Housekeeper at His Beck and Call

Liv was relieved to be able to turn her back on Cade and stare into the flames. She had been so certain he would be pleased to see her when she burst in through the kitchen door in a flurry of rain and parcels. She had been excited by the prospect of seeing him again, but his mood had quickly dampened that. And she still couldn’t work out what she’d done.

She had expected too much of him, that was all. Why should he be pleased to see her? She hadn’t proved anything yet. But tonight was her big chance. She brightened at the thought of it. She was going to cook Cade the best meal he’d ever eaten. At least that was one thing she could get right. She refused to be a grump, just because he was, and she had no intention of remaining on her knees all night with her back turned as if she were frightened of him. She was frightened of him, though not in the conventional sense. She was frightened of what she could see in his face…shadows, and grief, in spite of his hard outer shell. ‘You make a great fire,’ she said, trying hard to the lighten the mood.

‘It will be your job from now on.’

Had he mistaken her for Cinderella? She managed to hold her tongue as she glanced at the pile of heavy logs.

‘You’d better go and change,’ he said. ‘I’m hungry, and I’d like to eat soon.’

She had never expected working as a housekeeper to be easy, had she? ‘My apologies,’ she said pleasantly, remembering what the job meant to her. ‘I just thought I should dry out a little first.’ She held his gaze, and had the satisfaction of seeing his glance flicker away for once. She suspected Cade wasn’t used to defiance but there was only so far she would go. She would work as hard as she could, and cooperate to the best of her ability, but she would not cower in front of him.

‘At least you’ve got your uniform,’ he said.

She had been so lost in her thoughts it took her brain a moment to unscramble. ‘My uniform?’

‘Yes, you can change into it before you serve supper. You might as well get used to wearing it—’

Her nod got stuck halfway. She could understand that Cade felt more comfortable with people in uniform, and perhaps he would relax a little when she put it on…but—and she wasn’t being silly now—where was it? ‘Sorry?’ she said, gazing round the room to prompt him.

‘What are you looking for? It’s right here.’ He toed the edge of the dry-cleaner’s bag.

‘But those are your gran’s clothes…’

‘My gran?’

Liv paused. ‘You don’t have a gran.’

‘That’s right.’

‘Or an elderly relative…’

Cade’s ebony brows lifted.

‘So this…’ Liv gazed at the package on the floor in dread ‘…is my uniform?’

‘That’s exactly what it is,’ Cade told her stony-faced. ‘And now I suggest you go upstairs and put it on. You are still interested in the job, I take it?’

‘Of course I am—’

‘Well, then.’ He folded his arms across his broad chest. ‘I work to a strict timetable. I’ll give you a draft of my requirements later, but one thing will never change. Supper is always served at seven.’

If he’d told her—

‘I trust it won’t be late again?’

‘Once again, my apologies…’ How she managed to sound calm when Cade was being so unreasonable Liv had no idea. Maybe it was a measure of her determination. But, boy! Could she see why he had trouble hanging onto staff! What with the barren room and the way he’d talked to her—in her opinion a smooth-running household was a team, not a dictatorship.

‘I just like everything to be regular.’

She had to bend down and pick up her parcels before Cade could see the smile on her face. She’d give him regular. A large dose of cascara in his food should sort him out. ‘I’ll lay up the dining room for seven o’ clock,’ she said mildly.

‘Prompt.’

‘Prompt,’ she echoed, holding her breath until Lieutenant Colonel Grant had left the room, at which point she stuck out her tongue and wiggled it vigorously.

