Page 14 of A Rake's Redemption
Elsie changed the subject, asking about the gardeners’ schedule for spring planting, which apparently was an interest close to Mrs. Bradley’s heart. The conversation soon turned to the weather and the proper time to place the annual bulbs into the flowerbeds. Inis listened without giving an opinion. She finished her dinner and quietly rose to start collecting empty plates. Although clearing the table was part of the cook’s helpers’ duties, Inis didn’t want the kitchen staff thinking she was their better. Mrs. Bradley raised an eyebrow but remained silent, while the cook, Mrs. Olsen, smiled at Inis.
She started to put the plates on the counter, not seeing the daddy-long-legs spider that had crawled over the edge of the sink toward her until one of its spindly legs touched her hand. Inis jerked her hand away, knocking over a pitcher of milk in her haste and spilling the contents over the floor. The cook stopped smiling.
“I’m so sorry.” Inis grabbed for a dishtowel and knelt down. “I will clean it up.”
“Goodness gracious, what happened?” Mrs. Bradley rose and walked over.
“I…there was a spider…”
Ivy and Mary giggled.
“A spider?” the housekeeper asked. “In the kitchen?”
The cook now looked indignant. “I do not allow spiders in my kitchen. It must have crawled in through the pump handle.”
“Aye, I think it did,” Inis said and stood, wringing out the sopping towel. “I didn’t see it in time.”
Mrs. Bradley frowned. “Even though I do not relish the thought of a spider in the kitchen…” She glanced at the cook and then back to Inis. “They are harmless.”
“I cannot believe a groom is frightened of spiders,” Alice said with a sniff. “The barn is probably full of them.”
Inis felt her face flush. She wasn’t scared of the blasted things. Should she just let the other maids think she was? Her temper began to rise. “I was bitten by one once and had a verra bad reaction.”
Fern finally gave Inis a curious look, but she remained silent as did Alice. Mary and Ivy started to giggle, but they were silenced with a look from the housekeeper.
Elsie’s eyes rounded. “How horrible. When did that happen?”
“When I was a bairn,” Inis replied, beginning to feel somewhat foolish. “I doona want it to happen again.”
“Of course you don’t,” Elsie said and glared at Mary and Ivy. “You two shouldn’t be making fun of Inis. I happen to know both of you are scared of mice.”
Both of Mrs. Bradley’s brows rose. “We do not have mice in this house.” She paused and frowned. “But perhaps a more thorough spring cleaning needs to be done.”
Inis didn’t have to look at the other maids to feel the dagger glances they were sending her. She groaned. She had inadvertently made more work for them. They weren’t likely to forget anytime soon.
…
Alex wasted no time in beginning Inis’s tutoring. He told her the next morning to report to the parlor precisely at five o’clock for her first lesson. She’d thought they might conduct these “lessons” in the privacy of the library rather than where any passing servant could hear them. But perhaps he didn’t wish to put himself in any kind of compromising position.
He’d made quite clear his intention was to prove to his brother that a commoner could fool thetonby acting like a blue-blooded aristocrat. He definitely had not indicated these lessons had anything to do with her personally.
When Inis entered the parlor at the appointed time, the lady with the chestnut hair who had visited Alex before was already sitting on the sofa. Her presence only confirmed Alex had no personal interest in this endeavor.And why should he?He was her employer. She was his employee, and he’d offered a ridiculously large sum of money for her compliance. He had also explained she would be able to better her station in life once she was tutored in Society protocol. At the time, she’d managed not to snicker over the irony, but now, seeing the lady seated on the sofa, Inis felt a little ping of…somethingflashing through her. She couldn’t define it, but it felt disconcerting.
She looked again at the lady fashionably attired in an afternoon dress of yellow watered silk and looked down at the trews she wore. A faint scent of rosewater drifted toward her, making her all too aware she hadn’t had her own bath yet.
The lady’s nose twitched delicately and her eyes widened as she looked over at Inis. Alex, standing by one of the French windows, frowned. Inis wasn’t sure whether it was over her appearance or the smell of the stables clinging to her.
“I lost track of time,” she said, defensive, although the woman’s gaze was more curious than judgmental. Then Inis remembered she had a role to play and an identity to protect. Whoever the lady was, she might as well get an earful. “That stud of yours was nae behavin’. He near kicked down the stall door when I took Goldie out. I think the filly may be in heat, although ’tis a bit young for her first time.”
Alex and the woman both stared at her. The woman’s mouth opened and then closed. Inis thought she saw Alex’s lips twitch, but there was no humor in his voice when he spoke.
“Perhaps that is a subject we can discuss later.” He gestured toward the lady on the sofa. “This is my friend, Miss Caroline Nash. I have asked her to help in certain areas of the project.” He turned toward Caroline. “May I present my groom, Inis O’Brien. I think you can see I have set quite a challenge for myself.”
Those words stung. Inis drew her brows together, about to remind him this was his stupid idea, not hers, but then Caroline laughed at Alex. “You really cannot resist a challenge, can you?”
Before Inis could consider whether that was an insult, Caroline turned, her expression unguarded. “Alexander has explained to me what he intends to do. I hope you will accept my help.”
The woman seemed likable enough. Alex had called her a friend and not referred to her as Lady Caroline. They seemed quite comfortable with each other. Was Caroline his lover? Not that it mattered to Inis. She glanced at the matching bonnet, kid gloves, and an ivory-colored fan that lay on the seat beside Caroline.
