Marblestone Mansion, Book 1 (Scandalous Duchess Series, #1)

by Marti Talbott

  Hannish bowed his head. “I should not have left you.”

  McKenna gently put her hand on his. “It could not be helped. The place would have crumbled had you not sent back the wages to repair it. I can see no other way for you to have done it.”

  Ronan quickly swallowed the bite of roast beef he had in his mouth. “On the ship, Mr. Graham said...” As soon as he said it, Ronan caught his breath and looked around. Everyone was staring at him, and Alistair was clearly not pleased.

  “Mr. Graham?” Hannish asked. “George Graham, the stonemason I hired to do the repairs was on the ship with you?”

  It was too late now and McKenna reluctantly answered, “Aye.”

  “And did he come with you on the train, or is he in New York with my wife?” Hannish waited, but no one spoke and the answer was clear. “I see.”

  McKenna said, “It does not mean...”

  “What does it mean?” Hannish interrupted, his voice rising again.

  “Perhaps Mr. Graham has business in New York,” said his sister.

  Hannish considered it and again took a deep breath. “Perhaps you are right. I must not think the worst and I will not let it spoil a perfectly good dinner. Have the Scots no questions for the Americans?”

  McKenna began by asking all sorts of questions about America and was relieved to learn they had seen an end to the Indian battles. Next, she encouraged the Scots to tell about the things they had seen on their journey. She knew her brother well enough to know he heard little of it, although he pretended to.

  It was not until the meal was finished and the room grew quiet that Hannish spoke again. “We could all use a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, my sister may choose a bedroom and the rest of us will see she is made comfortable. Keith, you will ride to town in the morning and send a telegram? Alistair, where is my wife stayin’ in New York?”

  “I believe she secured rooms in The Plaza, Sir.”

  “I read that the Plaza Hotel was finally finished; no doubt it is the most expensive hotel in the city. Very well, I shall simply telegram, asking when she expects to arrive.” With that, Hannish stood up and left the room.

  After he was gone, McKenna closed her eyes for a moment. “I believe we said quite enough. Ronan, did I not press you to keep silent about Mr. Graham?”

  The youngest of all the men, Ronan looked as horrified as he felt. “I dinna mean to, it just slipped out.”

  “Well, the harm is done now.” McKenna stood up, walked around her chair, and pushed it in. “Perhaps Olivia will have improved by the time she arrives.”

  Alistair and the others respectfully stood up with her. “And perhaps not,” he muttered, beginning to clear the dishes.

  “Just the same, say as little about her as he requires,” said McKenna. “He’ll not believe it anyway, until he sees it for himself. Sassy, ‘tis time you put me to bed.”

  “Aye, Miss,” Sassy hurried out the door behind her.

  Prescot gently took hold of Alistair’s arm. “We will see to it. You Scots rest.”

  “What a fine lad you are, thank you,” said Alistair, setting the plates back down. It was a good start for two men who coveted the same position. Perhaps they might get on well after all.

  “I’ll be bringing apple pie up soon,” cook Halen added. “In case you get hungry in the night.”

  Blanka tried not to yawn. “I doubt any will wake this night. I could sleep standing up.”

  “And she has, too,” Alistair teased. He nodded his appreciation to cook Halen and went out behind the other Scots.

  Halen waited until she could hear them going up the back stairs, sat down and put her head in her hands. “Poor Mr. MacGreagor. Do you think his wife is as bad as they say?”

  Prescot reached for another plate to stack on the large tray Shepard held. “If she is, we best help him.”

  “How?” asked Charlotte.

  “The Scots don’t seem so bad and they admire him. I say we do our best to get along so he does not have that worry.”

  “Agreed,” said Keith. “He loves her more than most husbands and no man deserves an unfaithful wife.”

  “We cannot know she is unfaithful,” Halen said, “only it sure does look that way. What woman in her right mind would not bother to hide it?”

  Shepard set the full tray on a sideboard and reached for an empty one. “Perhaps she has nothing to hide after all.”

