A princess on the run, Briar Aldrich has no choice but to take on the role of scullery maid when Lord Sterling Huntington stumbles upon her in the woods and doesn't recognize her. But how safe is she actually in his home? And how safe is her heart?
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Briar woke up exhausted the next morning. Mrs. Woods had run her ragged the day before running errands and preparing for the upcoming ball. It was the first time since she had gotten to the estate that she envied Lucy's full day of serving upstairs. She had spent the better part of the morning going through dozens of apples to determine which should be sliced and presented and which should be baked into the pies. Then the afternoon had been spent on similar tasks including a head spinning inventory check that had her running from pantry to pantry ensuring they had all the ingredients they would need for the ungodly amount of food that Mrs. Woods was planning on catering for the ball.
So this morning, as she climbed from bed, she did so yawning and with aching feet. She dressed as slowly as she could and was still half asleep when she made it to the kitchens, rubbing her eyes as she met the other girls putting on their aprons by the door.
"Good morning," she said through another yawn. The other girls did not seem nearly so tired. They giggled at her approach. "What?"
"I heard you were playing horse with Henry's boy, Nicholas," Lucy whispered with a proud smile on her face. Briar froze in the middle of tying her apron. She watched the girls face curiously. She knew Lord Huntington had caught her in her effort to cheer the boy. She hadn't been doing anything wrong but she wasn't sure how high up Henry Abram ranked in this estate and how unsightly it was for the boy to be seen playing with a kitchen maid. How much trouble had she gotten him in? And how much suspicion had she brought upon herself? She knew that it was well outside of the normal maid behavior.
"How did you know that?" She asked carefully.
"Todd was called to serve the Lord and his men more ale last night. He overheard them talking about it."
Her brows creased in confusion.
"They were talking about that?" She asked. Lucy seemed to sense her concern.
"Oh don't worry!" She exclaimed. "Lord Huntington wasn't upset. In fact, Todd said it seemed to amuse him."
She smiled weakly. She wouldn't be in trouble, that was good. But she didn't intend to draw any unnecessary attention to her either and, if the prominent men of the estate were talking about her in their cups, that didn't bode well for the plan of anonymity.
"Oh, it could be worse," Kitty said with a playful grin. "I heard Miss Clarke got caught playing horse with Lord Bailey."
Lucy gasped at the scandalous gossip and then they all giggled together at the news.
"Brenna!" Mrs. Woods shouted and their laughter died as she made her way over to them. She simply gave the girls a look and they were off to their morning duties, no more gossiping or giggling. "Take the morning off, dear. I know you worked very hard yesterday and you've got to help with serving dinner tonight. Best rest up so you don't look so tired when you serve upstairs."
