Page 157 of The Duke Who Saved Christmas
“Oh, Sylvie.” Mum poked her head through the doorway. “Bridesmaids and groomsmen have reported for duty. Heath took them through to the sitting room to await your orders.”
“I feel like I’m starting The Castleton Wedding Cult,” I muttered. “Okay, thanks. Tell them I’ll be there in a few.”
She nodded and disappeared again, leaving me with a chuckling Emily.
“You know,” she said, looking at me with a playful glimmer in her eye. “All this is getting me all excited, and I’m feeling quite nostalgic. If you ever move back, I might just hire you to be the exclusive wedding planner for the estate.”
“Oh, dear,” I replied, fighting back a smile. “It looks like the duchess is scheming again.”
“Well.” She laid a motherly hand on my cheek, lightly patting it. “I wouldn’t do this for just anyone’s sister, you know.”
Warmth flooded my body, resulting in my cheeks flaming. “I… I know.”
***
I was, for the next three nights, a resident of Castleton Manor.
Again.
I’d somehow ended up being strong-armed into staying here and not going home like I’d planned. Thomas insisted it would ease my stress as I didn’t have to come and go from my grandparents’ place to here, plus I could make sure absolutely nothing went wrong in the hurried preparations.
And I’d already been here for a couple of nights, so what was a few more at this point?
That was his story, anyway.
It was hard to argue, given that his reasons made perfect sense, but it felt a bit more like his desire to monopolise me for the next few days.
He’d already said he planned to make me fall wildly in love with him, after all.
In the end, I’d been proven wrong. I’d spent more time on the phone than anything else during my second stay at the manor. No matter how many people I had at my beck and call, there were things only I could do.
There were things only I was allowed to do.
My boss said so.
Ahem.
I was grateful that staying here meant I didn’t have to faff about travelling, and everything I needed was exactly where I needed it, when I needed it. Especially given that my help did scatter every now and then—bridesmaids had hair andnail appointments; Hazel had every appointment in the book; my grandparents were too old for the manual labour, despite Gramps’ best efforts; and the parents all had their own things that needed to be done.
Even the Castletons themselves were antsy about how little they could help. Beth was swamped at the florists despite all her staff being all hands-on deck, which left Danny rotating under the care of Thomas and Emily while Zara helped me. It was too cold for Danny to hang out too long in the barn at the tree farm, and while he was pretty good at amusing himself, there was only so long you could legally and morally leave a six-year-old kid alone for.
If it weren’t for Heath and the manor staff, I didn’t know how this would happen.
It was also my first time being put in charge of a household staff. After an awkward hour or two at first, I’d decided to treat them all like hotel employees.
Strangely, that made it easier. Like I was co-ordinating with regular people instead of the workforce of an aristocratic household. I also now knew almost everyone by name, something I was really rather proud of.
Not to toot my own horn, but I’d have been a smashing queen in another life.
“Is that all the décor in place, Miss Sylvie?” Heath asked, handing me a steaming mug of tea.
“Oh, thank you,” I said, accepting it happily. “Yes, until Beth brings the flowers tomorrow. She wants the main bouquets to stay at the store until lunchtime.”
“Ah, of course.”
“Do you know if the kitchens are ready for the caterers in the morning?”
Heath nodded. “Yes, cleaning was completed there this afternoon. The main menu will be cooked in the largercommercial kitchen, and the gluten-free menu will be taken care of in the smaller staff kitchen to prevent the cross-contamination. The main kitchen is the only one that will be in use since they were cleaned.”
