“Thank you, Mary. Set it on the settee. You may open it.”
“I-I can?”
“Please. Miss Penny is most anxious to see her new frock. As am I.”
Twenty-One
M
aeve tapped the feather of her quill against her chin, studying the woman across from her. Threads of faded red interspersed the gray of her hair. “So, you’re my new housekeeper…” Maeve drew her words out.
“Aye, milady.”
“And your name is…”
“Ina.”
“That’s right. Ina. What is your surname, Ina?”
“McCaskle.”
Maeve glanced down at the foolscap and read the list of her supposed qualifications. “I see. And Mr. McCaskle?”
“He be me husband, milady. Going on twenty some odd years now.”
“Your qualifications appear outstanding,” Maeve grudgingly admitted.
“That they are, milady.”
Maeve had been in desperate need of a housekeeper. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t hesitate to tear a strip of hide off Harlowe at her first opportunity. “All right,” she relented on a sigh. “You may stay.”
Maeve dismissed her new housekeeper as in ‘allowed her” to take up her new duties.
She rose from behind the escritoire in the smaller parlor and settled in one of the winged back chairs near the fire and pinched the bridge of her nose. She should be furious with Harlowe’s high-handedness, but in truth, he’d saved her the tremendous headache of filling two of the key positions of her new household. There were several more needed for a house this size. Scullery maids, a groundskeeper, a cook. The list was endless.
The long clock in the hall chimed. Nine o’clock. She was exhausted. She worried for Penny, but she was ensconced in the same room with Mary, so if she woke there would be someone nearby to sooth her terror.
Maeve had been able to get a little more out of Penny regarding her sister. For one thing, she’d misunderstood her name. It was Melinda. After the grime from Penny’s nose had been cleared the matter of her name had been rectified. So instead of “Blinda,” Penny now said “Mlinda” which eventually became Mellie.
“Would you care for tea, Lady Alymer?” Agnes’s soft voice sounded from the arch of the small elaborate drawing room.
“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Maeve smiled as she brought in a tray already prepared.
“Shall we visit, Agnes?”
“Visit? Oh, milady, I couldn’t possibly.”
“I know it’s unusual, Agnes. But I wish to talk to someone, and there doesn’t appear to be anyone else about.” Not to mention the questions Maeve had regarding her previous employer.
“So ye’ll be akeepin’ Mrs. and Mr. McCaskle then?”
“Yes. But Lord Harlowe has most definitely overstepped his bounds, and I intend to tell him so at the first opportunity.”
A fleeting smile touched her lips as she lowered slowly across from Maeve, sitting on the edge of the settee, prepared to flee if need be.
Maeve filled a cup of tea for her and added a generous amount of sugar and cream. She had every reason to believe Agnes would never allow herself such a liberty. She handed over the cup.
Agnes accepted the offer with trembling hands.
