Page 35 of Dancing with an Enigmatic Duke
“Of course, Your Grace,” the maid said with a practised smile.
Nash inclined his head to the ladies before he made a hasty exit. Once outside the door, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had warned Harcourt about French maids, no matter their pedigree.
***
Francesca hurried along the hallway to the earl’s study. He had sent for her to come to him. She held her head high to remind the other maids that she was above their station. “Do go back over that table down the hallway,” Francesca scolded one jumpy maid she passed. “It looks as though it was not even dusted.”
“Yes, Miss!” The maid rushed off down the hallway to dust the table that Francesca had gestured toward.
A smile formed on Francesca’s face. She had grown fond of the deference that the other staff showed her as a lady’s maid. However, she had plans to move up a station. It was not unheard of for a nobleman to marry a lady’s maid, and she certainly had all the qualifications necessary.
She paused outside the door to smooth her curls. It had taken a long while to get them to lie just so against her skin. Having to make Lady Callum presentable had taken too much of her time. It really was a waste of Francesca’s skills to be used on the woman. Lady Callum, no matter Francesca’s skills, was still just an aberrant Scottish boar in a dress.
She tapped her knuckles against the wood of the study door. Once she heard the earl’s assent, she entered and offered him a demure smile. “You called for me, Your Lordship?” She emphasised his title as men often seemed to find that pleasing.
He looked up at her with barely a glance before he was looking back at the papers he held in front of him. “Yes,” he said absentmindedly. “What news have you of my sister? Is she happy with the match?”
“She seems very excited about the season, which she has not until now,” Francesca said truthfully.
The earl’s eyes lit up. “Really? Is she?”
“She certainly seems so, Your Lordship.” She moved across the room, hoping the gentle swishing of her skirts would bring his eyes to her. When he did look up, she gave him another smile. “Did you think she would not be excited to see her paramour?”
He chuckled. “Truthfully, it is just a bit hard for me to accept that something good has happened. It has been a rough few years.”
Francesca’s mouth dipped into a sympathetic frown as she eased around the man’s desk. “I am so sorry that you have had such misery in your life. But is it not time for you to seek your own happiness now that your sister’s joy seems assured?”
The earl seemed to think on her words before he said, “It might. Speaking of which, how do you like our household?”
His words made Francesca’s ears perk up, but she held the smile from her face. She put on a thoughtful display before she hesitantly replied, “It is a lovely household, if a bit out of step in its running.”
“How so?” He leaned back in his chair, hazel eyes watching Francesca.
She leaned over his desk to idly tidy his papers, and to give him a good whiff of her perfume. “It could use a firm hand. Someone would say even a woman’s touch. The staff needs leadership.”
“Yes, I have faltered greatly in getting a proper housekeeper set up,” he said with a frown. “I do not suppose that you would be willing to take on the position? It does come with certain benefits.”
Francesca had to bite her tongue to keep herself from balking at the idea. Although housekeepers had a good amount of power, they did not do much travelling, and she enjoyed travelling too much to be cooped up in a manor presiding over meals for the rest of her days. “I think that my talents would be wasted in that position. Besides, is not a housekeeper generally hired by the lady of the house? Would it not be better to marry and give your wife the privilege of selecting her own staff?”
“You are right,” he said with a sigh. “It might be a slight to any noblewoman that I brought here to find a housekeeper already entrenched. Your words are wise, and it is that wisdom that I hoped to help my sister along.”
Francesca bowed her head at the compliment. “I fear that my wise words may not be needed for much longer with her impending engagement. Any lady’s maid could fulfil the duties left.”
“Are you thinking of leaving us?” The earl looked worried by that.
So, the man still had need of her. Francesca was pleased with that, and she could use it certainly. “It is simply that the duties that remain could be seen to by any maid, Your Lordship. My strengths lie in my knowledge of society and fashion, and I would seek employment that would make use of them.”
“I shall have to speak with my sister, but would you be averse to staying on as a lady’s companion to Lady Callum?” He gave her a hopeful look.
Francesca hated to shoot down the offer out of hand, even if it was not her desired position. “It would bear some thinking on, Your Lordship. I do not know that I could cope with leaving England behind for Scotland.”
“I have no knowledge of how they might choose to arrange their household, but I am certain that considerations could be made for your comfort.” The earl was eager to assure her, it seemed, with the speed at which he responded. “You of all people should know how fragile engagements in society can be. Lady Callum is in need of you.”
She dipped her head in acceptance. “If she is willing to have me stay on in such capacity then I would certainly not turn away from it. I have grown fond of her over our time together. If I can aid her in some way, then I would like to do so.”
Her answer seemed to please him, and Francesca wished she were as pleased even as she put on a smiling face for him.
“Very good,” he said with a grin. “I shall speak to her at once.”
