Guarding the Spoils (The Wild Randalls 3)

Her Grace’s frown deepened. “We must discuss the arrangements necessary for housing the wedding guests.”

“Certainly.” Beth dipped her quill in the inkpot and prepared to write.

“We will need the rooms prepared.”

Beth made a note: Bedchambers. “How many?”

“I should think all of them. I must show my Leopold off properly and ensure any gossip is of the favorable variety. I’ll provide you with a guest list shortly so we can decide who to put where, but there should be sufficient chambers. They’ll just need a bit of cleaning.”

Beth held in a groan at the work ahead and nodded. It was the duchess’s prerogative to invite as many guests as she deemed suitable for her wedding. However, a great number of bedchambers within the abbey had fallen into disuse long ago. There would be much work to do to make them acceptable for guests.

“The public rooms will need to be reorganized to ensure appropriate seating arrangements are available. The pianoforte hasn’t been used in some time and I’m uncertain if it still plays in tune.” The duchess sat forward. “It is important that the wedding week goes off without a hitch. We will need to hire more staff, but we can of course count on those that come with their masters. My sister has some thoughts on the subject. She’ll share them with you later.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Beth made a note to discover who could attend to the pianoforte properly and looked up. “Is there anything else?”

The duchess’s expression grew serious. “I don’t wish to interfere with the way you raise your son, Mrs. Turner, but George isn’t required to do the work of servants. He’s just a boy.”

Beth put aside the quill carefully. “He must do something with his days.”

The duchess leaned back in her chair and studied her. “It was my understanding that Oliver has offered to tutor the boy until he leaves Romsey.”

“Mr. Randall has been far too generous with his time as it is,” Beth said quickly.

“I was speaking to Leopold just last night about Oliver and from what I understand, he has never exhibited such a generous nature before. We believe tutoring George is good for him and the improvement of his social skills is promising.”

Beth frowned. “Oh, how so?”

“For whatever reason, George’s presence has had a positive impact. Oliver, as I’m sure you’re aware, prefers his books to people. However, the last few days he’s changed. I saw him smile yesterday for no reason at all.”

Beth focused on a spot beyond the duchess’s left ear. She’d known

Oliver would cause her trouble, but encouragement from the duchess was not what she’d thought to hear. “Oliver rarely shows his emotions.”

“Did his mother tell you that?”

“In a way.” Beth forced a smile to hide the lie. “She was always concerned he would offend those he met. The man is incapable of pretending to feel one thing when he feels another. He would make a terrible diplomat.”

“I knew you knew his temper better than you let on.” The duchess crowed. “I agree. He’s too honest by far. I do dread him meeting the wedding guests. Compared to him, some of them are quite frivolous in nature, but they do have feelings that can be crushed. I hope he will not be unreasonably cold if he does not like them.”

“If I may be frank, Your Grace. It would be best to keep them apart from each other as much as possible and hope for the best.”

The duchess tapped the arm of her chair. “That will be a difficulty as he is impossible to pry from the library. My guests, particularly the gentlemen, will congregate there.”

Getting Oliver from the library would be next to impossible. When she’d surveyed the public rooms last night before bed she had noticed the disorder Oliver had begun in one corner of the library was spreading. In his search for information, he was casting the whole room into extreme disarray. Someone would have to clean up after him.

By rights, she should instruct the maids to do it. However, Annie was noticeably uncomfortable around Oliver and he would likely dismiss her before she could start. Only the strongest of temperaments succeeded in withstanding his arguments. The abbey couldn’t afford to lose any servants this close to the wedding if he barked for them to get out. “Let me think on it a moment.”

She cast her mind back to the time before her wedding when she’d been on intimate terms with those living at Harrowdale. The only way the late Mrs. Randall had contained Oliver was to restrict him to one particular room in the house. The book room at Harrowdale had been for his exclusive use, even casting the senior Mr. Randall’s possessions to another lesser chamber.

She bit her lip, thinking hard. Oliver, and particularly the objects of his study, had to be moved away from the public areas of Romsey Abbey well before the wedding. But how to get him out of the library and achieve that goal? And more importantly, where to put him?

She stood to survey the abbey floor plans that adorned the walls of the room. There was a chamber off another, overlooking the west gardens, that was easily accessible from the main staircase but still relatively private. The room boasted a fine set of windows to provide good reading light and it would be quiet there. That covered two of the things Oliver was known to demand. He would disturb no one there and the only problem she could foresee was that he would be closer to the housekeeper’s sitting room and George. She looked again at the plan, hoping to spy an alternative that would place him farther away. Unfortunately, there wasn’t another empty chamber with similar features in good enough repair.

She tapped the map. “Here. We can put him here.”

The duchess rose and studied the drawing, her head nodding as she considered. “That will do nicely.”