Page 9 of Broken

Giles stopped cold. Damn. How the hell was he going to keep Lillian Winter’s presence from the viscount? Giles shook his head. He could not stop the viscount’s visit now, but at least Carrington knew how to keep his mouth shut. His friend hated gossip as much as Giles did. Yet, in a strange way, Giles was pleased to think that someone else would learn of Lilly’s existence.

He glanced up the staircase as he trudged inside again. Lord Winter hadn’t extended him the courtesy of an introduction, just the pleasure of providing a roof over Lilly’s head. Perhaps later he could work out an excuse to check on her personally. He had a journal to return, after all.

He’d have to arrange it before Carrington arrived. Maybe tomorrow, or the day after, but certainly before the viscount charmed her into falling half in love with him, as every other female in London was prone to do.

Feeling somewhat better, he looked around his home but shuddered. There was a lot of work needed around the old place. The sooner he got his staff to work, the better. He would hire extra hands from the village and have them start straight away. At least his extended stay would not be a complete waste of time. The broad front steps needed scrubbing too.

He headed to the servants’ quarters, where he was sure to find Dithers and Mrs. Osprey at this time of day. They stood in surprise when he entered the housekeeper’s sitting room, but he waved them back to their places.

Glancing about him, he noticed how cozy the two of them appeared. He settled into a sturdy-looking armchair and told them what he wanted done. They both nodded, but it was not until he was near the end of his orders that he noticed the strange gleam in his housekeeper’s eyes.

“Do you have concerns, Osprey?”

“No, my lord, everything can be done as you requested, quicker with the extra hands from the village. Was there any particular completion date for the work? Any important event in the near future we must plan for?”

Giles peered at her then scoffed. Her tightly clasped hands gave her away. “No, Mrs. Matchmaker. I am not getting married.” The housekeeper slumped. “Much to your obvious disappointment.”

“I’m sorry, my lord. It’s just that the house is so quiet these days, and I cannot help remembering that your father was a father of two by your age.”

“Hmm, my parents married young. Much good that did them.”

“They were happy,” Dithers and Mrs. Osprey murmured in unison.

“Yes, until my father broke his neck. Enough. Just because I have been cajoled into playing nursemaid doesn’t mean I have changed my opinion of women and the position in my life they occupy.”

The pair exchanged discontented expressions, and then Mrs. Osprey sat forward. “About the young miss? Do you have any idea how long your intended will be staying with us?”

Giles looked at Mrs. Osprey hard. “The betrothal ended at their request years ago, Osprey. You would do well to remember that and not cause discomfort to Miss Winter. The baron wants us to conceal her presence at Cottingstone and I quite agree with him.”

Mrs. Osprey frowned, unconsciously rubbing her hands over the chair arms. Had she forgotten that, too? After a moment of fierce contemplation, she blushed. It appeared she had forgotten.

Dithers leaned toward the housekeeper. “You should concentrate on your duties, Ossie, and not let the nurse’s talk of the past confuse you. Something isn’t right with that one. She’s sticking her nose where it oughtn’t to be.”

“Well, you’re just annoyed because your charms don’t work on her,” she snapped.

A vein pulsed in the butler’s temple. “I beg your pardon,” Dithers ground out through clenched teeth.

As the spat developed between his servants, Giles considered his butler’s earlier words instead. The man was not a high stickler, but he was particularly observant. If Dithers had concerns about the nurse, Giles would do well to heed them. Lord Winter’s passing words, strange things happen around Lilly, troubled him even more now. “I have not spoken to the nurse, but Miss Winter is the daughter of a baron and deserves to be shown proper respect during her stay. Watch what you say around her. I would not like her made uncomfortable by references to the past.”

Mrs. Osprey held the butler’s glare a moment longer and then her face blanked of all emotion. She turned to Giles, and it was as if that disagreement had never started.

“Of course, my lord. I never considered that she would understand us.”

Giles clenched the arms of his seat. “Where the hell did you hear that she won’t understand you, and from whom?” He had heard Lilly’s soft words and believed her mind sound. Such a statement was clearly ridiculous.

“Why, the nurse herself, my lord,” Mrs. Osprey confided. “She told me not to fret because Miss Winter won’t ever understand what’s going on around her. She said she’d take care of everything.”

Giles’ estimation of Mrs. Osprey’s intelligence sank. “Mrs. Osprey, I am sure you have something to do. Go. Do it somewhere else. I want to have a word with Dithers about the south border.”

Mrs. Osprey fussed her way out the door, never noticing the pained glance Dithers cast at Giles.

The butler sighed, long and loud. “She grows worse each year. It sneaks up on me at times like this.”

Giles wiped a hand over his face as he contemplated his housekeeper’s unhappy future. “You’re certain her mind is failing?”

“Yes, milord.” Dithers slumped in the chair, regret creasing his features. “She forgets the strangest things at times. I spend half my day discreetly following her about.”

“She does not have family nearby, does she?”