Marblestone Mansion, Book 1 (Scandalous Duchess Series, #1)

by Marti Talbott

  “The duchess claims I...we are getting too fat.”

  He took the small handbag from her and gave in to his urge to take Millie in his arms for a moment. “I am so sorry.”

  “‘Tis not your doin’.” She smiled when he released her, just to comfort her old friend.

  “Prescot, see they are both well fed.”

  “Yes, Sir,” said Prescot.

  *

  Millie didn’t need anyone to show her the way to the kitchen, she was so hungry; she could have just followed the smell of Jessie’s freshly baked bread. Brookton was already there, greedily filling his empty stomach with warm bread and cold beef stew. He had curly blond hair that needed a good trim and his clothes were not in the best of shape.

  Trying to keep out of the line of Olivia’s fire, McKenna sat among the servants at the kitchen table and by the way Brookton was devouring his food, she soon suspected the truth. “She dinna feed you, did she.”

  “Not these last two days,” Millie admitted, quickly sitting down at the table.

  “But you have been on the train; there are meals to be had on trains.”

  “Aye, if you’ve the price,” said Millie. As soon as Halen set a bowl of stew down in front of her, she stopped talking, put a spoonful in her mouth, barely chewed and quickly swallowed to get it into her empty stomach. Then she closed her eyes and let the tears roll down her cheeks.

  McKenna felt like crying too, but she wanted to know more. “Did she starve you on the ship as well?”

  It was Brookton who answered, “She tried to, but the captain caught on and made her pay for our meals.”

  “But why? Hannish allows her to buy all she wants.”

  Millie exchanged glances with Brookton and then bowed her head. “We have tried, but we can see no reason for it.”

  “She has not paid your wages, has she,” McKenna watched each shake their heads. “Why did you not tell me? I would have done something.”

  “What could you do?” Brookton asked, “Tell your brother, and let him confront her from this many miles away? There would be hell to pay for that.”

  “Yes, I see you are right.” McKenna paused to take a forgotten breath. “Where did you last see Mr. Graham?”

  “He got off the train the same as we, only a bit later,” Brookton answered.

  McKenna lowered her voice. “My brother knows he stayed with Olivia in New York and suspects the worst. I pray you do not say too much.”

  “We will be careful,” Millie promised.

  *

  Hannish lightly knocked before he opened the door, and found his wife sitting at her dressing table, brushing her long, dark hair. She was once the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; only now her glare was harsh and very unflattering.

  “Hannish, can you not wait until tonight?”

  He drew back for a second, and then walked to the bed and set her bag down. He started to walk back out, paused at the door and turned to face her. “I have sent Millie to her rest. Another will come along shortly to help you dress for dinner.”

  “Oh.” She went right back to brushing her hair and didn’t bother to watch him leave. As soon as he closed the door, she got up, walked to the wall near her bed and rang her bell again.

  *

  A half hour later, a frazzled Sarah made it back to the kitchen, set the silver tea service on the counter and slumped against the wall. “The Duchess wishes more tea and two of Jessie’s cookies.”

  Halen spun around to stare at her counterpart. “First, she says you cannot cook, and now she wants two of your cookies?”

  “‘Tis true,” Jessie said. “One moment, she is as meek as a lamb, and the next, the devil has her by the throat. Fortunately, I anticipated her and made her favorite cookies yesterday.” Jessie took the old cup and saucer off the tray, set them in the sink and got a new set out of the cupboard. She made certain they were spotless before she set them on the tray. “Mostly, we just hid from her.”

  “So that is why the kitchen has no Scots in it this afternoon,” said Halen.

  “Aye, and there are many places to hide here.” Jessie put three cookies on a plate and placed it beside the cup and saucer, arranging it just so. “She always says two, but she means three. She claims to watch her figure, you see. Pretend you dinna notice.”

  Sarah sighed. “How long until the ‘meek as a lamb’ part comes about? I am exhausted already.”

