“The housekeeper is the one who makes sure the household is running smoothly. We meet regularly, and she comes to me if something urgent occurs.”
“Makes sense. Like an estate manager, only inside.”
“Yes. I’m going to meet her in the music room. If the piano needs tuning, I can instruct her to get someone out immediately.”
“I thought…” Charles stopped himself. She was so excited right now with everything going on, she probably didn’t recall something she said an hour ago. He’d let it go. It was nice to see her in this state.
“What?”
“Never mind. I answered my own question.”
“I’m going to reply to the Prince of Wales’s letter first and I’ll ask what he would like me to play,” she said.
“Very well. I’m off to find Frazier.”
His wife was so engrossed in writing to the prince that Charles doubted she heard a word he said. He left the room in search of his valet. After that, he decided to take a walk to the stables and make sure their horses had settled in and to introduce himself.
Chapter Sixteen
No one wasin the music room when Cathryn walked into the room. It was a large room, perfect for what she needed. In the center of the room was a black grand piano. The black shone in the sunlight. To one side was a harp and in another corner there was a harpsichord. The entire room had recently been re-done in a musical theme. Chairs and a settee were all done in a pattern of musical notes while others were simply a dark cream. With a smile, she noted the wall covering matched the upholstery. Someone had put a lot of thought into the room.
Sitting down at the piano, Cathryn began to play something simple to hear the notes and see if it was out of tune or not.
“The piano and harpsichord were tuned two months ago, milady,” a voice from the doorway said.
Turning to look, Cathryn noted a woman dressed in dark gray, clutching a book of some sort. Probably her diary where she kept notes on the household. She thought the woman’s statement was odd.
“That’s good to hear as I play every day,” Cathryn replied.
“It’ll be nice to have music back in the house.”
“You must be Mrs. Thompson,” Cathryn said. “I’m Lady Cathryn.”
“Yes, milady. Would you like to go over details of the household?”
“Yes, I think that will suffice for today.” Cathryn stood from the piano bench and walked over to the woman. “Please sit.”
Mrs. Thompson sat in a cream-colored brocade chair across from the chair Cathryn had chosen.
“I thought we should at least meet. You’ve answered my big question about the piano. I must have it in perfect pitch so I may rehearse. You see, the Prince of Wales has invited me to play for him and the princess. Once I hear when it is and what he’d like me to play, I’ll be able to practice with some direction.”
“That’s quite an honor, milady.”
“Yes, it is. Unexpected, I must say. I’m not sure where he heard me play.”
“I’m sure you’ll do splendidly,” she said. “Where should we start?”
“How many on staff and do we need more? I know my husband will want more staff for the gardens.”
“Of course. For now, I think we have enough staff.”
“That’s good to hear,” Cathryn replied.
“If you like, I can arrange for Cook to join us. She can best tell you what she might need.”
“The kitchen is her domain, I assume.”
“Yes, it is.”
