The Scandalous Adventures of the Sister of the Bride

by Victoria Alexander

  William chose his words with care. “I’m afraid there has been a bit of a mishap, my lady.”

  Her breath caught. “Has something happened to Clement?”

  “Something has happened to nearly everyone.” William winced. “Except for myself of course, and three of the maids and Mr. Moore seems fine but then he isn’t staying at the manor and he did eat in the village yesterday. The grooms and gardeners are unaffected as well but they rarely take their meals at the house—”

  “When you say mishap, what exactly do you mean?” Sam said cautiously.

  “It was something they ate last night, sir,” William said. “All of them. We’re not entirely sure what it was but it seems to have affected everyone including most of the house staff. It was a bad night, sir.” He grimaced. “A very bad night for all of them. As I said, only three of the housemaids and myself were unaffected, or we didn’t eat whatever caused the problem, we’re not sure, but then my mother always said I had a constitution made of iron and it does appear—”

  “What about my sister? And Lady Theodosia and Mr. Elliott?” Delilah stared at the footman. “Are they all right?”

  “They will be.” William nodded. “The doctor came from the village last night. He said the worst was over and once everything was out of their systems, they should all be fine. And I believe everything is.” He grimaced. “While they all seem much better today, he said they’d probably sleep through today and most of tomorrow—getting their strength back and all—but they should be able to be up and about by the day after. He left a note with instructions and he will be round later today.

  “When last we checked, everyone was asleep.” He lowered his voice. “It has been an exceptionally long night, Lady Hargate. Especially with only myself, Jenny, Mildred, and Margaret to attend to everyone. But we have made it through.” He squared his shoulders. “Clement issued some instructions from his bed—”

  “I don’t recall Clement ever taking to his bed before,” Delilah murmured. “He must have felt dreadful.”

  “You have no idea, my lady.” William shuddered. “He directed me to get some girls in from the village to assist us and they were here all morning but unfortunately they could not stay. Although they might be able to come back tomorrow should we need them.”

  “I suspect we will need them, given that everyone else is abed.” She paused. “I assume Mrs. Dooley was stricken as well.”

  William nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

  “So there is no one to cook?”

  Sam leaned close and spoke into her ear. “You’ve never been in this kitchen either, have you?”

  “Of course I have.” She huffed. “Not since I was a child but I have been there.”

  “Mrs. Dooley had us dispose of anything left from last night’s meals. Deliveries are not expected until tomorrow. However, there are cold meats and breads in the pantry and larder. We have eaten from those stores with no ill effects,” William added.

  “That’s something anyway.” Sam looked at her. “I assume you’re hungry.”

  “We’ve scarcely eaten anything at all today, in case you’ve forgotten,” she said in as cool a manner as she could muster. Of course she was hungry but he needn’t say it as if there were something wrong with being hungry. Although she could be reading more into his comment than was really there. She did tend to do that with him. She drew a deep breath. “I should look in on them, my sister and Lady Theodosia and Mr. Elliott, that is.”

  “Jenny and Mildred have been attending to the ladies, I have been seeing to Mr. Elliott’s needs,” William said. “And we have all been caring for the rest of the staff.”

  “No wonder you look so tired.” Delilah cast the footman a sympathetic smile.

  “It appears that you’ve done an excellent job of managing this crisis, William,” Sam said.

  “I was recently promoted to underbutler,” the young man said with pride. “I hope to be a butler some day, sir.”

  “I’m sure you’ll be more than up to the job.” Sam smiled. “Especially given how well you’re surviving this trial by fire.”

  “It has been challenging, sir.”

  “I shall also look in on Clement and Mrs. Dooley and Mrs. Carter of course.” She glanced at Sam. “The housekeeper.”

  He nodded then turned to the footman.

  “I beg your pardon, Lady Hargate,” William began. “But Mr. Clement, well, he wouldn’t, that is . . .”