  “I have seen it gone two days straight,” Jessie answered. “Mind you, dinna get too close to her if she turns extra mean. Excuse yourself and get out the door as best you can.” Jessie finished pouring tea into the small pot and then closed the lid. “Oh, and remember to call her ‘My Lady.’ She becomes enraged when we forget.”

  Sarah nodded, picked up the tray and begrudgingly headed back upstairs.

  *

  Hannish sat in a chair in the parlor for the better part of an hour, and was at a loss as to what to do. He hoped Olivia was napping, but when Sarah came, she said his wife was wide-awake and coming down. He noticed how quickly Sarah left and then stood up as soon as he saw Olivia coming down the stairs.

  She smiled, kissed him and stayed in his arms for a long moment. “May I see the rest of the house?”

  “Of course.”

  Each time they walked down a hall or entered an occupied room, the servants quickly scattered and he was beginning to see why. He showed her the first five rooms on the west side of the bottom floor and opened the door to the sixth.

  On the floor lay several pool cues and a set of balls. “A billiard room, how quaint. It is missing a billiard table, dearest,” Olivia purred.

  “I have much yet to purchase.”

  “So you said.” She waited while he opened the door to the next room and found it completely empty. “What shall you have here?”

  She was being so much more pleasant now, and he found it difficult to ignore just how much he loved this Olivia. Adultery was such an ugly sin, but other men had managed to forgive their wives. With the right kind of sincere apology, maybe he could too...in time. “I thought it suitable for a day nursery.”

  “It is a pleasant room and one that the maids can come to much faster than one upstairs. Indeed, it will make a fine day nursery.”

  He meant to avoid one of the rooms, but forgot which one it was until after he opened the door.

  “What’s this?” she asked.

  “‘Tis a servant’s dayroom for Donnel and Blanka.”

  “A dayroom on the bottom floor?”

  “They are old.”

  “They are not that old. A servant’s room down here is quite inappropriate.”

  “‘Tis hard to ask them to climb the stairs. Donnel is in her late sixties and Blanka is not much younger.”

  “Yes, I know, and they have been with you forever.” She sweetly smiled and took his arm. “Perhaps it is permissible when there are no guests.”

  He was about to argue the point further, when he stepped back into the hallway and found Alistair waiting for him.

  “Dinner is served, Your Grace.”

  He noticed the more formal way the butler addressed him, but ignored it for now. “Thank you, Alistair, we shall be there directly.”

  “As you wish.” Alistair bowed and then hurried away.

  “My how the time flies,” she said, “I had no idea it was so late. Which way?”

  He put his arm around her and guided her down the hall, back across the parlor and into the dining room. She did not recognize the American who waited to serve them and simply disregarded him.

  “Is McKenna not joining us?” Hannish asked as Keith held a chair for Olivia.

  “She wished to give you time alone, Your Grace.”

  “That is very thoughtful of her.” He seated himself, admired the fresh flowers in the center of the table and tried to decide how best to approach the subject of her adultery.

  Keith had only just offered the main course to Olivia, when she slumped. “What is it?” Hannish as
ked.

  “Jessie knows I do not like ham. I tell you true, she never remembers these things.”

  “Perhaps it is Halen’s day to cook.”

  Keith withdrew the platter. “Shall I take it back, Mr....Your Grace?”

  Hannish stared at Keith for a moment. Suddenly, everyone was addressing him more formally. At length, he turned his attention back to Olivia. “Will you not at least try it, Olivia? Halen is a very good cook and perhaps you will like her ham better.”

  “Well, if I must.” She took a slice off the serving platter, cut a small chunk and tasted it. She turned her nose up only slightly before she ate it and spoke again, “I see that dreadful child is still here.”

  “Do you mean Sassy? My sister finds her delightful.”

  “So McKenna said. Do you know your sister actually paid for her voyage? You should have seen what she was wearing when McKenna found her.”

