But then, neither did all the alcohol he had downed yesterday.
Aye, so how well, exactly, do ye know him?
Leah didn’t. Clearly. The past twenty-four hours as his wife had underscored that. Repeatedly.
What exactly have ye gotten yourself into, Leah?
Of course, there were more pressing immediate concerns than Madeline’s parentage.
Namely, what were they going to eat for breakfast?
And how was she to manage Madeline? Until Leah hired another nurse (and a housekeeper, cook, maids, footmen, and so on), Madeline would have to spend her days at Leah’s side.
After helping the girl dress, they went round and round, down four floors of a (very narrow, un-widened, window-lit) spiral staircase to reach the kitchen.
As Mrs. Buchan had noted, only one staircase in Laverloch—the one leading to and from the great hall—was wide enough to allow two people to pass, side by side. The other stairs were a tight, exceptionally-narrow spiral. And as was typical of Scottish castles, no staircase paused at a landing. Doors just magically appeared in the wall and one had to step upward from the awkwardly placed stairs and into the room.
And yes, were she to encounter Fox on one of the narrow staircases, passing would require a rather alarming amount of physical contact, even if she stepped into a doorjamb. A fact Leah tried hard not to think upon as she descended to the kitchen.
The kitchen itself was a lovely space—white-washed plaster under a high curving ceiling which allowed the sweltering heat of the ovens to rise. Work tables lined two walls, while an enormous iron cooking range and open fireplace occupied a third. Banks of windows shone down from the upper walls opposite the fireplace, flooding the room with cheery sunlight.
At the moment, the two footmen and three maids were seated at a large table to one side of the space, sipping tea and eating leftover bannocks. They all scrambled to their feet when Leah entered.
Fox, naturally, was nowhere to be seen, likely still sleeping off the effects of all the brandy.
Right.
The first order of business was to eat breakfast.
Then, Leah would ascertain what was required to organize life at Laverloch.
From there, she would sort it.
Greeting the staff, Leah retrieved the notebook and pencil from her apron pocket and began asking questions.
Five hours later, Leah lifted a batch of fluffy cheese scones from the oven to accompany the remaining gammon for lunch. She had given the servants tasks in other parts of the castle, but once the scones cooled, a single note on the dinner gong would surely bring them back to the kitchen.
“Ooooh! Those smelldelicious!” Madeline cooed at Leah’s elbow, peering at the scones.
Madeline, Leah had decided, collected new words with the enthusiasm of a gold miner.
Earlier in the day, William had commented that the lentil soup from the night before was ‘particularly delicious,’ and Madeline had taken to the word with gusto.
The spot of hot chocolate Leah had dug out of a cupboard was pronounced delicious. As was the warm summery air blowing in through the open door. And then, the curve of Mr. Dandy’s tail. At which point, Leah had to spare a few minutes explaining whatdeliciousdid and did not describe.
But, in this, Madeline was correct. The sconesdidsmell delicious.
Leah set them carefully on the enormous work table in the middle of the kitchen.
The castle’s larder was spare. By her calculations, they only had food for three more days.
The entire castle needed re-provisioning.
Her task-list was monstrous.
More to the point, how was she going to tell Fox that his castle required a small army and a not-so-small fortune to repair and staff?
“What is that heavenly, delicious smell?” a male voice asked from the doorway.