  “He would be embarrassed, wouldn’t he?” She should have realized it herself.

  “Yes, my lady.” The footman nodded with relief.

  “Then we shall leave care of the staff in your capable hands, at least for today. Mr. Russell and I will see to the needs of the others.”

  He nodded. “Yes, my lady.”

  “William, if you will direct me to the kitchen, I’ll see what I can find for Lady Hargate and myself to eat.”

  “Oh no, sir. I couldn’t possibly permit that.” William paled. “I shall see to it myself.”

  “Don’t be absurd,” Sam said. “You’re obviously exhausted and Lady Hargate and I are more than capable of fending for ourselves.” He glanced at her. “Aren’t we?”

  “Absolutely.” Although when had she ever fended for herself? She forced a note of resolve to her voice. “It is a crisis after all and we should all do our part.”

  “I knew you’d agree.” A distinct challenge shone in Sam’s eyes. It was most annoying.

  She squared her shoulders. “Then I shall check on the others and join you shortly.”

  Sam nodded at the footman. “Would you give us a minute, William?”

  “Of course, sir,” William said. “I shall wait for you in the dining room.”

  “Thank you.” Sam smiled and waited until William took his leave. “How many servants are there at Millworth? On the house staff, that is.”

  “I have no idea. I don’t really live here, you know.” She thought for a moment then counted the numbers off on her fingers. “There’s Clement, Mrs. Dooley and her assistant, Mrs. Carter and the under-housekeeper, a kitchen maid, five housemaids I think, three footmen not including William, my personal maid as well as Teddy’s and Camille’s, Grayson’s valet . . . That’s all I can think of but I may have missed someone.”

  “So, by my count that means there are at least twenty people in the house who have been stricken.” He pinned her with a firm look. “And only six of us to see to their needs.”

  “That does seem insurmountable.” Insurmountable? Ha! Why, she’d never had to take care of anyone who was ill before in her entire life. The very idea was as foreign to her as, well, the making of coffee. Even so, she absolutely refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing how completely useless she was at this sort of thing. “And yet, there is no choice.” She started for the stairs. “I shall check on Camille, Teddy, and Grayson while you find something for us to eat.”

  “You know, there is a good side to this.”

  “Good Lord, are you always so optimistic?” She turned and glared at him. “It’s incredibly annoying.”

  “Good,” he snapped. “I’m not being optimistic, I’m being realistic.”

  “Well then please, do go on.”

  “If everyone was stricken last night, then they probably have no idea that we were not here. Which means there will be no questions about why we didn’t return until today. And no speculation as to what we might have done.”

  “We didn’t do anything!” She huffed. “But you’re right.” She nodded. “I hadn’t thought of that. There’s really no one to say when we did or did not arrive.”

  “It’s not as if we planned this.” He shrugged. “But it does work to our advantage.”

  “I do appreciate you pointing it out. Thank you.” She nodded and started up the stairs.

  “Delilah?”

  She paused in midstep and looked at him. “What is it now?”

  “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

  “Absolut
ely not.” She lifted her chin and continued up the stairway. “But, I daresay, we didn’t get to be the greatest empire the world has ever seen by knowing what we were doing every minute. Goodness, Sam, where would be the adventure in that?”

  She didn’t have to look back to know that infectious grin of his was back on his handsome face. She bit back a grin of her own. No matter what other feelings she might have about the man she did indeed like him. And he did make her laugh. There was something to be said for that.

  Delilah reached Camille’s door and paused to gather her courage. She’d never been around people who were ill. Her family had always been remarkably healthy. Indeed, she couldn’t remember the last time she had been indisposed. The whole idea of illness struck her as unpleasant and rather messy. Still, there was nothing to be done about it but bravely carry on. She drew a deep breath and opened the door.

  William was right. Camille was sleeping and quite soundly judging from the faint snorting sounds coming from her bed. Delilah quietly moved to her sister’s bedside then rested her hand gently on her forehead. She was a bit clammy but not hot. It seemed like a good sign.

