The meeting for the miners and their families was organized quickly, which meant that Ginny spent every free second of her time helping Lady Mariah settle on menus for snacks, calculate how many tables and chairs would be needed, and gather blankets for the families who didn’t have one to sit on as Mr. Adler, the surveyor, delivered his report on the sloping lawn outside of the west garden. Once those things were done, she moved on to helping Mrs. Wilson, the housekeeper, organize the fresh crop of maids—many of whom had no idea what working in a grand house entailed—and ensuring that the house was tidy for any guests that might need to come inside. Not that many would.

The work left her no time to sneak out to the stables to visit Harry again. But that didn’t stop her from daydreaming about the heated moments they stole together. It didn’t matter whether it was walking to church with him—and the rest of the household—on Sundays, staying up late to talk over the day, or naughty bits of time in his office, like the other day, being around Harry made her happy. At least until he said something that reminded her he wasn’t interested in anything more than a kiss and a tickle.

“Are you going to ask to go to the London house?” Poppy asked Ginny on the day of the meeting as they helped Lady Mariah and Miss Victoria set up the refreshment tables. Poppy’s question was close to the one Harry had asked, but it didn’t have the same tension to it as Harry’s had.

“I can’t,” Ginny laughed. “Not as long as Lady Mariah needs me.”

“Oh. Right.” Poppy blushed as though she’d made a serious blunder. “But it would be fun to visit the city, wouldn’t it?”

“Absolutely.”

She only wished that Harry felt the same way. He’d always been proud to be from Cornwall, and no matter how much Ginny hinted and coaxed, there didn’t seem to be room in his life or his plans for anything else. She was nothing but an adventure to him, a distraction from what he really wanted.

“Ginny, if you could take the other end of this cloth, we’ll spread it across the table,” Lady Mariah said, approaching her with an armful of folded white linen.

“Yes, my lady.” Ginny shook herself out of her unsatisfying thoughts and moved to take the tablecloths from Lady Mariah. “Poppy and I can handle this, my lady. You can sit down if you’d like.”

“But there’s so much to do,” Lady Mariah said with a happy sigh. She sent a look to the far end of the row of tables where her sister, Miss Victoria, stood with a table runner draped over one arm, looking lost and pale. “And besides, we need to keep Victoria occupied,” she whispered.

Ginny hummed in understanding, handing one tablecloth to Poppy while opening the other and handing one side to Lady Mariah. Poor Miss Victoria. Rumor had it downstairs that Lord William had treated her horribly right before he died. It was almost certain that he’d spoiled the young woman, like he had with too many maids before her. But where poor women could go home and find work somewhere else, assuming they hadn’t gotten with child, or even marry an understanding man who didn’t care about his wife’s past, once a well-born young woman was ruined, she was ruined for life.

“I can help you with that, Miss Victoria,” Poppy said skipping down the row of tables to Miss Victoria. “We can—oh!” Poppy gasped, then tumbled into a pile of black skirts and white tablecloths in the thick grass. Miss Victoria tossed her table runner aside and rushed to help her as Ginny and Lady Mariah looked on. “It’s all right,” Poppy said, holding up a hand as she sat. “I caught my foot on something.”

Ginny giggled, then covered her mouth with her hand and peeked at Lady Mariah. “I’m sorry, my lady. I shouldn’t laugh.”

But Lady Mariah was laughing as well. “Has she always been that clumsy?”

“I’m afraid so.” Ginny laughed freely. “It’s a wonder she ever made it out of the kitchens.”

“And now here she is, for all intents and purposes, my sister’s lady’s maid.”

The two shared a companionable laugh—something Gwen would faint over—and continued with their work. The funny incident kept a smile on Ginny’s face…which was still bright and cheery when she glanced up to find Harry staring at her from the other end of the yard. He was working with the men who were constructing a quick dais for Mr. Adler to stand on as he addressed the miners. Or at least, he should have been working. It looked more like he was puzzling out a problem as he watched her.

As soon as their eyes met, the troubled look in Harry’s eyes melted into a warm grin. He winked, touched the brim of his cap, then went back to work.

The simple gesture sent swirls of pleasure through Ginny, almost as good as his touch. If she wasn’t careful, she would convince herself that he thought she was more than a playmate. But handsome men like Harry, men who held positions of high esteem in the manor house, didn’t marry brazen hussies, like she was with him. Not that she would have traded the delicious moments the two of them spent together for the world. But it would be nice if there could be something more.

“I’ve always thought Mr. Pond was a handsome man,” Lady Mariah said, shaking the other end of the tablecloth that Ginny still held.

