Of course, he couldn’t. He was an earl now and would never consider her as a potential wife. However, his words had given her an idea. Or perhaps he had prompted her to push for something she had been considering for some time.
“You are right, my lord. I have been allowing Lady Rees to dictate my actions for far too long. It is time I looked elsewhere.”
“For a husband?”
“For employment. I believe I could be an excellent housekeeper. I have the skills to set a house running like a well-oiled clock. Someone should value that.”
“Indeed. I would value that,” he said.
She jolted, her heart leaping into her throat. He couldn’t possibly mean to hire her, could he? From what she’d seen of his servants, they needed a firm hand. And she’d be near him, though in an entirely different capacity. The thought was unsettling and intriguing.
“Do you mean to offer me a position, my lord?”
“What? Oh! Goodness no. At least not like you’re thinking.”
Her heart sank. Of course, he didn’t mean a place with him. It was all well and good for someoneelseto hire a bastard. But before she could frame an adequate retort, he continued speaking.
“Clara is the one who runs my household. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she is singularly bad at it.”
She had noticed, but it would be rude of her to agree. “Your sister is highly intelligent, my lord. But the management of servants is a special skill.”
“One that you claim to have mastered.”
She shrugged. “We all have our talents.”
“But if my sister is so highly intelligent, do you think you could teach her? We cannot continue to live as we have. I have tried to give her instructions, but she won’t hear it from me.”
“It is hard to hear criticism from a brother.”
“Do you think you could teach her a system, perhaps? Some way to make my home less chaotic? As a new earl, I’ll have visitors, political guests—”
“Marriage-hungry misses and their mamas—”
He shot her a look akin to dread. “Whomever the guests, I’m afraid it will be too much for Clara to manage. I have suggested she hire a housekeeper to help, but the last seven have been disastrous.”
“Seven?”
“Seven. All of whom had to be sacked without reference. I don’t know where she finds them, but every one has been an unmitigated disaster.”
The very thought boggled the mind. “You have left this all in her hands?”
“She insists on it, and I have no desire to curb her independence. It is her way of thanking me for letting her live with me rather than forcing her back to my parents. She and Mother never got along well, and she loves London.” He sighed. “I just wish she was better at it.”
“And you think I could help?”
“Do you think she will listen to you?”
Lilah bit her lip. She had managed difficult women before, but Lady Clara was her friend. “If you will permit me to visit often, I shall be happy to help your sister in any way possible.”
“Permit you to visit? Clara is of age. I can no more stop her friends from visiting than I can prevent a séance in my own dining room.”
She smiled, knowing that wasn’t exactly the truth. Many men exercised drastic measures over the women in their lives. That he allowed Clara her freedom was a measure of restraint. “You wouldn’t have allowed the séance if you’d been here,” she said.
“I would have tried to prevent it,” he said. “But she would have found another location to do it. Or made sure I was out of the house, which is what she did this time.” His hand waved in irritation. “I daily persuade the leaders of England to my way of thinking, and yet my sister does what she wants willy-nilly.”
Given how much Lady Rees and Gwen had fought, Lilah thought he had taken the better tack of trying to persuade without too much restriction. “As her friend, I should be happy to help her, but she needs to ask me for it. I will not start telling her what to do.” She turned to him. “And I will not take money for such a thing. She is my friend.”
He nodded as if he expected as much. “Just help her hire a housekeeper. Someone who doesn’t get drunk on my wine then vomit on the laundry.”