Page 52 of Mending the Baron's Sins
“Is she that bad?” George asked with a wince of sympathy around a mouthful of toast.
“You have no idea.” Esther ran toward the pair of them, dropping down at the breakfast table and shooting a quick glance toward the butler at the far end of the table. Plainly, she thought the better of being overheard and lowered her voice. “Three days she has been here. Three days, and yet it feels like three years.”
“What happened to her own lady’s maid?” George asked with sympathy. Esther leaned on his shoulder, and he held her up without question.
Orla smiled as she looked at the pair of them. It was not the first time she had observed an easy closeness between them.
“The marchioness says she was unwell, so decided to leave her in London. She is so demanding,” Esther whispered in horror. “I have to jump to her order every second of the day. When she is not ordering me about, she’s ordering her poor brother about.”
“Yes, I had noticed,” Orla said with an uneasy sigh. She had scarcely seen the baron these last few days. Every time she went to check on him, Lady Marbourne was either already in the room, dominating conversation, so Orla could not talk to the baron, or they were swiftly interrupted by his sister. She hada habit of walking into rooms as if they were already in mid conversation.
The day before, Orla had been afforded a minute alone with the baron. They had stood close together in the library, so near that they could have touched. Before she could think of anything to say to him, to tell him perhaps that she missed him, Lady Marbourne had burst into the room talking about all the parties she was enjoying in London. Orla had leaped away from the baron as if she had caught fire, and then ran from the room.
“She’ll be gone soon enough,” George assured Esther.
“When?” Esther and Orla asked in unison, prompting him to chuckle.
Esther raised a cup of tea to her lips, but before she had even taken a single sip, one of the bells high over their heads rang. Together, they all looked up at the bells. Each one bore a small label beneath it, informing them from which room the bell pull on the other end was being wrong.
“Do not tell me,” Esther begged.
“Aye, it’s her,” Orla said with a sigh. “You eat your breakfast. I shall go to her.”
“I cannot make you do that. She’s impossible, Orla. She’s so demanding.”
“Well, she can be demanding of me for a few minutes. She can surely not object to you needing to eat.”
George put a hand on Esther’s shoulder when she went to stand.
“Orla’s right. Eat.” George kept his hand softly on Esther’s shoulder as she nodded and turned to eat her breakfast.
Orla smiled one last time as she looked between them, then left, hurrying out of the room.
By the time she reached Lady Marbourne’s chamber, she could hear the lady already. She was singing and practically dancing around her own chamber, holding a gown over her body.
“My Lady?” Orla tapped on the door lightly.
“Ah, Esther.” She turned to the doorway, then blanched, staring at Orla in wonder. “I rang for Esther.”
“My apologies.” Orla curtsied. “Esther hasn’t eaten yet today because of her responsibilities already this morning. I offered to come in her place so she could eat.”
Lady Marbourne nodded, clearly suddenly realizing that of course the poor maid attending to her did need to eat.
“Well, you can give Esther a message from me then.” She turned back to her mirror, holding up her gown to her body. “Tonight, we are to have a special dinner in this house.”
“Special?” Orla repeated.
The baron said nothing of it to me. Then again, we have barely had a chance to speak at all…
“Yes. It will be a dinner with my brother and our cousin, Adam. Like a dinner from back in the old days.” She giggled. “With Horace’s strength so much improved, I believe he will enjoy it. You and Esther must come tonight to help me dress.”
“The two of us?” Orla worked hard to keep the surprise out of her voice.
“Oh yes,” Lady Marbourne declared, flicking her hair back over her shoulder as she looked in the mirror. “I have a grand gown in mind. It will need two of you. Now, that will be all.” She didn’t turn to Orla to dismiss her or thank her.
Orla stepped out of the room again, closing the chamber door behind her.
Across the corridor, a shadow caught her eye. The baron stepped forward into the light of the window. Orla smiled at him, and he smiled back. She hurried toward him in the corridor, not thinking much about why she was doing it, or who might see them, only that it had been too long since they’d had a few minutes alone together.
