George knew precisely what to do with them all. First, the footman. “Did you find the mistletoe?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Good. Have it sent to Lady Jane.”
The footman raised a hand hesitantly, his eyes darting from side to side. “My lord?”
“Yes?”
“We found more mistletoe. In the wood. Should we harvest it as well?”
“Why not? Send it to Lady Jane too.”
Edmund chuckled, a sly grin on his face. “And what will you have to do with me?” Edmund leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “Telling the lot of us what to do.Hmph.You're not the lord of this manor. You forget who is master here, Abbington.”
George steepled his hands beneath his chin. “Didyouremember the mistletoe?”
Edmond continued smiling.
“If I had not remembered the mistletoe, your sister would be up in the tree in a trice, and who knows what would happen the next time? I’d not be there to take the brunt of her fall.”
Edmund inclined his head. “You have the right of it. But what will you do with my butler and housekeeper, I wonder?” He scratched his chin thoughtfully.
“I dislike being confined,” George said to the two servants in question. “I was hoping there would be some way to set up a convalescent room in the gardens or conservatory or library or any place other than here. Some several places in fact. And I would like permission to borrow a strapping footman or two. If necessary. I do not think I need them to get down the stairs, but in case the pain becomes too bad and I faint, I'd like to know I won't take a tumble that will kill me where the tree roots did not.”
“Practical,” Edmond said. “It should be doable.” He glanced at Mrs. Bradley and Mr. Jenkins.
The butler inclined his head. “Yes, my lord. I will instruct Martin, our largest footman to be at your service.”
“And,” the housekeeper added, “I shall construct several places of comfort throughout the house, in the conservatory and the library if you like. I'll make sure fires are roaring and that pillows are on hand. I do not think you would like the garden at this time of year, my lord. It is quite cold.”
She had a point there. Though he did brave the cold every single day during the winter season for his morning walk. While a walk would warm the blood, sitting in a garden would not. Yet, he'd risk it. He needed to get outside first thing in the morning. It remained an essential part of his routine.
“Thank you for your concern and consideration,” he said, “but I think I will sit outside for half an hour or so every morning.”
The housekeeper curtsied. “As you wish, my lord.”
George smiled gratefully. “Thank you. That is all.”
The staff left Edmund and George alone.
Edmund sat by the fire. “Now, what is it you will have me do?”
George’s blood boiled, and he ripped the blanket from his legs. “Your sister is impossible.”
“No prelude. But that statement rarely needs one. Tell me what has happened, other than her falling out of a tree and onto you, harming you horribly.”
George waved his arms about. “She has rejected my help.”
Edmond's eyebrows jumped into his hairline. “Help?”
“With selecting a husband from her coterie of suitors.”
Edmond blinked several times, then slapped his hand on the arm of the chair. “And how would you help with that? Do you intend to kiss them all to figure out who most pleases you?”
George wrinkled his nose. “Certainly not. That would only work if Jane were the one kissing them. I can offer help in other ways.”
“Jane is no longer a child, if you have not noticed, George. She does not need help in selecting a husband.”