Closing the door, he let out his breath in a ragged stream. Shutting his eyes was no deterrent against the evidence. The blouse beneath Liv’s jacket had been soaking wet, revealing the contours of her breasts in alarming detail. He couldn’t trust himself to stay in the same room with her a moment longer, and the faster she got herself into that shapeless uniform, the better it would be all round. He only had to picture his previous housekeeper wearing the same outfit to know that both of them would be completely safe. He, for instance, would be able to breathe again properly, and function like any normal, rational man, instead of the sex-craved, rabid beast he felt sure he had become.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE housekeeper’s uniform was the most hideous thing Liv had ever seen. She could hardly bare to look at her reflection. Woolen stockings, yellow ochre in colour, wrinkled around her ankles, and the shapeless navy blue serge skirt together with its matching boxy jacket was so ugly it should be shredded and set fire to. Cade had no idea. When she thought of the smart army attire he wore for his job it made her ping with fury to think he expected anyone who worked for him to wear this rubbish. She was going to have it out with him—

No, she was going to calm down right now, and accept that she had no alternative but to toe the line, at least for the time being. Did she want this job, or not?

Liv soothed herself by laying out the little trinkets and feminine accessories she had bought in town to make her life in the attic room at Featherstone more bearable. It hadn’t cost her much to transform her bedroom…just a scented candle, a cheap, but pretty chiffon scarf thrown over the back of the single hard-backed chair, a clock, and a pair of fluffy slippers to tuck underneath the bed. Oh, and a small vase full of fresh flowers, as well as a novel for her to read…

Perfect, she thought, standing back smiling as she viewed the finished effect.

But there were still one or two more things she intended to change. If Cade expected staff to use this accommodation, whether she stayed or not, it would require a radical modernisation programme, and to help him with that she would draw up a list…

Liv’s heart lurched at the thought of anyone but her taking over the job of running the household at Featherstone, let alone anyone else living with Cade. She already felt quite protective of her position. Just thinking about Cade had prompted her body to react in a way that she couldn’t just brush aside. And anyway, physical reaction to Cade was a lot more fun than studying the single blanket on her narrow iron bed. The insistent pulsing between her legs made her sigh with pleasure, while the old grey frizzy thing that passed for a cover on her bed just annoyed her. It looked like old army issue, possibly dating back to the Great War. And that was only for starters…There was a single bar of dried-up soap on the cracked and rust-stained washbasin, along with a hand towel that had seen better days. Flimsy curtains drooped sadly at the windows promising the early morning light would flood straight through them, and the threadbare rug only added to the general air of dilapidation.

She stood back, hands on her hips, shaking her head. Featherstone Hall might have known its glory days, but this wasn’t one of them. She’d give Cade her improvements list when they met again at supper.

He did a double take when Liv walked into the kitchen. How could anyone look so sexy wearing that? Even in the ugly flat shoes her legs looked fantastic—until you noticed the wrinkles in her tights, that was. Forget the wrinkles—all thoughts of previous housekeepers were immediately expunged from his mind. All he could think of now was unpeeling Liv like a particularly ripe fruit, and then sucking on her until he was replete—which could take quite some time.

‘I hope you like red meat,’ she said, walking over to the fridge.

His heart sang. Folding the newspaper he’d been reading, he put it to one side. ‘I love red meat.’ He was prepared to cut her as much slack as necessary in the happy anticipation of the first proper meal he’d had in days.

‘If you’d care to relax in the library,’ she went on, ‘I’ll bring you a glass of wine—or beer, if you’d prefer?’ she offered, turning her pearl-white smile on him.

‘A beer would be fine, thank you,’ he said, exhaling with contentment as he left the room.

Having donned her apron, Liv flexed her fingers. She was ready to begin. She was determined to impress Cade, and this was the way to do it. She had been top of the cordon bleu cookery class at Miss Smythson’s finishing school for young ladies.

It would do it, Liv thought, determined, breathing steadily, in through her nose and out through her mouth to a count of three. Remembering Miss Smythson’s advice that a good cook was a calm cook and an organised cook, she had planned this meal like an army exercise, and now she was certain Cade couldn’t fail to be impressed.

