My Fair Gentleman by Nancy Campbell Allen

Author:Nancy Campbell Allen [Allen, Nancy Campbell]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-62972-095-1
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Published: 2005-12-22T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

If a friend should fall ill, sometimes the best

course of action is to simply offer support.

Mistress Manners’ Tips for Every-day Etiquette

A week had passed since Jack had relieved Griffin, the stable

master, and Stallings, the accountant, of their duties, and life seemed to be running relatively smoothly. Pug and Millie, the irreverent maid, formed an odd friendship, and Jack was glad for it. The girl had taken on an elder-sister role with the boy, and although he pretended irritation, Pug lit up when he saw her. Jack had arranged for a tutor to work with the boy four days a week. Pug was less than thrilled with the new routine, but he laughed when Jack threatened to throw him overboard if he try to skip his lessons.

As for Jack’s part, he was a bit more at ease with the nearly constant presence of Clarence Fuddleston, who was, oddly enough, a calming influence on his nerves. Just when he thought he might have a decent handle on the ridiculous earl business, something would inevitably surface to throw him again into the dark. One thing was becoming clear—if an earl wanted to take a hand in day-to-day matters rather than merely turn things over to the solicitor or accountant, there was certainly enough to keep him busy.

When Jack and Fuddleston had reviewed the books, they had uncovered enough discrepancies to necessitate Stalling’s arrest; the bulk of the stolen funds were nonrecoverable, but thankfully he had been altering the ledgers in small enough amounts that the estate was not bankrupt. Far from it, in fact. Jack had been forced, more than once, to consciously close his dropped-open mouth as he reviewed his assets with Fuddleston, who handled the whole of it without batting an eye. Of course the little man would be used to staring at such huge amounts; he had worked for the upper classes his entire adult life. Jack had the satisfaction, only once, of catching Clarence off guard—when he proposed a salary that was clearly above and beyond anything the man was expecting.

Reflecting on the rapid changes his life had taken, Jack relaxed one evening in the dressing room that adjoined his bedroom and propped his feet on a footstool next to the fireplace. It was warm and comfortable; he had just finished a good meal after spending the day on the back of a horse, which would most certainly have him sore by morning. He had ridden a few times in his life, enough to have a rudimentary feel for it, but the lessons Lady Ivy was insisting upon were more grueling than he would ever have anticipated. She maintained that when hunting season rolled around and he was at the country estate with his family, it would be quite the thing to invite at least a dozen of their closest friends—of which they currently had none, he had pointed out—to spend a fortnight enjoying games, food, and the traditional fox hunt. He would be ill equipped as the

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