Page 52 of The Marquess' Disguised Heiress
Eliza felt her skin turn crimson as she was flushed with anger, wanting to do nothing more but push Amelia away from George. What angered her even more was how George did nothing to deter her but only laughed. It was evident he was trying to be polite since he hardly knew Amelia, but Eliza knew he was not dimwitted at all and could certainly sense what Amelia was trying to do.
“I am afraid no one has.” He shrugged, looking at Amelia.
You cannot create a scene, Eliza. You cannot create a scene.
“Well, then, I believe I will have to be the first.”
“Thank you so much, Amelia.” He nodded his head at her slightly, turning back towards the table. Everyone else had already returned to their conversations as well, ignoring Amelia,but Eliza could not stop herself from immediately taking hold of George’s elbow.
He must have been surprised because he immediately looked at her but did not say anything or push her away. Instead, he just leaned in closer, letting Eliza hold his arm.
To anyone staring, the two of them would clearly look like a couple, but Eliza no longer had an issue. If that were what it took to give a signal to Amelia, she would take that.
“All of you must excuse me for a moment,” George suddenly said, addressing the table and briefly glancing at Eliza. “I have had enough ale, and I must walk it off before returning. I will be back in about ten or so minutes.”
He carefully slid his hand out of her grasp, but Eliza wanted to do nothing more than to go along with him. She was very hurt that he did not ask her to come along, but it might simply have been because he had not wanted to give anyone the wrong idea.
Or perhaps he simply just wanted to be alone, and Eliza was thinking too much about it. She could have followed afterhim to join him on his walk, but all the other servants would notice that, and she had no desire for rumours to spread in the household about her relationship with George.
It was nothing more than friendship, no matter what her feelings were.
“Beth?” She looked up to find Lara standing in front of her.
Before Eliza could reply, Lara took hold of her arm and gently led her away from everyone else to a more secluded corner of the kitchen. Eliza almost dreaded the conversation ahead because she was certain it was going to be about George. Having known Eliza since she was just a child, Lara always understood her emotions and feelings.
“Is everything alright, Lara?” Eliza asked innocently, hoping to be wrong about the whole thing.
“You tell me that, Miss Eliza,” Lara whispered, “why are you behaving rather territorial with George?”
“I am not!”
“The anger on your face every time Amelia came close to him was not hidden from me. Is something going on between the two of you?”
Eliza blushed deeply, unsure of what to say. She was worried if Lara had noticed, could the other servants have guessed her feelings too? She did not want to be a laughingstock among everyone, her feelings on display for all to read.
“Nothing is going on between us.” She shook her head. “We are just friends.”
Lara’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, and Eliza knew she could easily read her face. Lara shrugged, a mischievous smile on her face.
“Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad after all, even if something was happening. You are almost twenty-two now, and a little romance will be good for you.”
“Don’t be silly, Lara.” Eliza’s eyes widened at the suggestion, not having expected Lara to be supportive of such a thing. However, this just showed how much Lara liked George because she would have never approved otherwise.
The door opened, and Eliza turned to look, seeing if George might have come back, but it was only Sarah, another maid in the household. However, the interest in Eliza’s eyes was not lost on Lara, who immediately began to chuckle as if she had just been proven right about something she wanted to be right about.
“I am just saying …” Lara continued chuckling, but Eliza ignored her, quickly fixing her composure.
“I am going up to my room for a moment.”
She immediately almost ran out of the kitchen, quickly taking the servants’ staircase to reach the attic. In the privacy of her own space, she finally breathed openly, realizing how eventful the past few hours had been.
Although, now that it was almost time for George to return, Eliza simply wanted to look presentable. She stared at her reflection in the mirror she kept right beside her new feather pillow and noticed the crumpled state of her hair.
“My goodness,” she whispered, immediately looking for the brush inside the side table but not finding it there.
Suddenly worried, she looked everywhere in her room, but she found the brush to be missing, which was rather curious since she remembered having it this morning.
The perfume her fairy godmother had sent her was also missing, making Eliza wonder if someone could have taken those things. Although, the only two people who knew about them were Lara and Amelia, and Eliza knew Lara would never steal from her.
