Page 15 of The Texan Duke
Elsbeth stood. “Good morning, Your Grace,” she said, grateful that her voice sounded calm and resolute. He wouldn’t know that her heart was beating wildly or that she was having thoughts that had nothing to do with acting as Bealadair’s housekeeper.
The cold had made his cheeks ruddy and his brown eyes sparkle. He was entirely too handsome a man to have remained single. Perhaps he’d just left his wife in Texas.
She must do something about this curiosity of hers.
“Will you allow me to show you the family dining room?”
To her absolute horror, he shook his head.
“No,” he said. “And it’s Connor. Not thisYour Gracebusiness.”
As she stared at him, he approached her, and then took a chair next to her at the long rectangular table.
Addy turned to look at him and Betty peered around the corner.
“You can’t sit here, Your Grace,” she said, startled.
“Why not?”
“It’s the kitchen.”
He looked around him before his gaze returned to her. “You’re right,” he said. “It is the kitchen.”
Addy was frozen in front of the stove. Betty smiled, evidently delighted to be able to tell the rest of the staff what happened this morning at dawn.
“You can’t sit here, Your Grace,” Elsbeth repeated.
“This is Bealadair, is it not?”
She nodded.
“According to Mr. Glassey, I’m the owner of Bealadair, am I not?”
She nodded once more.
“Then I can sit anywhere I wish, including the kitchen.”
“It’s never been done, Your Grace.”
He ignored her, turned and smiled at Addy and said, “Those smell wonderful. May I have one?”
Addy nodded, finding her voice a moment later. “Of course, Your Grace. They’re my raisin scones with honey icing.”
She served him a plate of three scones and added a cup of tea.
“Have you any coffee?” he asked, staring down into the cup.
“Of course, Your Grace,” Addy said, picking up the cup and replacing it a moment later with coffee.
The duke sent the same disgusted look at the coffee. Had they done something wrong?
He frowned, took a sip of coffee, then placed the cup back on the saucer.
The duchess was not going to be happy. Rhona was a stickler when it came to etiquette, and there was nothing in the rules that said a duke could take breakfast with the staff.
She would have to take the brunt of the blame in order to spare Addy and Betty. Of course, the three of them could always remain silent about the occasion. If they could hurry the duke out of the kitchen before members of the staff wandered in.
Everyone began their duties with a briefing and a cup of tea. She, herself, had begun the habit when she’d taken over Mrs. Ferguson’s duties. The staff’s hours were staggered, the better to ensure that the family’s requirements were met at any time.