“Oh!” Ginny gasped, embarrassed that her mistress had caught her ogling a man. “I’m so sorry, my lady. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Lady Mariah cleared her throat as the two of them shook the tablecloth a little more, then moved to drape it over the closest table. “I’ve been married for four months now, so I believe I am qualified to say that yes, I do know what you were thinking.”

Ginny could feel herself go beet red. “Mr. Pond and I are just friends, my lady,” she said, unable to meet her mistress’s eyes. “We’ve been friends for years.”

“Is that what you’ve been?” If Ginny hadn’t known any better, she would have thought that Lady Mariah was her friend and not her employer.

“Well, close friends,” Ginny admitted. They settled the tablecloth, brushed it to chase out the wrinkles, then fetched the next cloth.

“Would you like there to be something more than just friendship between the two of you?” Lady Mariah asked.

Ginny sent her a coy look that she hoped Lady Mariah would see as teasing. “Work doesn’t leave much time for romance, my lady.”

“I suppose not.” She tilted her head to the side as they shook out the next tablecloth. “So perhaps I should lighten your duties? I’m not used to having a lady’s maid anyhow.”

“Oh no, my lady.” Ginny glanced up with genuine horror. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. I’m here to serve you in any way you need me.”

“And Harry?” Lady Mariah asked.

Ginny blushed all over again and shrugged as they smoothed their cloth over the next table. “Mr. Pond doesn’t want me.” Admitting as much was surprisingly hard.

“I doubt that,” Lady Mariah said. “The way he looked at you just now said the exact opposite.”

Ginny felt bad about contradicting a countess, but she shook her head and said, “Mr. Pond is a respected man and an example to the entire household, the entire estate. He feels a great deal of responsibility to his position here, to Lord Dunsford, and to his family.”

“So?” Lady Mariah shrugged. “Wouldn’t that mean that he would want to court a smart, pretty woman like you?”

“You’re too kind, my lady. And I’m a little too feisty for Harry. I mean, Mr. Pond.”

Lady Mariah gave her a curious look as they fetched the last tablecloth. “You are bright and sometimes I think you’re far more mischievous than most lady’s maids.”

Ginny confirmed her mistress’s assessment with a sly grin, but quickly added. “I’ll never give you cause to be ashamed of me, my lady.”

“Of course you won’t. But it’s not my opinion that matters in this case, it’s Mr. Pond’s.” They both glanced toward the dais, which was now finished. The men stood around talking as the first of the miners arrived. “And from what I can tell, he thinks very highly of you.”

As if to prove her point, Harry glanced Ginny’s way again, grinning when he caught her staring. Ginny laughed before she could help herself and finished with the tablecloth.

“Harry and I have fun together,” she admitted, too aware of the difference in her and Lady Mariah’s station to go into more detail. “But men don’t marry the women they think are fun. And besides,” she rushed on before Lady Mariah could contradict her. “I love serving you, my lady. I’m not willing to give up that position for any other, even if the new position came with a ring.”

“Not even for a house and babies of your own?” Lady Mariah pressed a hand to her stomach as she spoke.

“I’ve never considered having babies, my lady.”

It was a bald-faced lie, but Ginny said it with a smile. She’d spent nights lying awake, wondering what her and Harry’s children would look like. And if she were honest with herself, she’d wanted children since she was a girl. If she truly did believe she wouldn’t have them, wouldn’t have that kind of life, with Harry, shouldn’t she let her eyes wander elsewhere? Even if the thought of another man made her grimace?

And she truly was devoted to Lady Mariah. If she couldn’t have Harry—and no matter how much Lady Mariah said otherwise, she truly didn’t believe he wanted anything more than their unique kind of friendship—then she was content to be in service her entire life. It wasn’t as though she were teeming with suitors anyhow.

“Ah, here comes Mrs. Harmon with the refreshments,” she said, side-stepping the whole discussion to focus on work.

Lady Mariah arched an eyebrow at her as if she weren’t fooled, but mercifully kept silent.

If not for a lucky twist of fate and a cousin who had taken an interest in him when he was a boy, Harry would have worked in the mines along with the rest of his brothers and cousins. So when it was announced earlier in the spring that the Carleen mine was exhausted, he had been concerned. And now that Lord Peter had gone to the trouble of bringing in a fancy surveyor to seek out a new spot for a mine, he was as interested as any of the families that had gathered on the west lawn of Starcross Castle.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lord Peter called over the buzzing crowd as he stepped up onto the dais. Harry felt a rush of pride in the man, not only for helping the people who depended on him, but for addressing them as ‘ladies and gentlemen’ when they were all simple, common folk. “If you could take your seats, I would like to ask Mr. Stephen Adler to come up and tell you about our new endeavor.”

