Mrs. Dunstan put her arm around Rani as she escorted her out of the room.
David peeled a potato. “Charwood!” he said, drawing the man to the task at hand. “What is the matter?” he asked.
Charwood lifted his head up and sniffed. “I am the butler, not the kitchen maid,” he said austerely.
“Well, I don’t see any maids about,” David said. “Have they all gone down to Summerworth Park or given time off?”
“No. The Branstokes sent two to visit their families while they are in Kent, and the third has her night off.” He frowned. “Probably out with one of the footmen. I should put a stop to that!”
David paused in his peeling and turned his head to look fully at Charwood. “Why?” he asked simply.
Charwood harrumphed. “We’ll not have any by-blows in this household!” he declared.
“I’d wager a monkey that is not what really is eating at you this evening. It is about Miss Rangaswamy, isn’t it?” he said, as he dropped one potato in the stew pot and picked up another to peel.
Charwood peeled a carrot, his motions sharp and staccato, cutting away more carrot than skin.
David knew he was trying to ignore the question. He grabbed the man’s forearm. Charwood looked over at him, frowning.
David took the carrot from him. “You are not peeling that carrot—you are mutilating it. What is your issue with Miss Rangaswamy?
“She’s from India!”
“Yes,” David mildly agreed. “And?”
Charwood pulled his arm free and picked up another vegetable. “Nothing. I just don’t like foreigners.”
David could tell there was something more to it than just a dislike of foreigners. Obviously, something in Charwood’s past shaded his behavior. Odd, for he’d always taken Charwood to be a superior butler and a canny individual. He knew Sir James trusted the man.
“Well, you need to amend your ways to this woman,” he told him. “She has done nothing to you, and she is in the Earl of Soothcoor’s employ now. And you know Lady Branstoke will take her in.”
Charwood took in a deep breath, then chuffed it out harshly. “Yes, sir,” he said gratingly. Then he paused, and in a quieter tone he grumbled, “Yes, she will indeed.”
* * *
“How long didthe voyage take to get from India to England?” Mrs. Dunstan asked, as she led Rani to the broad carpeted stairway and up to the second floor.
“Six months. And it was quiet.”
“Quiet? But there were other people on the ship.”
Rani nodded in faint agreement. “But when the men do not call out to each other, or passengers not talking or walking on deck, the only sound is lapping of water on hull, and wood creaking. And it is always there, even when people about. Always the same.”
Mrs. Dunstan canted her head as she considered the sounds. “I suppose that could be eerie if one were alone, as you were.”
“I did have Krishan,” Rani said.
“I know, dear, but sometimes a body needs more than a child for company.… Here’s madam’s room,” she said, as they came to the top of the third flight of stairs.
Mrs. Dunstan led Rani into Lady Branstoke’s dressing room.
Rani paused in the doorway. “This is the Lady’s room?”
“Yes, this is madam’s dressing room. Come in. We will find you something to wear, and then I will show you to the nursery suite.”
“It is very beautiful,” Rani said, looking around and taking in the elegant shades of the blue décor of the dressing room. “And it smells nice. Not heavy smell.”
Mrs. Dunstan smiled. “It is actually quite plain compared to some households I’ve been in. Lady Branstoke is not a frivolous woman. What you smell is lavender. She says it is soothing for her.”
