“Go on now,” Jillian said, shooing her up the stairs.
She waved them off an hour later as they struck out on their journey. Kensington Village was a day and a half trip by carriage so Jillian didn’t expect them back for four or five days.
###
As independent as Jillian liked to think she had become, she had to admit she relied on Hilda and Elsie more than she realized. After burning her first two attempts at dinner she gave up and nibbled on a hunk of cheese and some leftover bread. She didn’t even try to light the numerous candles dotting the house. Instead, she carried an oil lamp from room to room. Candles were preferable to the dirty oil lamps, but in this case, it was much easier to maintain one light instead of worrying over many.
She was ashamed that she hadn’t ever thought to hire more help for Hilda and Elsie, but she’d never been given the authority to run Penroth and she’d spent her entire childhood at school, so she had no clear idea of how much work went into a household’s upkeep. It must make her seem incredibly pampered, but in fact it was just more evidence of how tightly Lucas’s control over her was.
She had never even opened the servants’ quarters situated just behind the kitchen, opting instead to house the servants in the spare rooms above stairs. It was comprised of some three rooms and would be perfect for Elsie and Johnny once they were married. An upstairs bedroom would then be freed for the new maid she now thought to hire.
###
Jillian was supremely grateful when Case dropped by that evening. She met him at the door and literally dragged him inside.
“God’s teeth, woman, it’s freezing in here!”
“You are so observant,” she said sourly. “Do come in and shut the door, you are letting in more cold air.”
“Where is everyone?” Case asked looking around at the darkened house.
Jillian related the day’s events. “Can you bring in some wood for a fire?” she asked hopefully.
Case complied good-naturedly, lighting a fire both in her bedroom and in the library. He piled wood beside each fireplace so she could keep the flames burning.
“I would offer you refreshment, but I burned dinner,” she said mournfully.
Case laughed. “Starving, are you?”
Her stomach growled in response.
“Get your cloak on and we’ll go raid my kitchens. Mrs. Applegate cooked a goose for dinner. If you like I can have her come over tomorrow and prepare a few meals for you.”
“That would be a Godsend,” she said in relief. “You don’t suppose she will mind, do you?”
“She adores you. The only time I get her plum pudding is when she knows you are coming for dinner.”
The two climbed into Case’s carriage and rode the short distance to his townhouse. Mrs. Applegate was more than willing to prepare cold plates for them. She piled roasted goose along with still warm bread and leftover cherry tarts.
“Jillian, I’ve given it some thought, and there is no reason why Mrs. Applegate couldn’t come stay with you for a few days. I had forgotten to mention that I will be leaving in the morning for the coast. I’ll be gone for two days, so I certainly wouldn’t need her here. That is if you have no objections, Mrs. Applegate,” he said turning to the elderly woman who was placing their plates on the table.
“Indeed not, my lord, I would be happy to be of service to Lady Penroth.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Applegate,” Jillian said gratefully. “You will be a welcome sight to be sure.”
“I’ll make my plum pudding for you, my lady,” she said, her eyes twinkling.
“Why is it I never merit plum pudding,” Case grumbled.
###
Justin walked down the hallway leading into Case’s dining room. As he drew nearer, he heard voices coming from within. Funny, Stevens hadn’t mentioned that Case had a caller. He paused at the doorway, looking in to see who Case was entertaining.
Seated across from Case, looking very much at home, sat Jillian. She was smiling at something Case was saying and the atmosphere looked decidedly intimate. Irritation seized him as she laughed aloud, and Case flashed her a boyish grin.
He strode into the room. “Stevens said I would find you in here,” he said in greeting. “He didn’t, however, say you were entertaining a guest.” He gazed pointedly at Jillian.
“You can quit glaring at me, your grace. I can assure you I won’t disappear no matter how much you may wish it,” Jillian said, continuing to eat her food.
