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Chapter Eight
There were lots of things Chastity missed about her old life—comfy beds, feet that did not pound, her sisters—naturally—but the food had to be what she yearned for the most. The fare on offer at Heath Lodge was not the worst, but the lack of variety meant one day blurred into the next and she had already been here far too long. Much longer, and she might try to persuade the earl to change the menu.
“I still cannot believe we have been in London for so long,” said Jenny.
“I’m not complaining,” Charlotte said around a mouthful of potatoes.
“As you should not be,” said Mr. Daniels from his position at the head of the table. He sat ramrod straight, always the picture of the perfect butler.
Mrs. Cooke’s posture matched, and she wondered if they had competitions to see who could sit straighter. Both watched over everyone with a paternal eye, but Mrs. Cooke still treated her with coolness.
“It’s fine for Mr. Daniels,” Jenny muttered to Chastity. “He has no family anyway.”
Chastity eagerly scooped up a forkful of the tender pork. Bored with her food or not, she found herself ravenous at the end of the day. Not that her day was even over. How one was meant to conduct a successful investigation when she could scarcely keep her eyes open by the evening she did not know. Jenny reckoned it only took a week for one to get used to the early mornings, but Chastity had yet to find them anything other than utter misery. She spent the first hour of her day walking around in a daze.
“Your family is in Devon then?” Chastity asked Jenny.
Though she and Charlotte shared a room, she had yet to find out much from her about the other girls. They talked a little before bed, but she struggled to get a word in sometimes when Jenny started talking. The fair-haired young woman had naturally rosy cheeks, a petite nose, and a lovely heart-shaped face that made one want to tuck her under a wing and protect her from the world. Her lively personality appealed to Chastity, however, it did not make it easy to ask her questions. She had offered little information on Julian or the other women who worked in the house.
But perhaps if she got Jenny talking, the others would join in. Seated opposite her was one of the women she suspected could have been Julian’s lover, Rose. The other was Charlotte and the cook’s assistant Ivy. All three were unmarried and young. Any one of them could be a woman in mourning, Chastity decided, and though Charlotte was the least likely, given she had a rather dry but humorous disposition, she did not wish to discount her. In her experience, however, people mourned in so many different ways.
Jenny nodded. “We’re tenants at one of the farms there, but I have six siblings, so the living is expensive. Lord Kendall offered me a position in his house though he hardly needs the additional help.”
“Six siblings? Do you have sisters? I have—” She stilled and jabbed her fork into a potato, stuffing it into her mouth before she could say more. Fool that she was, she’d almost talked of her sisters. The less people knew of her real life the better.
“You have sisters?”
She nodded and quickly shoved another potato into her mouth. “Mmm hmmm.”
“I hope to have as many children.” Jenny sighed and put her elbow to the table, then rested her cheek on a closed fist. “But it’s so hard to meet men in Devon.”
Chastity’s stomach tightened and a frisson speared upward through her, landing in her heart and making one sickening thud. She’d wanted children once too, but now it seemed she never would. As soon as the joy of her marriage had faded and she realized who her true husband was, she had done all she could to ensure she could not conceive. She would never inflict such controlling and bullying ways on a child.
But it didn’t matter now. She had a satisfying and busy life as well as wealth and independence. She should most certainly not envy Jenny and her hard-working lifestyle.
“I imagine Lord Kendall offered you a position here for much the same reason.” Jenny eyed her for a few moments before returning her attention to her food.
“I suppose so,” Chastity murmured. If someone had told her Lord Kendall was the charitable sort when she had first met him, she would have laughed in their face. Now she was not so certain her first impression of him was true, but she could not put her finger on why.
“What with you losing your husband and all.”
“Yes, exactly.”
“Well, I am quite happy to spend the rest of my days in London,” Tom Lowe, the head footman, declared. “In fact, I might request to remain here with the London staff when we are to return.”
Jenny rolled her eyes and jabbed a fork in Tom’s direction. “Just because you do not appreciate Mrs. Lowe one jot.”
“My wife is a gem. A gem best kept at a distance.” Tom grinned at Chastity. “She has a keen right hook and no tolerance for nonsense.”
“Unfortunately for Tom, he is full of nonsense,” said Charlotte. “And Mrs. Lowe will have his head if he finds out he has been gambling again.”
With sparkling blue eyes crinkled in the corners, and dashes of white in his pale hair, Tom had the sort of soft, friendly looks that immediately endeared one to him. That, and the fact he had been one of the few to treat her without distrust meant she almost viewed him as an ally. Rarely a morning passed without him offering a kind word or trying to make her laugh with one of his awful jokes.
“Chastity does not think me full of nonsense, do you, girl? Charlotte here is scared of my wife and will not go against her word.” He jabbed a fork in Charlotte’s direction. “Don’t you go snitching to her. I only played a few card games.”
“I am not scared of her,” Charlotte protested. “And I’m not a snitch either.”
“She is a fearsome woman,” added Jenny.
