Eleanor had responded with one of her gentle smiles, believing that matter settled, and then had immediately moved on to the next subject on her mind.
As Mrs. Hendersen sputtered, Eleanor had then called all the servants together and explained life as it would be under her direction. Life as it was at Becket Hall, where everyone helped with any bit of work that might present itself, and nobody was asked to do what a person could reasonably do for him or herself.
Which, as Eleanor realized almost from the moment Jack came storming into her bedchamber shortly before the dinner gong was to sound that evening, had been a horrible mistake.
She’d been sitting at her dressing table, extremely content as a clearly adoring Beatrice pulled a pair of silver-backed brushes through her hair—the girl had insisted—when she’d heard the slam of the connecting door and her “husband’s” near bellow.
“What in bloody hell have you been about, woman?”
Beatrice gave out a small yelp and ran from the room, taking the brushes with her, so that Eleanor could only sigh, then lift her hair with her hands and let it all fall down her back, nearly to her waist.
Which seemed to stop Jack, who had been advancing on her with a fury she hadn’t seen in several years, in fact, not since Courtland had discovered Cassandra hiding in the drawing room after filling his riding boots with mud because he’d refused to take her out riding with him.
“How in blazes do you hold all that mess of hair up on that fragile neck of yours? No, don’t answer me. That’s not my question.” Jack kept his gaze on Eleanor, however, as he pointed in the general direction Beatrice had taken moments earlier. “Do you have any idea of the anarchy you have unleashed out there?”
Eleanor searched in one of the drawers of her dressing table, unearthing a deep blue grosgrain ribbon that matched her gown, then tied it around her hair at her nape. “I beg your pardon?”
“It’s not my pardon you’ll be begging, wife. Mrs…Mrs…whoever she is, is downstairs in the kitchens, crying into the cook’s apron.” He raised his eyebrows as he glared at her. “And do you want to know why she’s crying in the cook’s apron?”
“Mrs. Hendersen.”
Jack was losing control, and he knew it. “What?”
“Your housekeeper. Her name is Mrs. Hendersen. And, no, Jack, I don’t know why she’s crying into Mrs. Ryan’s apron. Is she ill?”
Jack jammed his fingers through his hair. “She didn’t look all that good when I saw her but, no, she’s not sick. She’s at the end of her rope—and that’s out of her mouth, not mine. Did you really tell the servants they only had to do what they wanted to do?”
Eleanor sat down, frowned at him. “No, that’s not quite it. At Becket Hall we all help each other. But there are duties, everyone has the duty to help. At Becket Hall they’re…well, I suppose you could call them the crew. Yes, that’s it. There are general assignments, even preferences, but everyone lends a hand where it’s needed. It’s all rather—what’s the word? Oh, yes. Democratic.”
“Is that right? Well, don’t look now, madam, but our crew has instituted a mutiny.”
“Now you’re exaggerating. It will take a little time for everyone to understand that they’re being asked to responsively think for themselves, employ initiative, but—”
Jack let out a short laugh. “Oh, they’re already thinking for themselves, Eleanor. According to Mrs…damn!”
“Mrs. Hendersen.”
Jack glared at her. “According to the housekeeper,” he pushed on doggedly, “two of the footmen have thought for themselves that they should be taking in the sights at Bartholomew Fair today, while the cook—ha! Mrs. Ryan—has thought for herself that something called bubble and squeak would make for a fine dinner for the master of the house. Who would be me, Eleanor, who doesn’t have the faintest damn idea what bubble and squeak is, but I’m damn sure I don’t want it served up in my dining room. And then there’s that maid of yours—”
“Beatrice? She’s been here with me for most of the afternoon, cleaning this chamber and yours, both of which more than needed a good polish.”
“Well, good for Beatrice,” Jack snarled, dropping into a chair. “That also explains why there’s some pathetic little thing sitting beside Mrs. Hendersen and also crying up a storm because now she has no dusting to do and she’ll soon be on the streets on her back and men with no teeth will be taking their pleasure on her. And that’s another direct quote.”
Eleanor put a hand to her chin, looked around as if there might be something to see. “Oh. Dear. They don’t quite understand, do they?”
Jack stood up again. He couldn’t seem to stay still for more than a moment. Probably because he wanted to strangle this strange, irritating woman. “Yes, I think you could safely say that. I think you could also safely say that you’re in no danger of my housekeeper addressing you as you poor dearie ever again. Now, what do we do? Correction, what do you do, because this is your mess, Eleanor, and it needs cleaning up before Eccles and Phelps come to dinner tomorrow night.”
Eleanor, who had been mentally reviewing Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man in her head as she wondered what she’d done wrong, was suddenly all attention. “You’ve invited them here? But why?”
“I don’t know, Eleanor. Perhaps I’ve become disenchanted with spending my nights attempting to find new ways to lose my money to a fool as thick as Phelps when others are watching and wanting into the game. You’d be amazed at how popular a bad card player with plenty of money to lose can be in London society. Besides, I told them to bring anyone else they wished to bring with them, as my cook is one of the best in Mayfair and my new bride is a real beauty who hasn’t recovered enough from our wedding trip to go into Society yet.”
Eleanor could feel a flush of color reddening her cheeks. “You make that sound as if—well, never mind.”
Jack found himself feeling embarrassed, as well, which was a very uncommon feeling for him, so that he immediately resented it. He began pacing the carpet, still longing to hit something and hoping to dissipate some of his angry energy. “Be that as it may, my new friends, and whoever they bring with them—please God let it be Chelfham—aren’t the sort who expect to dine on bubble and squeak.”
“Yes, whatever that is,” Eleanor said, also beginning to pace, only stopping when she realized what a ridiculous pair they must look, each of them marching up and down the carpet in different directions.
Jack paused in front of her on his trip up the carpet, and just looked at her.
As she looked at him.
And then, much to the surprise and amazement of both of them, they began to smile. Their smiles turned to laughter, and Eleanor actually reached out to lay a hand on his arm, to help support herself as her mirth threatened to overcome her.
“I really have to do something, don’t I?” she asked at last, looking up at Jack…who was looking at her rather strangely. “Um…about the servants.”
“You have a pretty laugh,” Jack heard himself say, wondering where the words had come from. “And your eyes…they light up when you smile. I’ve stayed at Becket Hall several times. Why did I never notice you?”
Eleanor nervously wet her suddenly compressed lips with the tip of her tongue. “I’m sure I have no idea. I…I really should go downstairs and…and apologize to Mrs…um, that is, to Mrs…”
“Hendersen,” Jack told her, his smile slow as he placed his hands on Eleanor’s shoulders. “Fine name, Hendersen.”
“Oh yes,” Eleanor said, rushing into speech. “A fine name. Um…do you think you could let me go now?”
Jack considered this for the length of a second, if that. “No, I don’t think so. I’m rather