A Fine Caprice - A Regency Romance (20 page)

‘Excellent!’ his lordship interposed hastily before the man elaborated on what might prove to be a long list of
family and
acquaintances
who were available
. ‘I need to gather provisions for the place. A great many of them I fear, as the cupboard is bare. Now who would you recommend who could deliver such largesse?’

Caprice, sitting back over a cup of coffee as she enjoyed the sensation for the first in quite a few days, of being absolutely replete, could only admire the skilful way his lordship guided the conversation in the direction he needed it to go. There was nothing stuck up about him, she decided, watching that handsome, animated face with some bemusement. He had a way about him that seemed to put most people at their ease. It was a very pleas
ing trait in a man and once again she wondered; w
hat would he think if he could see
her dressed in her usual attire.
With a pretty dress on and her hair arranged
in
a flattering style, would he find her of interest? She wasn’t so sure. Clearly, he was a
gentleman
well versed in the world; charming, sophisticated and quite probably a popular addition to any social gathering.

She wondered again if he were married. And how she might find out
in a roundabout way that didn’t seem as if she were prying
.

‘Jem?’

Caprice blinked, realizing that he was addressing her. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she had missed what he was saying.

‘Oh! Uh… yes?’

‘Have you had enough to eat?’

Had she had enough to eat? Good lord, she had stuffed herself! ‘Oh yes.’

‘You didn’t eat very much.’

Seriously? She wondered if he were teasing for she had something from every dish presented. ‘I’ve had plenty, thank you.’

‘I hope you’re not just being polite. I know boys of your age can never be filled up.’

Was that so? Well, that was something she was bound to fail at for it was doubtful she could fit in another mouthful. While she might look like a stableboy on the outside, her
insides knew better. ‘I’m fine,’ she hesitated, ‘Isn’t more usual for a lady to set about arranging the staff?’

He cocked an eyebrow. ‘A lady?’

‘Well… you wife, say. My mistress, she always managed the staff.’ Now this was artfully done, she thought in satisfaction.

‘I’m sure she did but as
I’m not in possession of a wife and unlikely to get one in the near future
I
will just have to scrap by
myself.’

Which was a thoroughly satisfactory answer. She nodded, smiling broadly.
‘I see. Oh well… a
re we off?’

‘We are. The landlord has offered
to gather up some people. Quite a few might even be available to
start today.
He’ll go and talk to his sister-in-law now and she will organize the rest.
Next is the state of our pantry. We’re
off to order a large amount of food, also to be delivered today.’

‘We’d best bring something back with us. For the Grand Duchess,’ she said, a little sourly.

He grinned. ‘She has got a way about her, hasn’t she? I’m inclined to think she’s the driving force behind Hadley’s presence at Abbey Cross.’

‘Which means that she’s the one who is
in charge of the spying? How very wicked of her.’

‘Very wicked.
I wish I knew more about her. I wonder how forthcoming she might be if I were to try and charm her?’

What did
that
mean? Did he intend
to make up to Maria and see if he co
uld wheedle anything out of her?
For so
me reason th
e idea was extremely unwelcome
. ‘If she’s a proper
spy she won’t tell you anything.’

‘You think not?’

‘She’s obviously very worldly. She’ll probably worm some information out of
you
.’

He laughed at this. ‘I’m not so green, I hope. But I suspect you’re right. Our Grand Duchess is a seasoned player, no doubt about it. Chances are she won’t let anything slip.’

‘Exactly right.’

He smiled at her. ‘
You don’t like her
, do you?’

‘I don’t think she can be trusted.’

‘Oh, I’m sure she can’t be trusted. Perhaps we might be best served by a little subtlety. How are you at lurking?’

Caprice arched an eyebrow. ‘Well I can’t say I’ve tried it all that often but I suppose I could be very good indeed.’

‘Excellent. What we can’t find from common enquiry, we shall discover by other means.’

‘M
eans
that require
me to hover at doors and windows?’

‘Exactly,’ he gave her a grin. ‘Never tell me a likely lad
such as yourself wouldn’t enjoy the challenge.’

Caprice rather thought she would. At least there wasn’t likely to be rats involved in this venture and the more she could find out about Mr. Hadley Ravener and his flirtatious fiancée the better.

‘Yes,’ she said, returning his grin, ‘I think I’m going to enjoy it!’

Chapter Eight

Thanks to his lordship’s industry, by three o’clock
that afternoon Abbey Cross had received
more
attention than it had
in years. Mrs. Flannel, the landlord’s sister-in-law, proved to be a surprisingly good find and qui
ckly organized the two maids
, the cook and
the
man who was to be the general dogsbody – and who would later evolve into a gardener, if they ever came to grips with what was required inside the house – with brisk efficiency.
Apparently she
had arranged for several more people
as well
but they were not expected until the next day.

Caprice predicted that the housekeeper, closely followed by the cook,
would take one look at the kitchen and run but Mrs. Flannel was made of sterner stuff. Admittedly, she did pau
se on the threshold
and
Caprice heard a
swiftly indrawn
breath but it was only a momentary
hesitation and she forged ahead resolutely. The cook, a Mrs. Siddons, was not nearly as stoic and was heard to say
that some tasks were beyond a body
but Caprice was relieved to hear Mrs. Flannel chide such a lamentable attitude.

