Chapter 2
Beyond the heavy silk drapes separating the main salon from the service hallways, Audrey Wells leaned weakly against a polished marble column. The twenty-five-year-old housemaid was breathtakingly beautiful, possessing delicate features and highly expressive eyes. Tonight, however, she possessed an exhausted, deeply vulnerable manner that sharply contradicted the festive elegance of the estate.
She wore a fitted black maid dress with a cinched waist, a white apron, white collar and cuffs, and a white ruffled maid headband. But her pristine uniform was a ruin. Her black dress was noticeably creased, her white apron was terribly rumpled, and her lace headband sat entirely crooked in her slightly disheveled hair. She kept her hands clasped tightly in front of her, her knuckles white, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"Audrey, you cannot stay hiding out here," the head butler whispered harshly, adjusting his own collar as he passed her. "The reception is in full swing. The guests require more champagne."
"I am trying, sir," Audrey replied, her American accent trembling so violently she could barely form the words. "But if Miss Kerr sees me again..."
"Miss Kerr is the future lady of this house," the butler interrupted coldly. "Whatever reprimand you received, you must endure it. Now dry your eyes and do your job."
Audrey squeezed her eyes shut, a violent shiver wracking her small frame. The reprimand had not been a simple scolding. The previous afternoon, while delivering fresh linens, Audrey had walked into Gideon’s private bedroom. There, she had witnessed Vanessa Kerr, Gideon's fiancée, passionately kissing Evan Whitmore, Gideon’s own brother.
The discovery had been catastrophic. Vanessa had not just threatened her; the socialite had ordered her personal guards to lock Audrey in the freezing, pitch-black wine cellar overnight. Audrey had spent fifteen hours shivering in the dark, terrified that she would be quietly murdered and buried beneath the estate before dawn. Vanessa had released her only an hour before the party, threatening further, unimaginable punishment if she spoke a single word to Gideon.
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"I will pour the champagne," Audrey whispered, wiping a trembling hand across her pale, rosy cheeks.
She stepped further into the bright, airy light of the grand salon. The golden reflections offered absolutely no place to hide her disheveled appearance. She kept her head down, navigating the carved walnut furniture and burgundy velvet sofas with agonizing care.
