Lucy spent far too long in her own tiny maid's chamber, trying to make sense of what she was feeling.  For the first time that she could remember, she was uncertain of herself.  She hadn't a clue how to even begin to process the things that had happened that evening with Lord Covington.  She needed time, and she did not have enough of it, not with the possibility of her beloved Katie waiting for her.<br/><br/>She knew she was flushed, and it was with arousal and desire.  Here, in the privacy of her own room, she could not deny the fact to herself.  Hugh... Lord Covington had taken her over his knee to discipline her, and it had left her moist and needy.  It made no sense!  She should have felt angry and hostile and humiliated, and she had felt all of those things.  But the problem was that it was not only those things she had felt.<br/><br/>Shaking her head, she slipped out of her own room and made her way to Katie.  She would tell her mistress that she had almost gotten caught and could no longer spy on her afianced, and Katie would have to find out Hugh's secrets on her own.  There was only so much that Lucy could and would do.<br/><br/>She turned the handle and went in to find a look of worry on Katherine's face, and Lucy's heart sank.  She could not do it.  Her own feelings did not matter, not when her Katie's future and happiness were at stake.  She wanted to run and hide from whatever Lord Covington had awakened in her, but she couldn't.  She had to return, and she had to find out everything she could about the man her mistress would wed.<br/><br/>Plastering a serene look on her face, she closed the door behind her.  "I'm so sorry, you've changed into your nightclothes without my assistance!" she exclaimed.  She had taken too long in her room and was contrite about it.  Bending over to pick beautiful blue fabric off of the floor, she busied herself folding the items.  "I found nothing," she lied, not telling her mistress about being caught.  It all was rather uneventful, if I'm honest."  Except she wasn't.  It had been ever-so-eventful!  But she would not tell Katie the truth; she was determined to protect her from worry and the knowledge of how barbaricly Hugh treated the help.  As long as Katie was cherished, it would not matter, after all.  That was her only goal here, to determine if the match would keep her friend happy or if there was such a dark secret in Hugh's life as to make him unsuitable.  A broken engagement would cause a scandal that would last a decade, and so it would only occur under the direst of circumstances.<br/><br/><em>Dire like being taken over a man's knee and brutalized?</em>Lucy brushed the thought way.  If Lord Covington's secret was along those lines, well, she'd figure something out.  As long as Katie wasn't beaten and was ignorant of such happenings, all would be well.  And Lucy would know more after tomorrow night.<br/><br/>She sat Katie down in the chair at the vanity and started brushing her hair.   "Okay, I want to hear about every moment of your evening.  Did your mother harp on you?  Were you the loveliest woman in the room?"  She was, Lucy already knew.  There was nobody whose beauty rivaled Katherine Davenport's.  "And your Lord?  How was he?  Did he stay at your side and dote on you the entire time?  Or will he be a good husband and give you your own space?"<br/><br/><div align="center">~ ~ ~</div><br/>The next morning found Lucy tired.  She had barely slept the night before, between Katie's nervous need to chatter and then her own restlessness as she laid in bed and thought over and over again about the happenings in the study.  Included in the festivities that morning was a horse ride on Lord Covington's finest steeds, and Lucy watched from the window in her small room as the wedding party and their guests took off.  She was careful to look in any direction other than at the baron himself.  Part of her felt like she always did when others rode, envious of their freedom, but a larger part today was grateful that she would get a chance to rest.<br/><br/>Later, a tired Katie, who had taken a tumble while horse riding,  begged off from late festivities as did many of the younger guests.  Lucy attended to her and tried her best to not let her mind wander to the study.  Would Lord Covington be there?  Would he notice that she had not shown up?  Did he even remember that she was supposed to?<br/><br/>She wouldn't go.  There, it was decided.  She'd already told Katie that she'd found nothing in the study, after all.  "You're sure you don't need anything else?"<br/><br/>"I am.  You're off to bed early then?" responded Katherine.  "You've seemed out of sorts all day, Lucy.  Quieter than normal."<br/><br/><em>Damnation!</em>Katie always had noticed when Lucy was in a mood.  "I'm fine.  Just a bit tired.  You sleep well, and by tomorrow both of us shall be good as new."  And off to her own chamber she went.<br/><br/>And lasted all of twelve minutes.<br/><br/>She stood in front of the study door, wiping her hands on her dress, heart thudding as if it would burst from her chest.  She'd planned to not come tonight, really she had.  And yet, here she stood, more nervous than she had ever before been.  What secrets would she discover about Covington tonight?  What would he show her of himself?<br/><br/>She tried to convince herself that the only reason she did this was for Katie.  The lie made her feel better as she lightly rapped her knuckles against the thick wooden door.