Matt leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of tea. “They could eat in the school-room.”
Several pairs of sleepy eyes glared at him.
“No, they cannot.” Grace threw him an irritated look.
“Matt?” Louisa asked, using a warning tone. “Have you seen the school-room?”
He had a feeling he was about to get a lesson in humility. “No.”
“There is not a place for a table large enough to fit all of them,” Grace said. “When we have guests, they will dine early in here.”
“I’m sorry. I suppose I should have taken a look first.” That had not been well done on his part. “As you wish, my dear.”
Breakfast was much quieter than usual. She dabbed her lips with the serviette and rose. “Charlotte, I would like you to practice your music. Perhaps Louisa can join you. I must go now if I’m to be ready for Mrs. Thorton.”
Ah, he was to be trusted with the children. After Grace left, Matt glanced around the table with a sense of contentment. She was finally accepting their marriage and making decisions again. “After you’ve finished, you may all go back to bed for a nap. I’ll not take grumpy children to the Park.”
He waited until they’d gone, then ambled over to Worthington House.
* * *
The door opened before Grace knocked.
“My lady.” Worthington’s butler bowed. “Mrs. Thorton is waiting for you in the morning room.”
“Thank you, Thorton.”
Grace looked at the large entrance hall, tiled in black-and-white marble. An ornately carved grand staircase anchored the room, rising to a gallery on the first floor, then up again to another gallery. This was older and larger than Stanwood House. Flanking the entrance hall were two rooms. Two corridors, one on each side of the hall, led off to the back of the house. She followed Thorton down one of them to a pleasant, sunny parlor with French windows leading to a terrace and the garden beyond.
Mrs. Thorton was as short as her husband was tall. Pleasantly plump with a jovial countenance, she looked to be around fifty years of age. Grace hoped she’d be as easy to work with as she appeared.
The housekeeper bobbed a curtsey. “Welcome, my lady. I have my notebook and pencil. Where would you like to start?”
Grace smiled. “In the school-room. I imagine major renovations will be needed there.”
Leading Grace out of the parlor and up the stairs, the housekeeper said, “I understand, my lady, that you have several brothers and sisters.”
That was one way to put it. “Indeed, seven. Three boys, though the oldest is at Eton, and four girls. The eldest is making her come out this year. I shall need at least five bedchambers for the children and two sets of chambers for their tutor and governess.”
Mrs. Thorton raised her brows. “Then you will have to remodel the entire floor.”
Grace followed her up three flights of stairs to the school-room. It consisted of one room and two connecting bedchambers at the front of the house. A corridor with rooms on either side led to the back. Most of the rooms were very small and either empty or used for storage. “Where do the servants sleep?”
“The next floor up, my lady. Mr. Thorton and I have rooms in the other corridor on this side.”
That was odd. If no one else did, the butler usually had his apartments downstairs. Grace pursed her lips. “Are you happy on this floor?”
“Well, my lady, to be honest, we were happier in the rooms downstairs.”
“What are those chambers being used for now?”
“Mostly storage.”
Then there would be no reason the problem could not be remedied fairly quickly. “Decide what you must have done to make them habitable again, and send me the list. In the meantime—” Grace opened the doors to the two front apartments, which were spacious. Each consisting of a bedroom, dressing room, and parlor. “They will do well for the governess and tutor. I’d like them painted and cleaned. Hmm, if we combine every second room, the bedchambers will not be so cramped.” Grace put her fingers to her temples. “Art room with lots of windows and light, children’s parlor. What else?”
“A nursery?”
Her cheeks warmed. “At the other end of the corridor, with rooms for a nurse and maids.”