  “I can imagine,” Hannish muttered.

  “Sassy, as you call her, is little more than a gutter rat, who...”

  Hannish quickly glanced at a displeased Keith, who held a bowl of peas waiting for Olivia to help herself. “Olivia, you must not speak of her that way. She is just a child.”

  “A child who knows exactly what she is doing.” Olivia finally noticed the bowl, took a spoonful of peas and waved Keith away.

  “Olivia, I will hear no more of this. Eat your dinner.”

  Her husband’s disapproval was obvious, but she was not put off. “You do not know what she did to me. Millie was unwell and it was Sassy who brought my morning glass of milk. The girl pretended to trip, and threw the milk right in my face. I tell you, I’d not let her near me after that.”

  Hannish ignored Keith’s grin and tried hard not to crack a smile. “I am certain it was not intentional.”

  “Of course it was intentional. No one is that clumsy, even a...” Olivia decided not to finish her sentence. She dished potatoes onto her plate, waved Keith away, took another bite of ham and then another before she continued. “I see your sister arrived safely.”

  “Aye. Speaking of McKenna, she tells me you have attended several balls in my absence.”

  “I do so love seasons in London. You did not mean for me to stay home, did you?”

  “Not at all, I attended several myself, two of which were in Denver. ‘Tis an easy trip. One need only catch the train the day before, attend the ball, spend the night in a hotel and come back. “Tis a very easy trip.”

  “But the society, Hannish. There is no one here we care to know.”

  “You are wrong, Olivia. Many of London’s society come to Colorado. Just now, I am reminded; you brought little with you. Where are my formal clothes or must I buy new?”

  “There was so much to do and after all these months, they needed cleaning. I have arranged for your things to come later.”

  “I see.” He decided he wasn’t very hungry and set his plate aside. “Tell me, who takes you to your balls?”

  She took the roll Keith offered, picked up her knife and began to butter it. “Your brother took me at first, but then he married.”

  “Could he not take both of you?”

  “I did not ask and he did not offer. I do not care for his wife, anyway, she has no interesting conversation.”

  “I see. Who else escorted you?”

  “Several of our acquaintances made the offer, and very gallantly so. I knew you would not mind.”

  He did mind, but that was not the issue he wanted to discuss, so he just watched her fill her plate with sweet potatoes and let her eat for a while. She took no notice that he was not eating.

  “We shall have a visitor tomorrow,” she said at length.

  “Shall we, who?”

  “George Graham.”

  It took every ounce of his strength to pretend he did not know about Graham. “The stonemason? Why is he here?”

  “I thought you might wish to meet him. His workmanship is beyond compare.”

  “Are you saying you brought him with you?” he carefully asked.

  “Of course I did, how else are you to meet him?”

  “You paid his fare?”

  “I had to, his pay is very low, I remind you.”

  “Olivia, what are you talking about? He would have half of all I own, if I did not deny some of his outrageous invoices.”

  “They are not outrageous; you wanted it done properly, did you not?”

  His voice got a little louder as he spoke, “I wanted the place repaired, not paved in gold.”

  She ignored the disdain in his expression. “I do hope you do not bring up the subject of his invoices when he comes, he hates discussing such trifle things.”

  “I do not find a man’s pay trifle. Are you saying you dinna pay him?”

  “Of course I did, only his complaints are many and he requires much more.”

  Hannish lowered his angry eyes and stared at the table. “I see.” He motioned for Keith to refill his teacup, and waited a moment more before he broached the next subject. “I have already received invoices for gowns from New York clothiers, and I expected you to bring your purchases with you. Where are they?”

  “I sent them home, naturally, to wear next season.” She finally put her fork down and paid more attention to him.

  “Olivia, you dinna come to stay, did you?”

  She watched his eyes and did not quickly answer. “My home is in Scotland. My friends and my society are there. We shall simply have to do with visits from time to time.”

  “Visits?”

