Their voices faded as they walked away. Charlotte was frozen. It sounded like Lady Jane considered her competition. She shouldn’t have anything to worry about; Charlotte was a mere servant. But Lady Jane was known for being cruel to the staff in any household. It didn’t matter who they were; they were beneath her. It was like she considered it her right to be rude and disrespectful about anyone who worked for a living.
Even then, Charlotte could feel a chill up her back.
Chapter 6
Keeping Her Distance
“Miss Roberts?”
Charlotte jumped. Baroness Audrey had finished her conversation and had turned to her, looking at Charlotte with a worried expression. Charlotte realized she hadn’t been paying attention and focused on the older woman.
“Forgive me, Baroness Audrey.”
“Are you well?”
“I’m perfectly well. I’m a trifle weary, that’s all.” Charlotte managed a smile. “I can manage.”
“I’m not surprised.” Baroness Audrey’s expression was warm. “You’ve done well to look after us since we arrived. I would’ve balked taking care of all of us were I your age.”
“Thank you, My Lady.”
Baroness Audrey’s eyes twinkled as she plucked a full glass of sherry off the tray. She indicated the duke with the glass.
“If you ever get to leave the duke’s service, I’ll take you on. You’re worth your weight in gold. And I’m glad the duke notices that.”
Charlotte could feel her face getting warm.
“Thank you, Baroness.”
At least someone recognized her abilities. Charlotte moved through the guests, focusing on her work. A few times she passed Lady Jane, who was almost always at West’s side for the entire evening. And Charlotte was sure that the noblewoman was trying to stare her down.
Charlotte didn’t play games, and she wasn’t playing this one.
***
The next few days saw Charlotte being as busy as she could. She didn’t want to be caught wandering around doing nothing in case Lady Jane had cause to complain—she had done it before with others—so she helped out with the other duties in the house. It had her exhausted, but Charlotte kept going. Anything to keep her mind off trivial things.
Like Lady Jane Foster. Even though they had barely spoken, the woman had a way of getting under her skin. Charlotte would see the woman staring at her, almost challenging her to stare back. She made things awkward for the staff and threw a fit when they did the task in her opinion was untoward. The household disliked her, and Charlotte tried to keep everyone out of the woman’s way. But it wasn’t easy with a demanding person like Lady Jane.
Charlotte would be glad when the month was over and the guests left.
Mid-morning a week after the guests had arrived, Charlotte was picking vegetables for the kitchen. They had their own vegetable garden, and the food was plentiful. They never went without. Charlotte liked picking the tomatoes, lettuces, and peas; it was a relaxing way to pass the time, especially in the lovely weather they were having.
She hadn’t seen the duke for the past day and a half and Charlotte was starting to relax. Perhaps she could get on with her duties without feeling his eyes in her back. It made her stumble and fumble over everything.
“Miss Roberts!”
Charlotte’s heart sank. She had relaxed too early. West was standing at the edge of the vegetable patch, leaning on his cane as he smiled at her. The man was far too handsome for his own good and he seemed to know it. Charlotte straightened, tossing the last of the peas ready in their pods into her basket.
“Your Grace.” She gave him a nod and picked up the basket. “If you’ll excuse, I have to get these vegetables into the kitchen. Mrs. Bartlett wants them for the midday meal.”
“May we speak, Charlotte?”
Charlotte. He had never called her Charlotte. That had her faltering. What was going on? And why was he looking at her with such affection? It had to be a trick of the light. Charlotte swallowed.
“May I continue to work?”
“We can do both.”
Charlotte huffed and walked off the patch, striding across the yard. West fell into step beside her, his cane tapping on the ground as he walked.
“How are you keeping? I haven’t seen you lately.”
“I’ve been keeping myself busy, Your Grace.”
“Really? Lewis and James have both mentioned that you’re not very well. I was concerned.”
Charlotte gritted her teeth. She’d had a headache, but she wasn’t unwell.
“I didn’t realize the other servants gossiped about my welfare,” she said shortly. She stared straight ahead, not brave enough to look at West. “I am perfectly well. Just a little run down that’s all.”
“You do work very hard. You need to have a break.”
“I’ll have a break when I’m dead.”
Her parents had always said that and even ill as they were they still worked hard. They lived by it as did Charlotte. West didn’t seem happy about that.
“Even so, I will let you have a week’s holiday once the guests have left.”
Charlotte didn’t want a holiday. She couldn’t afford it, not when her family needed the money.
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Grace, but I don’t need a holiday.”
West stopped her with a hand on her arm. Charlotte found herself pulling up short, heat travelling up her arm, and it wasn’t from the sun.
“Maybe you could bring your daughter here?” He almost sounded eager. “I’m sure she would love to see where her mother works.”
He was being very insistent. And Charlotte was confused. She turned to him and saw his earnest expression. What was going on?
“Why are you so interested in me, Your Grace?” she asked “I’m just the housekeeper, nothing more. You should be entertaining Lady Jane, or one of the other young unmarried women you’ve invited here.”
West snorted.
“Lady Jane Foster can take her leave at any time, for all I care. She’s a spiteful woman.”
