Page 85 of A Lord Apart (The Way to a Lord's Heart 2)

Kitty nodded. “Particularly pastries. That’s what I like best to make. Remember my Shrewsbury cakes?”

Penelope remembered the shapeless blobs all too well.

“I’d have to start out peeling vegetables and the like,” Kitty went on. “But if I work hard and do well, Mrs. Jensen’ll show me all she knows. She says some great houses have cooks who just do pastry. The royal palaces do.” The girl’s blue eyes shone.

“Have you spoken to the housekeeper?”

“Well, she knows what I’d like, but she said we must wait for you, miss. My lady, I should say.” Kitty ducked her head and grinned. “Forgot. Forgot to wish you happy too, my lady.”

Marveling that Kitty had found ambition, Penelope agreed with the plan. It was actually a relief. To fill her position as a viscountess, Penelope required a trained ladies’ maid, which Kitty was not. She’d worried that Kitty would expect to serve her personally, but in fact, as soon as her own future was settled, she had put forward the claims of her friend Betty, who’d been learning all the necessary skills. And so the latter was appointed Penelope’s attendant, Kitty plunged into the mysteries of sugar and butter and cream, and everyone seemed happy.

Henry Carson called the following morning to report significant progress on the bath project. Penelope and Daniel walked with him to inspect the small mill that had been erected on the banks of the creek behind the house. Its wheel was already turning, driving a pump that spewed water into a line of wooden pipes running off toward the house. “Quite a powerful flow,” said Daniel, observing the racing liquid.

“Has to be, my lord, to get the water up to the tank in the attic,” replied Carson.

They followed the line back to Frithgerd. The pipes rested first on a wood framework and then on top of the wall that circled the garden, partly to hide them and partly to maintain their elevation. Water gurgled and hissed inside.

In the bathing chamber, the walls were newly plastered and the floor tiled. More importantly, the tub had arrived. “It’s as big as a horse trough,” Daniel exclaimed.

“I believe it began manufacture as one, my lord,” said Carson. “But it’s been lined with copper and trimmed in oak.”

“You could fit two people in there,” said Penelope.

Daniel had been thinking the same. He caught her eye. When she flushed, he smiled. It seemed quite possible that his wife shared his imagining about their new bath. “Drains?” he asked.

“At the bottom there, my lord. We’ve connected it to the main one in the scullery.” Carson put his hand on a sheet of metal that had replaced part of the wall behind the tub. “This tank is fitted into the kitchen fireplace. The water comes in from above and is warmed by the fire.”

They rested their palms on the metal and felt the warmth.

“There’s also a place to put coals underneath the tank—in the kitchen that is—to get the water hotter if need be. We’ll be attaching the spigot tomorrow.” He indicated a protruding stub of metal pipe, now sealed.

“And then we can try it out,” said Daniel. Penelope didn’t look at him this time, but she didn’t need to. He could tell she had followed his train of thought. “Very well done, Carson. You’ve surpassed yourself.”

“Thank you, my lord. It was a new sort of work, but we figured it out.” The man patted the side of the tub, looking proud.

“You did indeed.”

“Other local landowners might be interested in having baths,” said Penelope. “If they’d like to see ours when it’s done, we can arrange that.”

Carson blinked, then looked intrigued at this prospect of more work. “Thank you, my lady.”

How like her this was, Daniel thought. She was always thinking ahead, seeing possibilities for others. He’d provided his household with a skilled and thoughtful mistress, which was more than it had had in many years. How lucky for him that she was also a sweet and passionate wife. His heart swelled in his chest as they walked out of the bathing room through the new doorway into the blue parlor.

Penelope surveyed the trunks of papers still stored there. “We should get back to the records,” she said.

“Ugh,” said Daniel.

She smiled at him. “The mess hasn’t gone away just because we married.”

“More’s the pity. Where’s the fairy godmother with the magic wand? Or the elves who come in the night and finish all the work?”

Penelope laughed. “Don’t they make shoes?”

“The brownies then. They clean, don’t they?”

“Not the same as sorting documents, I’m afraid. I can take over the job, if you like.”

Daniel was tempted. The disarray was as much hers as his now. But he realized that he liked working with her. How else was he to see that tender smile? “No, I’ll help.”

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