Read Online The Valet and the Stable Groom: M/M Regency Romance by Katherine Marlowe - Free Book Online Page B

to take a breath. “I am all out of sorts,” he began again. “And presently caught up on my duties. Idleness does not suit me. May I … help?”
    Mrs. Ledford looked down at the potatoes, paring knife still in one hand. “Yes.”
    She set down the knife and wiped her hands upon her apron, and then set the bowl of peeled potatoes near an empty space on the worktable. Fetching a larger knife, she laid it alongside. Her weathered hand took a single potato from the bowl and laid it on the worktable, slicing it into neat, bite size chunks. “Like that,” she said, then set down the knife and returned instead to peeling.
    Clement approached the bare potatoes with trepidation.
    “Where shall I… ?” he asked, picking up a few of the chopped potatoes.
    “Fetch another bowl from there,” Mrs. Ledford said.
    He fetched. Then he set the little pile of potato chunks into the bowl, leaving him with a fresh workspace. He placed another potato in the centre of it and took up the knife.
    She’d made it look easy. Surely it could not be difficult to mimic her technique.
    Clement had always prided himself on knowing his way around a kitchen, but his knowledge amounted to little more than how to make tea, toast, and the sort of simple repasts which might sustain either himself or his employer if they required sustenance at odd hours. He had never in his life been called upon to slice a potato.
    Carefully, he chopped the potato into pieces resembling the ones Mrs. Ledford had made. They were not so uniform, and he suspected that Mrs. Ledford could have chopped the entire bowl in the time it took him to slice a single potato. The bowl slowly filled with potato chunks.
    Every so often, Clement checked his pocket watch. His task was not yet finished by half past noon, at which time he went, as was his habit, to fetch his master’s breakfast and carry it up to him. It was Hildebert’s preference to take luncheon alone in the sunroom, unless his presence was required elsewhere.
    Much to everyone’s consternation, Hildebert’s presence had not been required anywhere all week.
    Clement found him still in his room, sighing in frustration and staring out the window with a magazine upon his lap. He’d read the magazine six times already.
    “Ah, Clement! I’ve just been reading about a technique to keep ants off of fruit trees.”
    “Yes, the dipping of the cloth in tar and then wrapping it around the trunk, I do recall,” Clement said, laying the magazine aside and brushing some lint from Hildebert’s vest. “Your luncheon is laid, sir.”
    “Oh,” Hildebert said, disappointed. “Did I tell you already? Well, what do you suppose, might it be put to some use?”
    “Certainly. You might mention it to the gardener, and inquire about whether our orchard is plagued by ants. Have you been to see the orchard yet?”
    “Oh,” said Hildebert. He was less interested in the actual application of his newfound knowledge. “No. I suppose not.”
    “Your luncheon, sir,” Clement reminded him.
    “Yes, yes.” Waving a dismissive hand at him, Hildebert scowled. “I’ll come to it soon enough.”
    Clement knew from experience that he would not. Hildebert would forget the luncheon entirely the moment Clement left the room. Ignoring the dismissal, Clement frowned down at him. “It will grow cold.”
    “Very well, what is it?” Hildebert huffed.
    “Lamb with mint and the early spring strawberries,” Clement said.
    Hildebert still wasn’t rising from his seat. “Oh, Jane will like that.”
    “Yes,” Clement agreed. “Will you come and eat?”
    “You cluck like an old hen, Clement!” Grumbling about it, Hildebert got to his feet and went.
    Once his employer was settled, eating his now-cold luncheon, Clement laid a book within reach, hoping that the tome might interest Hildebert enough to divert him for the afternoon. He checked that the tea in the pot was still warm, and then he returned to the servants’ kitchen.
    The potatoes