He didn’t respond to that.
He asked, “What’s the staffing situation here?”
“Sorry?”
“Jeff’s the butler. I assume that’s full time.”
“I…think so,” she said hesitantly.
“And does he live here?”
She nodded. “As far as I know.”
She hadn’t put two and two together.
Then again, she wouldn’t. No one wanted to think of their mother boning a man half her age.
“Who else works here?”
“There are some maids,” she told him. “At least one I know works full time, but Mum, or Christine probably, hires extras when Mum’s around. At least one more to get the house entirely in order and keep it in order when Mum’s here. If there’s a house party, they hire extras.”
“Christine?”
“She’s the cook and housekeeper. She’s definitely full time. Been here for years.”
“Wouldn’t it be the butler’s job to hire on any needed staff?”
That flummoxed her.
She had a huge learning curve ahead of her, his poor wee lass.
“Any others?” he pressed.
“Gardeners. I think there’s a whole team of those.”
He nodded and made a decision.
Chat with Christine, who was probably as thrilled with Jeff being there as Dair was. Then a conversation with Jeff. One that would either end with him packing his bags or properly doing his job.
She cut into his thoughts. “Why are you asking me this?”
He sidestepped that by saying, “We’re going to have a full house soon, love.”
Her gaze grew far away, and she mumbled, “Oh, right.”
“Not your worry. I’ll have a word with Christine. Do ye want to freshen up before we go?”
She focused on him again and nodded.
“Where would I find Christine?” he queried.
“A guess, in her office off the kitchen. Do you remember where that is?”
He nodded and guided her out of the room to the staircase.
He touched his mouth to hers at the base and said, “Take your time, but just to say, let’s get this next chore done so ye can settle in and relax a little.”
A shadow moved across her features as what they had to do next came to mind before she gave him another nod and started up the stairs.
