Page 54 of Why Do Earls Fall in Love?
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Charlotte did not seeher husband at all for the rest of the day and he was gone by the time she arose the next morning. After she dressed, she stared at the breakfast tray she’d requested from the kitchen. She’d perched upon her bed to eat, but she meant to copy Gabriel’s idea and have a table and chairs in here—perhaps by the window.
Or perhaps somewhere else. Staring, she remembered how he’d kissed her next to the window in his room. Propped her up against the wall and kissed her so soundly and touched her so urgently. Perhaps she could tempt him into doing it again, here, by her window.
She would place the table elsewhere—and make sure to have two chairs.
The breakfast tray distracted her from such pleasant musings. She’d asked for a boiled egg and toast. She knew a little about cooking. Enough to understand a boiled egg needed to be actually immersed in boiling water. This one might have been passed over a flame. Once. Perhaps. The toast, however, more closely resembled flat slabs of coal.
She’d be more distraught over the situation if she hadn’t had the foresight to order a few pastries along with last evening’s pie—and charged Margie with finding a metal-lined box to keep them in, and the rodents out. She kept the tea pot and sent the rest of the tray back and enjoyed her impromptu breakfast while she went over her lists.
She couldn’t quite understand what Mrs. Prigg was trying to accomplish, sending up such terrible fare. Was it a message? Did everyone in this house want to warn her not to expect anything of them? Well, they would see. All of the staff and their master, too.
Charlotte wasn’t too upset over the latest culinary offense. She had two main projects in play now. The house needed attention, but Whiddon was her real focus. Both schemes required a decent, if not sublime, cook. And that meant Mrs. Prigg must go.
She resolved to take care of it, first thing. However, she found Margie lurking just outside her door when she emerged.
“Good morning, my lady!” The maid poked her head in the door. “Shall we finish washing down the walls of your sitting room?”
Here, at least, was someone willing to work with her. “Yes, please, Margie. Let’s finish in here. And will you send Alfred and the hall boy up to the attics to bring down that drum table of elm and yew? Scrub it down well and we’ll find a place for it in here.”
“Yes, ma’am. We’ll have all that done in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
That gave her pause. She didn’t know how difficult her confrontation with the cook would be. She’d rather the three young maids were well occupied upstairs for a while. “I do want to get started on the entry hall and the parlor downstairs, but I had a thought this morning. Step across here with me? I want to see the light in these rooms.” She led the way to another set of connected bedrooms further down the passage. She went in, pulling the curtains wide and passing into the connected room, as well.
“Yes. This will do. I had the idea to bring in a group of seamstresses. They can live in while we go through the house. Most of the hangings, bedding and some of the linens will all need replacing. The light is good in here and—”
“Ahem.”
She turned to find old Alf in the doorway. “Excuse me, my lady. Mr. Cheltan is downstairs. He has requested an audience with you.”
“Oh? Who is Mr. Cheltan?”
“He is Lord Whiddon’s man of business.”
“Very well.” She paused. “Where does Lord Whiddon usually meet him?”
“In his offices.”
She sighed. “Where do they meet when Mr. Cheltan comes here?”
“Oh. In his sitting room, ma’am.”
“Show him in there, please, then, Alfred. Thank you. Tell him I’ll be there directly.”
“But . . . ma’am!” Old Alf looked aghast. “No one but Chapman, his lordship and his invited guests are allowed in those rooms.”
Charlotte looked to Margie. “Is there anywhere else decent enough to put him?”
The girl reddened. “No, ma’am.”
“Alfred, do you expect that Lord Whiddon has barred me from his rooms?”
“Well, you were in an all-fired hurry to get yours in order,” he answered.
She raised a brow at him.
“Ma’am,” he added.
