proper nor decorous. And she had just scolded Alexandra for doing much the same thing with Lord Newton.
On the other hand, letting the earl sit on her sofa for a few minutes could hardly make things worse, if the dowager duchess decided to sack her. She opened the door wider. “Then you might as well come in.”
Winterton frowned. Viola gave a small shrug and went back to her chair. She propped her foot upon the fender and waved one hand toward the tiny table by the fireplace. “Have a glass of port, m’lord.”
Slowly the earl stepped into the room. “You’re upset.”
Viola tilted her glass at him. “No,” she corrected him, “I am resigned.”
“To what fate?” He closed the door behind him.
Viola looked hard at that closed door, decided it didn’t matter enough to protest, and sipped her port. “The duchess left me in charge of the household. Yes, Lady Serena is acting as hostess,” she acknowledged as his brow dipped. “But she’s not accustomed to maintaining order in a household this size. Naturally Her Grace the dowager duchess is, but she’s still stricken in bed. Hence, the duchess entrusted me with the running of the house in her absence.”
“That’s a weighty responsibility.”
She laughed weakly. “Isn’t it? I assured her I could manage, even with the guests and the snow and Lady Sophronia being let off her lead. And I was managing well enough, until—”
“Until my nephew and I arrived,” he finished when she didn’t. “I will speak to the duke. Newton will speak to the duke and he will do whatever the duke deems proper and necessary.”
Viola felt herself droop. “Proper? You know as well as I do what that normally means, my lord. But you are not acquainted with the Duke of Wessex.”
Winterton hesitated. “No, I’ve never met him.”
“Then allow me to offer you some advice, when you do meet him.” She rearranged her feet on the fender. The fire was very warm. “He adores his sisters. He will throw over propriety and every rule of society to protect them, and a viscount who’s still wet behind the ears will be no match for him.”
“What are you saying?”
“I am warning you to tread carefully, and for heaven’s sake tell your nephew the same. The duke will not be pleased to learn he trifled with Lady Alexandra.”
“I imagine not.” The earl came another step into the room. “May I?” He gestured at the sofa. Viola waved one hand in assent, and he took a seat. Any fluttering awareness she had of the man should be entirely overwhelmed by the disaster that loomed before her.
Still, he sat very near her. When he stretched out his own legs, his boots brushed her skirts. As if from a distance she watched the fabric sway, then settle. Goodness; the port must be having an effect on her after all. She turned her head to look at the earl, and discovered him watching her.
She guessed what he would say. What ought I to do to keep the duke from calling out my nephew? Viola had not seen the Duke of Wessex in a temper often, but he was not a meek or indecisive man.
“What will happen to you?” Winterton asked instead.
It took a moment for the question to sink in, which then caused her to sink lower in the chair. “Me? I might be sacked.”
“Why?”
“You know why,” she said softly.
“Hear me out,” he responded, calm and unruffled. “Lady Alexandra has been flirting with Newton all week. Putting them together in the same house for days on end in a holiday spirit was bound to foster some interest between them. It’s only natural.”
“And it’s only natural that His Grace will be furious.” She sipped more port.
“But why would he sack you?”
Viola swirled her port, then drained the glass. “I ought to have kept a closer watch on Lady Alexandra.”
“And I on Newton.” Winterton blew out his breath. “His mother will have my head for this, you know. I thought I’d outgrown my fear of her, but tonight I am discovering that I have not.”
She peeked at him. He looked glum but serious. “His mother is your older sister?”
“By several years, and she entrusted her son to me on the condition I would teach him some restraint and dignity.” He grimaced. “She’ll box my ears and slap my face, just as she did when I scalped her favorite doll.”
Viola’s eyes went wide. “Scalped!”
For a moment something like guilty enjoyment flickered over his face. “I fancied myself an