  Teddy felt much the same but her eyes fluttered open at Delilah’s touch.

  “Where have you been?” she croaked.

  “London, of course.”

  Teddy waved in the direction of the pitcher on the table beside her bed. “Thirsty.”

  Delilah poured her a glass then helped her sit up. Teddy took a few sips then slid back down. “All night?”

  “All night what?”

  “You were in London all night?”

  “Don’t be absurd.” Delilah replaced the glass on the nightstand. “What would I be doing in London all night? You were probably dreaming.” When she looked again, her friend was fortunately already back to sleep.

  Checking on Grayson proved a bit more awkward. The man was obviously a restless sleeper. One foot was flung over the side of the bed, his covers were bunched around his waist exposing his bare chest. Oh my, did the man sleep in anything at all? Not that it wasn’t an attractive sight although she much preferred Sam’s naked chest. Why, she had no desire at all to run her hand over Grayson’s naked chest. If it had been Sam lying here—

  Dear Lord! The thought jerked her upright. Sam wasn’t the only one with only one thing on his mind. She had other matters to attend to at the moment and the thought of Sam naked and hot and . . . Well, this simply wasn’t the time. Besides, they’d agreed it would not happen again.

  Delilah carefully straightened Grayson’s covers, felt his forehead, and decided it would be wise for Sam to be the one to check on his friend from now on. She and the three unaffected maids would see to Camille and Teddy and the female staff. It was decidedly improper otherwise. She heaved a heartfelt sigh. Why she continued to concern herself with propriety at all made no sense. She was beginning to suspect she had a heretofore unknown penchant for impropriety that had somehow been released by a voyage to America and, of course, the American who had shared her thoroughly improper adventure.

  By the time Delilah joined Sam in the kitchen, she had a fair measure of confidence. Why, she could pat foreheads and dispense sips of water with the best of them. She would certainly never become a nurse of course. Indeed, she sent a silent prayer of thanks heavenward that she had not been here last night. She didn’t think she could have handled last night.

  She pulled a stool up to the large kitchen worktable and sat down. The kitchen was smaller than she remembered but warm and cozy. And oddly comforting.

  “Coffee.” Sam set a cup before her.

  “Thank you.” She took a sip. Her brow rose. “With cream and sugar?”

  “That’s how you take it,” he said coolly. “William says everyone is asleep and I told him he and Jenny, Mildred, and Margaret should take this opportunity to get some rest.”

  She nodded. “I would hate to lose them to exhaustion.”

  “How would we bear up?” He picked up two plates from a side counter and sat them down on the table. “And I made sandwiches.”

  She stared at the enormous slices of bread blanketing equally large pieces of cold roast beef. He plunked a mustard pot on the table, pulled up another stool, sat down, and slathered mustard on his sandwich. Delilah wasn’t sure she’d ever seen sandwiches quite this huge. She was more used to the delicate little things her cook made for tea with watercress and cucumbers. This was obviously a man’s sandwich. And an American man’s at that.

  Sam picked up his sandwich, started to take a bite, then hesitated and stared at her. “Is it all right?”

  “Well, yes, it looks wonderful. I’m simply not sure where to start.” She stared at the massive offering. “It’s so . . . big.”

  “I thought you were hungry?”

  “I am but . . .” Her stomach chose that moment to growl in a most embarrassing manner.

  “But?”

  “But . . . nothing.” She shook her head, picked up the top piece of bread, and spread it with mustard. “It looks wonderful. Thank you.” She took a bite and wondered that she didn’t moan out loud. “Oh my, that is delicious.”

  “Probably because you were so hungry.” He took a bite and nodded. “But I do make a fine sandwich.”

  They ate in silence for a few minutes.

  “There’s something we should talk about,” he said at last.

