Page 68 of Beauty and the Rake
“Thank you.”
“Not to worry, milady. Are you settling in properly? Let me know if I can do anything for you.”
Roxanne nodded. “I will, thank you. I best leave you to your day.”
“I’ll come see you once I’ve located that girl.”
“Very well. When I return from Kent, you and I will meet and go over the household accounts.”
“I’ll have them ready.”
She left the housekeeper’s office with an odd feeling and couldn’t determine what it was. She would discreetly make inquiries once she arrived in the country and would see how longthe maid had served Graham’s family. Some of the domestic help had been with their families for generations. Perhaps that was the case here.
As she went through the kitchens, the cook approached her. “What would you like for lunch, milady?”
“Oh dear, is it that time already?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“How about something simple like cheese, bread, and some sort of meat. Oh, and a pot of tea.”
“One pot of tea. And where would you like to eat?”
“The breakfast room unless the weather will permit eating on the terrace.”
Eating outside was always a preference, especially in the summer. It made up for all the time lost by the elements.
*
She hadn’t heardGraham come in. After not being able to locate her lady’s maid, Roxanne began laying out what she wanted to take to pack. No one had seen the girl when she snuck off the premises with all her earthly belongings. Consensus was that the maid had a secret lover and had run off with him. Foolish girl.
“Roxanne, what in bloody hell are you doing? You have a lady’s maid to do that.”
Turning to face him, she waggled her eyebrows. “You mean had a lady’s maid. Past tense. Seems mine must have a lover or something because she took all her belongings and left. Unannounced, not a word. It’s a good thing we aren’t leaving until Thursday.”
“I’m sure one of the other maids could help you.”
“I can take care of this on my own.”
He neared and placed his hand on her arm. “Come, take a break.”
“Very well. I’m curious as to how your day went. Did you find Mr. Crenshaw?”
“Come, let’s sit down and I’ll tell you all about my day.”
She followed him into the sitting room where he poured her a glass of wine. He served himself a whiskey before settling into a well-worn leather chair. Roxanne made a mental note to herself that the chair needed to go to one of the estates or even his study. Like most men, her husband was oblivious to the furnishings around him and whether they were aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
“We found Crenshaw. The office we thought had been vacated is a small office he keeps to hold business transactions in when needed on the docks. His main offices are in Mayfair.”
“And the ships?”
“Interesting turn of events. He sold them out from under me and Arthur.”
She took a sip of wine and shook her head. “I see. Obviously, he’s not a good businessman. Untrustworthy comes to mind as well.”
“It’s going to make our work a little harder.”
“Perhaps you could ask him if he could recommend a superb ship builder. If he names one, ask him to accompany you for a meeting.”
