Author Note 5

Castle Wallace's administrative office was a little room at the head of the stairs to the main kitchen. The large rolltop desk and oak chair took up far too much space in the little cubicle. Michael found the only way to have the wastepaper basket in a usable position and not entirely in the way was to have it between his feet. He occasionally questioned how Morgan fit in the area at all. Morgan's answer was to not use it. For some unknown reason, the ceiling wasn't even seven feet and Morgan couldn't stand straight. There was a bare light fixture with no dome or bulb after Michael had broken both with the top of his head. There was no electrical outlet or window, so the only light source was a small candelabra Michael kept on the corner of the desk. Previous seneschals' disdain for the room had led to them scribbling notes and sums on the wall. Michael occasionally found himself testing fountain pens the same way.

The cramped, little room however was like the captain's quarters on a ship. From it, orders to the household were given. Tabulations and household expenses were tracked. Servants were interviewed, hired, promoted and dismissed. The door was not closeable due to the desk's aggressive size, but no one dared eavesdrop on any conversation the master had within its walls.

When Margaret took over the role as head of household affairs from her husband, she moved operations to a barely utilized, windowed pass-through room. It was far less intimate, but much lighter, had air circulation and a twelve-foot ceiling common to most of the rooms in the building.