He laughed and rubbed his belly that had not a bit of fat on it. “I look forward to it. You would do this?”
“Yes, of course.”
The man was hard, toned muscle.
Actually quite surprising because Mrs. Stringer’s food was heavy on cream sauces and her vegetable dishes were often boiled to mush and dripping in butter.
“I’ll have to take stock of your larder to make certain you have the necessary ingredients. Also, we’ll need to supplement your staff. I hope Mrs. Stringer decides to stay because four days of feeding twenty-five people no less than three or four meals a day requires military precision and a trained team to carry it out. I have done this before with our vicarage benefit dinners, but those were one meal, one event at a time, even if they were for a much larger crowd.”
He shook his head. “You are young and softhearted, Viola. Mrs. Stringer is used to being in charge in my kitchen and will undercut you if she stays. Not necessarily on purpose, for she may not even realize she is doing it. But she will feel demoted and it will affect your authority. The kitchen maids will naturally look to her because she has been in charge of them for all these years. However, if she is not there, they will look to you without question. I am going to encourage her to leave. Not that she will require much encouragement, if any at all.”
“It feels cruel. Don’t be angry with me if I start crying. I don’t want to hurt her feelings. It will upset me as much as it upsets her.”
He leaned forward and cast her a wry smile. “That woman will let out a whoop of delight and be out of my kitchen like a shot the moment she knows I will pay her for those days.”
“I hope so,” she said with a light laugh.
“She will. By the way, I hate eels. Nothing slimy is to be put on the menu.”
“Dear heaven, wouldn’t think of it.” She scrunched her face in displeasure and gave a mock shiver. “Consider eels and slime struck off the list.”
He took her hand to help her to her feet, but released it as soon as she was up and steady. “Take a walk with me, Viola. I’ll show you the conservatory, and then I’ll take you through the rest of the house.”
The day had warmed, so she left her shawl in the small dining room along with the piles of London gossip rags and followed the viscount into a more formal salon that had large glass doors leading onto the terrace. “This is the ladies parlor where Jillian usually entertained her family and friends.”
“Did she decorate this room? It very much resembles your grandmother’s taste.”
“Because it is my grandmother’s design. Jillian thought it was too pretty to change.” He opened the glass doors and waited for her to finish perusing the salon.
“I think so, too. She did such a lovely job. The floral patterns on the settee and chairs seem to draw the garden into this room and make it feel cheerful all year round.”
He smiled as she stepped onto the terrace. “I’m glad it meets with your approval.”
“Well, I don’t suppose my opinion matters in the least. But it might be interesting to know what your three diamonds think of your home.”
“They’ll think the house is too casual,” he said, his expression now stubborn. “But I like it just as it is and no one is going to change a single drape or stick of furniture. I won’t allow it.”
“That will certainly ensure a successful start to your marriage.” She rolled her eyes and spoke in a dry manner that did nothing to hide her opinion of his stubbornness. “It will be your betrothed’s home, too. She will want to make it her own. Perhaps if you allowed her a room or two? Those she would use to entertain her friends?”
He did not seem to take offense, for his eyes lit up with mirth. “You think I am behaving like an unreasonable little boy again. Perhaps I am. I’ve been alone here for the past two years. Would you make any changes?”
“No,” she said with a final glance around. “I don’t think I could improve on your grandmother’s decorations. They are very much to my liking. But you cannot go by my opinion. Compared to the leaks and well-trampled floors of the vicarage, this place is a beautiful palace.”
They reached the conservatory which was a large, plant-filled room completely walled in glass. The glass trapped the heat, making the air quite dense and hotly dank. His gardeners had obviously watered the plants recently, probably were in the habit of watering them several times a day, so it was no surprise moisture permeated the air. But Viola did not mind at all, for this abundant indoor garden completely fascinated her. “What you have done here is wonderful. Incredible.”
She walked along rows of unusual flowers and fruit-bearing trees. A variety of vegetables and herbs were growoing in raised soil beds along the walls.
The viscount did not follow her around, but merely stood beside the door and watched her with his arms crossed over his chest. She felt the heat of his gaze upon her, but tried to dismiss it as mere curiosity on his part.
However, she could not shake the sense that her approval mattered to him.
Each soil patch was clearly marked so anyone would know what was growing in each section planted. Some patches had indistinguishable shoots only now starting to push through the fertile earth, but others were already well along. She could see onion bulbs and leeks, as well as turnips almost ready to be picked.
She caught the scent of strawberries as she neared a row of plants along the back wall. By late next month, they would also grow wild among the hedgerows in his garden and in many other places around Ardley including the vicarage garden. But this crop had already started to mature, and ideas began to whirl in her head about the many wonderful desserts and jams she could make with them for his house party.
She walked down another row that held lemon trees and fig trees.
Then another row of cucumbers and peppers.
