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The Duke Disguised Himself as a Footman to Meet His Bride — What He Overheard Left Him Speechless

The Duke Disguised Himself as a Footman to Meet His Bride — What He Overheard Left Him Speechless

Chapter 7

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"A thousand pardons, sir," Lucien said, without a trace of apology in his voice.Silas was on his feet, purple. "Get that oaf out of my sight! Lock him in the cellar until His Grace leaves! He can sleep with the rats!"Pike half-rose in alarm. Lucien caught his eye and gave him the smallest shake of the head: Sit down. Play your part.Two footmen marched him out. As the door closed, he heard Silas laughing: "Servants... you simply can't get good ones in the country, can you, Your Grace?"The cellar was black and freezing, and smelled of damp stone. Lucien sat on an empty barrel and thought about all the footmen in his own house, and whether any of them had ever been treated like this by a guest at his table, and whether he would have even noticed.He was still thinking about it at midnight when the key turned in the lock. The door creaked open. Amelia stood there, holding a candle and a blanket."You shouldn't have done that," she whispered. "He would have kept his hand there all through dinner. That's my problem to bear, not yours.""No, miss. It's not your problem either."She came down the steps and put the blanket around his shoulders. Then she stepped back, looked him straight in the eye, and said very quietly, "Thank you, Your Grace."Lucien's heart stopped. "Miss, please don't—""I'm too tired to pretend tonight." Amelia set the candle down on the barrel between them. "Footmen don't read Latin off medicine labels under their breath. I heard you in Kit's room. Footmen don't have a pale mark on their finger where a heavy ring has sat for years. And no footman in England would pour wine into his master's host's lap unless he knew perfectly well that nobody would dare dismiss him." Her voice shook just slightly. "And your poor valet upstairs holds his fork like it might bite him."Lucien stared at her. Then, for the first time in a very long time, he laughed. "How long have you known?""Since you stood in the rain holding the horses. A real footman would have huddled under the porch; you stood there like you owned the weather." She folded her arms. "So, you came to see what kind of woman they were selling you. I suppose you've seen it: the kind who sells her hair and steals beef for the scullery maid.""Why didn't you tell anyone?""Because I was testing you, too," Amelia said. "I wanted to know what kind of man comes to a house disguised as a servant. Whether he'd kick the dog when nobody important was watching. Whether he'd look down on Molly." She swallowed. "You didn't. You went to the village this morning, didn't you? With Kit's medicine."
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The Duke Disguised Himself as a Footman to Meet His Bride — What He Overheard Left Him Speechless

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