Persuasion in the Pantry [Maid for More #1]

Chapter 25: Playing House

Night had fallen thickly over the Rinehart house as Cain watched a lamp flicker in the upmost window beckoning him in and yet he waited. Veronique's new courtesan was late which left him in the unhappy predicament of concealing himself in the topiary alongside the Judge's home. As the minutes ticked by with unrelenting pace he pondered on the previous night. Certainly his evening with Verushka was far more enjoyable than the Riverstone ball and he was eager to repeat it after his business with the Judge was concluded. Despite the ball being just another in a tedious succession of summer events, there were still moments of interest bobbing up beneath the placid lake of tepid punch and paraded debutants. Cain kept an eye out for a hasty courtesan and let his mind wander back to the glittering rooms of Riverstone home...

The room was full to overflowing with the ton's most elite members all clambering for a better view of their peers. Cain surmised that what some people did best was watch while inert from the corners of the ballroom, still as candelabras, but much less bright. The Riverstone's had as usual spared no expense on everything from the lace tablecloths to the newly hung gilded mirrors that afforded them a clearer view of themselves. The orchestra swelled in the alcove but even the sound of six stringed instruments could not drown out the deafening titters of old matrons and their daughters.

Cain had managed to dodge the few ladies who had not heard about his supposed betrothal and had attempted to throw their offspring into the trajectory of his path. Unfortunately he had no such luck with his mother since duty bound him to seek her out as soon as he entered to place a familial kiss on her cheek and wish her well. Even less fortuitously was the fact that the Dowager Duchess stood congenially chatting to Baroness Ravensthorpe the biggest gossip in London at that moment.

"Mother," Cain greeted her with a warm smile.

"Cain." His mother returned his welcome. "How nice to see you able to tear yourself away from the pantry."

Cain raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

"The pantry? Really, Your Grace?" Mrs Ravensthorpe piped up, eager for the chance to ferret away a little nugget of information for later.

Cain turned to the older woman and unleashed a smile that floored most women who crossed his path. "Oh, yes Baroness." He spared his mother a mischievous gaze before continuing. "We have some delicious morsels baking in the pantry."

The Baroness's eyes twinkled, "Is that so? Still baking you say? I wonder if they are ready for eating yet?" It was well acknowledged that the Dowager Duchess kept the best kitchens in London with the most skilled pastry chefs that Queen Victoria herself would have pinched if she could.

Cain watched his mother scowl openly at him before cutting off his response curtly. "No, Lucinda dear. I dare say that the pastries are not yet ready to be plucked from the ovens. I think the Chef is still perfecting the recipe." She threw her son another hooded look and murmured, "Soon, perhaps."

Cain frowned, perplexed by his mother's words.

He knew that his mother was keeping a watchful eye over Verushka but assumed that it was to keep the maid out of his grasp. Then, she would do something like suggest dancing lessons and it threw a bolt out of the smooth carriage ride of his well-ordered life. He wondered at what his mother had planned for the Bexley household's brightest star.

He stared after his mother's retreating form trying to remember which came first, her interest in the maid or his own infatuation. Cain had barely begun to wrestle with the perplexing matters concerning his maid and mother when a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.

"So, what is this about you getting married Cain? One would think that you would at least inform your best friend."

Cain turned to find the Duke of Wyvenstone casually twirling a crystal glass with an inch of amber liquid reflecting in its depths.