Free A Pitiful Remnant by Judith B. Glad Page B

a
court-martial, mostly because of extreme bravery under fire. During our
retreat, he was sentenced to fifty lashes, but I never learned what the
offense was. Before the sentence could be carried out, we were
fighting for our lives. All of us.
    "I don't think anyone knows how many wounded men
Gadget dragged, carried or rolled off the battlefield, but it's a
certainty that many good British soldiers are alive today because of
him. He came to me, in one of my lucid periods aboard ship, pleading
that I keep him in mind if I needed someone to do 'dirty work.'
Nettles reminded me of that after you asked him to recommend an
unsavory character."
    "But what could he--"
    "My de--" He grinned, and she could not resist responding in
kind. "My dear Lisanor, Gadget is an ugly man, big and brawny,
coarse and profane. I propose to send him to Ackerslea to assist your
bailiff." One eyebrow lifted. "Pending your approval, of course."
    She could not quite conceal her reservations. "Is he an
honest man?"
    "I doubt it. But I think he will stay bought. I never heard of
him acting against a fellow soldier, but he'd steal anything Spanish
that wasn't nailed down. It caused no end of fuss with the local
authorities. Perhaps I should tell him to think of your relatives as like
to Spaniards."
    "Uncle Percival will have a fit."
    They both burst into laughter.

Chapter Eight
    Once the dowager departed for Ackerslea Farm, life was
calmer, less complicated at Guillemot. Clarence had never quite
appreciated what his father had contended with all those years. Or
perhaps his mother had grown more scatterbrained, less sensible
with advancing age. How old... Great God, she cannot be fifty
yet.
    Lisanor was restful. Under her direction, he came to realize,
the servants accomplished more with less effort, particularly now
that his mother was no longer issuing conflicting instructions upon
the slightest whim. When he asked her how she had managed such
an improvement, she said, "Very simply, my lord. First I created a
schedule of who was to do what when. Once everyone mastered
that--I am shocked that some of your underservants are unable to
read, something I intend to remedy when immediate concerns are
less urgent--I had them close off all the rooms we are not using.
When you are more ambulatory, perhaps we will have to open one
or two, but no more than that." She stacked the papers he had left in
disarray on the lap desk he'd been using. "I also directed that only
occupied rooms will be heated and lit."
    "Do you mean that we've been having fires in empty
rooms?"
    "Well, only those on the first floor and in the small drawing
room next to the entrance hall. But since we are not receiving, I saw
no reason to heat any but the breakfast room, the morning room and
the library. I did direct that the fire in the servant's dining room
should be maintained. It seems a small expense, compared to the
total expenditure for coal."
    "Very wise." This seemingly insignificant episode, added to
what he had learned during their conversations about a strategy for
the restoration of Guillemot's fortunes, gave him much food for
thought. He was certainly seeing his bride in a new light. She was not
the simple farm girl he had anticipated, but a wise and thoughtful
manager. No wonder her grandfather had trusted her with the
management of Ackerslea.
    "My dear?"
    "Yes my lord?" She sounded distracted and he looked across
to the writing desk where she sat, poring over a ledger.
    "Never mind. Go on with your task. I merely had an
observation to share."
    "I shan't be long." She bent to her work.
    He knew he should resume his correspondence, but found
himself watching his wife instead. Her pencil moved slowly down the
page and her lips moved as she read what was written there. No, not
just reading. He'd wager she was totting up figures; his suspicion
was borne out when she paused to write something at the bottom on
the page before sliding the hand holding the pencil back to the top.
With her