A Fine Caprice - A Regency Romance (13 page)

She looked into one or two rooms as she walked down the hall towards the stairs, nose wrinkling at the almost cell like sparseness inside. At home, the servant’s quarters were a deal
more basic t
han what was to be found in the family’s quarters
but at least she knew there
were fires in the rooms
in winter
, plenty of warm bedding
and whatever comforts could be provided. Her maid Kitty – who would be extremely annoyed that she had not been invited along on such an adventure –
had told her
that Tannith Meadow was con
sidered one of the better households in which
to fin
d a position. Not all
such
noble establishments
were
as agreeable.

Caprice
headed down the back stairs that led directly to the kitchen, trying to make as little noise as possible. The kitchen was large and must once have been quite fine but now its benches
and the large table in the middle of the room
were covered in bowls and pans and peculiar looking implements who’s purposed was not immediately apparent but might have something to do with cooking.
Or not; there appeared to be
no rhyme or reason to anything in the place
so why anticipate cooking implements in the kitchen?
Sh
e
picked up a multi-pronged wire in
strument that
was attached to a metal bowl and studied in doubtfully.
It looked as if it
belonged in a
medieval
torture chamber
rather
than a kitchen
and she set it back down, none the wiser
.

Murky
twilight
filtered
through the
partially
curtained windows
and Caprice
pulled them back to let in some light
. It had indeed stopped raining and there was even a glimpse of blue sky
above
. She found cold water
in a large jug and poured it
into a bowl then removed her jacket to better wash herself. Face, neck, arms and hands. It went a little way towards making her feel less squalid but
she was still rather smelly. A wash
was no real substitute for a bath.
Hot water and soap.
Lots of lovely, lovely soap…
At home, the copper half bath was kept in a room off the kitchen but a quick look around assured her that,
if the place had ever possessed such a thing it had been buried beneath a pile of rubbish and might never be unearthed
. She scrubbed at her teeth and reorganized her ‘boy’s’ hairstyle. Her thick, curly hair was a tangled mess and it would take some time
– and a great deal of patience –
for the
snarls
to be sorted out. She did not
even attempt it
now, merely cat
ching the thick mass more
firmly into the
queue that had served her so well
during her journey
.

Morning ablutions done
, she decided to heat water for tea, poking through the cupboar
ds and pantry looking
food
of which the
re appeared to be very little.
How very odd that such a house should have so little food.
F
ortunately the fire in the ancient range
had been banked down and was still burning. She added some wood from the box beside
the stove and opened the grating below to make it come to life, then set a pan of water on the top to heat up. Her search for breakfast produced
half
a
loaf of bread, rat
her stale, a
hunk of cheese,
some eggs
and what looked like a kind of preserved beef th
at was a dark brown and
appeared singularly
unappetizing
. Not exactly a feast. Where were the servants? In a house such as this, surely one would need at least a dozen.

She found tea in a
brown paper
packet and a teapot on the shelf and made a pot as soon as the water boiled.
There was milk
, which still smelt fresh enough that
she wouldn’t have to take it black
.

‘Exactly what I need,’ a voice observed from behind her, making
Caprice
’s heart rate ratchet up alarmingly, nerves
jump
ing with the unexpected sound
. Turning, she saw Lord Merridew standing in the door of the kitchen.

She laid a hand on he
r chest
and shook her head. ‘You scared me!’

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to
, although this place does lend itself to a certain amount of nervous tension
.
Her highness thinks the place is haunted.
’

‘Her highness?’
Caprice
repeated, startled.

‘You met her last night. The lady with the lamentable dog.’

‘Good God.
But… royalty?’

‘A grand duchess, no less.’

Caprice was incredulous.
‘
She
is a grand duchess?
What is she doing here?
’

‘
That’s a very good question
.
If I had a very good answer, rest assured I’d give it to you.
’

Sh
e
mulled over this for a moment,
trying to understand why minor royalty should be staying at Abbey Cross but was entirely at a loss
.
‘
How
very
strange.’

‘You’ll get no argument from me. Maria is extremely strange.’

‘Maria?’

‘There are quite a few names to go with it – six in all, I believe – but I
confess I
stopped listening after Maria.’

With a wondering shake of the head
she turned back to the food she had deposited on the bench. ‘
There isn’t
much food h
ere so your grand duchess must be going hungry,
’ she observed
, wincing
inwardly
at the
slightly
accusing
note in her voice
.
Part of it was because she found
his presence in the kitchen
disconcerting
and
not
just because he had given her a fright with his sudden appearance
. He had impressed her
the previous evening
as being a particularly handsome man and
she had wondered how she would find him today. Now she knew;
his reappearance this morning
in no way
diminished the
impression
she had received on first acquaintance
. Unlike herself, he was perfectly turned out, without a grubby patch in sight. Happily, he d
idn’t seem offended by her tart
remark
.

