Frowning, she looked down and groaned. "Oh, by the gods, no! Had I mayhaps been holding it to hard? I'm so terribly sorry, Your Lordship. Somehow, I'll find a way to - "

Maggie stopped her ranting as a chuckle came forth from the lord, seeming to surprise him as much as it did her. He stepped back, putting distance between them once more. "Don't worry about the gem. Just put on the gown quickly; we don't have much time now."

He left, nudging her out of the way so that he could shut the door before she could even utter another objection. Sighing, she grumbled to herself, "Well, I suppose I have to go along for now. Stupid chandelier."

Resigned to her fate, she set the stone down on the bed, pouting slightly as she again noticed the deep crack that now marred its flawless surface. She stroked it gently, but immediately pulled back as it shuddered beneath her hand. The movement ceased as soon as she did so, and Mahogany decided it must have been just an imagination as she turned her attention to the dress.

It was a floor-length garment with a flaring ballgown-esque skirt and sleeves that turned into lace puffs at the elbows. The color was almost as extraordinary as the stone though considerably darker, with a high laced waist and low-cut neckline. The fabric was silk, she realized, soft against the callused palms of her hands. This was definitely a dress for a proper lady, not a chambermaid like herself. Yet, as the lord had known, the title of lady was her birthright.

Removing her uniform, Maggie slipped into the gown, fastening the hooks as high as she could manage without assistance. Walking over to a full-length mirror that rested beside the wardrobe, she took off the cap and pins in her hair, letting it fall down past her shoulders in soft chestnut waves. Patting down some loose strands, her image almost fooled her into thinking that it was a grand noblewoman who stood before her. But she blinked, and the illusion faded to reveal an awkward, gangly girl with too long legs and too thick hair dressed up in finery that just exaggerated her plainness.

A knock on the door caused her to spin around, nearly tripping over her feet as the lord reentered, holding a pair of matching brown slippers in his hand. She felt her cheeks turn red once more as that piercing gaze of his slid over her form. "Much better. Here, put these on."

She took the shoes from his hand, wincing at the contrast between his clean pale skin and her own dirt-smudged complexion. After she changed into the slippers, which felt like satin cloth wrapped around her feet, he also handed her a brush and gestured to the wash bin hidden in the desk's shadows. Giving him a small smile of gratitude, Mahogany hurriedly washed her face and hands before drying off and raising the brush to her hair.

The touch on her shoulder stopped her. "You missed some clasps on your dress," the lord's voice came, deep and somewhat soothing now that her back was turned to him. Still, she trembled as his fingers glided down her shoulder blades, neatly fastening her up before taking the brush from her hands and running it through her hair. She marveled at the tenderness of his strokes, gently removing the tangles, and was thankful that there was no mirror above the wash bin for him to see her no doubt mottled red face.

He finally set down the brush, and Maggie turned back around to find him still right behind her. They were so close their chests were almost touching, and her unbecomingly tall height brought her nose level with his chin. She looked up to find him staring down at her with an expression she didn't recognize but looked almost - though it could not possibly be - rapture. Suddenly, his arms were around her waist, pulling her forwards so that she pressed her hands against his chest for balance, and his mouth touched hers.

His lips were soft, so soft she could barely feel them, and then so suddenly gone. She blinked rapidly, staring at him with her mouth slightly parted, confused yet yearning for something she did not know. He stepped away, removing his arms from her person as his mouth twisted into a grimace of remorse. "Excuse me for my forwardness. I did not mean to accost you so; it was just that your beauty gave me leave of my senses."

"B-beauty?" she stuttered a nervous laugh, resisting the urge to press her fingers against her lips. Had that really been her first kiss? "I'm not beautiful, Your Lordship, though I am flattered you think so."

"I do not even know your name," he said, offering his arm to her. "And yet I ask you to follow me, and you do so without question."

Mahogany walked past, retrieving the stone from the bed before linking her free arm with his. Her heartbeat quickened. "You are a lord, and I a servant."

He smiled, but it was filled with such bitterness that she could scarcely call it a smile at all. "The king will certainly like your attitude, Lady..."

"Maggie," she finished, letting him draw her out of the room. "Short for Mahogany. And I am no lady, Your Lordship."

"Your contrariness only proves me right, Your Ladyship."

Now, it was her turn to grimace. "Please, don't call me that."

"Then Lady Mahogany it shall be." Maggie was ready to disagree, but his gaze stayed her. "And so you must cease to refer to me as 'Your Lordship'."

"B-but what shall I c-call you in return? After all, I-I do not know y-your name."

"And the stutter returns," he noted as he closed the door to his chambers. "You may not want to do so in front of the king. He has very little patience for that sort of thing."

Her temper flared, and she said hotly, "You still have yet my question."

"And now it's gone once more." The most infuriating man merely chuckled as she glared at him, his laugh sounding rusty and out-of-shape. "But, to answer your question, my name is Murtagh Morzansson. A pleasure to have met you, Lady Mahogany, though I doubt you'll think so for very long."

Mahogany shivered slightly at the threat in his deep voice, wondering what she'd gotten herself into and gripping the stone tighter, even as another crack formed on its surface as a soft tapping noise - unheard by either human - began to sound from its hollow depths.

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