress up and dance with him? Surely he'd recognise her then?

If he even remembered her at all from that night. He probably danced with dozens of people at plenty of parties, and remembered none of them. It had just been a good time for him, and nothing more.

It wasn't like there'd been anything between them, either. She'd been there to blow off steam, one night of fun before finishing her project and graduating. The extra money might come in handy, too, especially if it took some time to bring her dad's company back up to full capacity, or if her graduation got delayed.

Leo held out his hand, just as he had the night of the ball. "Please, Lily? Will you marry me and help me save my dad's dream?"

She was seriously considering this. It was crazy, but... "What was this dream project he didn't finish before he died?"

Leo coughed. "Well, he wanted to build a sanctuary. A sort of eco village, where he wanted to retire. He called it Hea Sanctuary and..."

Hea Sanctuary? The eco village she'd done her final project on? The only project still on her dad's company books that was the key to resurrecting the company and building its reputation again? And Leo's uncle was going to shut it down?

Oh fuck that for a bag of bananas. She'd marry the devil himself to stop that shit from happening.

She took Leo's hand and shook it, closing the first business deal of her new career. "Sure, I'll marry you."