The Duke’s Guests Laughed as the Maid Fell Into the Lake — She Said, “I’ll Remember Every Face”
Chapter 4
Theme:
Font Size:
24px
Clara let herself be pulled across the lawn. She was shaking now from the cold and from anger, but she kept her eyes on the crowd. She wanted to see every face one last time.And then she saw him.He was standing at the very back near the trees, behind Lord Edmund Vane. A thin man in a dark servant's coat: gray hair, a long narrow face, a small white scar cutting through his left eyebrow. He was not laughing. He was not even looking at her. He was simply standing there very still, holding his master's coat.Clara stopped walking. Mrs. Pratt yanked her arm. "Move, girl!"But Clara could not move. The cold she felt now had nothing to do with the lake.She knew that face. She had seen it once before, 15 years ago, by the light of a single lantern. She had been 10 years old, hiding in the hay of the Ravensworth stables. She had watched that man bend over the old Duke's saddle with a knife in his hand. The next morning, the old Duke was dead, and her father was in chains for a murder he did not commit.For 15 years, that face had followed her into her nightmares. For 15 years, she had prayed to see it again. Now here it was, standing in the sunshine, 30 steps away.And at that very moment, as if he could feel her watching, the man with the scar slowly turned his head and looked straight at her.Clara looked away first. She dropped her eyes to the ground and let Mrs. Pratt drag her toward the house. Her heart was hammering so hard she could hear it in her ears. Had he recognized her? Could he? She had been a skinny little girl of 10 back then, with short hair and a dirty face. Now she was a grown woman of 25 with a different name. No, he could not know. He must not know. Not yet.Mrs. Pratt pushed her through the servants' door and down the stone steps into the kitchen. The cook and two scullery maids looked up from their work and stared at her dripping clothes."Look at the state of you," Mrs. Pratt hissed. "Making a show of yourself in front of the whole county! Lady Cordelia will want your head for this.""She pushed me, Mrs. Pratt."The kitchen went silent. Mrs. Pratt's face turned a deep, ugly red. She stepped close, so close Clara could smell the peppermint on her breath."Lady Cordelia," she said slowly, "is going to be the mistress of this house in three months' time. And you are a housemaid with no family, no letters of reference, and no friends. So, I will ask you once more: what happened at the lake?"Clara looked into the woman's cold little eyes. She understood. There would be no justice here. Not today."I fell," Clara said quietly.