Chapter 10 #3
“Not me personally, no.” This time the amusement in his voice was unmistakable. A glance at him revealed that his eyes were sparkling like those of a man about to perform a trick he had spent weeks honing. “But I agree with you. She will have to be scrubbed clean before she takes your place.”
Takes your place.
Katherine’s heart plummeted in her chest once again. She’d been wrong. He was about to reveal to his wife that he knew what they had done, after all. Lady Malpas, who apparently had reached the same conclusion, looked close to fainting.
“What do you mean?” The question was barely more than a whisper.
“What do you think? I thought your memory would stretch to more than a day, my lady. Evidently, I was overly generous in my assumption?”
It was when he saw Katherine pale that Siaspar understood how this conversation would have sounded to her. Exactly like it was sounding to Lady Malpas. She was worried that he was about to expose what had happened on his wedding night.
What a fool. Lost to the pleasure of teasing his wife, he had scared Katherine. He gave her a swift glance to remind her that he had his reasons for calling her so unexpectedly, willing her to trust him.
“Yesterday, we agreed to find a woman to discharge you from a duty you found bothersome,” he told Lady Malpas, wishing to put an end to the uncertainty. “Someone who would take your place when the tailor comes.”
“Of course. Yes. The new wardrobe.”
Now that she saw he was not about to accuse her of anything, she had regained some color. Katherine looked better as well, which was what he really cared about. “Indeed. The new wardrobe. You will agree that the girl is perfect for the role.”
No answer. Instead, another question. “And where did you find her, may I ask?”
The woman was good, Siaspar had to admit. He could have sworn that she had never set eyes on Katherine before. But, of course, to her, the little scullion was only a tool, not a person of real substance.
“That is the most extraordinary thing of all. I feared that we would have to search the length and breadth of the country to find a woman who could pass off as you, and yet and the very next day I chanced upon one in my kitchen!”
“What were you doing in the kitchen, I wonder?” Lady Malpas asked in her best haughty tones, confident now that he did not suspect that she knew Katherine already. “Roasting lampreys for your dinner tonight?”
A snort escaped his lips. “You do not really roast lampreys, rather you put them in a pie. I fear you would make a poor cook, my lady. But no, I was not wrestling with lampreys, I was giving instructions as to the brewing of the ale. The last batch was far too bitter for my taste. Of course you might not have noticed anything, as bitterness seems to be second nature to you.”
Lady Malpas ignored the pique but he heard Katherine’s intake of breath from behind him.
“You are an expert in the matter of brewing ale, then, are you?”
“Not an expert exactly but…” He stopped and allowed a brilliant smile to bloom on his lips. “My grandfather was a brewer, and it was he who taught me everything there is to know about good ale.”
“A… Your grandfather was a brewer?”
“Why, yes. I apologize if this comes as a shock to you. I thought you would have been told that my fortune is only very recent? Your brother certainly knows.”
He threw another glance at Katherine, who was struggling to keep her face impassive. She had wished to witness the revelation and he hoped she was enjoying the moment as much as he was.
“I will be happy to answer all the questions you might have about my grandfather later. I can tell you are curious. But let us go back to the matter at hand, for now. This girl, once suitably cleaned, will act as a model for the tailors to create the new dresses for you. Not only is she of your height and build but, by an extraordinary stroke of luck, she also shares your pale coloring and even has the same blue eyes. With her, the tailors will be able to judge the effect of a color as well as if you were modeling for them. It’s perfect. ”
“It’s preposterous!” Lady Malpas seemed to have recovered from her shock.
Siaspar gave a mocking bow. “I only aim to please you, my lady, and spare you discomfort. May I remind you that you claimed only yesterday that you would find it tedious to stand whilst being measured and fitted for dresses?”
“I did but—”
“Then it is settled. If the girl doesn’t object, she will leave the kitchen and come to be, for all intents and purposes…you.”
The irony was not lost on him, and he hoped, not on Katherine either.
“She will never be me, and being dressed is hardly a full-time occupation for a servant,” Lady Malpas snapped. His attempt to rile her had been successful, it seemed. Good.
“Indeed, but I daresay that the girl can sew and embroider. While she is not being measured, she will organize your wardrobe to suit your new situation and my preferences. I told you I cared not for the dresses you favor.”
Husband and wife were talking about her as if she were invisible. Katherine watched in silence and made sure not to draw attention to herself.
Certainly, servants were little more than furniture for Lady Malpas, but she knew that Siaspar was only ignoring her to protect her from suspicion, for which she was deeply grateful.
But the abrupt way he talked to his wife took her aback.
Despite the difference in status between them, he had never talked to her as bluntly as this, at least not since he had found out the truth behind her reasons for obeying Lady Malpas’ orders.
And she had to admit that, if he was abrupt with his wife, the woman had amply deserved it by her constant criticizing—and, of course, her attempt on his life.
It was incredible to think that he had not sent her away in disgrace after that.
Then she realized that forcing her to remain with a husband she hated was probably the best punishment he could have devised for her.
But he had to have a plan to extricate himself from this appalling situation. No one deserved to be so miserable.
Siaspar suddenly turned to her. “Are you willing to do as I suggested?” he asked, keeping his voice impersonal. No one could have suspected him of knowing who she truly was.
“I am, my lord, if it pleases you.”
“Good. Then go and get cleaned. When you are finished you will put on one of her ladyship’s gowns and come find me in—”
A cry interrupted him. “You cannot mean that!”
“I can,” Siaspar answered just as tranquilly as if Lady Malpas had not looked about to have a seizure.
“Your clothes, ugly as they are, do not smell of the kitchen, so that way, the girl’s presence in your rooms should not offend your delicate nose.
She can wear the blue dress to start with, I think, the one with the fur trimmings on the sleeves.
I abhor it and do not want to see it on you ever again. ”
Katherine knew the one he meant. It was a lavish creation of shimmering blue velvet with soft white fur at the cuffs.
Her heart started to beat faster at the thought of slipping on such a precious gown.
She guessed that Siaspar did not really hate it; he was simply trying to humiliate his wife by dressing a servant in clothes that would make her pass for one of her peers.
“It is one of my best gowns!” Lady Malpas was beside herself with rage.
“Be that as it may, it is far too English for my tastes. I prefer simpler raiment. And I will remind you that I am your husband, and as such, will not countenance to have my decisions questioned or my wishes ignored.”