“If I could explain plainly, my lady, the hubbub is simply not appropriate for a ducal home. Not when there are other places she could go—”
“To rest and recover.”
“In safety.”
“Away from your mother.”
Goodness, they were tripping over each other in their haste to make their point.
She tilted her head. “And you all feel this way?”
“Absolutely.”
“Yes.”
“With regret, my lady.”
“And all three of you believe that you can’t manage your duties while Miss Wong is in residence. Because why exactly? Does she make demands on the kitchen? Yell at the maids? Throw things at the footmen?”
“My lady!” Chiverton said with a hard sniff. “It’s because she’s a murderer.”
Mrs. Pizzi visibly shuddered. “No one will go into the room. I’ve brought on extra people—like you said—to clean up the mess—”
“They were a rough lot, milady,” inserted Chiverton, “but they did their job. I saw to it.”
“Yes,” Mrs. Pizzi cut in, her voice hard. “But even so, no one will go in the room. I’ve had to shut it up.”
And Emmaline was still staying with Lady Kimberly while Yihui used her bedroom. “The new wallpaper was put on yesterday,” she said. “The linens and rug should have arrived by now.”
“But that’s not the point!” Mrs. Pizzi cried. “I’ve had one girl leave already and more threatening. They won’t go upstairs. They fear for their lives.”
Emmaline huffed. “Then they are remarkably silly girls. You’ve seen Miss Wong’s feet. She can’t walk. She can’t hurt anyone.”
Chiverton took up the argument. “My lady, you are a Christian example to us all, sitting day and night with the…the foreigner. But I’ve seen you turn away from the bedroom. Even you can’t go into it.”
She couldn’t deny it. She still flinched from the memory. The room itself brought everything back in a way she couldn’t deny. “But what has that to do with Miss Wong’s presence? The room will still be the room, even with her gone.”
“Once she departs,” Chiverton said clearly, “we can all put this wretched thing behind us.”
The cook agreed. “Without the reminder, your mother will rest better and eat again.”
“My mother is not in danger of fading away,” she snapped. “Neither do we allow silly maids and timid footmen to decide who resides as our guest. Especially one commanded by Prinny himself!” She set aside her embroidery. It was hideous anyway. “And if you cannot control your staff—”
“My lady!” Chiverton huffed, his tone matching hers for indignation. “No one is more cognizant of the responsibilities of this family to the Crown than I am. I fear, however, that you forget how the rest of the country scrutinizes everything you do. I’ve had to chase away reporters climbing on the ivy. Even the smallest gossip gets recorded and printed for everyone to read. Just imagine what is being said about this family!” He sniffed. “It cannot be allowed. It cannot!”
What was outrageous was that a member of the household staff spoke to her in such a way. Worse, instead of coming to speak to her directly, Chiverton had stirred up the rest of the staff to force her hand.Hewanted Yihui out of the house, and he wasn’t above fostering open rebellion as a way to get what he wanted.
But such was the privilege of a butler who had been with their family for generations. From father to son, the Chivertons had served the dukedom for a hundred years. As much as she hated it, he had the right of age and ancestry to speak so boldly to her. Then before she could frame a suitable reply, Mrs. Pizzi took up the cause.
“There are places she could go, my lady. Good houses where she could recover. You wouldn’t have to exhaust yourself staying in the sickroom with her. Your father could come home instead of sleeping at his club.”
“Mrs. Pizzi, of all people, you know how she was hurt.”
“Our hearts bleed for her,” their chef, Mr. Gaudreau, said firmly. “But you must see that this upset is not good for anyone. It’s terrible, just terrible.”
There she had it. Every reasonable, logical excuse to send Yihui packing. She even had the name of a boarding house that would treat the girl well. And if getting the foreigner out of here quieted not only their home but the entire neighborhood, then really it was for the best, right? They couldn’t have their family name bandied about in the papers. That wasn’t how a duke’s family behaved.
But such casual cruelty was not how she behaved.