“You seem to be enjoying her presence.”
“Only because her father helped me out of a bind when I was younger. I respect him and Lady Foster so I can’t be rude towards their daughter.”
Now Charlotte understood. But it didn’t make her feel any better.
“She wants to become your duchess,” she pointed out.
“Won’t happen,” West said firmly.
“Of course it won’t.” Charlotte couldn’t help the sneer coming into her tone. “She’ll just be your mistress, like all the other women.”
West frowned and shook his head.
“No, she won’t. I’m putting that reputation behind me now. There’s only going to be one woman from now on and that will be the woman I call my duchess.”
“Congratulations,” Charlotte said blandly. “You’ve finally matured.”
West’s eyes widened. Charlotte had never answered back to him like this and she could see the surprise. Then the surprise was gone, and West was laughing. Why did he have to have such a handsome laugh?
“I’ll accept that because I’m fond of you. Just please don’t make a habit of it.”
Charlotte had no intention of doing that. Her face feeling very warm, she ducked her head and hurried towards the kitchen door, West’s laughing following her.
***
The knock at the door was welcome as West tried to read through the almost illegible writing on the page in front of him. He swore some noble families never learned how to write properly. He yawned and stood.
“Come in.”
If it was Charlotte, perfect. West needed a welcome distraction, and she was a sight for sore eyes. Her presence was calming, almost soothing, even in the middle of the guests West had decided, on a whim, to invite some weeks before. She didn’t bat an eye at the number of guests who complained and made cruel comments to her face, not even Lady Jane. West had to admire her for that if nothing else.
But it wasn’t Charlotte who came in. Lady Jane waltzed into the room, looking splendid in a red silk dress. She practically beamed at West as she curtsied.
“Your Grace.”
“Lady Jane.” West’s good mood disappearing as he sat. “What brings you here?”
Why he had invited Lady Jane, West had no idea. He should have stood fast when Lord Foster urged him to let her come so she could meet someone for a prospective husband. West had an inkling that the Foster family wanted him to marry Lady Jane and were pushing them together.
He was now considering a wife, and he did owe Lord Foster, but he didn’t owe him that much. West knew if he had to marry he would like to have some semblance of affection for his duchess.
“I have a few concerns, Your Grace.” Lady Jane approached the desk, running her fingers over his pen stand. “I wanted share them with you, seeing as they concern you, too.”
Oh, dear. West wondered what else she had thought up to get his attention.
“What is it?” He sighed.
“It’s about Miss Roberts.”
That had West sitting up.
“What about her?”
“I’m not comfortable with her around. She’s…I don’t know, I can’t describe it.”
Chapter 7
Disparaging His
Housekeeper
West took a deep breath. He wouldn’t hear a word against Charlotte. He knew Lady Jane disliked her although for what reason he had no idea.
“Miss Roberts has been the most perfect housekeeper.” He said calmly. “She runs this house well and knows exactly what she needs to get done without the fuss. She’s actually more efficient than Mrs. Daniels and that is a remarkable accomplishment.”
“But…” Lady Jane faltered. West guessed she thought he would agree with her. “It’s not the done thing.”
“Whatever are you talking about?”
“In my family, the housekeepers are older women. Mature, unattractive women, married or not. They are better servants, we’ve found.”
“Are you convinced of that?”
“Yes, I am.” Lady Jane’s jaw tightened. “Young, attractive, servants like Miss Charlotte Roberts aren’t to be trusted.”
The sneering of ‘servants’ had West curious. Did she actually think Charlotte was a threat? West smirked.
“Young, attractive servants or just young, attractive women?”
“Them as well. I don’t trust Miss Roberts.” Lady Jane came around the desk and laid a hand on his shoulder. “And I’m not comfortable with her working for you. She could steal from you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. She’s been here for some weeks and she’s not given me any cause for concern.”
“But you can’t trust her!”
“Because she’s young and attractive?” West raised his eyebrows at her. “By that token, I shouldn’t trust you, either.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re young and attractive. I shouldn’t trust you, either, if that’s your reason for not trusting Miss Roberts.” West stood, brushing her hands off him. “If you’ll excuse me, Lady Jane, I have some work to deal with. I’m incredibly busy right now.”
Jane started at him, clearly startled. But West didn’t back down. She wasn’t going to change his mind on Charlotte. If West had a choice, he knew which woman he would make leave.
He was almost bursting with laughter as Jane huffed and stormed out the room, her face red with anger.
***
“Miss Charlotte?”
Charlotte looked up, pausing in her kneading, to see the butler standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
“Yes, James?”
“Lady Jane Foster wishes to speak to you.” James paused. “In her room.”
“In her room?”
“That’s what she said.”
Charlotte sighed. She had done well to keep out of Lady Jane’s way but now it looked like she had no choice.
“I’m on my way.”
Going over to the sink, Charlotte dunked her sticky, flowery hands and arms into the bucket there and washed off her fingers. Mrs. Bartlett looked skeptical, still kneading her own pile of dough.
“Good luck with that. I thought you’d managed to avoid her.”
