Lost Lords 6 - Not Quite a Wife by Mary Jo Putney

Author:Mary Jo Putney [Putney, Mary Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Zebra
Published: 2014-08-26T04:00:00+00:00

Laurel had been right to say that his servants would not be enthralled, Kirkland discovered the next morning as he introduced her to his household staff. He was so glad to have her back in his life that he hadn’t realized how many of the people around him felt protective on his behalf. That partisanship was demonstrated as soon as he introduced Laurel to Mrs. Stratton, the housekeeper.

Usually Mrs. Stratton was brisk but pleasant, with an easy smile. Not this morning. Her expression was flinty as she greeted her new mistress. “Good day, Lady Kirkland. Shall I summon the staff so you can meet them all at once, or do you prefer to go through the house room by room and meet them where they work?” She held up a small daybook. “I’ll take notes of the changes you wish to make.”

Laurel smiled and offered her hand. Even in her plain day dress, she had a quiet but unmistakable authority. “Good day, Mrs. Stratton. Naturally I wish to meet the servants, but I can do that as you guide me through the household. There’s no need to take notes. Since I’ll be dividing my time between London and Bristol, I intend to leave the management of Kirkland House in your experienced hands.”

The housekeeper’s expression thawed somewhat. By the time they’d gone through half the house, she was back to her normal friendly self. Kirkland enjoyed watching his wife’s charm disarm his servants. He realized he’d been foolish to worry about how well Laurel would deal with a large London household. She’d managed a larger and more complicated establishment for years, and was expert at evaluating people and problems. She not only knew the right questions to ask, but in several places she made suggestions so gracefully that Mrs. Stratton agreed without even noticing that the new mistress was making changes.

By the time they completed the tour of Kirkland House, Laurel had won respect and tentative acceptance from the entire staff. Not surprisingly, Mrs. Simond was the greatest challenge. She felt that she owed the lives of herself and her two children to Kirkland, and she would cheerfully take a carving knife to anyone who threatened him.

When Kirkland and Laurel entered the kitchen, the cook looked up with a scowl that sat oddly on her usually cheerful round face. After Kirkland introduced Laurel, the cook nodded brusquely. Her “My lady” sounded like a curse.

Undeterred, Laurel said, “Mrs. Simond, your cooking is superb! Everything from last night’s soup to this morning’s eggs has been masterly. Kirkland tells me that his guests often try to lure you away, so I hope you are content here. He deserves the best.”

Softening a little, Mrs. Simond said, “His lordship has been that good to me, he has. He’s got my loyalty for life.” The implication was clear that Laurel had failed in the loyalty department.

Serenely ignoring the innuendo, Laurel said, “Kirkland said he generally leaves menus in your capable hands. Since that works so well, I certainly won’t interfere, but I would like a tour of your domain.

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