Page 82 of The Texan Duke
“I’ll be on my best behavior.”
She’d slipped out of the housekeeper’s office next to the kitchen only to almost encounter Connor. He was talking with Addy and had his back to her. She shook her head when Addy saw her, and dropped back into the scullery, leaving by the rear door.
One of these days she was going to have to face him. Hopefully, by that time, her embarrassment would have faded somewhat.
“Connor wants to know if you have the key for the desk in the library.”
She turned to find Mr. Kirby standing there, smiling at her. He was certainly a genial man, and if she hadn’t seen his expression at Connor’s bedside, she would have never suspected that there were several layers to Mr. Kirby.
“The main library or the duke’s library?” she asked, turning back to watch as they raised one of the chandeliers in the ballroom. It was a delicate operation, but the footmen assigned to the task had done it twice before and were as skilled as anyone at Bealadair.
The massive chandeliers were quite heavy and the pulleys to raise and lower them were not operated more than once a year. This particular chandelier’s pulley was slightly rusted, a minor detail, but one that concerned her. Why had it rusted? Was there a leak somewhere that she hadn’t been able to detect?
Finally, they tied off the chain, replacing the panel in the wall that hid the mechanism from sight.
“I believe it’s the one in the main library,” he said.
She nodded and pulled out the ring of keys from her pocket. Selecting a small brass key, she pulled it free and handed it to Mr. Kirby, but he had already begun to walk away.
“Just see that Connor gets it, will you?” he said over his shoulder.
She would’ve gone after him except for the fact that the duchess was entering the ballroom. There were a few other exits and she headed to the nearest one, hoping that Rhona hadn’t seen her. She wasn’t fooling anyone. Everyone on the staff knew she was avoiding the duchess, and more than one footman and maid had actively assisted her.
She’d already spoken to Mr. Glassey and had gotten the name of an attorney who would help her find a place to live. She would meet with him in a few days, staying at the McCraight home while she made her inquiries. Until then, she was going to avoid as many people as she could.
She stared down at the key on her palm, deciding that she’d send a maid with it. She didn’t need to see Connor. After all, she’d managed to go a week without being in his company.
True, it had felt as if he could become a friend, but that had just been foolishness on her part. He was the new Duke of Lothian, however much he may despise the title and the role. He was Gavin’s heir.
Never mind that he’d kissed her.
This afternoon, he and Felix would have their match. Was he feeling up to it? How was his shoulder? She hadn’t asked anyone about his health for fear she would be misunderstood. She didn’t want anyone to think that her concern was personal. Of course it wasn’t.
She motioned to one of the maids.
“Abigail, take this key to His Grace, if you will.”
The maid nodded. “Where, Miss Elsbeth?”
She’d forgotten to ask. “I think he’s in the main library,” she said. “If he isn’t there, come and get me. I’ll be with Mrs. Ferguson.”
Abigail nodded again and did a cute little bobbing motion that was an abbreviated curtsy. Nobody curtsied to Mrs. Ferguson, but then she was a genuine housekeeper and not half family, half foundling.
According to Addy and Betty, with whom Connor spent breakfast every morning, Bealadair had its share of ghosts. The first was one of his ancestors, an angry ghost attired in a kilt and always heard with the skirl of bagpipes.
“You’ll be able to hear them at the Welcoming of the Laird, Your Grace,” Addy told him.
Both Addy and Betty refused to call him Connor and he’d stopped asking. In addition, it looked like the ball was going to happen despite his wishes. He was going to have to attend.
Would Elsbeth be there?
“The piper shows up when a McCraight...” Addy’s words trailed off.
Betty interjected with the rest of the story. “When someone dies, Your Grace.”
“Did you hear him when my uncle died?” he asked.
The two women had looked at each other.