  As if it didn’t matter, she went back to eating. “I can come to you one year and you can come to me the next.”

  “I dinna call that a marriage.”

  “Well, ‘tis the best I can do.”

  “And children, what are we to do about that?”

  She put the last bite of ham in her mouth and took her time chewing it. “I had not considered that just yet. I suppose we can work it out once it is a possibility.”

  “Nay, Olivia, I want my children with me.”

  She finally nodded for Keith to take her plate away. “And I will want them with me. Children need their mother.”

  “And their father.”

  “My love, do you not see? Living in Scotland is the only way for us to be happy.”

  “I am beginning to. Why did you come?”

  She looked a little surprised by that question. “I came because I love you, I miss you and I want to talk sense to you. Come home with me, Hannish, come home where we can at last be happy. We’ve a fortune now and there is no need to live apart. Say you will come home, everyone wishes it.”

  “You will not try to be happy here?”

  “This is America, Hannish and you know what everyone thinks of Americans. They’ve a reputation of being impertinent and if you asked me, ridiculous. Everyone hates them.”

  “Everyone?”

  “Everyone who matters.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Keith was delighted when Ronan brought the dessert tray to the dining room. Quickly, he picked up the tray of dirty dishes and hurried off to the kitchen, and they were all there, American and Scot alike.

  “She hates Americans,” Keith said just above a whisper.

  “Fret not,” said Alistair, “she hates Scots too.”

  “She is English?” Charlotte asked.

  Alistair rolled his eyes, “She says she is, but she is Scot the same as we.”

  Keith set the tray on the bar and joined McKenna at the table. “She told him she brought Mr. Graham with her.”

  McKenna’s mouth dropped. “She told him?”

  “She did,” said Keith. “He is to come tomorrow.”

  “God have mercy. If Hannish suspects, he will kill him,” McKenna whispered.

  “And with good reason,” Jessie muttered. “I once saw...”

  “I dinna wish to hear it, Jessie. What I dinna know, I will not have to lie to my brother about.” She did not mean to raise her voice and toned it do
wn. “I know Hannish wants us to be honest, but think how it will hurt him if he knows for certain. I beg of you, dinna tell him.”

  “And the time they spent in New York together, how do we explain that?” Millie asked.

  Keith again whispered, “The duchess is not staying.”

  “Good,” several of them muttered.

  *

  Hannish watched Olivia choose a dessert from the tray Ronan held. The ring on his wife’s finger was the biggest square of Jade he had ever seen and he had to pull his eyes away, before he was tempted to ask how much that cost him. “I am afraid we are not as wealthy as you think,” he decided to say.

  “How wealthy? You never did say how much you sold the mine for.”

  “Unfortunately, I have spent most of what I made building this house and repairing the old one.”

  “Oh, but you could sell this one, am I right?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Of course you could. I have read much about the men who have gotten rich off the gold mines in Colorado. There must be ten or twelve at least.”

  “Aye, but they already have fine homes.”

  “But surely this is the finest.”

  “I am glad you think so. Yet, it might take a while to sell it.”

  “But we will be home in time for the rest of the season. Oh, please promise we will. You left so suddenly, I have not yet been properly presented at court.”

  He didn’t think anything could further surprise him, but that statement just did. “Forgive me, my dear, I dinna realized you held being presented in such high esteem.”

  “Of course I do. We’ve only four months left in this season, that is, if we leave right away. If not, we are forced to wait for the next, and dearest, I do so want to see our daughters presented. As you know, it is the very best place to find a husband. It is where I found you.”

  “Indeed.” He was finding it harder and harder to keep smiling. “I have greatly wronged you, I see that now.”

  “Then you will come home?” If his nod was reluctant, she didn’t notice. “Oh Hannish, I am so happy. I knew you would come once we talked face to face. The retched journey was worth it then.” With a sparkle in her eyes, she put her hand on the side of his face. “I shall reward you properly later.”