Behind the Rake's Wicked Wager - By Sarah Mallory Page 0,48
stables—my coachman will show him where to find straw to make a comfortable bed—and Daniel will arrange to feed him, too, but...my lord, I cannot, cannot put you up here.’
He dismissed his groom before turning back to her.
‘You have no choice.’ He looked faintly amused at her consternation. ‘Pray do not look so alarmed. I am not expecting you to wait upon me.’
‘But, last night—’
‘We will forget that, for now.’
His smile grew, and with it her embarrassment. The baby stirred in her arms and she got up, murmuring that she must take him back to his mother. The viscount opened the door for her and with a mutter of thanks she fled from the room. The young ladies were gathered in the upstairs sitting room, but Bessie had informed them of the viscount’s arrival and they looked anxiously to Susannah for an explanation.
‘Who is he, Miss Prentess?’ asked Lizzie as Susannah gently handed over the baby. ‘Has he come to fetch you away?’
‘He s-spoke to me at the ball once.’ Violet Anstruther’s voice quavered. ‘Perhaps Papa sent him to fetch me...’
‘You may all be easy, the viscount has not come to take anyone away. He is an acquaintance of mine and a perfect gentleman.’ Should she have crossed her fingers against the lie? Despite all that had happened between them it felt like the truth. ‘He is stranded here in the snow, as are we all now.’ She hoped she sounded suitably reassuring. ‘You are at liberty to come downstairs and join us, if you wish.’
This suggestion was quickly rejected, the girls declaring that they would prefer to remain above stairs.
‘Very well, I believe there is a little soup left, so I will ask Bessie to heat it through and bring it up for you. I will ask her to bring more coal upstairs, too, so that you may keep the fire built up in here. Then we must think what we can do for dinner tonight.’ She looked at the three girls. Lizzie was confined to her bed and had her baby to nurse. Jane was leaning back in her chair, her hands rubbing over her extended stomach. Only Violet Anstruther looked fit enough to help with the cooking, but when Susannah suggested it, she immediately shook her head and admitted that she did not know how to do anything more than boil a small kettle to make tea. She looked so frightened at the prospect of venturing into the kitchen that Susannah did not press her.
‘I will help,’ offered Jane, ‘when my back has stopped aching.’
‘No, you must stay here,’ said Susannah quickly. ‘Bessie and I will manage.’
‘At least the larder is full,’ observed Jane. ‘I made sure Mrs Jennings sent Daniel for the supplies yesterday before she left the house.’
‘I cannot forgive the woman for leaving you all in such a way,’ declared Susannah. ‘As soon as I can get back to Bath I will make arrangements for another housekeeper to come in to look after you until Mrs Gifford returns.’
She went downstairs to find that the viscount had built up the fire in the parlour. A patch of melting snow near the hearth caught her eye.
‘Did you send Bessie out to find my footman? I meant to do it before I went upstairs, and charge him with bringing in coal for the fire.’
‘No, I brought it in myself.’ He laughed at her shocked countenance. ‘As Gerald told you, Miss Prentess, I am not at all high in the instep.’ He pointed to a tray on the side table. ‘I also found the coffee pot, so I have made some. I thought we might sit by the fire and take a cup together.’
‘Why, thank you, sir. But I should really be looking out what we can eat for dinner...’
‘There will be time for that presently. Sit down and talk to me.’
She allowed herself to be escorted to a chair and handed a steaming cup. She had to admit that after the trials of the morning it was pleasant just to sit, even if she was determined it could not be for long.
‘I have been thinking about the cost of running this house,’ he began. ‘I take it Mrs Wilby’s card parties help to pay for it.’
‘Yes.’
‘And you encourage the gentlemen of your acquaintance to attend, upon your aunt’s invitation, of course.’
She shot him a defiant look.
‘And why not? It is the gentlemen who have made this place necessary.’