Lord Melvedere's Ghost by Rebecca King

my job,” Doreen
gasped, staring at Cecily in horror.
    “ Oh, but I have made such a mess of them, I am really sorry,”
Cecily replied, feeling awful for making the maid so horrified. “I
made the mess, it is only right that I should put it
right.”
    Silence
settled between them for several moments.
    “ Ahem,” Jamie coughed in the doorway. He had heard enough of
the last few minutes to understand that a few rules needed to be
outlined to Cecily, and he felt a bit of a cad for the rude way he
had simply abandoned her last night. He could only put his
ignorance and bad temper down to exhaustion, and a desperate need
to get a proper nights’ sleep in his own bed. It had been so long
since he had been there that he was surprised he could find his own
room still.
    Now
though, he was well rested, well fed, and ready to begin to figure
out what their plan of action had to be. Cecily was now safe from
the Star Elite, French spies and her father. The staff had been
given strict instructions not to bother her unless she rang the
bell and to ensure that she had anything she wanted, whenever she
wanted it. Doreen was the downstairs maid by day, but used to be a
very good maid to a well-to-do socialite in London during her
youth, that is until she met her husband and moved to live in the
village with him. Jamie had no doubt that Cecily would be
thoroughly spoiled from now on and was glad of the chance to show
her how she should be treated.
    “ Sorry to interrupt,” Jamie muttered, ignoring protocol and
entering the room. He halted Doreen as she moved to leave the room.
“I think, Cecily, that while you are here, Doreen is your maid. If
you need anything, just ring the bell. Doreen works until the
evening when she returns home to be with her family and, although
she works downstairs as well, she has kindly agreed to assist you
while you are here.” He knew he sounded officious but struggled to
find a way to define the boundaries between mistress of the house
and what were still, essentially, his serving staff, even if they
did feel like extended family instead.
    “ I was just going to change the sheets,” Cecily muttered,
glancing down at her clothing. “I was so tired last night that I
couldn’t stay awake, and I am afraid I have rather made a mess of
things. I don’t mind looking after myself while I am here, if
Doreen doesn’t mind showing me where things are.”
    Jamie
fought a grin and shared a glance at Doreen. Cecily didn’t know it
yet, but she had just scored a lot of points with all of the house
staff. It was the way they worked. Even Jamie, who should be master
of the house and expect to be waited on, wasn’t averse to helping
himself to the pies and foods Mrs Nantwich always had readily
available rather than bother the busy staff. It was rare, even for
him, to depend on the house staff for things he could manage
himself. Cecily had just fitted herself into his rather eccentric
home life, in a single sentence.
    “ I am sure that Doreen won’t mind doing it while you get a
bath, especially given this is your first morning here and you have
spent the past two days travelling in extremely trying
circumstances.” It was all he was going to divulge to Doreen, but
knew the message had been received and understood from the knowing
look in the maid’s eye. “When you are finished, Doreen can show you
around the house and introduce you to the staff. I am sure Mrs
Nantwich will be more than happy to show you round the kitchens,
where to find the food and that sort of thing. We do tend to help
ourselves here,” he added ruefully, studying her carefully for any
sign of objection.
    “ Oh, I am more than happy to help out,” Cecily gushed, glancing
down at her clothing cautiously.
    “ I have arranged for Mrs Nantwich to go into the town and see
what she can find for you in the way of clothing. After your
travelling yesterday, I think it would be best if you remain here
and allow Mrs Nantwich to fetch what you