Persuasion in the Pantry [Maid for More #1]

Chapter 40 Part 2: Semper Occultus...

"Don't kill me," Mina whispered while clutching her makeshift weapon.

Marco started to mouth profanities but ceased prematurely. Instead, he attempted to fling open the armoire door but Mina grabbed it and squatted further back into the darkness of Marco's shadow.

"What are you doing?" Marco whispered.

"He can't know I'm here," she hissed quietly.

"He? You mean Jacob, why?" Marco probed softly, to which Mina just shook her head rapidly.

The Captain levelled his best glare at her and she scowled in return. "Argh," Mina blew the hair out of her face exasperated. "Why is he here anyway?"

"Well, it is a public gallery, Mina. Anyone can come here to shoot, except for the first floor that is and I suspect that you know why."

"Fine," Mina huffed. "But I'm not happy about it!"

"So, your resolution is to sit here in a cupboard?" Marco raised an eyebrow that must have been tiring from its constant use.

Mina ignored his attempt to bait her and considered her predicament with consternation. "Just say I'm a messenger delivering this missive. It was what I was supposed to do anyway... before I saw him." She pushed a piece of paper into his hand hastily. "Don't talk to me anymore, he's going to know I'm here!" Mina added with a scowl as she attempted to shoo him away, like a fly over Sunday lunch.

Marco gave her an incredulous look. "The man is not an imbecile. I doubt he thinks that I'm having a conversation with a cupboard. But, relax, he will not be able to see you from this position."

"Well, just don't tell him who I am. It's official business. I'm just meant to pass on this letter to you. They gave it to me downstairs, when I was reporting for duty with Dra'gaan, and told me to come upstairs. If you can take it and get him to leave, then I will climb out and go back to work," Mina proposed.

"You and I are going to need to talk about finding you a better occupation," Marco smirked, leaning on the edge of the door as he pocketed the envelope.

"I have a perfectly good job in the Bexley kitchens, thank you very much," Mina barked. She bit her lip immediately, knowing that she had faltered in her defence and finally revealed the location of her employment. She immediately blamed the Duke of Wyvernstone for scattering her wits, even though he was several feet away in the next room.

Marco's eyes flashed in the limited light. "Ah, I should have known. Inside the home of Jacob's closest friend. So, perhaps it is not simply that the Duke of Wyvernstone must not see you today, it is that he has seen you before. But, the question remains... how much of you has he seen?"

Mina inhaled sharply at the insinuation and she clenched her fist around filigree pewter to resist punching the grin off of the Captain's smug face. "Ugh! You are lucky I don't punch you. Some girls would not hesitate to slap you for besmirching their character."

"Well," Marco leaned in with a mischievous smile. "If those girls were in this cupboard with you, perhaps I would have a fight on my hands. However, I see that you are in better control of your faculties. Which is fortunate because I am currently the only way out of your present bind. Now, give me that letter, child, and when I close the inter-leading door you may leave the way you came."

"I'm not a child," Mina growled.

"No, of course you are not. Now, get back into your cupboard," Marco finished with a smirk.

A low grumble resonated in the tiny space.

"Be at ease, Mina. I will not betray your secret. Who better to keep sordid stories than a Spanish man?" With that he closed the door and returned promptly to the gallery.