“I tried not to look as if I was hiding a handsome young lad under the mattress.”

“A scratch at the door interrupted us. Colin dropped and rolled under the bed again. One of the maids poked her head in. "Miss?"I tried not to look as if I was hiding a handsome young lad under the mattress."Yes?""Lord Jasper sent me up to see if you need help getting ready for a ball." She smiled proudly. "I have a fair hand with a curling iron.""Oh.Thank you." I needed to get Colin out before I ended up naked in the middle of my bedroom. "I,um, could I get some hot water? To wash my face?""Certainly,miss. I'll have the footmen bring up the bathtub, if you like, before all the fine ladies start calling for their own baths.""That would be great, thanks." I'd never actually been in a full reclining tub before. We had a battered hip bath in the kitchen.The maid curtsied and closed the door behind her. I let out a breath. Colin crawled back out. "They need to sweep under there," he said, sneezing.”

“And going into the showers I saw a suntanned young lad in pale blue trunks that I rather liked the look of.”

“I keep odd hours. I keep them stuffed under my mattress.”

“Nico looked so devilishly handsome under the spilling glow of the moon.”

“You look like a handsome young man…although you might want to zip your fly.Mom!What? Should I have not told you and left it for everyone else to notice at the dance?”