‘There’s a decent kitchen under here somewhere
Mrs. Siddons
. It just needs a good clean.’

‘A good
clean
.’ Mrs. Siddons almost whimpered. ‘I’ve never seen the like in all my life!’

‘Nonsense,’ Mrs. Flannel returned, voice bracing. ‘Now… let’s set to.’

Caprice grinned and reflected that his lordship had landed on his feet with that particular female. By two o’clock a dray turned up pulling a wagon with a remarkably large amount of food. Mrs. Flannel saw to its distribution, while giving the lad who’d brought it instructions as to what would be required the next day. Meals at Abbey Cross, it seeme
d, might possibly become a regular
event.

The brisk activity clearly found no favor with Mr. Ravener or the Grand Duchess, although Maria was far better at conceal her chagrin than Hadley. Caprice watched them covertly and was interested to note the low voiced conversations between the two. Mindful of her instructions to lurk, she flittered carefully about, eager not to be seen but equally eager not to be snaffled by Mrs. Flannel in the cleaning assault that
was being waged
on the house.
The housekeeper had jobs for anybody she spied and unfortunately she had identified Caprice as a potential source of labour. Everybody was kept running, especially t
he poor fello
w who had come to do the heavier jobs and
wh
o was instructed to move a seemingly
end
less amount of junk
. Remarkably, the hallway was cleared of debris by late afternoon, showing off a surprisingly spacious entry area. Even more remarkably, the kitchen began to actually emerge as a room that might possibly produce food, a miracle considering the sorry state it had been in
at breakfast
.

Lord Merridew continued his investigations in the library, going through what papers of his uncle’s that he could fin
d. Caprice focused on drifting around after Maria and it was to the library that she followed the woman.
The lady
had obviously gone to seek his lordship out
.
Caprice
stood hesitating outside
, the
n
hurried into the adjoining drawing room. She had noticed ea
rlier that there was a connecting
door between the two rooms and she
had an overwhelming desire to hear what was going on.
Hurrying to take up a
position
, she eased it open a crack to listen. This might not exactly be what Lord Merridew had in mind
when he said he wanted
her to watch the Grand Duchess
but she was curious to know
what the devious Maria was up to.

‘ –
but
my dear Lord Merridew. W
hat a mess it all is.’ The lady’s throaty purr set Caprice’s teeth on edge.

‘It is, rath
er,’ his lordship agreed in his
deep,
lazy voice
.
Far from those tones setti
ng her teeth on edge, it
made her feel pleasantl
y tingly somewhere in the region
of her stomach. Rather like a glass of champagne did.
‘Nobody could ever call Uncle Abel a stickler for order.’

Maria gave a low laugh. ‘Elderly men can be a little
silly, is that not so
?’

‘Believe me,
t
here wasn’t a great deal that was silly about Abel.’

‘But really, what are you going to do with this great, big place?’ the woman inquired
.
Caprice
, dissatisfied with merely listening, had eased the door open another inch
or so and
appl
ied her eye to the crack
. Thus, she was able to
clearly
see the disingenuous expression on the G
rand Duchess’ face
and
the fact
that Maria
had positioned hers
elf
close to his lordship
who was leaning against the desk, long legs
st
retched out in front
of him, arms crossed. Really, Caprice
th
ought crossly, why did she need to stand
that
close? Was she hard of hearing?
Even from
fifteen feet away she
could
smell the scent of roses that was wafting from the woman.

‘My family is plentiful enough to find a use for it. I’m sure we’ll manage.’

‘Yes? How fortunate you are
to have
such a large family
. Much of my
own
family has been taken from me during this
dreadful war. Bonaparte,’ she added wistful
ly, ‘has been very cruel to creatures
such as me.’

Or v
ery generous, Caprice reflected;
if the Grand Duchess was indeed in his employ. As things stood, it was hard to know who
m
she was working for.

‘It must have been difficult for you.’ His lordship’s voice had softened, growing sympathetic. ‘So many families have gone through great upheavals.’

‘Ah, you understand!’ she laid a hand on his arm and stared at him soulfully. ‘I sensed from the first that you were a sympathetic spirit.
So kind! So… so noble.
’

From her vantage point, Caprice almost snorted out loud. Surely Merridew wasn’t so
idiotic
as to fall for such a blatant nonsense? But her faith in his good sense underwent a sudden reversal wh
en he laid his hand over Maria’s
own.

‘
But how could I not be sympathetic to your circumstances?
You are a very sensitive woman, your highness,’ he murmured, leaning a little closer. ‘I hope my cousin realizes how lucky he is to have secured such a jewel.’

‘Dearest Hadley,’ she fluttered, leaning even closer, ‘he is such a sweet, sweet man…’

Their lips touched and Caprice drew back indignantly. Well! So much for his lordship’s suspicions about the woman if
that
was how he was going about discovering her secrets. Had he really fallen for such an obvious ruse? Although, she reflected with a pang, it was entirely likely that the Grand Duchess was
more than happy to set about seducing the new owner of Abbey Cross for he was far more
appealing than Hadley Ravener could ever hope to be.
In fact, if Caprice were a lady spy herself she would undoubtedly wish to seduce Lord Merridew. The very thought made her blush
although it didn’t change her enthusiasm for the task
.