Page 36 of His Arranged Duchess
Lucien nodded slowly. “I think you are right. Your dowry is more than enough to cover all of this and to get the estate back in working order. Once that is taken care of, we’ll have a steady flow of income once again.”
Frances seemed to relax a little bit. “You aren’t angry, then?”
He blinked. “Angry? Why should I be angry?”
“Well, I did all of this without your permission. I’ve already hired a couple of servants on Gray’s recommendation, but I plan to interview the rest. We’ll need upper servants; a valet for you, more footmen, and some proper housemaids. We have a groom already; Gray has secured us one from the village, and of course, Mrs. Gray is acting as housekeeper. However, she isn’t actually being paid a wage, so I suppose we shall have to deal with that. What do you think?”
“I think you have the matter firmly in hand,” Lucien responded. “Well done. You may have free rein as to the decoration choices, as I don’t much care. I don’t expect to spend much time in the house, not once we are all settled.”
She blinked, seeming surprised. Lucien allowed himself a grin.
“You appear a little shocked, Frances. Why is that?”
She shrugged. “Well, I suppose I thought you’d be annoyed that I started all of this without asking you.”
“Asking me? My dear duchess, I’m not a cad. All of this is being accomplished with your money. I would be a dreadful scoundrel to object to what you did with it. However, I must reiterate my request for you to leave the East Tower alone.”
She blinked, frowning a little. He guessed that she had forgotten all about the tower and his prohibition of it. Naturally, the tower would now be even more alluring. Forbidden things always were.
The memory of last night remained fixed in his head, however. He had not gone back to the door to see if there were still gouges clawed into the wood. He imagined that they would be. He had been lucky to escape without nightmares last night, and it did not seem wise to push his luck.
Perhaps my father’s influence is at last fading. With Frances’s redecoration plans, perhaps I can finally root the vile man out of the house once and for all.
Of course, he did not say any of this. He merely smiled faintly down at Frances and waited for her response.
“Of course I shall leave the East Tower alone,” Frances said at last, somewhat lamely. “Can I at least ask what is up there?”
“No, you may not. It is nothing interesting, and certainly nothing to concern you. I suppose that your favourite tower will be the North one, where the books are kept. Think of that, my dear.”
She smiled faintly. “Of course. Well, I am glad you are being so accommodating. I shall try not to bother you unduly. For now, I am interviewing candidates for the position of…” she paused, glancing at the topmost paper. “... Head Housemaid. Aunt Emily says that it’s a crucial role.”
Lucien cocked his head to one side. “It’s odd that you call herAuntEmily, is it not? She isn’t your real aunt, is she?”
It was clear that Frances believed she’d made a misstep. Reddening, she snatched up the papers again, clearing her throat.
“An old habit, I suppose. They’ve always been close to Mama, and I love them both dearly. They are a little like an uncle and aunt, I suppose.”
“Hm. How sweet. We must invite them to dine, and your mother, too.”
Frances glanced up at him. “I should like that very much. Lucien, I wonder…” she trailed off, hesitating. There was something adorable in her nervousness, and Lucien bit back a smile.
“Yes, Duchess?”
She breathed in, steeling herself. “I should like you to join me in interviewing the candidates. They are your servants as well as mine, and I should like you to have a say in who we choose.”
Of course, Lucien did not want to do such a thing. He was hungry, and groggy from oversleeping, and interviewing servants seemed extremely dull. He intended to say no. Then Frances looked at him, her face bright and open and hopeful, and his chest clenched tightly, almost squeezing the air out of his lungs.
“I should love to,” he heard himself say.
CHAPTER 14
She hadn’t expected him to say yes.
Of course, that was her own fault. Frances was rapidly learning that the Duke of Blackstone was not a particularly predictable man, and any sort of assurance that he would do one thing was likely a guarantee that he would do the opposite.
And now I must sit in a small room with him at my side, and interview women to work in a house larger than any I’ve ever seen before. Wonderful.
Mrs. Gray would have handled the interviews if Frances had wanted her to. But that seemed rather cowardly, did it not?Shewas the duchess, andsheought to take charge.
