With the babies now fed and bumped Jasper sought out Betsy and Chelsea to watch them. After handing the infants over she spied Richard speaking with Simon and Patricia.
Jasper had no desire to speak with Richard and certainly didnt want to wed him but at the moment he was her best chance of getting to Wind's Grove, Anya and her manhood. The added incentive of rescuing her cousin Lady Penelope, made appearing to fall for Richards charms vital.
'Ah here she is. The very woman we speak of' Simon made sure Patricia was aware of Jasmine's approach.
'Jasmine! Do join us! Sir Richard was just telling of of his estate in the East. Evidently as Lady of the Manor, you would even have something called a privy. It sounds most civilized'
'Indeed you will, my fiance. The manor has 8 bedrooms, a library and even it's own ballroom'
Jasper saw this as a chance to rescue Penelope '8 bedrooms? Imagine the cleaning. I would all day be scrubbing floors'
'Oh no my beloved. As Lady of Featherstone you would not need to do scrubbing yourself. We would have servants. They would do those mundane tasks at your command'
'Servants? Like butlers, maids and cooks?'
'Of course. The Manor has a staff of 14'
'How could we afford to pay 14 staff?' Jasper knew the answer. The royal family had multiple estates around the kingdom. Most palaces had dozens of staff. 'Surely a soldiers wage is inadequate. Even that of a war hero such as yourself'
Richard blushed at the thought of Jasmine calling him a war hero. Perhaps his charms were starting to win the girl over? 'The money will come from the estate. Featherstone is of 2000 acres farm land and 3000 thousand acres forest, where there are great stags and wild boars. We will grow crops on the farm land and the profits will pay for the running of the Manor'
'So I would have my own personal maid?'
'Of course. You would have your choice of the female staff'
'But they would be locals would they not. And I am told many of the people in the East are Royalists. Would it not be better to select my personal maid from here? Someone I could trust and someone who could accompany me as a chaperone on our journey East. We would not yet be
wed and I would not want to be the subject of scandal'
'Why that is a brilliant thought!' Exclaimed Richard. He turned to Patricia 'My betrothed is both fair and wise. I am a lucky man'
'Did you have someone in mind? I hope you are not thinking of stealing Chelsea from us. It will be bad enough to lose our nurse'
'No Mistress, but my thoughts did turn to one of the Countess's maids who aided me while I was feeding the infants. A rather plain maid by the name of Penelope. The Countess has so many maids. Do you think she might spare one?' These last words were actually aimed at Richard.