“So did I,” Charlotte grumbled, wiping her hands on her apron. “I’ll be back to finish off in a moment.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just deal with that woman.”
Composing herself, Charlotte went upstairs. On the way, she passed Lady Jane’s maid, Cornelia, as she came down. The girl was just as mean as her mistress and refused to convene with the rest of the household without complaining about everything. Cornelia smirked at Charlotte before practically bounding down the stairs. Charlotte watched her go in confusion. What was that all about?
There was no answer to Charlotte’s knock, so she entered. But Lady Jane’s room was empty. The bed was immaculately made, no fire was burning and the sunlight from the mid-morning sun was casting itself across the carpet, warming the room. There was no sign of anyone about.
Charlotte left the bedroom, confused. What was this all about? Then she spied Angela on the landing further down as she came out of a guest’s room, arms piled with clothes.
“Angela? Have you seen Lady Jane this morning?”
“Not since breakfast. Why?”
“She asked me to speak with her but she’s not in her room.”
“I can answer that.” Lewis was coming down the hall the other way. “I saw her get into a carriage with several of the younger guests. They were going to town.”
Charlotte seethed. Why would she have asked to see her then?
“How long ago did she leave?”
“About five minutes ago.”
The little schemer. Charlotte tried to hold back her her temper as she went downstairs, ignoring Cornelia giggling as she came out of the library, and stormed into the kitchen. She gave the dough she had left a moment before a hard thump. Mrs. Bartlett jumped.
“Goodness me! Whatever’s the matter?”
“Lady Jane wasn’t there.” Charlotte began to knead the dough like it had done a personal wrong. She pretended it was Lady Jane. “Lewis said she had left a few minutes ago.”
Mrs. Bartlett snorted.
“What an upstart little madam. I swear she does things deliberately to annoy you.”
“No skin off my nose,” Charlotte smirked. “I need the exercise.”
She didn’t mind doing lots of walking—West’s estate home was huge so there was a lot of it—it was nothing to do at the end of it that frustrated her. Lady Jane would be driving her to an early grave.
Charlotte forgot about the devious little woman as she carried on with her day’s work. She helped Mrs. Bartlett make the bread ready for the next day, and then she went into the garden with the gardener to pull up more vegetables. She helped Lewis press the duke’s clothes and then she and James settled in the dining room to clean the silver. All the guests had left after breakfast to either go on a picnic or head out to the nearby town. For the first time in days, the house was quiet.
Charlotte wasn’t keen on polishing the silver—the chemicals turned her hands red - but James needed the help and she was more than happy to pitch in. Her parents had always told her even after her duties were done, there was always lots to do and to make herself available. Charlotte followed that to the letter.
It was probably what had won over the rest of the house. She was happy scrubbing the floors with the scullery maids, serving guests with James or making a three-course meal with Mrs. Bartlett. She was even prepared to go out in the early hours to fetch the eggs and do some gardening. Her hands were rough and smudged but Charlotte didn’t care; it meant she had done something right that day.
Despite his age, James worked fast. Charlotte had a tough time keeping up. They got through most of the cutlery needed for that night and were starting on the candlesticks when Lady Jane came charging into the room. Charlotte loo
ked up and did a double-take. The woman was red-faced, seething with anger. She fixed on Charlotte, practically baring her teeth.
“Where is it?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“My jewelry. A brooch my grandmother left me is gone from my jewelry box. It was encrusted with diamonds and a ruby. Cost over a thousand pounds.”
Charlotte exchanged a look with James, who had stopped his cleaning with equal confusion. Charlotte frowned.
“I wouldn’t know anything about that, my lady.”
“Don’t lie to me, you little thief!”
Lady Jane strode up to her and Charlotte was caught off-guard when the woman slapped her. Charlotte jumped up and put the chair between them, her cheek burning.
“What are you talking about?”
“You were seen coming out of my room. The brooch was there when I left this morning but it’s not there now.” Lady Jane pointed at her. “You stole it from me!”
“But…you summoned me to your room.”
“I did no such thing!”
“Then you are calling Mr. James a liar?” Charlotte indicated the butler who had stood at Lady Jane’s physical attack. “Because you told him you wanted to speak to me.”
“That is true, Lady Jane,” James nodded. “You told me to fetch Miss Roberts.”
Lady Jane snorted.
“Old age is getting to you. I said nothing to you. Maybe the doctor needs to retire you.” She turned to Charlotte and grabbed her arm, digging her nails in. “Come with me. We’re going to tell the Duke of Westminster about this. I wonder how many things you’ve stolen from him.”
“Remove your hands!” Charlotte yanked her arm back, squaring up to the young woman. “I’ve never stolen anything.”
Lady Jane’s sneer sent a shiver down Charlotte’s spine.
“We’ll see about that.”
Chapter 8
Accusations and Lies
“She did what?”
West couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t believe it. Charlotte had been dragged into his study by Lady Jane, who looked triumphant, and then Jane had regaled him with the accusation that Charlotte had stolen some valuable jewelry from her room. She looked like she had won something when she pointed at Charlotte, who was visibly seething with anger.
Regency Romances for the Ages Page 13