Song for Sophia Read Free Page B

thank you, sir, but — ”
    Wilhelm nudged the idiot with his boot. “The man sank his career the moment he laid a hand on you.” He pinned her with his gaze. “Now kindly divulge the names of the others who have insulted you. Again I assure your amnesty.”
    Her breath sped, and if he read her correctly, she reacted with anger. So he assumed right — other men had been harassing her.
    “At the risk of abetting murder, I respectfully decline. Sir .” She tacked on the honorific, clearly as an afterthought. Housemaid, bollocks . An irresistible puzzle.
    “Then you do not deny being accosted by the male staff here.”
    She closed her eyes as she sighed. An imperious gesture, as though he was the one trying her patience. “I am unharmed, and I think it best to maintain the harmony.”
    “Lord Devon would take exception, I assure you, Missus … .”
    She smiled flatly in a clear refusal to reveal her name. “Lord Devon manages his affairs as he sees fit, I assure you. Sir .”
    “And I assure you, Madam , he will be most displeased to hear of the situation. What I cannot understand is why an otherwise circumspect Mrs. Abbott hired you as a housemaid.”
    She narrowed her eyes. “I beg your pardon?”
    “I thought there was a universal law that the female domestic help must be either homely or matronly, preferably both. The males are supposed to be hale and handsome, since it is women who oversee the hiring in a household.” Wilhelm bit back a smile at her cocked eyebrow. “You cannot be unaware you appear as conspicuous as a peacock in a henhouse.”
    Her eyes shuttered at his compliment, and he was all the more fascinated that she did not seem pleased to hear pretty words spoken to her. What beautiful woman did not want adulation?
    “Have I reasoned amiss, madam?”
    “I merely wonder at your concern for Lord Devon’s domestic affairs, Mister — ” she trailed, fishing for his name.
    “I prefer to follow your example of evasion, madam.”
    “Very reasonable. In that spirit of elusiveness, I shall now fade into the scenery as I ought. Good day.”
    She turned to escape, and he said lazily, “In theory, that dynamic functions properly between master and servant, but not if the latter is more masterpiece than background.” He loaded his expression with innuendo, and fire snapped in her autumn-hazel eyes. Finally, a crack in her prim façade.
    She turned and closed the space between them in dance-like strides. “Sir. Neither your wealth nor station grants you such license. Your flattery, however amusing, does you no credit. Kindly desist. Sir .”
    The sport was over. He watched her carefully, her wide eyes and quick breaths. “I have scared you. I apologize.”
    They locked gazes, and — there it was. A softening of her eyes, the flush of her skin. The unmistakable force like magnetism warming the space between them: attraction. Hope unfurled in his heart.
    She hardly noticed when he touched her, which meant she had already allowed the intimacy in her mind. He angled his shoulders to shield her from view, and a small movement brought his hand to cradle her elbow. He brushed down her forearm, holding her captive with his gaze. Subdued by the contact, she let him slowly rub over the delicate muscles in her arm, tight with strain from her labor. Her eyelids fluttered, fighting the urge to close. He was careful to convey comfort in his touch, adopting the utter stillness necessary to coax a spooked horse.
    Wilhelm used a soothing tone. “This is a peaceful place. I vow you have nothing to fear. And you may keep your secrets, madam.” He brushed the underside of her wrist with his thumb as he said secrets .
    He released her and stepped away, and he knew the moment she realized she had allowed a strange man to caress her arm, neither of them gloved. He gave her a shallow bow and retreated before she could work herself up over it. He savored the warm pleasure of victory as he strode away, a sensation far more