Katerina and the Reclusive Earl by Cameron Alicia

Author:Cameron, Alicia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

New Understandings

Annie’s lessons were doing well — she had read her first sentences and was mightily pleased with herself. On the moments of boredom when Katerina was reading or drawing, Annie now had her own preoccupation, for Gilmartin had found some simple primers from the schoolroom, and donated them to the cause. It was time that she began to write, and since they were not in a schoolroom, but in their cosy small salon, Katerina bade her take up the pen at the lady’s desk on one side of the room, and write something.

‘Oh no, miss, the paper is too fine for the likes of me!’

Katerina frowned. She rang for Gilmartin and requested some paper. ‘Not so fine as this writing paper, fit for a countess. Annie has sensibilities.’

Gilmartin smiled at this sally. ‘There might be some in the schoolroom, miss, but it hasn’t been in use for some time … ah, miss, I believe I have the solution! The earl makes notes on rough paper, keeps them for some days, then discards the already transcribed ones each day. Perhaps Annie could practise on the underside of this paper before I burn it, miss.’

‘Excellent!’

It was Annie’s hour to chatter, and she talked of the servants’ hall, and how different it was to the servants’ hall at the castle. ‘The butler has a room, miss, and normally no one but senior staff, such as the master’s valet, or the housekeeper would be invited to such a place. But here the so-called housekeeper is not permitted, but along with Mr Gilmartin and that layabout valet, those two odd-looking footmen are given free rein in there.’

‘Can you really write and talk at once?’ sighed Katerina.

‘Oh, yes miss!’

‘Carry on!’ said her mistress, resigned.

‘The housekeeper, Mrs Pegg, is of a complaining disposition, miss, and after it went round the staff that you were not out to capture the earl, miss, she likes to complain to me, as I is a new ear for it. None of the footmen are trained for the position, ses she, and they are nought more than the scaff-raff of the military, and not fit for the dignity of the house. But two of them, plus the useless valet, all served with his lordship in the army and he brought them in when the old earl died, just to be unpleasant to visitors. Sometimes the earl comes down to the Butler’s Room himself, and they all five carouse with brandy, miss.’ Annie looked over her shoulder. ‘Can you imagine the baron permitting any such thing, miss?’

Katerina could not, but she was only half-listening, being involved in reading. She had though, during these hours of conversation, learnt a number of things about the household from Annie. Now that the maid was free in the library hours, and in the dinner hours if the Templetons came, she had a fund of stories from below stairs. She knew that the earl rode every morning at dawn, that sometimes this was even before he slept for a few hours.

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