The Duke’s Guests Laughed as the Maid Fell Into the Lake — She Said, “I’ll Remember Every Face”
Chapter 2
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And she did not see the woman standing at the upstairs window, watching everything.Lady Cordelia Vane let the curtain fall. Her pretty face had gone hard and cold."Who is that girl?" she asked her lady's maid."One of the new housemaids, my lady. Nobody important."Cordelia smiled. It was not a nice smile. "Good," she said. "Then nobody will care what happens to her."That afternoon, Ravensworth Hall held its great spring party. Everyone who mattered in the county had come: lords and ladies, rich bankers and their wives, young gentlemen looking for wives of their own. Long white tables had been set out on the lawn beside the lake. There were silver bowls of strawberries, towers of little cakes, and music playing beneath the trees.And everyone was talking about one thing: the wedding. The Duke of Ravensworth was going to marry Lady Cordelia Vane at the end of the summer. Her father, Lord Edmund Vane, had been the old Duke's closest friend. Everyone said it was the perfect match.Clara had been on her feet since 5:00 that morning. Her back ached, and her hands were red from washing glasses. Now, Mrs. Pratt, the housekeeper, pushed a heavy silver tray into her arms."Lemonade for Lady Cordelia and her friends down on the wooden pier," Mrs. Pratt snapped. "And don't you dare spill a drop, girl. Those glasses cost more than you'll earn in a year.""Yes, Mrs. Pratt."Clara walked carefully across the lawn. The glasses rattled softly on the tray. At the end of the long wooden pier stood Lady Cordelia in a pale blue dress, surrounded by a circle of laughing young ladies and gentlemen.Clara stepped onto the pier. The wood creaked beneath her feet. "Your lemonade, my lady."Cordelia did not look at her at first. She kept talking to her friends. Clara stood there holding the heavy tray, her arms beginning to shake.Then Cordelia turned. Her blue eyes moved slowly over Clara, from her plain cap to her worn shoes."Oh," she said loudly. "It's you."The circle went quiet."This," Cordelia said to her friends, "is the little maid who thinks she can make eyes at my future husband in the stables."A few of the ladies gasped. One of the gentlemen laughed.Clara's face burned. "My lady, I would never—""Did I give you permission to speak?"Clara closed her mouth.Cordelia took one glass of lemonade from the tray. She sipped it slowly, then made a face. "Warm," she said. "It's warm. Did you carry it here from London?"Laughter again."I'm sorry, my lady. I'll fetch some cooler.""No, no," Cordelia said sweetly. "You look so very hot yourself, poor thing. Let me help you cool down."Clara saw it coming one second too late. Cordelia's hand pressed flat against her shoulder and pushed hard. The tray flew from Clara's hands. Glasses smashed against the pier, and Clara fell backwards off the edge into the dark, cold lake.