A/N: Thank you guys so much for your responses! It really is an ego-booster :)!!

The Rose's Ruse

Chapter 4

By the third trip, her arms were giving out. She was certain that beneath the sleeves, her muscles were rotting away and that somewhere in her home, that evil cretin was snickering in the most asinine manner at her suffering. Earlier, she sought out Dan only to find that the evil captain had thought one step ahead of her and sent him on an errand in town. Dorota was busy putting on finishing touches in several of the guestrooms and she could hardly ask her newly-appointed 'Lady Jennifer' to carry buckets.

She sat down on a step at the back entrance of the house to rest. Strands of hair fell in her face and she hardly cared anymore for the state of her dress (although she supposed she would have to purchase a new set for Jenny). She watched her shadow on the floor, lit by the light emitted from the interior of the house and bent her arms to relieve the aching.

Her shadow was engulfed suddenly by the figure of a man behind her and she sighed. "Yes, milord. I will get right back to-"

"Blair?" Her head whipped around to find Nathaniel standing by the doorframe. He'd changed into a white cotton shirt and brown breeches and she had never seen anyone who resembled a prince as much as he did in that moment. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, of course, Nathaniel. Just taking a rest is all." She desperately wished that she didn't have sweat coating her skin from physical exertion, but he politely did not take notice. If it had been that Chuck, Blair was sure he would have made some sort of comment already. She winced again when she stretched out her arms in front of her and her nearly nonexistent muscles screeched in protest.

"Are you all right?" He sat beside her and caught sight of the bucketsful of water on either side of her feet. "Oh no, Chuck hasn't ordered you to perform such manual labor, has he?" She nodded, her lips turned into a frown and her eyes downcast. What would a gentleman like Nathaniel Archibald think of her now? She found herself wishing that she could at least have a bow in her hair. "Well, my apologies. Chuck just isn't used to being in the presence of ladies. Here, allow me." The next thing she knew, she was mesmerized by the way his strong arms flexed beneath his thin cotton shirt as he walked steady steps down the hall with the two buckets hardly swinging on either side of him.

***

Chuck re-entered the washroom after a short while and was pleased to see the tub nearly full. Perhaps the girl had some strength in her after all. He undid the laces of his shirt and pulled it off, throwing it carelessly onto a chair in the corner of the room. He'd just thrown off his shoes when the door open and the tub was filled with the last two buckets, by someone he didn't expect at all. "Blair, you sure grew a lot from all this water carrying."

His friend gave him a reproachful gaze. "Chuck. I'm surprised that you would send a fragile girl to do such difficult work. Where's Daniel?"

If his dear friend thought that this girl was "fragile," he truly wasn't very bright. Sure, she may be a lady and raised as such, but this one is a little spitfire. "Daniel is running an errand for me in town. If I'd known you enjoyed such labor, Nathaniel, I would have sent you out to the stables."

"We were not raised to allow ladies to suffer such drudgery, Chuck."

"Nathaniel, do we require another- Oh!" Upon entering and seeing a man's chest on display, Blair instinctively turned and covered her face. "L-lord Bass, I was not aware-"

"Lord Bass is my father." Blair nearly protested. She knew for certain that the Bass name did not hold a title in court. "Lord Chuck will do. Now that you have manipulated my guest into performing your duty-"

She went to protest, but the squeak could not be overheard from the maneside her. "I offered, Chuck. I could hardly allow this young lady to-"

"That will be all, Nathaniel. I have my own methods of training my own servants. Now, if you will excuse me, that is, unless you would like to join-"

"I will be going then. Come along, Blair." He grasped her lightly by her upper arm and she could feel the warmth of his hand radiate through the cotton. Her heart swelled as she looked up at him, the man who would save her from this-.

"The girl stays, Nathaniel." She froze, every inch of her spine stacked neatly on top of each other straightened and she turned her head slowly, careful to keep her eyes above his neck. The look on her face was highly amusing, to say the least. "I did say I require assistance."

"You had no trouble bathing on your own aboard the ship, Chuck. I believe you will find that bathing on solid ground is not much different." Even Nathaniel had the decency to turn his face when his friend shed the last of his clothing and climbed into the tub, his head leaned back against the edge. "You will be fine on your own, I am sure. Come, Blair."

