Marblestone Mansion 01 - Scandalous Duchess

my darling sister…in-law.” Olivia said, as she walked toward her. Olivia’s voice was just as sarcastic as McKenna remembered it to be.
    “ And here you are, at last , Duchess,” McKenna shot back. She neglected to curtsy, just to annoy Olivia.
    “ I see your good humor still has not returned. Well, never mind, we cannot all be pleasant. Life would be far too boring if we were, would it not?”
    “ Precisely.” McKenna expected to see a look of disapproval on her brother’s face, but she did not. It was a hopeful sign, but far too little to get excited about just yet.
    Olivia quickly turned around and spotted Millie, just as Keith helped her out of the wagon. “Millie, I desire tea immediately and you will come to help me settle in, and Brookton, see that Wiggles is fed and watered.”
    “ Wiggles?” Hannish asked, finally noticing the puppy Brookton held.
    “ A boy at the station in Denver was giving puppies away, so I took one. He won’t be a bother and I do so adore him.” Without waiting, Olivia gathered her red skirt and began to climb the marble stairs to the front door. Alistair hurried to get in front of her, and prayed she had no harsh words for him just yet. Unfortunately, as soon as he opened the door, she spotted a fleck of lint on this jacket, brushed it off and clicked her mouth in disgust.
    Less than two steps inside and with Hannish right behind her, she stopped and began to slowly look all around the foyer. “I am reminded of a mausoleum I saw once.”
    “ A mausoleum?” Hannish muttered.
    “ Alistair?” she demanded, her voice booming in the marble room.
    Alistair quickly came inside and let the door close, leaving the men carrying Olivia’s luggage to wait outside. “Aye, My Lady?”
    “ I wish to see the kitchen. Take me there at once!”
    “ Aye, My Lady.” He cautiously stepped in front of her and led the way through the parlor, down a hallway, and then stepped aside so she could enter the kitchen.
    Olivia scanned the room until she found what she was looking for and narrowed her eyes. “Alistair, you shall dismiss Jessie immediately.”
    “ Why?” Halen asked, quickly stepping between Jessie and Olivia.
    Olivia gritted her teeth. “She cannot cook, is why, not that I need explain anything to you.”
    Halen was not the least bit intimidated. “She cooks the best I have yet to see.”
    Becoming increasingly annoyed, Olivia turned to face Alistair. “Dismiss her and be quick about it.”
    “ I cannae.”
    “ Why not?”
    “ I am not the head butler,” Alistair proudly answered.
    “ Then you will tell the head butler what I demand, and do it now. Jessie, you will pack your things and leave my house.”
    Standing out of sight in the hallway, Hannish had heard enough and rounded the corner into the kitchen. “She stays.”
    “ She goes,” Olivia argued. “She betrayed me, I’ll have you know. Do you choose a servant over me?”
    “ Olivia, dinna upset yourself. Come upstairs and rest, you are exhausted. What does it matter who does the cookin’?”
    “ Am I not in charge of the household?”
    “ Aye, but not today. You have only just arrived.” He took her elbow and started to guide her back out the door. “Keith, Mrs. MacGreagor wishes tea sent up to her room.”
    “ Yes, Sir.” As soon as they were gone, Keith took a forgotten breath and pulled a silver tray out of the rack. “Sassy is right, she is mean.” When he turned around, Jessie had tears in her eyes and Halen, who just last night said she hated the woman, had her arms around her.
    “ There, there now,” Halen said. “Mr. Hannish will not let her run you out.”
    “ He cannae be here always to protect me.” Jessie pulled away, retrieved the handkerchief she kept in her pocket and dried her eyes. “You’ve yet to see the worst of it.”

    Hannish sat on one of the marble window seats in the “mausoleum” and watched as the footmen finished bringing in the luggage. Just as McKenna warned, there was far less of it than a joyful wife would bring. His sister had mysteriously disappeared, Olivia was upstairs and he doubted there would be a happy face in the whole mansion, once they all heard what happened in the kitchen. It was as if someone put eggs on the floor and everyone was being careful not to step on them. He tried to think of something he could say to calm everyone, but after Olivia’s tantrum, his own nerves were on edge.
    Had he missed something when he courted Olivia and