  Sarah frowned and finished tying her apron strings. “I doubt he believes she has nothing to hide. She might have written or sent a telegram to notify him Mr. Graham was coming. Mr. MacGreagor has not heard from her in weeks. He had to hear she was coming from his brother.”

  “Well, I hate her already,” Charlotte said. “If the duchess doesn’t want him, I do.”

  “Obviously,” Sarah muttered.

  *

  Sassy was given a room on the third floor all to herself and a bed she was not forced to share with anyone else. Of course, as more maids came, the other bed in her room would be occupied, but just now, it was all hers and she could not believe her good fortune. She even had a dresser, although it was well used and she had little to put in the drawers. McKenna gave her a very fine brush and as tired as she was, she gave her auburn hair a good brushing before bed. She would have liked having a mirror to look in, but she had done without one for years.

  She even had her own porcelain basin for washing with a matching pitcher full of water. The problem was, she could not quite decide if it should go in the middle of the dresser or to one side. She moved it to the right side, climbed into bed, pulled up the covers and closed her eyes. A moment later, she opened them again, threw off the covers, got up, and moved it back to the center. At last, she was content and fell fast asleep.

  *

  The next morning, the smell of bacon filled the air and Hannish expected the Scots to sleep late. Instead, he found most of them eating when he entered the kitchen. He had a well-established habit of coming to the kitchen in the mornings, instead of ringing for tea and disturbing their breakfast. The Scottish servants quickly stood, so the Americans did as well. “Dinna let me disturb you. I manage to wander in here from time to time and ‘tis not necessary to stand, save when we have guests, perhaps.”

  The servant’s dining hall was almost as large as the formal dining room, with plenty of chairs for several more servants without having to eat in shifts.

  “I have decided not to await my wife’s decorating desires,” said Hannish. “Therefore, we have much work ahead. Prescot, you will take the wagon to town and secure a bed for my sister, if at all possible. Take Shepard with you. McKenna will need bedding and any other suitable furniture you manage to find. If you cannae find any, we will borrow some from the servant’s quarters until new arrives.” He lifted the saucer off the tray Halen held, blew on the contents in the cup and then took a sip. “Thank you, Halen. Prescot, bring back two or three Montgomery Ward Catalogs. I believe the post office has extras. I am counting on the rest of you to make lists of needs for the house and dinna forget a clock for every room.”

  “And what shall I do?” McKenna asked behind him.

  Again, everyone stood up and again, Hannish urged them to sit back down. He set his tea down, put his arm over her shoulder, and turned her around. “That.”

  “That what?”

  “That, my dear sister is the door to a very large pantry that needs fillin’, and if you are very good, I shall let the cooks help you make your list. Winters are harsh in Colorado and we must be fully prepared. No one goes hungry in my house.”

  “I am happy to hear that!” Sassy said, quickly slipping around McKenna. She sat down at the table and snatched a strip of bacon off the platter in front of her. “Old Mrs. Forthright sure wouldn’t believe this. Bacon on an ordinary day? We was only allowed bacon on Christmas.”

  “Bacon for Christmas?” Charlotte asked.

  “Aye and a slice of ham for dinner, if we were very good. I managed the ‘very good’ part two years
in a row. ‘Twas not easy, I mean to say. She never called me ‘Sassy’ but that’s what she thought of me, right enough. I should not have done it, I suppose.”

  All eyes were on her, but Sassy stopped talking to enjoy her first bite of bacon. She closed her eyes, savored the taste, and slowly chewed until Dugan could stand it no more, “Should not have done what?”

  Sassy was not about to let him hurry her and chewed several more times before she swallowed. “Hide her paddle, is what. It took nigh on to a week for her to learn the truth of it, and were we not all happy it took that long!”

  “How did she know you hid it?” Sarah asked.

  “Confession be good for the soul, Old Mrs. Forthright always said.” Sassy took another bite of bacon and again savored the taste for a while before she continued, “She’d not let us have another meal until someone told where it was, so I was forced to say.”

  “Did she paddle you?” McKenna asked.

