Mr. Warburton, too, was absolutely intent on remaining until the day he could not carry on. He had an extreme loyalty to the duke’s family and the estate itself, and his only hesitation had been the fear that there would be no one to carry on the title. Now that an heir had been found, he was absolutely determined to stay.
After some discussion, Mr. Warburton and Mrs. Perkins agreed on which of the upper maids to promote to housekeeper. This left one more maid position open, but that was far easier to find a replacement for than a housekeeper with fifteen years of experience.
The sisters determined that, once they had filled three maids’ positions and the cook’s assistant position, any other staffing decisions could wait until their mother, the real mistress of the house, was settled in.
~~~~~
While his daughters were dealing with household and staffing issues, Duke Derby was holed up in the study looking over ledgers and speaking with his secretary occasionally.
The personal books were both more and less complicated than he anticipated. Less so, because almost all of the expenses were household expenses, with just a few clothing expenses here and there. There was no entertainment, no traveling, no expensive furniture purchases, no horses purchased, not even any expenses one might associate with a mistress. The old duke’s entire existence was wrapped up in his home and his servants.
Even so, the old man had spent six thousand a year just on that. The house was large, to say the least, and it required an enormous staff to keep it in good condition. Additionally, there seemed to be a stable of about ten horses, though Bennet had not yet been out to see them in person.
The house, itself, was why the ledgers were more complex than he anticipated. The number of expenses, and even the types of expenses, were more numerous than he was used to dealing with. Simply skimming through a single book, which covered a year’s worth of expenses, had taken a couple of hours.
By mid-afternoon, the duke had a headache, and the writing on the pages began to blur. He left his secretary and went for a walk. His original intention was to go look at the stables to see for himself the quality of horseflesh he now owned.
Instead, when he stepped out the front door, he realized that he had no idea where the stable was. So, he simply decided to wander about. After looking around at a couple different ornamental gardens, one on the side of the house and one in the back, he realized that he could have simply followed the path that clearly showed how the carriages were transported from the front of the house where they dropped off their passengers to the carriage house where they were stored.
When this occurred to him, he laughed out loud at himself. Shaking his head, he turned back to the front of the house where he followed the path like a sensible person.
When he finally reached the stables, he spoke at length with the stablemaster. He was introduced to each horse, and he could tell they were all exercised regularly and were well taken care of. As he continued to listen to the stablemaster, however, he began to feel bad for the animals.
Only two of the ten horses were used for their original purpose. Those were the farm horses. They still did plenty of work on the farm. Additionally, they were used to pull the cart whenever the housekeeper or the cook needed to head into town to make purchases.
The carriage horses didn’t have a carriage to pull, since the old duke never left the house. The hunter hadn’t been out hunting in almost twenty years. There were even a couple of older ladies’ horses that had probably been originally purchased for the use of the late duchess and her visitors. The duke wondered if they still knew how to carry a lady on a side saddle.
The discussion eventually ended with Bennet assuring the stablemaster that all the horses would be put to use again soon enough, except for the old hunter who was clearly nearing the end of his life. He added that he would likely need to add to the size of the stable somewhat, since he had six ladies under his care who all liked to visit and shop a great deal. The stablemaster thanked him and bowed deeply in gratitude.
Eventually, Bennet arrived back at his study, only to be greeted by a sheepish expression from his secretary.
As the secretary pointed to a stack of smaller ledgers, he said, “I forgot to tell you about the ledgers for the town house. It hasn’t been used by the duke in more than ten years, but it has been rented out occasionally for short-term stays, so it has been maintained nicely. It costs about one thousand a year in upkeep, since it is not occupied constantly.”
Bennet groaned loudly.
Chapter 6
The next day, shortly before one, a carriage arrived at Lockwood. Once the guests were announced as Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy, and Mrs. Annesley, Elizabeth’s father practically pounced on Mr. Darcy, saying, “I am extremely grateful for your kindness in coming to assist us. Now, if you don’t mind, I have built up quite a list of questions for you. Shall we adjourn to my study?”
Elizabeth felt embarrassed at her father’s rude behavior, but she said nothing. Surprisingly, it was Jane who corrected him. “Papa, you must let Mr. Darcy rest from his journey for a bit before taking him away like that. I shall ring for some tea and refreshments, and while we wait, our guests can get settled in their rooms and change if they desire.”
Papa looked abashed. “My apologies, Mr. Darcy,” he said. “I admit that after looking over ledgers and books for twelve hours, my eyes are crossed, and my brain is scrambled. Please forgive me.”
Mr. Darcy chuckled, and Elizabeth felt her jaw drop to hear it. She didn’t think the man was capable of laughing. “No need for that, Your Grace,” he said. “I have felt the same way when looking over my own ledgers after a lengthy absence.” He turned to Jane and Elizabeth and said, “I would like to get myself and my sister settled, though, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” said Jane. “If you would make the introductions, I will see that you are all taken care of.”
Mr. Darcy introduced his sister as Miss Georgiana Darcy and the young lady’s companion as Mrs. Annesley.
Based on Mr. Wickham’s description, Elizabeth had expected Miss Darcy to be proud, possibly something like Miss Bingley, but she was the exact opposite. If anything, she seemed timid, almost mousy.
Mrs. Perkins arrived almost immediately after the introductions, and she led the guests away to their rooms.
“I do hope their rooms are comfortable enough,” said Jane.
“So do I,” said Elizabeth.
~~~~~
