Soft hands steadied me, pulling me back up, and I found the dark-brown eyes of Lottie du Lac. I quickly looked at the stony ground.
She lifted her hands. “You don’t have to look down. I’m not a Crowne.”
“We don’t look anyone in the eyes, Ms. du Lac.”
A moment passed; then she said, “You’re Grayson’s…?”
“Maid,” I supplied.
Silence. As if she was weighing my answer. Determining its authenticity.
I waited, curious of its weight too.
“You’re the one who brought me lemon cakes—”
“I didn’t know you were allergic, I swear,” I interrupted. Shit. Who was I to interrupt her? I waited, muscles tensed, for her to reply.
She exhaled. “No one does…except my girl, and my best friends. It’s an imperfection.”
Once again silence engulfed us. I couldn’t leave, though. Training told me to stay. A servant never left unless they’re dismissed, or the other person leaves first. So I stayed, and stared at the floor.
“So…” Lottie eventually said. “I know how maids talk.”
I wasn’t sure where this was going, so I stayed quiet. Lottie continued.
“It’s been so long since I really talked with him. My knowledge of him is a decade old. He’s probably not still excited over the first iPhone.”
I lifted my head, finally meeting her eyes. “Probably not.”
She smiled a little, her right cheek quirking. “Do you know we’ve been going on dates for over a year? Our parents, or some proxy, is always there. It’s like we’re still in the Victorian era. We had scheduled one night alone but…” She looked away and sniffed. “Something got in the way.”
Me.
I got in the way.
This was weird. I was talking to Lottie as if I only cleaned Grayson’s bed, but I slept next to it. Only before this party, he’d touched me…really touched me.
But it was just to humiliate me.
This morning, though, when he’d seen me naked, for a moment his stony blue gaze was possessive and filled with fire.
But no…it was just to humiliate.
All this was nothing. It all meant nothing.
“You ever notice how often he has suckers in his mouth?” I said, swallowing. “He has a sweet tooth.”
Her eyes bugged. “He does?”
I thought she was upset that I knew so much, so I said, “It’s my job. I’m practically a Crowne encyclopedia.”
It wasn’t a total lie.
“When we were kids, I used to give him my suckers. He always had to work when everyone else was playing. I didn’t think that was fair.”
I couldn’t look away from Lottie, as the realization swamped me. The suckers Grayson chewed at daily, the drawer he kept. She had no idea the extent of his love for her, did she?
Her eyes lifted over my shoulder at the moment Grayson’s voice echoed over it. “Lottie, I’ve been looking for you.”