“Did your commanding officer know about this?”
Mayson laughed. “Not a bit of it. He was too busy with his maps, maneuvers, and trying to get gunpowder for the muskets and the cannon. As long as food of some description appeared on his camp table, he did not care where it came from.”
“Oh, my! So you had free rein?”
“To some extent. My best kitchen boys kept getting sent off on other duties, so I was frequently retraining. We were all a good bit leaner when peace was declared.”
“So here you are, cooking for the Duchess. How...”
“Ah, but that is a tale for another time. I have talked quite enough about me.”
“Oh, no. I could listen to you talk forever,” Mrs. Swinton said sincerely. “You make the simplest things, like grinding animal fodder for bread, into an interesting story.”
“I am glad you find it so. I can assure you that I am immeasurably glad of the excellent flour that is delivered to the Dower House.”
“To be sure. The Duke is immensely generous with his mother. Today was quite unusual. Under most circumstances, he is a complete gentleman.”
“What made today different, do you think?” Mayson asked. He had heard different stories from the maids, many of whom said it was best to be elsewhere when the Duke was roaming the halls.
“The Duchess is anxious to see her son wed while she is still young enough to enjoy the grandchildren. She undertook to instruct him in his duties as a married man, including exercises in the bedroom, and she insisted that I help with the instruction. The Duchess can be quite outspoken at times. I believe it stirred his libido.”
Mayson laughed. “Oh, dear, she did not.”
“She did. Fortunately, he informed her that the… who did he say? The under-stairs maid, when he was fifteen? I think that was right. Anyway, he bluntly informed his mother that the maid in question had taken care of any necessary instruction in that department.”
“Oh, my,” Mayson could only shake his head and grin.
“Ah, but I should not be gossiping about the Dowager and her son. It is rude of me, and not at all discreet.”
“I promise it will go no further than my ears, Mrs. Swinton. But I do see how such talk might have given the Duke the wrong impression.”
“Thank you so much for understanding. And for the rescue. It allowed me to get away without making a scene. Moreover, to do it quickly enough to take care of the wine spill before it had a chance to set. Even so, I am not sure that tablecloth or the sheets will ever be quite the same again.”
“We have an amazingly canny washerwoman. Wine, blood, rancid butter, grass, or ground in dirt, she manages it all.”
“That is a relief. The Duchess seems to live in mortal fear of offending the housekeeper to such extent that she might leave.”
“I can readily believe that. Mrs. Henshaw can be a regular dragon. Even I walk warily around her, and so does Mr. Wilson. I fear the entire household would fall apart without her, however. She has been here forever, it seems, and knows exactly what is going on at all times. I am not quite sure how she does it. She is not a large or imposing woman.”
“Indeed, no,” Mrs. Swinton agreed. “She is dainty and birdlike. But not even Bronwyn, who is a big-boned country lass, offers to stand up to her. The footmen are quite terrified of her, I believe.”
“She does seem to have a way of making an impression,” Mayson agreed. “How is she with you?”
“No one could possibly be kinder,” Mrs. Swinton assured him. “She is direct and clear in her instructions, and I have never found fault with them. I am quite impressed. Should I ever be so fortunate as to be hired as a housekeeper, I shall certainly take her as a model.”
“Indeed?” Mayson was surprised at that.
“Indeed. You know exactly where you are with her at all times.”
“So why is the Duchess so intimidated by her?”
“Her Grace is a wonderful person, but she is a free spirit in every sense of the word. I am not sure that Mrs. Henshaw quite approves of the Duchess. It shows in her manner and in the way she deals with her.”
“How strange. Amazing that it has not gotten her turned off.”
“Mrs. Henshaw has a slight advantage there.”
“How so?” Mayson asked.