  “No, there isn’t,” she said quickly. “I see no need to discuss last night or this morning for that matter. We simply see things differently. We have different plans for our lives. There’s really nothing to discuss.” She took a sip of coffee. “I am sorry that I raised my voice this morning but then so did you. And I am sorry that I allowed things to get out of hand but again, so did you and it does seem to me that you and I are equally at fault. Furthermore”—she drew a deep breath—“I really wish you would stop being so, well, angry with me. I find I miss your admittedly interesting conversation and even your sarcasm and I’m not at all enjoying the decidedly cool manner you’ve had toward me since this morning.”

  He stared at her.

  “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “Well, say something.”

  “I’m sorry?” He shook his head. “As interesting as your confession was, it’s not what I wanted to discuss.”

  “Oh.” She nodded slowly. “Well, that’s good then.”

  “Although I would like to talk about it all at some point.”

  “I really don’t—”

  “Because as your friend, I think it’s my responsibility to convince you of the error of your ways.”

  “Oh, come now, I scarcely think—”

  “A friend would not stand idly by and watch his friend throw herself over a cliff without trying to stop her.”

  “You have no—”

  “A cliff she had thrown herself off once before.”

  “This is not—”

  “However.” He held up his hand to quiet her. “At the moment, we have more pressing matters.”

  “We do?” What was more pressing than his arrogant attitude about her life?

  “Given that everyone has been, well, poisoned for lack of a better word, yes, we have a great deal to discuss.”

  “Yes, of course.” Now was certainly not the time to discuss the differences between them. Actually, never seemed like the best time.

  “William suggested we send a note to Fairborough Hall and see if they could spare their cook’s assistant or any of their servants for the next few days.”

  “That’s a brilliant idea.” William was going to make an excellent butler one day. “I shall write a note as soon as we’re finished eating and one of the grooms can take it at once.”

  “Hopefully, we can get some help.” He shook his head. “In spite of your admiration of my culinary prowess, I’m afraid coffee and sandwiches are the limits of my skills in the kitchen. And everyone here is going to need sustenance tomorrow. According to the doctor’s note, they’ll need tea and t
oast, which I can probably manage but then they’ll want real food. Broth and then a light soup he said to start with.” Sam grimaced. “I have no idea how to make that.” He eyed her skeptically. “Do you?”

  “Come now, Sam, you know the answer to that.” She took another bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. “I’ve never really given much thought to what goes on in the kitchen. Only to what comes out of it.” She smirked. “I have an excellent cook. Or I did.”

  “And you will again.” He smiled.

  She sighed. “I do hope so.”

  “And while we’re on the subject of cooks, William mentioned something about a party?”

  “Good Lord, I had forgotten.” She wrinkled her nose. “There’s something, dinner and cards I think, planned for the day after tomorrow. Even if everyone is back to normal by then they certainly won’t be up to having guests. We’ll have to cancel it.” She thought for a moment. “When Teddy awakens, I’ll get a list of who has been invited. We’ll have to send out notes, we can have the grooms and gardeners deliver them.” She drew her brows together. “I imagine there might be a few people from London invited, we shall have to contact them as well. You might need to run back into town for that.”

  He nodded.

  “I do wish we had a telephone here.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “It would make this much easier.”

  He stared at her. “A what?”

  “A telephone.” She should have known he would catch that.

  “But that’s so . . . so progressive.”

  “Yes, well, it’s also terribly convenient. A number of people I know in London have them. Why, the queen herself has a telephone.” She met his gaze directly. “I’m not completely opposed to progress, Sam.”

  “Imagine that.” He studied her closely. “And here I thought you were.”

  “Well you were wrong. Indeed there are some areas in which I not only see certain benefits but I quite welcome them.”

  “Areas which do not include motorwagons.”

  “Of course not.” She shrugged. “I am not taking my life in my hands when I use a telephone. Nor am I relegating a noble beast to certain extinction. I’ll tell you something else, Mr. Russell.”