She peeled and scraped and washed and mashed and pricked and patted and seasoned, and then cooked the perfect meat and the perfect vegetables for the perfect length of time. When she had finished she wiped her brow, and then wiped the edges of the plate with a fresh, clean cloth she’d had standing by for just this very moment. She stood back and let out her breath in one ragged stream. The dish was a triumph. For once she was right to feel confident.

She had brought him his beer in a wineglass, which he had decided to overlook on the basis that the scent that assailed his nostrils when Liv opened the door spoke to him of gravy and roast potatoes, mashed carrots and honeyed parsnips…

He didn’t have long to wait before disillusionment set in.

‘What’s this?’ he demanded, staring down at his plate. There was a minuscule offering piled in the centre that looked to him like a particularly small pea on top of an overlarge bun.

Liv’s face lit up. No wonder Cade was taken aback. She had decided to surprise him on this first night with her signature dish…a silky concoction consisting of slivers of beef spiked with horseradish cream, served with crisp threads of green pepper and onion. The whole dish took up no more room on the plate than a teacup; just arranging it was an art form in itself. There was a dot of mashed carrot to add colour and texture, and, of course, she hadn’t forgotten the single round of roasted parsnip no bigger than a five-pence piece to lend crunch. It was a triumph! She took in the astonishment on Cade’s face and realised she had never thought of herself as a proud person before, but she felt proud now as Cade continued to stare down at his plate in wonder. He was clearly overawed by her skill and expertise, not to mention the time and trouble she’d taken to find just the right ingredients, and then prepare them for him so well. It felt really good to be appreciated—

‘It’s not enough!’ Stabbing his fork into her glorious creation, Cade stuffed the whole of it into his mouth and swallowed it down in one gulp. Then he turned on her. ‘It may have escaped your notice, lady, but I’m no leprechaun. I’m a fully grown man who expects a proper meal—not this light bite for a fairy.’

Tears sprang to her eyes, which she held back. She wasn’t going to fail. Her mother always said she was a failure. It wasn’t going to happen again—not this time—not here with Cade. ‘I’m sorry.’ She wished her voice hadn’t come out in a whisper. She wished she didn’t want to bolt from the room. Somehow she kept her feet firmly pinned to the ground and told a lie: ‘Don’t worry, that was just a first course.’

Cade grunted acknowledgement and was still frowning as he pushed his plate away. ‘I don’t need this fancy food. You didn’t need to go to so much trouble.’

‘No trouble.’

He could see she was on the verge of tears and swiftly reined in. ‘What about all those lovely fresh ingredients you bought in town?’ he said, as if he’d just remembered them. ‘Make something simple you can prepare quickly.’

He wasn’t used to dealing with emotional women, but suspected if he said anything else half nice she would bawl her eyes out.

‘Will you have your main course now, or later?’ she asked him stiffly, pausing by the door. ‘Or I could give you a break, if you prefer?’

‘Liv.’ He was halfway out of his seat ‘—I’ll come with you—’

She held her hand up, stopping him. ‘No. I’d rather you didn’t.’

He subsided down again as she hurried from the room. He felt appalling, like the worst type of ungrateful layabout—like a man who didn’t know how to get off his backside and help when a woman was so close to tears. He shifted unhappily in his seat. Was he completely unaware of other people’s feelings—of Liv’s feelings? Had he really sat here like some arrogant, fault-finding plutocrat, allowing her to wait on him? He’d never felt this way about a woman—maybe because no woman had made him face what he’d become. So why Liv? What was it about her that stripped him naked and made him feel? Seeing the tears in her eyes and knowing he’d been the cause of them had really shocked him. He hadn’t always been like this. The battlefield had made him brusque and detached, because that was how you stayed alive, but this was civilian life, and he had better get used to it. He didn’t want to turn into a block of stone. He wanted to remember how it felt to laugh and soften, and share a smile. Liv had tried her best tonight, and he’d thrown it all back in her face. It was up to him to make an effort now, and he would.