  “Not too awfully bad. James got it worse than me and all he did was laugh when I refused to cry.” She glanced at all the horrified expressions and smiled, letting the deep dimples in her cheeks show. “Never you fear, we got her back.”

  “How?” Keith asked.

  “The poor soul fell off the walkway into the pond and bruised her very own backside on the rocks. She could hardly sit, even with pillows beneath her.”

  Halen smiled and then wrinkled her brow. “How did you escape the orphanage?”

  “Had I knowed how easy it ‘twas...”

  “Known,” Keith corrected.

  She looked at him for a long moment and then decided to ignore him. “‘Twas easier than I thought, getting over the wall I mean. The wall was not to keep us in; ‘twas so the good folks dinna know we was there. James let me stand on his shoulders; I climbed right over the top of the wall and jumped down the other side. I was a wee bit fearful, I dinna mind tellin’, for I knew not where to go on the outside. There I was, staring at ladies in fancy dresses and gentlemen all decked out in their best. I thought it must be Sunday.”

  “What did Sunday have to do with it?” Hannish asked.

  “Well, I sneaked a peek at Old Mrs. Forthright’s newspaper the day afore, and read that the ships sail to America on Friday. I thought I had missed it, you see. I was wrong, thank the Good Lord.”

  Charlotte wrinkled her brow. “How did you get aboard the ship?”

  “That was easy too. I offered to help a lass carry her travel suitcase aboard and then forgot to get off. I hope James dinna suffer too much from my standing on his shoulders. I worry about that.”

  “I am certain he is fine, Sassy,” Hannish said. “Come sister, I believe Ronan has our breakfast in the dining hall and I love bacon as much as Sassy.”

  Sarah watched them leave and then took hold of Sassy’s hand. “No one will hurt you here, I promise.” Perhaps it was the mother instinct in her, but Sarah felt protective and understood when Sassy only nodded and went back to devouring bacon, as though she didn’t believe her. There were too many cruelties in the world, and Sarah had seen several, including the death of her little brother in the Russian Flu epidemic. She was alone too, but now Sarah had someone special who needed her.

  *

  McKenna had only just begun sorting through some of her clothing, when she heard a light knock on the door of the bedroom she was temporarily using. “Come in.”

  “Miss MacGreagor, I...”

  “Sarah, is it not?”

  “Yes, Miss. I do not mean to disturb you, but...”

  “Sarah, come in and sit with me. I wish very much to get to know you better.” McKenna laid her wrinkled dress back in her traveling case and sat on the bed. She admired Sarah’s professional manner as well as her appearance. Sarah had a pleasant face, looked to be about thirty, and sat up straight in the chair. She wore her hair pulled back in a loose bun, which allowed the sides and top to frame her face perfectly beneath her small satin and lace bonnet. “I understand you are the head housekeeper.”

  “I am happy to have the position. I worked for the Goodwin’s for several years, taking care of their children. Most of them are grown now, so Mrs. Goodwin loaned me to your brother and he asked me to stay.”

  “I am pleased he did. What did you wish to talk to me about?”

  “I should not have, but while Sassy took a bath, I looked in her drawers and she has nothing but a brush, a nightshirt and a change of undergarments.”

  “I know. The poor dear was wearing a filthy tattered dress that was far too large when I found her. I saw her steal an apple, followed her and discovered she’d been living in a broom closet. Millie, the lady’s maid you have not yet met, gave her the frock she wears now, but she will need much more.”

  “Outer clothing will not be a problem. Mr. MacGreagor anticipated the need and had a seamstress in town make several uniforms. They only need altering.”

  “Good. My brother’s attention to detail often amazes me. I gave Sassy the nightshirt and the undergarments, and tried to give her more, but she is proud. She has lived on charity all her life and now she wishes to pay her own way. I do not know what to do to help her.”

  “I see.” Sarah paused to think for a moment. “She has been with you more than two weeks now?”

  “Aye.”

  “Is it not time for her pay?”

