Captain Jones's Temptation - Audrey Harrison Page 0,5

the empty doorway. He had never been spoken to with such utter disdain. He would never consider himself one who was wishful of being petted by others in society, but his uncaring, distant manner did tend to attract those who might take a little more trouble than they would with others. His good looks, charming manner when the mood took him, and position as King’s Messenger ensured he was welcomed everywhere. To receive a cool welcome in a situation he wished himself miles from was bad enough, but to then have been challenged and rebuked in such a way! That had stung far more than he was used to, and it rankled. The fact that he had been mainly in the wrong failed to be acknowledged. Instead he concentrated on how he had been wronged.

A chit of a girl had bested him. Pretty or not, she was impertinent, and if she thought she could speak to him like an errant schoolboy and get away with it, she had misjudged him.

One thing was for certain, no one had ever been brave enough to take on the formidable Captain Jones in a sparring match. One which she had won. He’d behaved a cad, and although he was not able to recognise it yet, his own behaviour in the situation rankled above all else.

Chapter 2

Esther walked into the kitchen under the pretext of checking that Cook was aware the guests had arrived and would need to be catered for, but it was a feeble excuse even to her own ears. She looked around the busy kitchen with longing and only stopped when she caught the eye of Cook, who was watching her with a knowing expression.

“Sit yourself down and I will bring something over,” came the welcome instruction.

“You are very busy,” Esther said, feeling a little guilty.

“Never too busy for you.”

Esther smiled and seated herself at the small round table that was tucked in an alcove of the kitchen. Cook used it when taking a break; it allowed her to separate herself a little from the hustle and bustle of a busy kitchen whilst being able to keep an eye on the servants.

She watched Cook toing and froing. When they first met, they had taken to each other immediately. The frightened young girl and the motherly cook. Esther had often been wrapped in the warm embrace of the heavyset woman and had always felt cosseted and cared for at those moments when she had needed it, which in the early days of her arrival at Corless House had been many.

Cook brought over a fresh pot of tea and a plate of splits, jam and clotted cream. “Fresh out of the oven, my lovely,” Cook said before joining Esther at the table. “Now, come, what ails you?”

Esther took her time to separate the still-warm bun in two and smother it in jam and cream. She took a first bite, her eyes closing in appreciation of the melt-in-the-mouth moment, before munching away. After taking a refreshing sip of her tea, she smiled at Cook. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong now,” she said.

“It’s always been the same. Give you something sweet and the world is set to rights.” Cook smiled at the woman she had known for almost fifteen years. To Cook, Esther was the daughter an unmarried woman in service could never have, and Cook was always very in tune with whatever ailed her. “It’s a good thing those children keep you on your toes or you’d be my size,” she said, patting her ample stomach.

“You always told me never to trust a slender cook.”

“It’s perfectly true.”

“I do hope you realise that you can never retire,” Esther said. “I’d fade away if you did.”

“If you kept your life simple, you’d have less need to escape down here.”

Esther grimaced at Cook but popped the last bite of one half of the split into her mouth. She was already feeling more the thing.

“Don’t think I am not aware of what is going on, young lady. You might fool everyone else, but I know what I know. Your mama was not with child before having you, my girl, so don’t come all this twattling about having a long-lost brother.”

Esther shot a look in the direction of the other servants, but no one was paying attention to what was being said in the alcove. It wasn’t an uncommon sight to see Miss Esther passing the day with Cook, so no one thought to listen.

“No one must know he isn’t,” Esther