Marblestone Mansion 01 - Scandalous Duchess

very thoughtful of her.” He seated himself, admired the fresh flowers in the center of the table and tried to decide how best to approach the subject of her adultery.
    Keith had only just offered the main course to Olivia, when she slumped. “What is it?” Hannish asked.
    “ Jessie knows I do not like ham. I tell you true, she never remembers these things.”
    “ Perhaps it is Halen’s day to cook.”
    Keith withdrew the platter. “Shall I take it back, Mr.…Your Grace?”
    Hannish stared at Keith for a moment. Suddenly everyone was addressing him more formally. At length, he turned his attention back to Olivia. “Will you not at least try it, Olivia? Halen is a very good cook and perhaps you will like her ham better.”
    “ Well, if I must.” She took a slice off the serving platter, cut a small chunk and tasted it. She turned her nose up only slightly before she ate it and spoke again, “I see that dreadful child is still here.”
    “ Do you mean Sassy? My sister finds her delightful.”
    “ So McKenna said. Do you know your sister actually paid for her voyage? You should have seen what she was wearing when McKenna found her.”
    “ I can imagine,” Hannish muttered.
    “ Sassy, as you call her, is little more than a gutter rat, who…”
    Hannish quickly glanced at a displeased Keith, who held a bowl of peas waiting for Olivia to help herself. “Olivia, you must not speak of her that way, she is just a child.”
    “ A child who knows exactly what she is doing.” Olivia finally noticed the bowl, took a spoonful of peas and waved Keith away.
    “ Olivia, I will hear no more of this. Eat your dinner.”
    Her husband’s disapproval was obvious, but she was not put off. “You do not know what she did to me. Millie was unwell and it was Sassy who brought my morning glass of milk. The girl pretended to trip, and threw the milk right in my face. I tell you, I’d not let her near me after that.”
    Hannish ignored Keith’s grin and tried hard not to crack a smile. “I am certain it was not intentional.”
    “ Of course it was intentional, no one is that clumsy, even a...” Olivia decided not to finish her sentence. She dished potatoes onto her plate, waved Keith away, took another bite of ham and then another before she continued. “I see your sister arrived safely.”
    “ Aye. Speaking of McKenna, she tells me you have attended several balls in my absence.”
    “ I do so love seasons in London. You did not mean for me to stay home, did you?”
    “ Not at all, I attended several myself, two of which were in Denver. ‘Tis an easy trip. One need only catch the train the day before, attend the ball, spend the night in a hotel and come back. “Tis a very easy trip.”
    “ But the society, Hannish. There is no one here we care to know.”
    “ You are wrong, Olivia. Many of London’s society come to Colorado. Just now I am reminded; you brought little with you. Where are my formal suits or must I buy new?”
    “ There was so much to do and after all these months, they needed cleaning. I have arranged for your things to come later.”
    “ I see.” He decided he wasn’t very hungry and set his plate aside. “Tell me, who takes you to your balls?”
    She took the roll Keith offered, picked up her knife and began to butter it. “Your brother took me at first, but then he married.”
    “ Could he not take both of you?”
    “ I did not ask and he did not offer. I do not care for his wife anyway, she has no interesting conversation.”
    “ I see. Who else escorted you?”
    “ Several of our acquaintances made the offer, and very gallantly so. I knew you would not mind.”
    He did mind, but that was not the issue he wanted to discuss, so he just watched her fill her plate with sweet potatoes and let her eat for a while. She took no notice that he was not eating.
    “ We shall have a visitor tomorrow,” she said at length.
    “ Shall we, who?”
    “ George Graham.”
    It took every ounce of his strength to pretend he did not know about Graham. “The stonemason? Why is he here?”
    “ I thought you might wish to meet him. His workmanship is beyond compare.”
    “ Are you saying you brought him with you?” he carefully asked.
    “ Of course I did, how else are you to meet him?”
    “ You paid his fair?”
    “ I had to, his pay is very low, I remind you.”
    “ Olivia, what are you talking about? He would have half of all I own, if I did not deny some of his outrageous invoices.”
    “