A Mistletoe Masquerade

breath.

'I am not good with heights, I must confess.' She waved him away as he tried to take her hand and lead her towards the candle, walking over to hold it close to the flame herself. 'See? It is heavier than I thought.'

The sight of the whitened ridges on the smooth skin affected him strangely. He wanted to protect her, which was ridiculous; she was more than capable of standing up for herself. But those slim shoulders were not meant for lugging heavy cans of water about. She should be doing nothing more strenuous than brushing her mistress's hair. Then he recalled the sight of her, skin damp and rosy with the effort of brushing that skirt, and hefted the water jug before his imagination got any more out of control.

'I'll carry this. Where is your room?'

For a moment he thought she would refuse to tell him, then that secret smile lit up her eyes again. 'Thank you, that would be most kind. Up this turret stair. Another two flights, I'm afraid.'

She's not in the least bit sorry, Lucas thought appreciatively. She is getting her own back. 'You come behind me, then, and hold the candle so it lights the steps at my feet.'

The stairs were steep, twisting and ancient, worn in the centre and uneven in height. By the next landing Lucas was controlling his breathing. If he had been by himself he would have changed hands at that point, but he was damned if he was going to show any weakness in front of Daisy-and that realisation in itself was galling.

'Here we are.' There was nowhere else to go. The stairs stopped in front of a planked door. Lucas lifted the latch and walked straight in. 'Thank you, Mr Lucas, I can manage now.'

She was uncomfortable with him in the room. He should go. Lucas was very conscious that if Daisy had been a Society lady with whom he was flirting then he would let this game play out, stop and tease her a little, snatch a kiss before he left. But this was Daisy Lawrence, dresser, and it was not the action of a gentleman to take advantage of a servant.

He turned and looked at her as she set the candle down on the mantel over the empty grate. The room was cold-almost he imagined he could see his own breath in the air. 'You need the fire lit.'

'Yes. I had noticed that.'

He noticed the way she reached for the shawl that lay on the end of the bed and dragged it round her shoulders, and that flare of protectiveness surprised him again, despite her sarcasm.

'There is no need-' But he was already on his knees, reaching for the kindling that had been dumped on the hearth, building it into a neat stack and adding tiny pieces of coal from the bucket.

'Am I depriving you of a treat? Do you enjoy making fires?' he asked mildly, concentrating on the delicate edifice.

'I don't know. I have never built one.' She was kneeling beside him. Her admission almost had him dropping an over-large stick on the top of the stack.

'What? Never?' Lucas sat back on his heels and studied her face in the thin light from the candle. 'You must be a very superior lady's maid, in that case. Can you pass me the light?'

He touched the flame to the wood shavings and watched as they caught and smoke began to spiral up. Beside him, Daisy did not move, and he began to fuss a little with the fire so as to stay where he was. If her earlier career had omitted menial skills such as fire-lighting, that reinforced his suspicion that she was

gently born, doubtless on the wrong side of the blanket, and had only recently had to make her own way.

Which explained why she felt to him like a woman from his world, one he could talk to on equal terms. That and the spirit that told him she would take no nonsense from him whether he was a valet or a viscount.

Rowan held out her hands to the flames, watching as the fire took hold of the wood shavings and kindling.

'You have to feed it,' Lucas said, 'or it will flare up like your temper and be gone.' She reached out for some wood but he caught her hand. 'No-too big. That will flatten it.' He released her immediately, sorting through the wood and picking out suitable pieces while Rowan sat wondering why his touch was so unsettling.

'Is Lord Danescroft a good master?' she asked abruptly.

Lucas was placing a faggot, dropped it, and swore mildly under his breath. 'A good master?'

Rowan had the impression he was stalling for time.

'Yes. He seems to be. I have not been with him long. Why do you ask?'

'I am concerned for Miss Maylin. There are the rumours, the Earl's demeanour. She is not a young woman who can cope with harshness.'

'The rumours are just that. Rumours.'

'Then there is no mystery about his wife's death?'

'It appears to have been an accident. When young women who have been drinking creep around a darkened house by the back stairs in the small hours that is not so improbable.'

'True.' She marked the underlying indignation as he spoke. 'So the rumours about the late Lady Danescroft are true, then, even if those about her husband are not?'

'That she was unfaithful and that Danescroft's valet was one of her lovers? Yes, those rumours are true. A lady with the heart of a harlot, I fear.'

'I see. How horrid. It seems worse, somehow, that the infidelity was so close, inside the household.'

Lucas nodded abruptly.

'You said one of her lovers-there were others?'

'Yes.' He leaned forward and began to make up the fire with bigger pieces of wood.

He spoke definitely, like a man who knew from his own knowledge, not from hearsay. The suspicion that Lucas was more than a recently employed valet began to stir.

'Then what made her do it?'

He turned and looked at her, one eyebrow raised in sardonic enquiry.

'Oh, I know what she wanted-but why was she not content with her husband? I've heard that she was light-hearted and gay before the marriage and that she changed afterwards.'

'She changed when she was not allowed free rein for her every whim and passion,' Lucas said grimly, as he rocked back on his heels and stood up. 'Danescroft expected fidelity and decorum from his countess-quite unreasonably, in her opinion.'

'So you do know something about this?' Daisy tipped back her head and looked up at him, standing tall and still on the hearthrug, his face unsettlingly underlit by the flames. 'Who are you, really, Lucas?'

'His valet.'

He turned and walked away from her so that his face was in shadow. She could not decide whether that was deliberate.

'I observed them both at the time of the marriage and I had heard things about her character.'

'So you must approve of your master seeking a new wife? One who will behave as befits a countess?'

'I approve of him marrying again, yes. But not to that ninny-hammer of a mistress of yours, with her vulgarian of a stepmother.'

Rowan scrambled to her feet with more energy than grace. 'Well, I do approve of her getting married-but not to some top-lofty, miserable recluse with a cloud hanging over him!'

'Danescroft is not top-lofty and miserable-' Lucas began, then broke off, regarding her speculatively. 'But we are agreed upon something; it is a highly undesirable match from both sides. Does she want to marry him?'

'No, she is frightened of him-and in any case, she has no ambition for high position.' Rowan bit her lower lip and regarded her unlikely ally. 'Nor talent for it, come to that. But he wants to marry her?'

'He thinks he should marry, and Miss Maylin has been recommended by his grandmother. He needs a mother for his daughter. I don't know that want is the right word.'

'What would prevent him proposing?' She had thought those dark blue eyes impertinent, alarming and intelligent by turns: now Rowan realised just how much humour they revealed as their owner narrowed them at her and grinned.

'Why, Miss Daisy, you are not suggesting meddling in the affairs of our betters, are you?'

'Yes,' she declared roundly. 'Yes, I am. And do not try and look surprised, Mr Lucas, it is exactly what you are thinking, too.'

'In that case we had better do a little plotting.' He sat down on the edge of the narrow bed and patted the coverlet beside him.