  McKenna’s eyes lit up. “You are dead right brilliant, Sarah. Would you be willing to take her shopping?”

  “I would be more than pleased; I need a few things myself.”

  “Splendid, I shall talk to my brother...I wonder if Sassy knows how to make a purchase. Probably not, but you will help her. She is so enthralled with the world; I confess I enjoy watching her. Nevertheless, she will do better if I am not there. She fears she will make a mistake around me, which of course is nonsense.”

  “She is very young still, but in time, she will do well.”

  “I am certain she will. We have just enough time to catch Prescot before he leaves for town.” McKenna got up, started to leave, and then paused. “Just now I am reminded. Blanka and Donnel are getting on in years. I feared they would not do well on the journey and now that they are here, they have two flights of stairs to climb often. Might you confine their duties to the bottom floor? I would be ever so grateful.”

  “Of course. Perhaps Mr. MacGreagor would let us have a room on the first floor where they can rest when they are tired.”

  “Another splendid idea, Sarah. I doubt Olivia will approve, but my brother will. He loves them both very much.”

  “Done then. I shall have the men carry a couple of beds down as soon as Mr. MacGreagor approves it.”

  “Sarah, you are a jewel.” McKenna hurried out the door to find her brother.

  *

  Hannish sent Keith off on horseback, with the exact words to say in the telegram to his wife. He asked Prescot to wait and delighted in giving Sassy her pay so she could go shopping, though he doubted she understood they were American dollars and not British pounds. He helped McKenna choose the perfect room on the first floor for Donnel and Blanka, the one with a water closet nearby, and was happy to find a good use for at least one of the empty rooms.

  He waited for Keith to return and was disappointed when he brought back neither a telegram from his wife or any mail. Saddened, Hannish returned to his study and tried to finish a letter he started to his brother, but his powers of concentration were lacking and he spent most of the time looking out the window instead.

  To fully enjoy a view of Pikes Peak, he built his study in the back of the house with windows facing west and a door leading to the expansive parlor. The study was sparsely furnished with a used roll top desk, a tall back chair and two used occasional chairs that did not match. A long table against the wall was piled high with papers, some neatly arranged and some obviously just tossed there. Underneath the table were several well-worn rolls of drawings and plans for the mansion.

  The newly planted grass in the extensive backyard was sta
rting to grow, yet it looked as empty as he felt. At least the sun was shining more often than not, which was a relief after such a long winter. Last year, they barely got the horse corral and the hired hand cottages built in time for winter, not to mention stacking bales of hay and chopping wood for the fireplaces. He liked honest hard work, had his hand in almost everything, and was sad to see the building come to an end. Just now, having something to build would be welcome indeed.

  While they waited for Prescot and the others to return from town, the rest of the Scots took baths and gathered clothing that needed washing. Instead of waiting for Sarah to come back, McKenna had two beds moved downstairs to the servant’s day room, and rearranged the beds twice before she decided how to make the best use of the available space. With little more to do, she wandered from room to room, loving the ones with a view of the mountains the best, and imagining what she would do with each, if the place were her husband’s, instead of her brother’s.

  *

  It was not easy sitting in a rocking chair in a moving wagon, but Sassy not only managed it, she enjoyed herself thoroughly. All the way back from town, Sassy asked Sarah all sorts of questions, while Prescot and Shepard sat on the wagon seat facing forward and trying not to laugh.

  “What sort of birds are those,” Sassy asked, pointing to a tree.

  “They are called sparrows. The ones with the red underbellies are Robins and occasionally, we see a Bald Eagle.”

  “Bald, as bald as Old Mrs. Forthright? She wears hair not her own to cover it, but the hair is always crooked and we can tell just the same.”

  Sarah giggled. “The eagle is not truly bald, the feathers on its head are white to the neck and the rest of them are brown, making it look bald.”

  Satisfied with that answer, Sassy spotted something else. “What’s that over there? It looks like...”

  At last they arrived, bringing a wagon full of things for McKenna’s new room – far more than anyone expected them to find in a town that size.