Admittedly, he was the one most in need of changing. The next day, he’d set about making her life more livable, more enjoyable for her, by giving her responsibilities.
Since then, Mrs. Pratt had been reporting to Jane. Mrs. Dunstan and Mrs. Prichard had already been working with her in hiring their replacements—primarily in asking her opinion of potential maids’ abilities—but he’d also granted her the authority to oversee and organize their efforts.
The scullery maids had informed him that his wife had been going behind his back and partaking in the household chores. At first, he’d been furious about the discovery. But then, after taking a moment to think about it, he laughed. No one but Jane would sneak about trying to perform hard labor. Most would do the opposite.
She truly was his equal, in far more ways than he had ever realized. And that, more than anything, was a gift.
No wonder the ton had fallen in love with her.
Now, back at what would be their normal, married life, they were discussing what Jane’s responsibilities would be at Hardwicke House.
“I would like for you to coordinate all of the maids’ duties with Mrs. Wilson,” Peter said. “And Cook will report to you as well...not only for meal planning, but for all of her needs.”
“Excellent. And Mrs. Pratt will continue to report to me?”
“Of course. You two have developed quite a rapport of late.” He was grateful for that. In seeing to all of his own duties, Peter often felt that he was neglecting his children. Now, with Jane’s help, he had more time available to spend with them.
Not only that, but they were beginning to call Jane “Mother.” He had encouraged them both to do so since the day they’d married. Neither Joshua nor Sarah remembered their mother. Jane was the only mother they would ever know.
“There’s something else I’d like to discuss with you,” Jane broached. Never a good sign—he had come to learn this. It usually meant he’d done something wrong again.
What it would be this time?
“Even with overseeing the kitchens, the maid staff, and Mrs. Pratt, I believe I’ll have a great deal of free time.” Jane wrung her hands together and chewed on the stray curl that had worked itself loose from the knot at her neck. “I was wondering...well, actually, I have an idea.”
“An idea?” Good Lord, this sounded dreadful.
“Yes. You see, I still have the storefront on Bond Street rented. Mr. Selwood and I agreed that I could use it for a year, to start with. After that, we would renegotiate. And it’s just sitting there, empty, you see. I just can’t have that.”
“Of course.” He knew, without a doubt, he would never understand his wife. Sometimes Peter wished she would just come out with things and say what was on her mind, instead of talking circles around them.
“So, I had noticed how the gowns Miss Bentley wears to accompany Lady Warburton to social engagements aren’t quite up to scratch. She does as well as she can manage, mind you, but her pay doesn’t allow her to purchase the finest of fabrics, or to pay for the most fashionable of designs.”
“I have no control over how much her employer pays her, Jane.” Where was she headed with this?
“Oh, no. That isn’t what I meant at all. I was just...well, do try to keep up with me, dear. You remember, we were talking about my shop?”
He remembered she’d been talking about the shop until she jumped to a seemingly unrelated subject. Deuced woman.
Thankfully, she continued without waiting for his response. “You see, Peter, Miss Bentley is far from alone in her predicament. Ladies of her class run into this problem all the time. So my plan is to open up a dress shop specifically for them.”
“For them?”
“Yes. For the paid companions and governesses, and other ladies who live and work for the members of the ton and who are expected to move in those same circles—but who can’t afford to dress appropriately in order to be accepted as they ought. I intend to make their gowns for them. As a charity.”
“A charity. So I suppose this will be my good deed, that I’ll be paying for this expense?” It wouldn’t be a bad use of his money, if it kept Jane happy. But it could still become quite a bit of money. There were many governesses, paid companions, and the like in Town.
“Not at all. There’s the money I’ve saved from before we married. I intend to use that. And part of my pin money.”
“I see.” Perhaps he should have listened to her when they were discussing her pin money. She said it was far too much, that she would never be able to spend even half of it in a year. Leave it to Jane to discover a way to make good use of it all.
“So may I?” She bit her lip in anticipation of his response.
“Tell me more about the logistics of this endeavor.”
