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?
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The Duchess had left. That was what Lucy had told them all while they had all been on their hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor. She had seen it herself when she was out on a walk through the gardens. The Duchess had gotten into a carriage, her things loaded into the back of it, and taken off on the road towards Corinth. Briar did her best to seem as interested in the sudden departure as all of them but, of course, she knew the real reason that the Duchess had left and that was to help her.
Briar was glad that the Duchess was following through on her promise to help her get out of Northbrook but she was still having conflicting feelings on leaving the estate. She knew that it was for the best and that she would be safer in Corinth with loyal subjects who knew her true identity but, before she had felt saddened about leaving the friendships she had made behind and now, having listened earlier to the muffled yelling coming from upstairs with the other servants, she felt even worse. The other servants had heard the shouting and had not known what it was about. But it had occurred right after Briar had accidentally hinted to Lord Huntington that his sister was the reason that she was avoiding him and so she imagined she had a better idea than most of what had caused the familial argument.
Mrs. Woods had pushed them all downstairs into the kitchens and gave them the menial task of scrubbing the floors once she had come across them standing, stunned in the hallway listening to the yelling. She had reminded them all that any conflict between the lord and his siblings had nothing to do with them and they had better keep their heads down and get to work. But, even though they had begun their scrubbing, it hadn't stopped the gossip. Lucy had come in a while later to tell them she had seen the Duchess leaving and Elsie and Kitty had told her about the yelling they heard upstairs. They all seemed stunned by what they heard. Elsie swore she had never before heard the lord so much as raise his voice and especially not at his sister. They seemed to be shaken up by the sudden change in behavior and it only made Briar feel all the more guilty for having been the cause of it.
"Briar," Elsie said suddenly, glancing up at her from her own scrubbing. "Are you alright?"
Briar forced a smile. "Yes, I'm fine. I supposed I'm just not feeling all that well."
"Do you need to lie down?"
"No, I will be fine, thank you."
She squeezed Elsie's hand in appreciation for the concern and Elsie smiled back.
"We're going to have to start preparing for dinner soon," Kitty said.
"No dinner tonight," Mrs. Woods said, entering the kitchen behind them. They all.looked up at her, surprised.
"No dinner?" Lucy asked.
"Arthur just came from the lord's study. The Lady and Mr. Theodore are in there as well. They've asked to skip dinner for the night. It seems they have important business to deal with."
"We could take the dinner to them," Lucy offered.
"They don't want it so we don't make it," Mrs. Woods said simply and that was the end of it. The girls all looked at each other. First, the yelling and now skipping dinner. Something was wrong. That was clear.
