“I think we had better.” He led her toward the servants’ stairs. “Whatever you do, do not dismiss her on the spot. We must find a new one.” Eleanor frowned. “Did you not notice the food tasted differently?”

“The only meal I’ve had with any consistency was breakfast. Many times I was out.” They arrived at the entrance to the kitchen, and he stopped short. It was an utter mess. Dirty pots and dishes covered almost every surface, and a woman with gray hair escaping from her mobcap was drinking a clear liquid from a glass. It could be water, but he was almost certain it was gin.

“What’s this?” The cook stood, and John could see the stains on her apron. Mrs. Beasley would have wept. The woman pointed at him. “And who ’re you?”

Rennie bustled forward. “You’d better keep a civil tongue in your head.” She indicated the cook. “My lord, my lady, this is Goater.” The housekeeper looked around. “Where is Sissy?”

“Sent her out shopp’n,” the cook mumbled, then swayed.

The woman was drunk. “This Sissy, can she cook?”

Rennie closed her eyes for a moment. “She’s been making breakfast and the biscuits, my lord.”

Eleanor’s jaw had firmed and her normally plump lips formed a thin line. She scanned the kitchen. Her survey stopped when she got to Goater. “I want the kitchen cleaned immediately. Rennie”—his beloved’s gaze didn’t waver from the cook—“Get every maid and footman down here and put to work. I have never seen such a disgrace.”

“Here now,” Goater said. “I don’t want people in me kitchen.”

Despite Eleanor’s warning not to fire the servant immediately, he couldn’t stand having Goater in poor Beasley’s kitchen. Not that he would ever have his old cook back, but he wasn’t going to allow this slovenly slattern to stay for one day more. With any luck, Sissy could hold things together until they had a new cook. “It is no longer your kitchen. You may collect your possessions and leave.”

The woman stood slack-jawed for several seconds, as if she couldn’t believe she’d just been sacked.

“I’ll have Lumner call you a hack.” Rennie took the former cook’s arm. “We’ll get your things.”

The women walked out, leaving John and Eleanor alone. “I’m sorry I didn’t follow your advice.”

“No. I would have done the same thing. This is far worse than I imagined.” She touched her lips to his. “I shall find a new cook.”

He folded her into his arms and rested his chin on the crown of her head. “I have no words for how happy I am that you are in my life. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Stepping back, she cupped his face in her hands, feathering her thumbs over his cheeks. “Kiss me.”