Page 39 of A Duchess to Unravel
The responsibility of such a task weighed on her, but the wonderful things Alistair’s hand was doing to her neck was taking away some of that tension. She felt her shoulders ease down as her lashes fluttered shut, and she sighed as she felt him pull her back into his chest.
When her head was nestled into the crook of his shoulder, she felt his warm lips place soft, slow kisses from her temple down to her jaw as his hand slipped to the front of her throat.
“Is there anything else you want out of our deal?” He whispered into her ear, then nipped lightly at her lobe, making her gasp then whimper.
“This,” she blurted out, not able to hide it any longer. “You offered to teach me pleasure the night you proposed.”
“Hmm,” he hummed, seductively sliding the tip of his tongue and bottom lip up the nape of her neck, “I recall you got rather angry when I suggested that.”
It was a taunt, and she knew it. He was using her own words against her, but the growing arousal was making it difficult for her to care. She liked this feeling. The way he stroked her desire into a flame, the way she too seemed to be desired by him.
“You work on teaching me pleasure,” she breathed, “And I will work on my anger toward you.”
Another deep chuckle rumbled from Alistair’s chest, and he finished his teasing with a bite to her neck.
“Well played, little kitten,” he praised, slowly easing her away from him. “You come to me when you are ready for those lessons. For now, let me show you inside. Your new staff is eager to meet you.”
“Shall I have Anne show ye to your room, Your Grace?” Mrs. Mackenzie, the castle’s head housekeeper asked.
Theo continued to look on at the massive stone staircase a moment longer. Alistair had made his way up it several minutes ago, but she was still in shock that after just the briefest of introductions, he had left her standing in the cathedral-like foyer of the massive residence with a staff that was woefully small. There were only twelve people to serve the entire place.
Mrs. Mackenzie, the head housekeeper. Her staff of cleaning girls, of which there were only four: Bonnie, Willa, Nellie, and Anne. Anne would be serving temporarily as Theo’s personal maid until Norma would arrive. Then there was Mr. Mackenzie, the head butler and Mrs. Mackenzie’s husband, and his staff: Jonas, Ailean, Callum, and Gavin. Lastly there was the cook, Stephen, and his scullery maid, Mairi.
It might have been a decent enough staff at Alistair’s London house, but here, they’d need more.Muchmore.
“No thank you, Mrs. Mackenzie,” Theo said, finally drawing her eyes away from the stairs.
Mrs. Mackenzie, a kind-looking middle-aged woman with mousy brown hair under her bonnet and bright blue eyes, looked at her with surprise.
“Surely after ye journey ye need a rest, Your Grace,” she insisted. “And perhaps something to eat?”
Steaphan stepped out of line then, appearing ready to accept any request she made.
“No, thank you,” she said to Steaphan, then turned back to Mrs. Mackenzie.
“Strangely I am abuzz with excitement,” Theo replied, forcing a bright smile.More like madness.
Theo was tired, she could feel the weariness in not just her bones but her head. But she could not rest now. Not with all of the work before her.
“I thought perhaps you and I could walk around this monstrosity and make some notes for future improvement,” she suggested, “then afterward you could dole the tasks to the appropriate staff members until I have the ability to hire more.”
A look of apprehension crossed Mrs. Mackenzie’s face, but she took out a small notebook from her dress pocket and a stick of charcoal.
“I would be happy to make your list, Your Grace, but I must warn ye, His Grace prefers his privacy. I dinnae think he will be keen on hiring more help.”
“Well, I am not keen on impossible tasks,” Theo quipped, “However, I shall take your warning under advisement and will put off any new hiring until we gain a full understanding of what work needs to be done.”
“Very good, Your Grace,” Mrs. Mackenzie replied, curtseying yet again. “If ye will follow me, I think it is best we start in the kitchens.”
Fueled by a mixture of rather explosive-feeling emotions, Theo spent the next several hours being led from one vast room to the next. There was much to be done, no doubt. The upkeep of the castle in its unoccupied century had been sparse. Even her untrained eyes were able to spot the vast amount of masonry work that needed to be done. Along with that, the lighting needed to be updated, the decrepit furnishings and tapestries needed to be replaced, the millions of stones that made up the castle needed scrubbed free of their mildew, and there were several signs of water issues from the roof when they made it to the top floor.
It was dark and dirty and crumbling. However, with Theo’s imagination, she saw the potential of what the castle could be. With strategically placed mirrors the rooms could be filled with sunlight. Richly colored rugs and tapestries could bring life to the dull darkness of the stones. And proper lamps and the cleaning of the many and vast hearths could bring warmth.
In addition, the molded books in the library would need to be discarded and new volumes brought in. She had her own collection, of course, but it would barely take up half of one of the many rows of shelves that lined the expansive room from floor to ceiling.
“When did you arrive here, Mrs. Mackenzie?” Theo asked.
After filling the housekeeper’s notebook and searching every room, Theo had invited the woman to a cup of tea. It was getting late, and she would not keep her long, but Theo’s curiosity about her new husband had grown with every room they had explored.