He could scarcely believe he was even considering the ridiculous notion. Any other gentleman of his status would forbid it and be done.
“The shop will be open two afternoons a week—only for a few hours. During those times, I’ll take measurements, perform fittings, discuss fabrics and designs—the normal needs of my customers. And then I’ll bring the work home with me, and I’ll sew when I’m not busy with my other responsibilities.”
She had obviously spent a great deal of time thinking through all of his objections. Blast it. “And if, for some reason, you need more capital to keep up with the demand?”
She squeezed his hand and smiled at him indulgently. “Oh, you have no need to worry, Peter. Sophie is certain that she can find other ladies willing to invest in my charity. It’ll actually be fun, to see who she can convince—and it will give her something useful to do with her time, too.”
Fun, indeed. Thank God he loved this woman.
~ * ~
“Mother! Mother, Papa said you should come quickly.”
At Joshua’s shouted demands and Sarah’s squeal, Jane set the primrose muslin she was working on aside and headed for the front drawing room. “Coming,” she called out.
“Come faster,” Sophie shouted on a laugh.
Sophie was here? Were Charlotte and their mother here as well? They’d gone to Somerton Court to spend Christmas with Alex and Grace, so she couldn’t imagine why they would have returned already. Christmas was still a few days away.
Jane moved through the halls of Hardwicke House at a near-run. Something had to be wrong.
When Peter’s footmen opened the doors of the drawing room, Jane nearly fell over from shock. Sophie, Charlotte, and Mama Hardwicke were all present, along with Alex, Grace, and their little girl. The party wasn’t complete there, however. Lord Rotheby was seated under a mound of blankets by the hearth, surrounded by Neil, Richard, newly home from the wars, and Lord Sinclaire. Her parents were there, too, seated next to the dowager, and her brothers and their families were off to the side.
In the middle of them all, Peter stood with a basket in his hands and his children by his side, grinning like an imbecile. “I asked Mama to bring you something for Christmas.”
“Oh, this is lovely!” Jane said. She’d never had so many people all together for Christmas before.
Peter laughed. “Yes, having our family together for Christmas is lovely, to be sure…but that isn’t what I was talking about.”
“In the basket,” Sarah squealed. “She’s in the basket!”
Joshua admonished her. “You were supposed to stay quiet and let Papa do this.”
All of the adults laughed.
Jane stepped forward, inching her way closer. The blanket covering the basket moved ever so slightly, and then a tiny mewl sounded.
“A kitten?” Could it be? Peter would never willingly allow another animal into the house, would he?
“She’s a girl!” Sarah cried, bouncing on the balls of her feet. The poor little dear almost couldn’t contain her excitement.
Jane smiled at her. “A girl?” Just then, a gray and white spotted kitten poked her head up from beneath the blankets and bellowed at them all. She reached into the basket an
d pulled the tiny thing out. Almost immediately, the kitten started purring. “And what do you think we should call her?”
“Since she’s a girl,” Peter interjected, “perhaps she should be Mrs. Cuddlesworth.”
“Oh, yes, Mother!” Joshua and Sarah said in unison.
Jane knelt down to the floor and the children reached in to pet the sweet dear along with her. “Mrs. Cuddlesworth, is it? I suppose that’s as fitting as anything.”
Mrs. Cuddlesworth leapt from her arms and landed on Sarah, who fell over in a peal of giggles.
Jane caught Peter’s eye. He smiled down at her and helped her back to her feet, then planted a delicious kiss on her lips. “Merry Christmas, my love,” he murmured against her lips. “Is that an acceptable gift?”
She nodded. It was the best gift he could have ever given her—his love.
About the Author
Catherine Gayle has been an avid reader of romance novels (and almost anything else she can legally get her hands on) for as long as she can remember. Her mother might say it started in the womb. When she is not writing or reading, she can often be found buried beneath her sleeping cat or chasing the Nephew Monster.
Catherine would love to hear from her readers. You can send her an email at [email protected].
