Chemistry of Magic: Unexpected Magic Book Five (Unexpected Magic #5)(37)
Vowing to consult with Bridey before putting that skinny child to heavy work, Emilia nodded and began the task of going through the other applicants and their skills and cost.
She had yet to ask Mrs. Peacock how much she expected. She feared a cook that good would ask twice what she paid all the other staff put together. But her husband needed to eat properly to keep up his strength.
Dare wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, jotted a note on the level of sulfur in the Bath water he was testing, and was wondering how he might acquire Harrogate spa water when Emilia tapped on the workshop door again.
This time, he was happy to see her. Tired and ready to sit down, he wiped his hands off on a rag and hoped for a kiss or two. Or more.
Her expression deterred that thought. “Problems?” he asked.
“Nothing someone with more experience might handle,” she said wearily, glancing around at the dark interior.
The workshop was purely utilitarian. There had already been a scarred and battered plank table and sagging shelves. His up-ended trunk served as a seat and his traveling desk served as table for his notes. There was nowhere for her to sit.
Offering his arm, he suggested, “Perhaps we should go back to the house. There are likely rats and spiders out here.”
“Or worse.” She shivered and accepted his arm. “Everywhere I turn, I miss items I’m used to having around me, and I despair of keeping expenses in control. I need a horse,” she said flatly.
“So do I. And a gig. And all the accompanying expense of keeping animals, including grooms and hay and repairing the stable,” he acknowledged. “If you go riding alone, you will need a groom to accompany you.”
“The area is rural. I don’t need a man to follow me about,” she protested. “But it seems foolish to take out an enormous carriage and team if I simply wish to visit the abbey. Where will you be taking a gig?”
“To Harrogate to buy the horses,” he said, trying to sound cheerful. “And to purchase spa water. Taking an expensive berlin to the horse fair to purchase cheap riding hacks is not a good way to get the best price.”
“There is a hot spring on the grounds,” she said, gesturing toward the fields. “I need to see if my grandfather’s experimental mosses and liverwort still survive in that hollow. The area is littered with springs, apparently. You can bottle your own.”
That perked him up. “Our very own spa? Convenient! But I still need a way to go to town. I daresay I can borrow a hack, but I’m not at all certain I’ll have the strength to ride home with a string of animals afterward. And I’d really rather sleep with you than in a crowded inn with a dozen other fellows.”
That Dare admitted his weakness showed his trust in her, she thought, or his level of discouragement. She wished she understood people as well as she did plants. “Has the horse fair started? Should I go with you?”
He shook his head. “There is too much to do here, and the town will be crowded with men. Accommodations are likely to be a stable if I’m forced to stay overnight. We sent your father’s wagon back too soon. I’ll have to walk into the village and see if I can rent one. How did the servant interviews go?”
“That is why I need a horse,” she said with a sigh. “I really need to consult with Bridey. I think I have just hired an unwed mother for a kitchen maid who ought to be teaching school.”
He looked at her blankly. “Do I want to question that?”
She chuckled. “Best not. I’ll let you hire the male servants, shall I? Except if you’ll not be here tomorrow, I will have to curb Mrs. Wiggs’ enthusiasm for hiring the entire village until you are home again.”
“Our budget will allow male servants?” he asked dubiously. “They cost twice the amount.”
“Not in our household they won’t,” she warned. “If they want a position, their pay will be commensurate with their work, not how pretty they look. And they’ll be carrying the coal and water and sharing their fair share of the hard labor.”
“Ah, you don’t want to hire male servants,” he said in amusement. “That makes my hiring task easier. I’ll tell them the wage and the chores, and they’ll all leave rather than do women’s work.”
She shot him a glance to be certain he teased. Satisfied, she explained what Mrs. Wiggs had told her. “These will be untrained farm boys hoping to learn a position. Younger sons, mostly, who won’t inherit the farm and would rather not work for their families. They’re accustomed to hauling and chopping. They might not last long on what we can pay them, but they won’t know that what we require of them is unusual. If you agree with her choices, we’ll stay under budget.”
“And your Mrs. Wiggs plans to train them all without a butler or steward?”
She nodded. “Saving the wages of a butler opens the budget for the additional staff. I’ve convinced Mrs. Wiggs that we’re not a grand household and won’t be entertaining on any scale. We simply need people to take care of the house while we work on our projects. If I had been the housewifely sort, we probably wouldn’t need half the staff. But I have no intention of changing,” she said with an air of defiance.
At the top of the stairs, he kissed her cheek. “And I don’t wish you to wear yourself out on menial tasks during the day, when I have much more interesting ones prepared for you at night. We have only just begun to fulfill our marital duties, my little hedgehog.”