The Butler Did It

The first book in the Westham-Brentwood series, Kasey Michaels’s historical romance novel The Butler Did It (2004) centers on a nobleman who arrives home after a leave of absence, only to discover that his butler rented out his mansion to tenants who now refuse to leave. Popular with romance readers, The Butler Did It received a RITA Award nomination in 2005. Michaels is a New York Times bestselling author best known for Regency romances.

The Butler Did It takes place in London, England. The protagonist is Morgan Drummond, Marquis of Westham. For the last five years, he has been living at his remote country estate where he rarely has company. He retreated to the country after dueling with his best friend over a woman; feeling wretched about almost killing his friend, he exiled himself from polite society. Morgan’s worst trait is his temper, and he is still working on his anger issues.

Deciding that he has punished himself enough for his outburst, Morgan plans to return home to Grosvenor Square, London. He doesn’t give his butler, Thornley, advance warning; he just expects Thornley to be there, waiting for him. The good news is that Thornley is still his butler, and he's at home when Morgan arrives. The bad news is that Thornley isn’t the only one living in the townhouse.



Three years ago, after Morgan refused to come home to London for the social season, Thornley decided to rent out the townhouse to visiting gentry looking for somewhere to stay. The gentry pays Thornley and the other servants a generous rent each month. Thornley is not happy to lose his paying customers. Morgan, unsurprisingly, doesn’t care what Thornley thinks. He wants everyone out of his house immediately, or he will sack Thornley and the servants for their behavior.

Unfortunately, the gentry folk refuse to leave. They claim that Morgan consented to them using his apartments, and they have nowhere else to stay. Morgan learns that Thornley set up rental agreements with the gentry folk using his own marquessate seal, adding to Thornley’s crimes. Morgan, who doesn’t want the hassle of recruiting new staff, decides to handle the tenants himself.

The first tenant Morgan meets is Emma Clifford, a bold, charming, 19-year-old socialite staying in Morgan’s townhouse with her eclectic relatives. She admits that her family doesn’t have much money anymore. Her father spent the family fortune, and now Emma must save them all by snaring a rich husband. Unable to afford a new apartment to stay in, she begs Morgan to have mercy on her family. Morgan, reluctantly, agrees to let Emma’s family use his apartments for the season.



Emma introduces Morgan to her mother, Daphne. Daphne spends most of her time trying to seduce Thornley. Morgan suspects that Thornley secretly fancies Daphne, but he’s too shy to admit it. It is not appropriate for a butler to sleep with the gentry folk, and Thornley is only respecting his social boundaries.

Emma’s grandmother, Fanny, urges Morgan to set Emma up with eligible bachelors. Morgan explains that he doesn’t have many contacts anymore, and so he can’t matchmake for anyone. Fanny wonders if she can set Emma up with Morgan, because they would be good together. Emma, however, isn’t so sure. She thinks Morgan is uptight, ill-mannered, and bad-tempered, and she doesn’t want to marry someone like him.

Morgan meets another lodger, Olive Norbert, a seamstress who just inherited a large sum of cash. She hopes to seduce Morgan into marriage because she doesn’t want to leave the townhouse. She already assumes that she’s the lady of the house; no one knows how to deal with her. Morgan decides to simply stay out her way.



Morgan finally meets Emma’s brother, Clifford. It’s the family joke that his name is Clifford Clifford. Morgan thinks he’s an imbecile, but he decides that if he can tolerate Clifford, he has his anger issue under control. When Morgan finds out that Clifford is hiding a rooster in his townhouse, he decides to let Clifford keep the rooster because it’s the easiest way to keep the peace.

In the meantime, Fanny goes on a crusade around London, looking for a potential husband for Emma. She decides to approach all her ex-lovers to ask them if they have sons. She tells these men that, if they don’t help her marry off Emma, she’ll publish her memoirs detailing her extravagant sexual encounters with them all. This is threat enough to compel them into helping her.

As the weeks go by, Morgan gets to know Emma better. He falls in love with her, and they start seeing each other in secret. Fanny finds out, but she pretends she hasn’t noticed anything until they’re ready to admit it. In the meantime, Daphne seduces Thornley and they run off together. Morgan finally proposes to Emma, and they marry.