At least two hundred men, women, and children had gathered on the lawn, and it took a while for them to stop chatting, help themselves to the simple treats Mrs. Harmon and the kitchen staff had nearly broken their necks making, and find places in the sea of picnic blankets spread out in front of the dais. Harry took one look around and knew in an instant where he wanted to be for the fancy surveyor’s speech. He made a bee-line right through the sea of mining families to take up a place by Ginny off to the side of the crowd.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he murmured to her as he crossed his arms and pretended to focus on Lord Peter and the younger man who stepped up beside him.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Ginny replied with a teasing smile. “I’m more surprised you’re here. Letting Jimmy watch the stables on his own, are we?”

“The lad needs to learn responsibility,” Harry said with pretend seriousness. “I figure if I leave the two of them alone long enough, Bear will have him ship-shape in no time.”

Ginny snorted with laughter, pressing a hand to her mouth. Harry’s heart flipped in his chest. If he had his way, he would whisk her off, confess what was in his heart, and make love to her until they were both sweating and satisfied. But he valued his pride too much to even attempt something so risky.

Lord Peter raised his arms on the dais once more. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you please, I’d like to introduce you to Mr. Stephen Adler.” A few people applauded tentatively, as if they were at a theatrical performance. “Mr. Adler is a highly-regarded surveyor,” Lord Peter went on. “He has been working with me, Mr. Sinclair at Carleen, and Mr. Llewellyn to ascertain the possibilities for new mines across the estate.”

He shifted to address the throngs of families watching anxiously with more familiarity. “I know that you are all concerned about your futures and the futures of your families since the Carleen mine was exhausted. But I think you will be encouraged by what Mr. Adler has to say.”

Lord Peter stepped to the side, giving Mr. Adler a chance to speak.

“Hello,” the man said. “It’s a pleasure to speak to you all today. Highly unusual, but a pleasure.”

“He’s younger than I would have thought,” Ginny whispered, leaning closer to Harry.

Harry could feel her heat beside him, smell flowers and vanilla, or whatever exotic perfume it was she came into contact with while tending to Lady Mariah’s clothes. “You think so?” he whispered back.

Ginny hummed. “I would have thought a surveyor of his apparent importance would be much older. But Mr. Adler is so young. And handsome.”

A twist of jealousy hit Harry’s gut. He tried to ignore it. As much as he hated it, Ginny was free to find any man handsome.

Harry had missed the first bit of the speech, but started listening as Adler said, “I know it can be concerning to learn a whole new way of doing the job you’ve done for decades, but I can assure you, the process of tin mining will become as familiar to you as copper mining was in no time.”

“Tin mining?” Harry crossed his arms.

“Yes, weren’t you listening?” Ginny said, leaning close to him again. “While looking for a new copper deposit, they found a sizable amount of tin.”

“I knew that,” Harry replied with a grin, although it was half a lie. He’d heard something, but his thoughts were so full of Ginny that there wasn’t room for much else. “I didn’t realize the process was so different.”

“Ssh,” Ginny hushed him. “He’s explaining it.”

“…if we start with construction of the out-buildings necessary for the new process,” Adler was saying. “That in itself will take up a good deal of time for the remainder of the summer and a good portion of autumn. But I am confident that by the end of the year, operations at the new mine will be in full swing.”

A murmur went through the crowd. Harry glanced across the blankets, looking for his brother and the rest of his family. They were chatting among themselves, half of them looking hopeful, half resistant.

“Does anybody have questions?” Mr. Adler asked.

Several hands shot up as Adler scanned the expectant faces of the miners. But before picking one question to answer, he cast his gaze wide. So wide that it landed on Ginny, far off to the side. Adler blinked, then smiled. Ginny smiled back.

Harry’s gut clenched. His arms were already crossed, but he stiffened his back and put on a glowering frown. Adler didn’t see it, though. His eyes were only for Ginny.

At least until Lord Peter said, “Yes, Mr. Martin.” He pointed to a miner near the front of the crowd.

“How will this affect our wages, my lord? It sounds like the mining proper won’t start for months now.”

Adler shook his head and focused on the men in front of him, but he continued to steal glances at Ginny while Lord Peter answered the question.

“I will do my best not to let the change in labor affect anyone. It’s true that this represents an enormous cost for the estate, but any man who wants to avoid going without any work during the transition period is invited to help with the construction of the mine and out-buildings.”

The murmuring of the crowd turned positive. Harry’s mood took a decided downward turn, especially when Ginny whispered, “Mr. Adler is quite well-spoken, don’t you think?”

Harry shrugged. “If you like the fancy, city type.”

Ginny hummed.

Harry cringed. Chances were that Ginny actually did prefer the handsome, well-spoken city type. That was the sum total of the problems between them.

