Chapter 29

Elsie was finishing with the linen closet in the attics when she realized how hungry she was. Looking down the hallway she checked the time on the clock in the hallway. She smiled when she realized how late it was.

Closing the door to the linen closet and locking it she wondered for a moment where Charles was. If she knew him, and she did better than anyone, he'd probably deliberately not sought her out. In his mind, he would keep his distance thinking her angry because he refused to sleep in a guest room.

Silly man, she wasn't angry about him not sleeping in a guest room. Annoyed, yes, because he was simply being stubborn. The family had given permission there was no need to be concerned about propriety. She huffed to herself then smiled. Perhaps he was right to have stayed away.

Dusting off her skirts she briefly thought of going back to her room and freshening up. Her stomach grumbling changed her mind. Food would be a priority before changing. Besides it was just them, there was no need to change for dinner.

Making her way to the kitchen she wondered if he was in his pantry. Perhaps if he was they could have an early dinner. She'd joked with him on the train about going to bed early but it would be nice to go to bed before sheer exhaustion set in.

A slight hum in the kitchen made her smile. He'd taken care of the basket, putting things away. It was just like him. Opening the door to the refrigerator she looked in to see what Mrs. Patmore had sent for dinner. A roast chicken was center stage. Of course Mrs. Patmore would have sent this, it was her favorite.

She looked around the kitchen and found a cloth covered plate. Lifting the cloth there was an apple tart with a healthy slice missing. Clearly Mr. Carson had helped himself to tea. Rolling her eyes she knew why he hadn't come to find her. Without her around he could eat as large a slice as he chose. In his mind, she would police what and how much he ate. In fact, she rather liked that he had weaknesses, apple tart first among them.

Stepping around the corner she looked into his pantry to find it empty. There was a cheery fire going which helped to knock the chill off the room. She gave a moment's thought as to where he could be then decided to use his absence to her advantage. Heading back into the kitchen she set about preparing their dinner.

She turned on the gas oven laughing at how easy it was. Mrs. Patmore had complained about it when it was introduced in the kitchen, claiming it was too difficult to use. She'd deliberately asked the men who'd installed the new item to show her how to operate it. The look on Mrs. Patmore's face when she'd done it without batting an eye on one of Daisy's half day had been worth the time spent with the men. Another benefit had been the look of pride on Charles' face when she'd surprised Mrs. Patmore.

While she waited for things to heat up she went into Mrs. Patmore's cubby in search of an apron. Her clothes were quite dusty enough without messing them further.

As she pottered around the kitchen she hummed to herself. In her mind, she was in their kitchen. The kitchen of the property Charles had proposed buying. It was one of the few times in their relationship he'd surprised her. He'd been so unsure of himself, so halting and lovely. It had been so hard not to go to him, pulling him to her, kissing him. She'd wanted to run her hands through his hair, press herself against him, feel him against her. She'd had to tell him to go ring the gong before she'd done it. Perhaps while they were here they could talk about the "business venture" among other things.

She transferred food to pans and put everything in the oven. Knowing it would take some time for things to heat she decided to make a cup of tea. She filled the kettle and placed it on the stove. Her humming continued as she pulled plates and tea things from the cupboards. Looking around she wondered where they would eat.

It made sense to just eat in the servant's hall. The table in the kitchen was too tall for any of the chairs and she was entirely too tired to eat standing up. Laughter escaped her at the idea of suggesting to Charles they eat standing around the kitchen table.

"What has amused you so Elsie?"