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husband,” Lady Baxter said. “There will be no sleep tonight for me.” But you should see to your quarters. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

    Ella nodded and went to the door. Lord Baxter was standing there in his robe. He looked down at Ella.

    “How was your first day.”

    “Busy,” Ella said.

    “And I assume York has outlined the expectations of your job accurately?”

    “Yes, m’lord.”

    “Very good,” he said. “Goodnight then.”

    Ella left the room and hastened towards her quarters, not noticing the man who stepped from the shadow in the corner of the stairwell to follow.

Chapter Four

    William caught her on the landing and turned her quickly so that her back was against the wall. When Ella started to cry out he put a hand over her mouth and a finger to his own lips. His eyes were dark with warning.

    “What do you want?” Ella asked apprehensively when he lowered his hand.

    “Just a moment alone without your protector intruding.”

    “York’s not my protector,” she said.

    “Could have fooled me.” A smirk played on the handsome footman’s mouth. “He seems to have appointed himself your personal guardian. Do you fancy him?”

    “That’s a wildly inappropriate question,” Ella said.

    “Many of the girls do,” William said. “It’s the power he wields here. He’s second only to the great man Baxter himself in this house. That kind of authority is an aphrodisiac to women. And it breeds jealousy in men like me. And in not a few of the women. They won’t be too pleased that he’s taken a special interest in the new maid. They’d prefer to see you with a footman, not that I could catch the eye of York’s favorite.”

    “If you’re unhappy with your lot, then why not simply advance your position. It would certainly make you more attractive than accosting women on the stairs, although not to me. You could be Lord himself and I’d not look twice at you.”

    William frowned and drew closer to Ella, pressing his body against hers. “You’re quite the little firebrand. No wonder York thrashed your bottom.”

    When Ella paled at the comment, the footman chuckled. “That’s what happened, isn’t it? Don’t deny it. I was listening..”

    “Then why ask if you are so sure it’s true?” she asked.

    “To hear you admit it. You’re an arrogant little thing. York will teach you well.” He reached out and ran a finger down her cheek as Ella sought to turn her head away. “But I could teach you better.”

    “I mean to make report of this,” Ella said. “I don’t think York likes you as it is; knowing you’ve accosted me will hardly endear you further to his graces.”

    William sighed dramatically and stood back. “Very well, but remember that two can play that game, lass. You’d be wise to keep this little meeting to yourself, and wiser to be nice to those who may rise to power sooner than you think. Should you ever find yourself under me…” He smiled. “I can’t promise I’ll be so lenient as York.”

    William gave her a wink before turning to go down the stairs and Ella took the steps up to the women’s wing two at a time. She was relieved to be away from the footman, and uncomfortable with being put in the middle again - this time between him and York.

    Ella leaned back against the door of her room once she was inside. Alone, finally. She’d promised to write her father and tell him all about her first day. But what could she write?
    Lies, it turned out. Her letter was full of them and she filled a page with all the things she knew he wanted to hear - descriptions of the grand house, the graciousness of her new employers, her ease with Lady Baxter and the fine staff. She wrote nothing of scheming footmen who cornered her on stairwells, her role as both keeper and pawn in a fractious marriage, or a butler who spanked her.

    “I miss you, papa,” she said as she closed the envelope.

    She undressed by the lamplight. As Ella pulled her nightdress on, she