Page 5 of If a Lady Lingers

“Well,” she started tentatively, even though he urged her on with an excited nod, “this floor plan is based upon putting all the work rooms, kitchens, and cisterns beneath the house, all the way to the far end of the property. Just a small sliver of the traditional rear yard would be left for those things that can’t be put beneath the house…access for the night soil men, for example. For that matter, most of what was previously needed in a service yard can be done away with altogether, considering all the services that can be hired out these days. Gentlemen don’t even need their own horses and carriages with the number of hackneys available in London.”

He let out a low whistle of appreciation. “Golly.”

Her cheeks heated with pride. “The world is changing, Mr. Whitby. Why, soon we might not need cisterns in houses at all. Think of it—all water and waste simply carried to and from in pipes!”

“That would sure be something if it ever came to be,” he agreed. Then he frowned at her sketch. “But if all the work areas are underground, how do the servants see to work?”

A good question. Most people didn’t care about the comfort of their servants. What mattered to them were the rooms above where they lived. “First, we put large windows in the access area beneath the front façade. Then, instead of having a rabbit warren of little work rooms, the basement is mostly open space and lit with gas lamps throughout.” She said thoughtfully, half to herself, “You’d be surprised at how much light a single well-placed lamp can emit. All the new squares will have a gas supply. If you’d like, we can even put gas lighting throughout your house, along with sinks and water closets.” She looked up and met his gaze—he’d been watching her. But oddly, that didn’t bother her. “Youwillputting in pipes and subscribing to a water service, won’t you?”

“Oh, yes!” He stopped suddenly, mid nod. “That is, if your father thinks it’s a good idea.”

Your father…not her. That stung more than she wanted to admit. “It’s definitely a good idea. I think you’ll want a fixed tub in your dressing room, too.” When he blinked at the idea, perplexed, she flipped through the pages to show him the new bath room she’d been designing. “It’s the latest thing. A round tub that you can sit in with a water tank above that rains down over you, and the water all drains away through pipes into the cistern in the basement. It’s called a shower tub.”

“A shower tub,” he repeated, his voice tinged with awe. “La, that’s brilliant!”

“Isn’t it, though? The water source comes from the roof cistern. To have hot water, though, the servants will still haul it up from the kitchens and pour it into that little reservoir there on the ceiling. But the fixed drain cuts their work in half because they don’t have to carry the water all the way back down. Why, you could even have a wash basin with running water in the same room.” And a flush toilet. Oh, she longed to have a house with one of those! “And a subbasement for storage.”

“Perfect,” he murmured, his eyes not leaving her face.

Heat rose in her cheeks. He was making her uncomfortable…although not necessarily in an altogetherbadway. “Mr. Whitby, if you would please focus on—”

“Because we’re going to need lots of storage space.”

Her face flushed even more, this time in self-embarrassment. Oh, she was a goose for thinking he was making advances! He was only speaking of cellars.

She forced a smile. “We can certainly do that.”

“Excellent!” He clapped his hands together and then flipped back the pages to her dream house. “But tell me more about this. Lots of rooms, you said, and lots of light.”

“It’s built in a U-shape which adds two extra rooms on each floor and a small courtyard. The stairs are centered beneath a glass dome to let light into the interior—” She caught herself as her excitement swelled and shook her head. “But these are only concepts, you understand. Only my imagination running wild.”

“That’s what makes them so exciting!” This time his clapped hands were accompanied by a bright laugh. “Excitingandexcellent—I can’t wait to hear how you and your father will work these innovations into my house. Coming here was the right decision.” An infectious grin lit his face, and she couldn’t help but smile back. “We’re going to build a marvelous house together, Miss Daring.”

I hope so.Two of them.

He stood. “So I’ll leave you both to it.”

He gave her a bow so low that she feared he might topple over. She scrambled to her feet to catch him, only for him to straighten with a wide grin. He handed her one of his cards with his direction on it.

“You will send information to me regarding the retainer and when the initial sketches will be ready, won’t you?” His question sounded more like a plea.

“Of course.”

He bounced to the doorway, then paused to pick up the hat and gloves he’d left on a chair when he’d arrived and turned back to her. “The lovely Miss Daisy Daring,” he said quietly, his wide grin fading into a dreamy smile. “Build me a grand house.”

Then he was gone, leaving her to gape after him.

Rather,almostgone. He poked his head back into the room. “By the by, how long does it take to build a house?”

“What you’re asking for—basement, frame, interiors… Six months, I should think.”

“Six months,” he murmured. Happiness beamed from him as if he’d just been told he’d won the lottery. “Wonderful!”

Thenhe was gone.

Daisy stared after him, blinking, her book still lying open in her hands and her forefinger pointing at a sketch. Good heavens, had that conversation really just happened? Her mind swirled. What had they agreed to, exactly? After all, on the tip of her tongue poised all the reasons why she couldn’t possibly build this particular house for him…

Yet a slow smile spread across her face, one nearly as bright and big as his grins had been. “Why not?”