Leaning back against the kitchen side, she bit her lip, trying not to cry, though all she wanted to do was howl in despair at how useless she was. Cade had laid her bare, exposing her weaknesses and forcing her to take account of how naïve she was—how shallow and inexperienced, and how very much she had to learn…about everything. And so she would make a start right here, right now. She wasn’t going to fail on this, her first night of employment. She would just have to try harder.

Liv searched through the store cupboards for the ingredients for a main course. The cupboards needed a good clean out and yielded little more than a few half empty packets of cereal and some assorted tins. The refrigerator was better stocked with fresh eggs, vegetables, salad and beer…

As she straightened up Liv’s face brightened when she noticed a side of bacon on the kitchen counter. She walked over to examine it. It was just lying on a platter beneath a giant-sized net. The meat was a luscious tawny red colour, and the perfectly distributed fat was the buttery shade of clotted cream. Her mouth watered as she imagined it thinly sliced and crisped up in the oven. For pudding she had prepared Vanilla Snow, one of her lighter desserts—she had better come up with something more substantial before she served that…

‘Absolutely delicious,’ Cade pronounced, much to Liv’s relief. She had prepared a soufflé omelette for him with crispy bacon on the side, and it was done to a turn, if she did say so herself.

‘Where did you find such delicious bacon?’ Cade demanded. ‘I thought my farm produced the best—I only need the trophy from the Great South Western Show now to prove it to the world—but that was wonderful!’ Sighing with contentment, he patted his iron flat stomach.

A whisper of dread intruded on Liv’s pleasurable feelings. She shrugged it off. This was the friendliest conversation Cade had attempted since she had arrived, and more than made up for his earlier unkindness. And if he was prepared to make an effort, then so was she. ‘I’m really glad you enjoyed it,’ she said, taking his plate.

‘You haven’t told me yet where you found such excellent bacon,’ Cade reminded her. ‘Perhaps I should be worried about my chances at the show tomorrow. It seems I have some stiff competition in the area…Olivia?’ he prompted when Liv remained silent.

She wanted to be a thousand miles away. She wanted today erased from her memory bank. She couldn’t stop running the scene that was about to play out in her head, and it wasn’t looking good for her. She might as well fall on her wooden spoon now. ‘It was your bacon.’

Cade laughed. He spread his hands out on the table palms flat, looking, as well he might, the master of all he surveyed; a man in command of every situation—apart, that was, from his bacon. ‘I beg your pardon?’ he said, angling his face towards her.

Liv was rapidly losing the will to live. ‘I said it was your bacon.’

When Cade remained grimly silent, words poured from her in a reckless torrent. ‘I cut those slices you just ate off that lump of meat in the kitchen. You’ve got some excellent knives in yours drawers. I don’t know if you know about them, but they’re really sharp.’

Cade stood up very slowly. Planting his fists on the table, he leaned towards her. ‘What did you say?’

She couldn’t stop gabbling about the wonder of Cade’s excellent knives until he slammed one fist down on the table, shocking her into silence.

‘Talk to me about the bacon.’

His eyes had narrowed to pinpricks of light. Was he serious? She wanted to laugh hysterically she was so scared and bewildered. If Cade had told her about the bacon—if he’d warned her…‘The bacon?’ Her throat felt as if someone were standing on it.

‘That’s right.’

Cade’s voice was menacing and low, and the table dividing them suddenly seemed far too small a barrier. But what had she told herself about meekly accepting blame? Hadn’t she had enough of that at home from her mother? Wasn’t that what she had escaped from? And wouldn’t it follow her everywhere if she didn’t make a stand? Digging her nails into her palms, she kept her chin tilted firmly up. ‘You just ate your bacon. I cut it from that lump of meat on the side in the kitchen—’

‘That lump of meat?’ A muscle worked in Cade’s jaw. ‘That was my prize-winning fletch!’

Liv flinched as Cade raised his hands, but it was only to rake his abundant hair with stiff, angry fingers.

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