Demon of Mine Read Free Page B

the footman go. “Jenny, see
that Elsie goes straight to bed. I’ll summon the physician for one
last treatment, and she’ll leave for Hertfordshire with Damon
whenever he deigns to return.”
    ****
    “ I will not lie in bed and
wait for that old codger to come and jab my elbow. He’d bleed me
dry if I let him.” Elsie gave Jenny her best attempt at a stern
look. “I’m perfectly capable of working.” She bounced on her toes
and spun in a circle. It was a pathetic display of athleticism –
she tripped and nearly fell across her narrow bed in the maids’
quarters. “Loose floor board,” she mumbled, smoothing her skirts
and pushing a stray lock of hair off of one flaming
cheek.
    “ Those are the mistress’s
orders,” Jenny said imperviously, fixing Elsie with a steady blue
gaze. Her red curls were tamed into perfect order, neatly tucked
beneath a mobcap. “You’re to go straight to bed and wait for the
physician. You’d best get under the blankets before you break your
silly neck.”
    “ I will not.” Elsie
adjusted her apron. “I have dusting to attend to. And you’d better
get back to mending the curtains. That wicked cat has been climbing
them again, hasn’t he?”
    Jenny smirked, ignoring Elsie’s
question. “And I suppose you think that if you leave right now, you
might pass a certain young master in the hallway?”
    Elsie felt the color drain out of her
cheeks, then return with a burning vengeance. “I don’t know what
you’re talking about. It’s Wednesday, and I always dust Mrs.
Remington’s curio collection on Wednesdays. That’s all.”
    Jenny sighed. “Oh, please, Elsie. I’ve
seen the way you look at him.”
    Elsie began to protest, but Jenny laid
a hand on her arm and squeezed with surprising force. “Listen to
me. If you are to go to Hertfordshire, you must abandon your
foolish fancy of Damon.”
    Elsie stammered. “I do
not—”
    Jenny gave her a slight shaking.
“We’re best friends, aren’t we? I’m only trying to help. You know
what they say about the Remingtons. I’m not one to speak against
our mistress, but if there was ever a demon in the Remington
family, Damon is it. I’ve heard the most terrible things about him.
He stays out until the wee hours of the morning every night;
gambling and getting up to other things the servants daren’t
mention, coming home—”
    “ Shhh, Jenny. Those habits
would only make him a rake at worst, and I don’t believe he’s that.
Whatever you’ve heard, those things are nothing more than idle
rumors spawned by jealousy. You know as well as I do that the
bloody haute ton begrudge the Remingtons their wealth because they have no
title. Wealth is no longer just for the nobility, and they can’t
stand it. There are no demons among the Remingtons.” She cut Jenny
off before she could offer a rebuttal. “Besides, I do not fancy
Damon.” She blushed a little beneath Jenny’s incredulous gaze, her
lie blossoming across her face. “Well, not really. I admit I enjoy
admiring him from afar, but I would never presume to, to…” The heat
in her cheeks flared. God, she must be absolutely red!
    “ You needn’t presume,”
Jenny said, sticking out her chin and fixing Elsie with a knowing
look. “There are those who would take advantage of an innocent
maid.”
    Elsie’s heart sank, even as a wave of
irritation rolled over her. “Must you always bring that up? I was
young, and—”
    “ You were eighteen. You’re
only nineteen now. It was scarcely a year ago.”
    “ I know how long ago it
was. Do stop talking about it.”
    “ As your friend, I will
not. Every time I see you look at Damon, I worry that your experience has whetted
your appetite for more. It would be foolishness to allow him to use
you the way Lord Wilkes did.”
    Elsie barely heard the rest of Jenny’s
words. Her eyes stung, and her ears rang as if they’d been slapped.
That was very nearly how she felt. “So that’s what you think of
me?” she choked out,