‘There’s damn all, truth be told
. I brought supplies
several days ago
but I’m afraid I’ve used most of everything that came with me
, thanks to the appearance of my cousin and his fiancé
e
.
’

Once again, Caprice was caught up in the incongruity of the situation.
‘Your cousin is engaged to a grand duchess?’

‘So they tell me. That, too, is a circumstance beyond my comprehension but who can understand the vagaries of love?
They brought supplies as well but there is only so far chocolate and wine will go.
We’ll need to head into the village a little later on
and stock up
.’

Caprice
found another cup and rinsed it out before pouring the tea
, assimi
lating this
information
.
His cousin was Mr.
Ravener and that glorious woman who had
put in an appearance
the night before was
Ravener’s fiancé
e
, who happened to be a grand duchess
.
Her highness.
Caprice could not remember ever meeting a grand duchess before
.
They were not
particularly plentiful in Warwick
shire.
‘Where is everybody? Aren’t there any servants?’

‘There was once. Not a great many but enough for a body to be comfortable. This place,’ he waved a vague han
d in the air, ‘used to be the home of
my uncle
, Abel Merridew
. Now that
he is dead I am responsible for it
. As you can im
agine, my joy is unsurpassed
.’

Caprice
found herself grinning at this
. It appeared that his lordship had a sense of humor, something that had not been immediately obvious the night before. Of course, she had broken a plate over his head
almost as soon as she’d laid eyes on him
,
which was hardly conducive to
smooth relations.

‘I am sorry for you loss.’

He glanced at her in surprise. ‘Don’t be. My uncle was a thoroughly unlovable character who didn’t give a monkey for anybody. I daresay his death was just another way to inconvenience me.’

Caprice
was shocked. She was not used to hearing somebody dismiss the death of a relative so cursorily. Although, she thought with a small twist of surprise, would
she
be grief stricken if, say, her Aunt Leticia passed away? It didn’t take her many moments to realize that, far from saddening, the absence of her aunt permanently from their lives would be quite delicious.
Not that she wished the woman any actual
harm
, but if something like a pernicious chest infection carried her off
or… or a carriage trampled her in the street accidentally
, well such things happened
, after all
.
‘And he possessed no servants? Who took care of him?’

‘His valet, Priss.
Who is missing
, a circumstance I find dev
i
lish odd
. I was expecting to see him on my arrival but there was nobody here.’

‘Perhaps he went back to his family,’
Caprice
suggested, turning the teapot around a few times to better brew the leaves and then pouring two cups of tea. ‘Do you take milk?’

‘I do, yes
-’ he broke off, staring at her. ‘You know, when you said that you sounded
exactly like my sister Charlotte
.’

Caprice
paused,
teapot poised and thought that she probably did. Or, if not specifically his sister, then any other female who poured tea in a drawing room for a gentleman
, a circumstance that would have happened frequently in this man’s life, she was sure
.
Really
Caprice
, she chided herself,
do you want to give yourself away completely?
For it was perfectly obvious that Lord Merridew was no fool. The only reason people did not consider the possibility that she might be anything but the boy she was dressed as was that young ladies generally did not go around in boy
’s clothing. It certainly would not
occur to anybody that a gently born noblewoman might
do something so shocking
. It was protection, of a kind, but it would not do to give anybody reason to question her
too
closely.
She might not want to deal with her parents or the situation
at home
but
she would be loathed to have them mortified by scandal.

She drew a deep breath. ‘Do I?’ she said lightly
, adding milk to his tea and handing it over. ‘Your sister must be a funny one
if she sounds like me
.’ And she met his eyes
with ingenuous frankness
, before turning back to pick up her ow
n cup. She took a sip, before adding
casually. ‘What’s this brown stuff, then? Is it meat?’

‘Beef
jerky,’ he said, apparently happy to move on
. ‘It last forever which is why I
brought it with me
.’

‘It l
ooks disgusting. I can toast th
e bread and do some eggs if you like.’

‘I would like. I’m starving.’ He leaned against the kitchen bench while she found the bread knife and
set the loaf on a breadboard
she’d discovered propped on the bench
.
Clearly, his lordship had been feeding himsel
f and had cleaned
what he’d been using
for it was not in the same state as the rest of the clutter
.
‘Are you sure you won’t be missed?’ he asked, watching her. ‘I was serious when I said that I wanted to employ your service
s for a few days
.’