Late for the Wedding Read Free Page A

groan.
    “Od’s blood.”
    The gentleman paused and bent down to feel gingerly about in the vicinity of his toes. Then, with a few more muttered oaths, he limped up the stairs.
    She waited until she was certain he had disappeared, and then she made to move cautiously out from her hiding place.
    At that moment another door opened a short distance down the hall.
    “Damnation,” she whispered under her breath. At this rate she would never get to Tobias’s bedchamber.
    In the dim glow cast by a wall sconce, she saw two figures emerge from the chamber. The woman gave a deep, throaty chuckle.
    “Come along with me, sir; ye won’t be sorry, that I promise.”
    One of the maids, Lavinia realized. Obviously the guests were not the only ones who took part in the late-night revelries of a country-house party. Suppressing her irritation with an effort, she raised the mask again and slipped back into the shadows behind the stairs.
    “Don’t see why we cannot have our sport in my bedchamber,” the man said. His words were slurred with drink. “I’ve got a nicely warmed bed.”
    “I’ll soon have ye warmed good and proper, sir. No need to fret yerself about that.”
    The man chuckled hoarsely. “Let’s get to it, then. Where’s your bedchamber?”
    “Oh, we cannot use my bedchamber, sir. There’s three other maids sharing it with me tonight on account of the house is so full. We’ll go out on the roof. It’s a little cool, but I’ve got some cozy quilts up there waiting for us.”
    “Hell’s teeth, you mean to tell me I’ve got to climb all the way to the top of this bloody castle just to enjoy a romp?”
    “It’ll be worth it, sir. I’ve got some very special apparatus that is sure to amuse a man of the world such as yerself.”
    “Apparatus, eh?” The gentleman’s anticipation and excitement were clear even through the fog of drunkenness. “What sort of equipment do you use, my girl? I’m partial to the whip, myself.”
    The maid whispered something that Lavinia could not hear.
    “Well, now.” The man’s voice thickened even more with lust. “That sounds interesting, indeed. I’ll look forward to a demonstration.”
    “Soon, sir.” The maid hurried him toward the staircase. “Just as soon as we get to the roof.”
    The pair continued toward the foot of the stairs. Lavinia caught a glimpse of a portly gentleman who appeared to be in his early sixties. He was garbed in a plum-colored velvet coat and old-fashioned breeches. He wore an elaborately tied cravat. His balding head gleamed in the light of the wall sconce.
    The maid was dressed in the manner of the rest of the staff at Beaumont Castle. She wore a plain, dark gown and an apron. Her face was almost entirely hidden beneath the shadows of a large, floppy cap.
    The gentleman put one foot on the bottom stair and stumbled awkwardly. The misstep made him chortle. “A tribute to Beaumont’s excellent brandy, eh? Let me try that again.”
    “No, not this staircase, m'lord.” The maid tugged on his arm. “We’ll use the back stairs. It would cost me my post if the butler or the housekeeper saw me with you.”
    “Oh, very well.” The bald man obligingly allowed himself to be led on down the hall.
    The maid picked up her skirts, revealing sturdy, sensible shoes and stockings. She hurried her companion past the small pool of light cast by another wall sconce. Several thick golden-blond corkscrew curls bobbed beneath the edge of the large cap.
    The inebriated gentleman allowed himself to be steered around a corner into another darkened hall.
    Relieved to find herself alone again in the corridor, Lavinia moved briskly out from behind the staircase and hurried toward Tobias’s bedchamber. At this rate she was going to need a glass of sherry to settle her nerves when she arrived at her destination.
    There was a thin edge of light showing beneath Tobias’s door. She raised her hand and then hesitated. The occupant of the neighboring bedchamber might