Page 52 of A Winter By the Sea
“I...” He glanced longingly at the china atop the sideboard. “I only wondered ... Might I set the table for tonight? It’s what I do, you know. But with the Royal Highnesses entertaining so little, the old fingers start to itch from inactivity. I notice you have some lovely china and silver. Nothing as fine as the Portuguese silver, nor of course the Grand Service, which is made of gold.”
Sarah looked at the patterned plates and soup bowls. “Theseare my mother’s. We brought them with us from Gloucestershire, along with the table linens.” Father’s heir had not been pleased to learn the household linen, plate, many books, and this china, along with the family’s handsome pianoforte, were not included in the entail, as they had been gifts from Mamma’s own family.
“Lovely pattern. Simple. Elegant.” He dragged his gaze from the plates to her. “So ... may I?”
Sarah laughed, amused and ill at ease at once. “If you truly want to set our table, be my guest. Literally.”
Clearly missing her joke, he rubbed his long thin hands together in eager anticipation. “Thank you.”
The man’s entire form was long and thin, his shoulders narrow. He must be stronger than he looked to be entrusted to protect the valuable items of silver and gold owned by the royal pair.
He donned white gloves and spread the table cover, attempting to smooth out the wrinkles. Then he extracted a ruler from one pocket and a polishing cloth from the other and went to work, positioning the plates the exact same distance from the edge of the table.
With a bemused shake of her head, Sarah stepped from the room.
In the passage, she encountered Mr. Bernardi, just returned from Woolbrook after a morning spent in their kitchen. “Ah. Good afternoon, Mr. Bernardi. All done for the day?”
He nodded. “An early day for me. Leigleitner has already prepared one of the duchess’s favorites for dinner.Schweinsbratenand sauerkraut.” He shuddered. “There was little for me to do.”
He glanced behind her at the man busily employed in the dining room and rolled his eyes. “A piece of work, that one. I gather he asked to do that?”
“Yes. He seems to miss his role in royal entertaining as much as you miss yours.”
Bernardi made a face. “Do not liken us, I beg of you.”
She followed his gaze to where Mr. During was holding up each fork, knife, and spoon for inspection, pausing to polish away any smudges before laying them, just so, on the cloth.
“I suppose it makes sense for the person in charge of the plate to perform the role of table-decker as well.”
“Actually he was only the table-decker until we returned to Kensington Palace. The previous plate keeper was from Coburg and did not want to uproot himself to move to England. Had a sweetheart there and no command of the language here. Conroy tried to assure him the duke would be returning to Germany after the child was born on English soil, but ... not all of the duke’s promises are kept.”
She nodded her understanding. “So they added his duties to Mr. During’s to avoid having to hire someone?”
“Yes. And in any case, overseeing the plate chest is not overly taxing. At least not for the Duke of Kent, who hasn’t amassed the valuables his older brothers have. Selwyn agreed to take on the responsibility while we’re here for a slight rise in pay. Not that he’s likely to see a farthing for some time with the royal finances as they are.”
Sarah’s stomach pinched with disquiet. The Duke of Kent’s servants had not been paid? Would they in turn depart Sea View without paying for their stay?
Mr. During appeared in the doorway. “Miss Summers. As flowers are out of season, might I have permission to find an ornament or two from other rooms to adorn the table? I promise to return everything to its proper place.”
“Oh, um. Of course. Make yourself at home.”
In sardonic tones, Mr. Bernardi said, “Shall I create a pastry replica of Sea View for the table? An arrangement of sugar flowers? A tower of fruit?”
Again missing the irony, Mr. During gave a little gasp, eyesrounding in delight. “What a wonderful idea! Very generous, Antoine. I am most appreciative.”
The pastry chef sent Sarah a telling look. He opened his mouth, but Sarah cut him off before he could rescind the offer and steal the man’s pleasure.
“Let us leave Mr. During to his work, shall we?”
Bernardi frowned but followed her down the passage without another word. Near the back stairs, he paused and huffed a long-suffering sigh. “Dash the man. Now I shall have to create a dessert befitting the table.” And with that he disappeared belowstairs, apparently on a mission to do so.
Yet Sarah did not think he genuinely minded the task.
———
Aware of the trouble Mr. During was going to, Sarah quietly spread word to the others, suggesting they dress with extra care for dinner. She attended to some tasks for a few hours but left time to follow her own advice. Going up to her room, she donned a more formal than usual evening gown and added earrings, which she rarely troubled to wear.
Emily came in and looked at her in surprise. “You look lovely.”
