Chapter 34
Jonathan looked up from the ever-growing stack of accounts as Celeste walked past the study door and started to turn down the stair to the servants’ quarters. “Miss Singer,” he called out.
She turned and came back toward him. “Your Grace?”
“Come in, Miss Singer. I am surprised to see you. I thought you were with the Duchess just now.”
“I was, Your Grace. I read to her from the book you suggested until she began to feel sleepy. She then dismissed me. Did you need something?”
“Perhaps. Mr. McAhmladhson usually does the bulk of the accounts, and I only fill in around the edges. But he has been much preoccupied of late with various events. I believe you recently mentioned that you kept your own accounts when you had your shop?”
“I did. But, Your Grace, my small shop didn’t require much in the way of record keeping. There was only the purchases of fabrics, often paid for in advance by my patroness, and lists of who purchased what, and whether payment was made when the dress was ordered or upon delivery. Sometimes, someone would charge something. But I tried to discourage that.”
“I can readily imagine. More than one small shop has been brought to ruin by noble patrons charging things and somehow forgetting to pay for them. I try to discourage the practice, and here in the home village I have been successful. But that is not what I wanted to ask you.”
“How can I help, Your Grace?”
“Can you help sort these papers for me? I find that tonight, for some reason, they simply make no sense to me and I cannot get them separated out into anything coherent.”
“I can try. But I know very little about running an estate. What if I make a muddle of it?”
“They cannot possibly be in a greater muddle than they are already in. If we find that we still cannot make sense of them, Mr. McAhmladhson will straighten them out when he has time tomorrow.”
Celeste sat down in the visitor chair, and Jonathan handed to her a stack of envelopes. Some of them had been opened, and some were not. Hesitantly, Celeste picked up the top one and read the address aloud. “Beedle, Bascomb, and Babcock.”
“That is my banker,” Jonathan said. “You can set those aside. Mr. McAhmladhson and I will need to attend to those.”
Celeste quickly scanned through the stack, and pulled out three more letters from the banking house and set them aside. She then picked up another unopened envelope.
“Mainland Milliners,” she read.
“That would be something for the Duchess. Why don’t we put that over here?”
One by one they went through the stack of mail. Some of it was from business houses, some from neighboring estates, responding largely to events or purchases made at the recent trade fair. It was an odd task, but Celest seemed to be interested in it. Before long, the mail was sorted into stacks that would help make it more manageable.
As they worked, Jonathan rested his eyes by watching the sweep of Celeste’s dark eyelashes against her fair cheek as she focused on deciphering the addresses.
“Nicely done,” he said. “Now, let us see how you do with entering items in a ledger. We will start with the household accounts, and see how you do.”
Celeste’s head came up abruptly, and she stared at him with wide hazel eyes. A few curls had wisped out from under her cap and softened the planes of her slender face.By the gods, she is lovely!All of that, and intelligence, too.How was it that no one had asked her to marry before now? How I wish. . . but that is just foolishness from a married man and one far above her station. Such particular attentions could only do her harm.
Jonathan stood up, and from a nearby case he took a worn little ledger book. “The household accounts are usually kept by Miss Sedgewick. But she is also unusually busy, what with clearing up after the fair, seeing to the spring cleaning, and discussing with the cook the pickling and brewing as the garden produce is beginning to be available in greater amounts than the household can immediately eat up.”
“Oh! I had not thought…she is always busy.”
“That she is. She is responsible for over-seeing all the female members of the staff. I am concerned for her. She feels the death of the housemaid and the near death of the scullery girl quite deeply.”
“And you, Your Grace?”
Jonathan took a deep breath and assessed his feelings. The staff members who worked in his household should be allowed to go about their work without fear. But he found that his concern for them was over-shadowed by the possibility that Celeste might come to harm.
As he considered the question, he studied the maid before him as he had not observed any woman since marrying Margery. The hazel eyes, that were beginning to look a little apprehensive, were framed in dark, curling eyelashes, the golden blond hair pulled smoothly back into an intricate knot of braids at the base of her neck, the slender neck modestly framed by white ruffle above the dark cloth of her uniform, and the tension in her slender frame.
“I am disturbed that these dreadful events have occurred in my household, but I did not work closely with these young women. Although I think I might have seen them at the time of their hiring, I did not know them. Miss Sedgewick did, and they were her responsibility. She feels the loss of one and the near loss of another very deeply, and has pledged to be extra careful in accounting for the maids placed in her care. This means added vigilance in addition to her normal duties. If we can lighten her load a little, I believe the entire household will be the better for it.”
Celeste nodded her understanding, and dropped her eyes to look at her hands in her lap. “She is stern, but kind. I had not thought how this all must be for her. I will gladly lend my assistance.”
“Good. Now, here are notes up from the cook, the gardener, the poultryman, the cowherd, and more. Some of them can read and write, while others keep tally sticks. Let’s begin with the poultryman, who does read, write, and do a little figuring.” Jonathan handed her a little book made of sheets of linen rag paper that had been folded and carefully stitched together at the center. “Now, then, here is the account book.”
