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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"Brenna!" Mrs. Woods shouted through the bustling kitchen commotion. Briar wiped her hands on her apron in an effort to eliminate the bacon grease that had coated them from the dishes of breakfast and walked over to Mrs. Woods. "There you are. You're to take Lady Cora and her friends their tea in the ladies' tea room this morning with Lucy."
Briar nodded and turned to gather the tea tray. Elsie was standing nearby and, as she approached, whispered. "Rough luck."
"I'm sorry?" Briar asked.
"No one wants to get stuck with ladies' tea time."
"Why not? It seems easy enough."
"Last week, Kitty came downstairs crying because one of Lady Cora's friends called her fat. She's refused to go back up there since. Lucy's been doing it all herself."
"That's terrible."
"That's nobility."
Briar grabbed the tea tray and turned away from her friend, trailing after Lucy who had been impatiently tapping her foot throughout the duration of their conversation. They ascended the stairs to the first floor where they crossed the parlor to the room across from it. The ladies tea room was pink and powdered, similar to the Lady Cora's own bedchambers. There were about five women in the room, including Lady Cora herself. Briar had not yet formally met the woman but she was easy enough to pick out. It was clear from the moment she entered the room that Lady Cora was the one in control. She sat on the largest, plushest pink chair and the ladies sat around her, eager to be in her presence. It was an odd scene. They had had a ladies' tea room in the palace but there had never been any ladies to take tea with and she was always far too busy with her lessons to have attended one if there were.
"Mr. Morgan was here?" one of the women was asking as they entered. She was a petite brunette with a plain face but a stunning set of rubies hung around her neck. Titled, no doubt and not by marriage if her appearance were any indication.
"He was," Lady Cora answered, lazily twirling her beautiful blonde hair around a finger. "Last night. He left this morning."
"How interesting! Mr. Morgan never leaves his estate in Edenshire. What did he want?"
"To speak with my brother. He moved into Edenshire quite some time ago now. He felt that he had never gotten to know his neighbors and sought to remedy such an oversight," she said and the women nodded, clearly disappointed with her answer. "But at dinner, they started talking about politics. Mr. Morgan seemed to know quite a bit of news that we had not yet heard. Apparently, the sick king grows worse every day."
The women gasped and looked around at each other, torn between the titillation of the juicy gossip and the urge to feign concern for their ill sovereign. Despite Briar's limited experience in conversing with other women, she knew them well enough. She had, on more than one occasion, been forced to entertain the noble wives and daughters of the men who visited the palace. She recognized their penchant for gossip and how very fickle their patriotism could be.