"I said the girl stays, Nathaniel." Chuck wasn't used to having his orders directly disobeyed and he was certainly not going to make a habit of allowing for it. Not even for his friend, who seemed to be taking far too many liberties with his property. "There are a few luxuries that I appreciate on dry land and having my back washed by a woman is one of them. Don't worry, Nathaniel. Virgins hardly ever stir my interest."

Blair blushed bright red at the comment and the indignity of being spoken about as though she were not in the room. She could already see that this man had backed her into a corner, and the only way she had was to fight her way out of it by confrontation. "No worries, Nathaniel. I am sure I can handle myself. I do live to serve." She sent a glare his way and he smiled in return, his teeth mocking her as they peeked between his lips in mock innocence. She was certain there was not one innocent bone in that man's body.

Nathaniel nodded, and with a quick assurance of yelling if the maid needed help, left the room. Almost with a sense of foreboding, she turned towards him and found his annoying head bobbing in the water, his body crouched in the deep, circular tub. "Alone at last," he said as he watched the seemingly defenseless little thing. She gripped the washing rag in her hands and wrangled it nervously and he almost chuckled - so the girl was not all pomp and audacity. "Come closer, kitten. I promise I will not bite, but only require a good washing."

He watched her inch toward him and was satisfied. A little fear was good for someone like her. Perhaps he could teach her a thing or two about respect. She may not be a maid, but he would certainly not allow any of his subjects to question him. She knelt on a step stool beside the tub so they were face to face and she met his gaze for a moment. Suddenly, this all seemed like a terrible idea to him for his body was responding to her soft coral lips and big doe eyes. Her small hand trembled beneath the cloth when she touched his chest, feather-light touches that made his eyelids flutter. He grasped her wrist and pulled her closer. "You are scrubbing away the day's filth, Blair, not petting a pup." Out of spite, she presses the rough material hard against his shoulder and rub down, making the patch of skin red and raw. He tightened his jaw but could hardly suppress the wince that reacted to the pain. "There's a girl."

He was pleased when, after the initial tom-foolery, she, a girl who had probably never worked a day in her life, scrubbed in earnest. She kept her hands to his chest and he was slightly amused to peek and find her face bright scarlet and her curls mussed, but her eyes remained focus on whichever spot she was working on. She jumped when he moved to turn around. "Relax. My back requires your attention as well." The water was heaven on his back until he heard a loud splash behind him.

"Um, could you perhaps-" The girl had dropped the rag into the depths of the tub, right beside his feet. He smirked at the opportunity to embarass the girl some more.

"Of course not. I'm not here to work. I'm afraid you'll have to improvise." He heard a little "hmph" and felt satisfied with himself. Behind him, he could practically hear the girl think. Finally, he felt her tiny hands on his back, soft padded fingers expectedly against his weathered skin, and he let out a sigh. Her hands worked at the knots in his back and he felt himself turn into a puddle under her touch - a very dangerous thing for the girl to know.

She felt his muscles under his hands, not bulging but they were there. Judging by his physique, he was definitely the sort of captain who sat in his cabin and ordered his staff around while twirling a glass of scotch in one hand and holding a whore in the other. She scoffed at first, but the way she felt him soften and loosen under her hands was, well, endearing. He leaned forward, allowing her access to more of his skin and she thought to herself, almost feeling slightly blasphemous, that like this, in her hands, he wasn't too bad. He sighed, his body surrendering to her attention. "Is... is this all right, milord?"

He let out a grunt, quite possibly the most manly action she had witnessed him performing, and let his forehead lean forward and rest on the edge of the tub. "Oh woman, you most certainly must have done this before."

"I have not!" she said, most indignant. He mused at her reaction - the girl has probably never seen a naked man before, let alone be in the same room as one. "That is- well, you see, Lord Waldorf never asked me to do such a thing." She had started out nervous, trying to cover up her lie, but her tone soften as she reminisced about the man who had ruled the household before him.

"Tell me about him."

"About who?"

Your father. "Lord Waldorf." Her hands froze and he wondered if he'd pushed the game too far with a move that he hadn't even anticipated. He waited. It was her move now and he wouldn't push if that was what she wanted.

In a voice smaller than he'd ever heard from her, she replied, all the while resuming her movements with less vigor than before, "I'd rather not speak of the dead, sir." He would let her slip up pass this time.

The silence in combination with the cooling water sent the hairs on the back of his neck standing. "Well, you will be happy to hear that your mistress will return in three days." He smirked when her fingers tightened against his skin. The clever girl apparently understood that their game must come to an end.

He just hoped that it would finish properly with fireworks.