When a Duke Loves a Governess (Unlikely Duchesses #3) - Olivia Drake Page 0,116
pitcher in my nursery chamber will do. Really, I don’t mean for you to go to any trouble on my behalf.”
“Mercy sakes, Miss James, you need a more thorough washing than that. I can’t imagine how you came to be in such a state unless you was climbing the inside of a chimney in the middle of the night. Though of course it is not my place to inquire, only to obey His Grace’s command.”
Tessa thought it best to avoid satisfying the housekeeper’s curiosity and to let Guy determine what the staff was to be told about the circumstances of Banfield’s death. “This is much too fine a room for me.”
“It’s merely a guest chamber, one of a dozen. Why, you’re saving the maids the trouble of toting them heavy cans all the way up to the nursery and likely disturbing Lady Sophy. I expect that’s why His Grace ordered it so. He was always considerate, even as a lad.”
Now that was a subject of interest to Tessa, to hear stories about Guy’s childhood, about visiting his grandparents in this house. She would have liked to have asked, but Mrs. Womble was busy supervising the maids at various tasks. One ran upstairs to fetch Tessa’s nightgown, one kindled a fire on the hearth, and one laid out towels, soap, and a brush. Within minutes, yet another maid delivered a tea tray from the kitchen.
The housekeeper bobbed a respectful curtsy to Tessa. “Ring the bell if you require anything else, miss. Or shall I leave Sally to assist you?”
“Oh, no,” Tessa exclaimed. “Pray return to your beds, all of you. I shall be fine and … thank you.”
Alone at last, she shed her filthy clothes and immersed herself in the steaming water. She didn’t know how nobles suffered having so many servants around. Yet the extravagance of a tub filled nearly to the brim made her sigh with pleasure. She’d have to be a saint not to appreciate such luxury.
Studiously, she avoided thinking about all that had happened. Her brain needed a rest from worry and strain. After a few minutes of mindless relaxing, she set to work scrubbing away the coal dust from head to toe. The cake of soap smelled deliciously of lavender, and in guilty delight, she used a liberal quantity of it. Only when the water began to cool did she emerge to dry herself with a towel and to don the soft familiar flannel of her old nightdress.
Armored in comfort, she perched on a fringed ottoman by the warmth of the fire. She took care to avoid the sore spot at the back of her head while running a brush through her damp hair. As it dried, she drank a cup of tea and savored a cream bun from the tray. Two cream buns, for it seemed a shame not to indulge when such a plentiful amount sat on the plate. Then, having nothing else with which to occupy herself, she gazed around the room and marveled to think that her mother had grown up in similarly lavish surroundings.
A branch of candles illuminated a chamber of fairy-tale splendor with a canopied bed and rose silk hangings. Her bare toes curled appreciatively into the plush carpet. Even the brocaded ottoman felt luxurious to her work-worn hands. This could be her life if she accepted Guy’s proposal.
But she was no Cinderella destined to marry the prince.
That particular tale had ended with a glorious promise of happily ever after, with no one questioning exactly how Cinderella had adapted to living in a palace after years of sleeping in the ashes. And surely it must have been extremely odd to wear a tiara instead of a servant’s mobcap, and to have others bow to her when she had always been the one to do the curtsying.
Of course, any such adjustments were made easier for Cinderella because she basked in the certainty of the prince’s love.
Love. That was the key.
Tessa knew that one missing element could greatly mollify her own doubts about marrying into the nobility. But Guy had made his offer out of duty. He’d even admitted that he hadn’t intended to wed ever again. His heart, she suspected, would always belong to the ghost of his departed wife.
She rallied her flagging spirits. How could she possibly despair when she had gained a family in Lord Marbury and Lord Haviland? That they would welcome her into their lives was the answer to her dreams.