excerpt

I am working on the next Jane and Caleb, and I thought you might enjoy this little snippet in the first chapter as a taster. 

Fowler was about to exit when Mostyn came in.

“Sir Caleb, there is a person who wishes to see you, to consult you professionally.  It is my estimation that he is a personal servant.  I have placed him in the red salon to intimidate him suitably.”

Caleb laughed.  He had suggested having one of the rooms at Daisy Hall made specifically to be intimidating, and Jane had thought it an excellent idea.  The wallpaper was dark red flock, and there were many gold-coloured papier-maché mouldings, and the chairs in front of the heavy desk were remarkably uncomfortable though suitably decorative and baroque in appearance. The chairs behind the desk were outwardly similar but were in fact comfortable chairs with carved features added by the local carpenter, who enjoyed carving when given an opportunity to do it, gilded like the spindly Louis Quatorze style chairs.  The dark wood of the true legs did not show in the shadows, an added curved leg being gilded to show up.  Caleb had taken the idea of the chairs from those in the library of Amberfield Abbey, the home of ‘Beau’ Popham, which felt as though they were about to slide anyone sitting on them off onto the floor. He had written to the Beau, who had in fact been happy to sell some of the chairs to Jane and Caleb for a reasonable price, and keep enough to use similarly. 

“Mostyn, you are top-lofty,” said Caleb.

“Thank you, Sir Caleb,” said Mostyn, inclining his head.