“How are we supposed to learn a whole new way of mining?” one of the other miners asked, only partially drawing Harry out of his increasingly frustrated thoughts. How was he supposed to learn a whole new way of being a man in order to be what Ginny wanted?

“Ah,” Adler answered. “Lord Dunsford has generously agreed to pay for training for a handful of your mine supervisors. They will, in turn, instruct the rest of you on the proper technique.”

“What about you?” the man standing next to the miner who had asked the question spoke up. “Ain’t you gonna teach us?”

Adler laughed. “I would if I could, but my job involves traveling to locations such as this to advise on improvement techniques. In fact, I’m due to sail to Australia to help with a consultation there at the end of September.”

“Australia,” Ginny said, eyes wide, a bright smile on her face. “How exotic.”

She turned to Harry, but the excitement in her eyes only dampened Harry’s spirits further. Adler might as well have been traveling to the moon for all Harry could compete with him.

“It’s a long way away,” he said, his frown deepening.

“But wouldn’t it be fun to visit?” Ginny went on. “To see kangaroos and exotic birds and the like?”

“We’ve got birds here in Cornwall,” Harry replied, then took a chance by continuing with, “I’m looking at a pretty one right now.” He smiled at Ginny.

Ginny laughed and slapped his arm, her cheeks going pink. “You’re a charmer, Harry Pond. It’s a wonder you don’t have girls lined up to drink in blarney like that.”

It took a tremendous act of will not to take Ginny in his arms and kiss her, to prove to her that she was the only girl he wanted to charm. Keeping his distance from her was making less and less sense. He was beginning to think that the problem wasn’t that she didn’t want a man like him, but that he was a coward for not pursuing her.

“Ginny,” he began, turning toward her. “We need to talk.”

She blinked at him, but before either of them had a chance to say anything, Adler marched up to them and said, “Hello.”

Harry sucked in a breath and glanced around. The speech had ended, and the crowd of miners and neighbors had gone back to socializing and devouring the food Lady Mariah had provided.

“I’m Stephen Adler,” Adler went on, holding out a hand to Ginny. “I noticed you watching my speech with interest. Are you a miner’s wife?”

Ginny laughed, the sound causing the hair on the back of Harry’s neck to stand up. “Heavens, no,” she said. “I’m Lady Mariah’s lady’s maid.”

“Oh.” Adler blinked, his smile growing, his eyes filling with ideas.

“And I’m Harry Pond,” Harry cut in, taking Adler’s hand so Ginny couldn’t. He squeezed with more force than he needed to. “I’m the head stableman here at Starcross Castle, but my brothers are all involved in the mines.”

To his credit, Adler didn’t flinch or grimace. He returned Harry’s shake with equal strength and a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve seen some of Lord Dunsford’s horses, and I’ve been impressed by how healthy and well-maintained they are.”

Damn. The man was likable. Even though every fiber of Harry’s being wanted to hate him.

“I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about the new mining operation,” Adler said to Ginny. Even though she’d just said she had nothing to do with the mines.

“Actually,” Ginny faced Adler, resting one hand on her hip, “I’d love to hear more about Australia. Do they have mines there too?”

“Plenty of them,” Adler laughed. “So much of that land is still wild and untapped. But we’ve been making great strides in quelling the native population and maximizing the productivity of the land.”

Harry frowned. He didn’t like the sound of anyone being quelled, native or not. Those natives were there first. But he didn’t have a chance to share his opinion.

“It sounds fascinating,” Ginny said. “So different from dozy old Cornwall.”

Her words were like an arrow in Harry’s heart, proving once again that he would never be what she wanted.

“I’d be happy to tell you more about Australia,” Adler said. “If you would be interested in, say, lunch and a walk sometime soon.” His brow rose hopefully.

Harry clenched his fists at his sides. But there was no justification for him to pound the man into a pulp. Ginny was her own woman and could step out with whomever she wanted. Even if it made him see red.

“Oh.” She blinked as if surprised by the invitation. “Well, I….” She glanced to Harry, biting her lip. The simple gesture sent blood pounding through Harry’s whole body, but Ginny was quick to glance back to Adler. “Um, I don’t know. I—”

“Ginny?” Lady Mariah called from several yards away, near the end of one of the refreshment tables. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need your help.”

“Yes, my lady,” Ginny answered immediately, jumping into action. “Right away, my lady.”

She left Harry and Adler standing in her wake, Adler with a hopeful smile and Harry a seething ball of frustration.

“Enjoy the gathering.” Harry nodded to Adler, then turned to march off. He needed to get back to the stables to check on Jimmy. More than that, he needed to dunk his head in one of the troughs to cool off and to remind himself of where he really stood in Ginny’s eyes.