A Summons From the Castle
Regency Christmas Summons Collection 3
© 2011 Catherine Gayle, Suzie Grant, Christi Caldwell
In CATHERINE GAYLE’s An Unintended Journey, Abby Goddard’s life is going along just swimmingly, apart from the disappearance of her life’s love—Wesley Cavendish, a man well above her station. Just before Christmas, Grandmama dies after revealing the identity of Abby’s grandfather. The Duke of Danby, no less. Now the entire family will travel to Yorkshire to confront Danby, hoping to gain a dowry for Abby. But then Wesley reemerges, sparking a hope Abby thought long destroyed. * Shall the prodigal son’s sole inheritance be an unsightly gash? Wesley Cavendish aspires to the political realm, despite his father’s near-murderous opposition…not to mention his opposition to Abby Goddard. But since Father died, will the new Earl of Fordingham rescind Father’s disgraceful allegations? Fordingham thwarts Wesley at every turn, threatening marriage to a prominent Tory family—which precludes Abby—to put an end to Wesley’s Whig involvement…unless Wesley can find a loophole.
~ * ~
In SUZIE GRANT’s Caribbean Jewel, blackmailed by a British Naval Commander, Captain Randall Whitton, a smuggler with a penchant for gold is rescued by Jewel Derington, a feisty plantation owner and the very woman who betrayed him in the jungles of Barbados. Escaping danger has never been so thrilling. Together they are drawn into a political game of winner takes all from which only his grandfather, the Duke of Danby, can rescue them.
* Fascinated by the glitter of his Caribbean Jewel, Randall's lust for gold soon fades. His quest to tame this fiery treasure catapults them both into an adventure where the stakes are higher and the prize greater than either of them have ever dared dream.
~ * ~
In CHRISTI CALDWELL’s A Scandal for Christmas, for Lady Alexandra being the source of a cold, calculated wager is bad enough....but when it is waged by Nathaniel Michael Winters, 5th Earl of Pembroke, the man she's in love with, it results in a broken heart, the scandal of the season, and a summons from her grandfather--the Duke of Danby. To escape Society's gossip, she hurries to her meeting with the duke , determined to put memories of the earl far behind. Except the duke has other plans for Alexandra....plans which include the 5th Earl of Pembroke!
Pariah
An Old Maids’ Club novel
After selling his major’s commission in the Dragoons, Lord Roman Vanderbilt wants nothing more than a sedate life in the country, acting as steward over his brother’s estate. If seventeen years in the military had not been enough, the vast casualties suffered by his men at Waterloo certainly made his decision clear. But leave it to Miss Bethanne Shelton, the generally shunned, enticingly pixie-ish caregiver to both the village’s senile old biddy and a rambunctious young boy, to forcefully remove all hopes of a quiet life from his mind. Timid and yet brave, secretive and yet loving, Bethanne presents Roman with a series of contradictions he can only hope to solve before he loses her.
Look for Pariah at Christmas, 2011.
Shelved
An Old Maids’ Club novel
Miss Josephine Faulkner refuses to come in second to anyone—not even to a husband. Oh, sure, Duncan Ramsey, the Earl of Leith, has been owner of her heart since she was a girl, chasing after him and her older brother when they tried to leave her behind. And while it is true she once gave herself to Duncan completely, when she was only offered marriage in return (and therefore, second class status within the relationship), she told him in no uncertain terms where he could put his blasted chivalry. Now he needs an heir to prevent his ne’er-do-well cousin from one day inheriting his father’s marquessate, but having sulked over the mistakes he’s made with Jo for over a decade, he can’t imagine anyone else being suited for the job. Somehow he must convince her that a life at his side will be more worthwhile than a life of stubborn independence.
Look for Shelved in 2012.
Other titles available from
Catherine Gayle
LORD ROTHEBY’S INFLUENCE SERIES
Twice a Rake
Saving Grace
THE OLD MAIDS’ CLUB TRILOGY
Wallflower
WANTON WIVES
Available individually and as an anthology
Of Love and Lust
One Lonely Night
A Perfect Pearl
Leg-Shackled
Uninhibited
A Lord Rotheby's Holiday Bundle Page 90