By Any Other Name

Six

"I really do appreciate all of the work you're doing for this ball of my sister's, Mrs. Woods. I know it was unexpected and it's an enormous undertaking but-"

"Nonsense, my Lord. It's my job," Mrs. Woods told him, patting him kindly on the arm. He had caught her in the dining room, arranging for the evening dinner, and sought to apologize for his sister's uncanny ability to foist massive revelries upon the household at the last minute. He knew from experience that Mrs. Woods tended to go relatively mad with stress when it came to hosting large events and he had wanted to check up on her sanity. She seemed perfectly pleasant to him but he imagined it was an entirely different scene down in the kitchens. The ball was in two days, after all, and the closer it got, the harder she would be on the staff. He hoped she would come to him if it got too unpleasant. Now, she left the dining room, heading back down to the kitchens to finish concocting dinner.

"I do wish you would stop chatting with the help so much," someone spoke from the doorway. He turned to see his sister and sighed. "Politeness is one thing but we aren't supposed to be friends with them, you know. It's indecorous."

Lady Cora poured herself lazily into one of the comfortable dining chairs. She took a grape from the bowl of fresh fruit in the center and popped it into her mouth, watching him as if daring him to argue with her disagreeable valuation of the worth of his staff. He grasped the back of the nearest chair and leaned into it.

"Our cousin is coming," she informed him then and added, in mock heraldry. "Duchess Adelaide Griffith of Corinth."

He smiled. This, at least, was good news. He had always been fond of his cousin. She was far less materialistic than his sister and always looking for a bit of excitement. She was a regular guest in Northbrook. She spent most of her summers here as a child and, since she married a prestigious Duke who conducted most of his business through travel, she found herself left alone in Corinth most of the year so, whenever the Duke was to be gone for an extended period of time, she usually brought herself to Northbrook to visit her family rather than remain alone in her own colossal estate. Her marriage had been a good match. She had climbed the social ladder a bit. He had gotten a well-travelled, beloved socialite to further his political status in Corinth. The match had not been made in love but some of that feeling had developed between them since. Now, she spoke fondly of her husband and even admitted to missing him from time to time. That most certainly was not always the case.

"Duke Griffith is visiting the capital on some errand," Lady Cora continued, observing her brother diligently, clearly trying to decipher whether or not he knew anything about the Duke's business in the capital. That was just like Cora, always endeavoring to acquire information from anyone she could, even her own family, so that she could use it as the latest bit of gossip for her ladies at another date. "Adelaide says it's likely he will be away for some weeks."

"Well, as she's well aware, our cousin is welcome to visit Northbrook whenever she desires," he said, watching her mouth twitch in irritation at his lack of disclosure. In truth, he had nothing to disclose. Sterling had never been all that close with the Duke but, as both he and Adelaide were without siblings themselves, the man seemed to have had every intention of indoctrinating Sterling as his honorary brother from the start of their matrimony. Sterling had no doubt that, had the Duke and Duchess lived much closer, he would have found himself much more often afflicted with the man's company. Not that it was an affliction. The Duke was kind enough and Sterling could appreciate the magnificent husband he was to his cousin but the man was overwhelmingly dull as the only events of interest in his life seemed to revolve around the trade of coffee beans and the mutterings of court.