Page 23 of A Marriage is Arranged

The grandfather clock in the corner of the drawing room was ringing the half hour when the Earl returned. He had changed into evening clothes. Though they were well tailored, they did nothing to disguise the powerful frame beneath. A swallow-tail coat sat smoothly but not tightly over his wide shoulders; a grey waistcoat covered his broad chest and his snowy white neck cloth glinted with a diamond pin. The black breeches and silk stockings emphasized his muscular thighs and calves in a way that the trousers and boots he wore during the day did not.

He looked slightly less annoyed than before, and Louise was wondering if she dared to ask where he had been during the afternoon, when Lisle came in with a glass and a decanter on his tray. Next to it stood another glass containing a golden liquid.

“Your fino , my lord,” he announced. “And I have taken the liberty of bringing her ladyship a glass of the oloroso . I have found ladies often enjoy it.”

He placed the glass and decanter on a small table near the Earl and brought the tray with the fluted glass over to Louise. She took it and sipped. It really was delicious.

“Thank you, Lisle,” she said and smiled at him.

“What in God’s name was that stuff you tried to serve us all earlier, Lisle?” said her husband abruptly. “I thought I’d ordered the Chambertin, not turpentine.”

Lisle’s face fell. “ I’m sorry, my lord. I opened the bottles you requested but the 1785 Chambertin fell sadly short. I had decanted several bottles two hours earlier but failed to taste it. I take full responsibility for the near-disaster.”

“Well, if you were going to poison anyone, I would have hoped it would be my dratted cousin. Pity he didn’t drink any.”

Lisle gave a small smile. “Quite so, my lord. May I bring you anything else?”

“No.”

Then, as the man turned to leave, the Earl added, “Oh, you might give Cook our compliments and tell her she outdid herself today. I fully expect to hear she’s been poached away by one of the guests who fell in love with her cod aux champignons and offered her twice the wage I pay.”

“Your lordship will have your little joke,” replied Lisle with another small smile. “You must know Mrs. Bootle will never leave you. When Monsieur Pierre left us in the lurch as he did, you gave her the opportunity to become the only female chef in one of the great houses of London. She will never leave Shrewsbury House.”

“That French charlatan! I’d forgotten all about him. Thank God he pushed off. Mrs. Bootle is worth ten of him.”

“Indeed, my lord.” Lisle bowed and left them.

Louise had been listening to this exchange in surprise. Little joke ? It was obvious Lisle understood his stern and haughty master, and took no offense at his abrupt, even impolite, way of speaking.

“I feel very guilty,” she said. “I didn’t go down and thank them after the wedding breakfast. I was just so tired I didn’t think. I feel much better now. Thank you for being so understanding, by the way. I hope you had a pleasant afternoon?”

“Moderately so,” he responded. Then changed the subject, asking abruptly, “Why were you so tired?”

“I… I….” How could she tell him she’d been awake all the night before worrying about the night ahead? “I suppose I had a lot on my mind.” She tried to laugh it off. “It’s not every day one gets married.”

“Thank God,” replied her husband.

“Oh dear, is it already as bad as that?” Louise’s ready sense of humor came to the fore.

“Well, it does tend to interfere with one’s routine.”

This struck her as such an understatement that she went off into a peal of laughter.

The Earl gave a small smile. “I can see that was a ridiculous comment, but I suppose I’ve become accustomed to living alone.”

“And what is your routine? Do debates in the House claim your attention every day?”

But before he could give an answer, Lisle came in to announce that dinner was ready.