Chapter 383: The Mark and the Maids

Chapter 382: The Mark and the Maids

Lyria’s POV

A few minutes after Earl Hawthorne left my private chambers, my maids walked in.

Pippa pushed a small trolley with Debbie’s assistance, a grin already spread across her face. The trolley was laden with covered dishes, and the moment the door opened, the pleasant aroma of warm food drifted into the chamber.

My stomach gave a small, traitorous rumble.

I pressed a hand against it.

Apparently, my body had recovered sufficiently from the shock of the Earl’s visit to remember that it was hungry.

I was just about to enquire what they had brought when Bridget narrowed her eyes at me.

I paused.

Her expression was rather peculiar.

"W-what?" I asked. "Is s-something the m-matter?"

Bridget did not answer.

Margery, who had been standing beside her, glanced between us. Her brow furrowed.

Then she stopped.

She tilted her head to one side and studied me with an intensity that made me rather uncomfortable.

I stared back.

"W-what?" I asked her.

Margery blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then her eyes lit up and she let out a squeal.

"M-Margery!" I exclaimed as she hurried toward me. "What i-is the m-matter?"

She merely giggled.

When she reached me, she leaned forward until her nose was practically level with my shoulder.

I instinctively leaned away, but she only inhaled deeply.

Then she pulled back.

Her face had acquired an expression of absolute delight.

"You smell different, Your Highness."

I felt my cheeks grow warm.

"I d-do?"

"Indeed."

She leaned forward again.

I leaned backwards.

She straightened at last, though her smile remained entirely undimmed.

Bridget folded her arms, that same look upon her face.

"What exactly," she asked slowly, "has the Earl been doing in these chambers?"

Before I could answer, she continued.

"The only reason we permitted His Lordship entry was because Phineas vouched for him. I confess I am beginning to question whether that was entirely wise."

Elara, who had been standing nearby, rolled her eyes.

"The Earl was most insistent," she said. "And he appeared genuinely concerned for Her Highness."

"Concerned," Bridget repeated, as though the word left an unpleasant taste.

Elara’s lips twitched and she looked away.

Pippa and Debbie wheeled the trolley farther into the chamber. Once the door had been closed behind them, Pippa abandoned the food entirely and hurried toward me.

She stared.

I leaned backwards.

"W-why are y-you looking at m-me like t-that?"

Pippa said nothing.

Instead, she leaned closer.

Then she drew in a breath.

Her eyes widened.

"You smell of him," she said. "Quite distinctly."

"I d-do not understand what is h-happening," I said. "And w-why are you both s-so close to me?"

Bridget cracked her knuckles just then and the sound made me glance at her sharply.

"Did His Lordship do anything to displease you, Your Highness?" she asked.

There was something rather alarming about the calmness of her voice.

"Because if he did, I shall deal with him accordingly."

Debbie raised an eyebrow.

"What precisely could you do to an Earl who is a decorated war hero and twice — or perhaps thrice — your size?"

Bridget shrugged.

"I should not permit his stature to discourage me."

Debbie stared at her.

Bridget’s expression remained entirely serious.

"I care not whether he is ten times my size. If he has conducted himself improperly toward Her Highness, I shall ensure he learns better manners."

Elara sighed.

"Did Her Highness say anything about improper conduct?"

"The mark says enough."

I frowned.

"W-what mark?"

They all looked at me.

It was the sort of look that suggested I had somehow missed an important development in a conversation in which I was the principal subject.

Margery raised one delicate finger.

"Your shoulder, Your Highness."

I glanced down, and only then did I notice that my robe had slipped slightly to one side.

I reached to pull it back into place and froze.

There, upon the curve of my shoulder, was a small reddish mark.

A bite mark.

My face grew considerably warmer.

Memory returned with embarrassing clarity.

His mouth against my skin. The warmth of his breath. The brief, deliberate pressure of his teeth.

I pulled my robe quickly back into place and cleared my throat.

The chamber had become suspiciously quiet.

Bridget was staring at me with the expression of a woman compiling evidence.

Margery was attempting, with limited success, not to smile.

Pippa looked positively delighted.

Debbie appeared to be making a considerable effort to maintain the dignity expected of a lady’s maid and failing rather miserably at it.

Elara alone seemed composed.

Bridget spoke first.

"That mark is rather conspicuous."

Margery glanced at her.

"Bridget."

"What?"

"You need not announce it as though you were presenting evidence before the Queen’s council."

"It is evidence."

"Evidence of what, precisely?"

Bridget gestured toward my shoulder.

"Of His Lordship’s misconduct."

Elara sighed.

"Must we truly call it misconduct?"

"He left a mark upon Her Highness."

"Yes."

"Then I believe my conclusion is perfectly reasonable."

Margery rolled her eyes.

"You have no appreciation for romance whatsoever."

Bridget looked offended.

"I appreciate perfectly well that one ought not leave marks upon a princess without proper cause."

Margery pressed a hand to her chest, a small gasp escaping her.

"It is not improper. It is romantic."

Bridget stared at her.

"You cannot possibly be serious."

"I am entirely serious." Margery’s smile widened. "I have had one rather like it myself, as it happens."

Bridget closed her eyes briefly.

"You are quite hopeless."

Margery only smiled further.

"You are simply incapable of appreciating such things."

"I have no particular desire to appreciate them."

"That is because you have never experienced them."

Bridget opened her mouth, then closed it again, appearing to find, for once, that she had nothing immediately useful to say in response.

Debbie turned away, covering her mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to conceal her laughter.

Pippa giggled.

Even Elara’s composure cracked, just slightly, at the corners.

"That is quite enough," she said, clapping her hands together once.

The sound brought the room back to attention.

"This is not a matter for debate among yourselves."

Bridget frowned.

"But—"

"No."

"Elara—"

"I said no."

Bridget huffed and folded her arms.

"Her Highness is perfectly capable of determining what is and is not acceptable to her," Elara continued. "There is no call to conduct ourselves as though His Lordship has committed some grave offence simply because he left a mark."

She looked at the others.

"And I would ask you all to consider — does Her Highness appear to be a woman who has been subjected to something against her will?"

The four maids turned toward me.

Bridget considered the question with great seriousness.

"Yes," she said.

Margery said immediately, "No."

Debbie and Pippa remained entirely silent.

Neither seemed willing to involve herself in the matter.

Wise.

Very wise indeed.

I could already sense the argument gathering between Margery and Bridget, and so I cleared my throat.

"I w-was not subjected t-to anything against m-my will," I said quietly.

Everyone went silent.

A brief pause followed.

Then, after a moment, I added the only clarification I could think to offer.

"And um... I l-let h-him do it."