Marblestone Mansion 01 - Scandalous Duchess

Hannish.”
    Alistair’s head still hurt a little and he was about to roll his eyes when he decided not too. “Mine was left-handed, is all.”
    “ The lad you fought?” Sassy asked. “Why did you fight?”
    “‘ Tis what men do when they are upset, Sassy,” Jessie explained. “They find a poor soul just as upset, and they two have it out.”
    “ It is called a fair fight,” Keith explained.
    “ A fair fight?” Sarah asked. “Were they as big as you and Mr. MacGreagor?”
    “ Well…” Alistair started. He was still not sober enough to think quickly and Sarah was giving him that look -- the look he was beginning to grow fond of. It appeared she might favor him, and he hoped so.
    Prescot quickly interrupted. “Bigger.”
    Sassy wasn’t sure she believed that, but she let it pass. There was a wonderful lunch to be had and she was determined not to leave a crumb of cornbread on her plate.
    “ What needs to be done yet today?” Blanka asked.
    “ Well, we best finish sweeping all the empty rooms. The rugs will be coming soon,” Sarah answered. “Keith and Ronan went to town this morning, so we shall see what they bring back.

    At McKenna’s suggestion, Hannish decided to decorate each guest room in a specific color so everyone could remember which guest was where. The red room was for special guests and the purple room, he announced, was where they would put guests that were not so welcome.
    Many of the furnishings were easily found in Denver shops, but some had to be ordered from much farther away. Daily, a MacGreagor wagon met the noon train, where hearty men quickly transferred the goods from the boxcar to the wagon. Some days there were several items and other days nothing came.
    Each morning, Prescot handed Hannish a list of goods the cooks or the housekeeper vowed they could not do without. Each and every list included twenty pounds sterling in cold hard cash. He approved the goods, crossed off the cash and smiled each time. If he needed cheering up, which he did, his servants aimed to see he got it and word of his smile quickly passes from lip to lip throughout the entire household.
    Furthermore, no matter how early he got up, he found a fresh flower in a small glass vase carefully placed in the center of his roll top desk. It was not hard to guess one, or perhaps all of them were trying to ease his distress and he greatly appreciated it.
    The maids made up beds as more furniture and bedding arrived, and told the men where to place dressers, chairs and Mahogany dressing mirrors; that is, until McKenna came along and changed everything. The maids didn’t mind, but the valets soon learned to ask McKenna’s opinion first.
    Among the new furniture came a writing desk and the necessary writing supplies. McKenna chose the downstairs sitting room, warmed by plenty of western sunlight, to make into a writing room. She was certain Olivia would complain, but for now, it was a great place to sit and share all the happenings with friends she left in Scotland. Yet there was only one she intended to share the whole truth with, and that was her sister-in-law Flora -- what a lot she had to tell flora.

    Sleep normally came easily to all the exhausted members of the household, but on the fifth night since he received Olivia’s telegram, Hannish could not seem to keep a thousand thoughts from racing through his mind. After tossing and turning in his bed for the better part of an hour, he decided to give up. He put his robe over his pajamas, tied it at the waist, and went to find something to eat in the kitchen. He was not yet halfway across the parlor when he noticed the door to his study was slightly ajar. Certain he had closed it; he quietly walked that way, gently pushed the door to the moonlit room open, and spotted the silhouette of a woman standing at the window. “Sassy?”
    She quickly brushed her tears away, turned and curtsied. “Do forgive me; I dinna think anyone would find me here.”
    “ What is it? Is someone making you unhappy?”
    “ Nay, everyone is wonderful…too wonderful.” She couldn’t help herself; the tears would not stop.
    “ Here, sit down and tell me what is wrong.” He guided her to a chair, moved back, leaned against the front of his desk and folded his arms. With the moonlight on her face, she was very becoming and he wondered why he had not noticed that before.
    “ I am so sorry,” she said, finally pulling herself together.
    “ I cannae imagine anything you have