Page 60 of Captivating the Countess
Most days, he kept to himself to prevent grinding molars. But with Bell quietly talking to his sisters, magically managing his household, he relaxed enough to feel safe in his own drawing room.
No doors slammed. A servant brought a ladder, chased the parrot from the chandelier, and carried it back to its cage. The monkeys had apparently been confined for the evening. Vicki’s plants looked rather handsome against the dark drapery, although Rain had his doubts that they’d survive for long there. Still, he was in a mellow mood when the dinner bell rang.
The only fly in his soup was that Bell took the arm of one of the spare male guests and didn’t sit with Rain at the table, leaving him to choose among the remaining eligible ladies.
Telling himself that he was perfectly capable of carrying on dinner conversation with whomever his sisters chose to push at him, Rain chatted about dogs with one of Alicia’s friends on his right. The older lady on his left wanted to know the latest remedies for toe fungus. He’d spent the better part of his life under these conditions. He could do it.
He could do it even better knowing Bell would be waiting for him in the ducal suite afterward.
He made his excuses to the gentlemen after dinner and strode into the entry hall in hopes Bell would have already left the ladies. He almost missed seeing her in the shadows of the narrower corridors. Given that footmen were arriving with tables and chairs, Rain assumed she was directing the arrangement of the card room.
“That’s why we have Franklin, you know.” He strolled up to take her arm and lead her back to the stairs. Above the décolletage of her blue velvet evening gown, a simple stone necklace dangled above her cleavage. He admired the pearly skin and rounded curves the thin silver rested against. “You needn’t do everything.”
“Franklin is rightfully fatigued after all the exertions of dealing with your departing guests. I ordered him to sit down with a glass of medicinal brandy and his feet up. Your other servants know perfectly well what to do. They only needed to be reassured we didn’t want to do anything differently.” She wrapped her fingers around his arm and hurried him up the stairs.
“Why aren’t one of my sisters taking charge of this?”
She sent him a quizzical look. “I will not interfere if you prefer they take charge. But Estelle and Salina grow weary easily these days. Alicia is a delight with your guests, but as the youngest, she’s never had to deal with servants. And Victoria wanted to go to the nursery to check on one of the children who is feeling feverish. If it’s my task to direct servants, then it seemed easiest for me to be their go-between.”
“And here I thought Davis was efficient in keeping most household matters away from me. I simply didn’t know I had any.”
She chuckled. “If it was just you and Alicia, then one assumes you didn’t. Your sisters are accustomed to taking charge the rest of the time. But you are paying me generously, and I like to earn my keep.”
“I can’t marry you. I’ll lose the best steward I ever had! This is a dilemma.” He opened his father’s door before she could pinch him.
The duke’s valet was back in place. There was no sign of the maid, which meant she was probably luxuriating in her new quarters.Damn. Yet his father looked not necessarily healthier but less gray. Rain chose to take that as a good sign, although he wasn’t sure of what.
“Did you enjoy the pudding?” Bell asked the duke as he sat up straighter with their arrival. “It’s better when the raspberries are fresh.”
“It was delicious just as it was. Whisky pudding is now my favorite treat. And better yet, it isn’t hurting me.” The duke looked hugely pleased with himself.
“It’s calledcranachanand is about as simple as can be. We didn’t have much of a feast on Hogmanay, but we always managed the cranachan, if only using preserves.” Bell settled on the foot of the bed and waited expectantly.
“Whisky and raspberries? Why didn’t we have that at the table?” Rain gestured for the valet to help him lay the duke flat on the bed.
“Not enough preserves for that many guests. And your sisters don’t need the cream and whisky. But if the oats can be digested, they’re excellent nutrition. I had the cook beat them practically into dust in hopes they’d go down smoothly. You have a most excellent kitchen.”
She slid easily from talking of desserts to discussing the kitchen, distracting all concerned while Rain laid his hand on his father’s abdomen. This time, he didn’t use his father’s hand in between. He needed to know if he could do this on his own. He took up the discussion of favorite foods as Bell set her slender fingers on top of his.
Talking of food was done easily in a calming voice. Less boring than the morning’s discussion of anatomy, the topic was less likely to put others to sleep.
“I think I feel the warmth,” Bell whispered.
So did Rain—as well as theenergyflow. It seemed smoother, less knotted. Not that this had any scientific methodology that he understood, but he continued in his soothing voice, recalling favorite Christmas dinners. He began to feel a harmony, like a musician must feel when he discovered notes that expressed the sounds in his head.
By the time he’d done all he knew to do, his father was asleep again. Rain had the manservant help him turn the duke on his side, then hugged Bell as he led her from the suite.
“I have no idea what I’m doing,” he whispered into her hair.
“That makes two of us.” She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Go. You deserve a rest. I think this drains you. I’ll make your excuses to Alicia.”
His arms felt oddly empty as she abandoned him to slip down the stairs on her own.
He’d made a mistress of his steward. And here he’d thought he’d been the only member of the family who had risen about the Winchester eccentricity.
Twenty-two
Places had already been takenat the card tables when Bell arrived. She was just the smallest bit giddy from their session with the duke. She really felt as if they might be helping, and Rain’s appreciation filled her with unaccustomed warmth—from a man who was called cold!
