Fenella J. Miller (4 page)

Five of the men walked ahead with shears and blades to begin the arduous job of cutting tree branches. The remaining man plodded along beside the cart horse. He glanced sideways as Elizabeth resumed her seat on the sacks and grinned at her. She smiled back; he appeared as pleased as she, that she was being included in the entertainment.

Amelia was animatedly chatting to Ned and David joined in. Once more, she felt invisible. Sir James caught up with them and tenderly lifted Eleanor onto the cart. She remained with her feet dangling over the end and made no attempt to crawl back and sit on the sacks. He strolled down the unoccupied side until he was level with Elizabeth.

“Miss Baverstock, I shall no longer fret about your health. You are obviously fully restored judging by the vigorous defence you put up just now.”

“I thank you for your kind thoughts, Sir James, and I also thank you for sending me the flowers and fruit. I should have been away before your party came out if I had not delayed to eat half a pineapple.”

His eyes were friendly as he smiled. He was indeed a most attractive gentleman when he put himself out to be charming. “Do you arrange the decorations yourself, Miss Baverstock, or do you merely direct the operation?”

“A little of both. It will not be possible to achieve the result I wish for if I leave things entirely to the staff. However, I must assure you, that this is
one
task that I relish. It has always been a pleasure to see Hartford Hall dressed for the Lord’s name day. This is a tradition which goes back many years.”

“If you require extra assistance I’m sure we should all like to help. I can remember helping my mother, when I was a boy, to do the same thing. It would be most enjoyable to be able to be involved again after so many years.” His expression darkened as if thoughts of his past were not pleasant.

Her heart went out to him; she hated to see anyone unhappy. “I should be honoured if you would care to help me. The chore will be far easier if I have someone knowledgeable at my side.”

Amelia overheard this conversation and her head snapped round, her eyes sharp, no longer feigning friendship. “Sir James, Elizabeth prefers to work alone. This year Mama has kindly allowed her to arrange the greenery in the manner used before we arrived.” She smiled coldly at Elizabeth before continuing. “However, this changes everything. Now Elizabeth is prepared to allow others to help, it’s no longer her prerogative.
I
shall direct operations.”

His stare was arctic. “Let us hope, Lady Amelia, your efforts to take charge of this matter are more successful than you were when leading us to the place where the greenery was growing.”

Amelia flushed, but did not back down. Her nature was not to apologise or admit she was wrong. “How could I be expected to know where such things grow? After all it is not
I
who has lived here all my life.”

Elizabeth held her breath. This was the first time this fact had ever been aired in public. The whole family went to great lengths to keep her past a secret. Amelia’s embarrassment had caused her to inadvertently reveal this information. Sir James glanced in her direction and something flashed in his eyes, but then he turned back to Amelia.

“Exactly so, Lady Amelia. No one should ever forget Miss Baverstock is the granddaughter of an earl. She was born and bred here and is a true aristocrat.”

What he left unsaid was more potent than his actual words. Even Eleanor was shocked by his directness; she spun round, mouth open, to stare at him. Ned broke the silence.

“I say, when Pa said we was to come here for Christmas I’d no idea I should be meeting so many lovely young ladies. What a lucky fellow I am to be sure.”

David immediately chimed in. “I shall ask all of you to dance with me at the ball next week. I’ve been learning how to waltz. Do you think your parents will allow us to do this new dance?”

Elizabeth waited for Amelia to disabuse the young men, to tell them in no uncertain terms that she was not invited to the ball. Her role would be to oversee the preparations and then retire to her chambers. Then she must be up at dawn to make sure the servants put the house to rights before the guests got up.

Her anguish must have shown in her expression, for a strong hand gripped her shoulder for a second to reassure her. “And I shall do the same. It will be my absolute pleasure to stand up with each of you in turn.”

She sank back against the cart side. Sir James’s comment meant Lady Hartford could not prevent her appearance. Amelia laughed.

“Of course Elizabeth will be there. I’m sure I cannot wait to see what delightful ensemble she appears in.”

Elizabeth clenched her hands, her momentary happiness squashed. She had nothing to wear, had never owned a ball gown, indeed had never even been to a formal dance. She would look an antidote, would have to appear in an outmoded evening gown. Amelia’s triumphant smile before turning to continue talking banalities with the Bloomfield gentlemen, reinforced Elizabeth’s misery. Whatever the provocation, she would not attend. She would rather miss this event than become a laughing stock and bring shame on her dear, departed relative.

S
CARCELY
O
NE
H
OUR
A
ND
a half after they had arrived in the woods, Eleanor and Amelia were talking to Sir James. The other two young men joined them and they all looked in her direction. She knew their pleasure in the exercise had long since abated; they were not as robustly dressed as she, and must all have had a considerable amount of snow fall down their necks. Every time a branch was pulled, the snow flew off on whoever was unfortunate enough to be standing directly below.

If she was honest, she, too, was ready to return. However, she was determined to complete her task, despite the fact that she would no longer be able to arrange the decorations as she wished. Sir James strode up to her. She could not see his expression as he kept his head lowered, making sure he didn’t suffer the same fate as young Mr. Broomfield. The young man had tumbled backwards into a snowdrift when he put an unwary foot down a rabbit hole.

“Miss Baverstock, the ladies have decided they have done enough today. They are cold and wet, as are we all, and wish to return to the house to get warm. I insist you come too. Smith is quite capable of completing the collection of greenery. He tells me he’s been doing it since you were in leading strings.”

She hesitated. He was quite correct, but giving up was not in her nature. Then she recalled this would be her very last Christmas in residence. What did it matter
who
collected the evergreens? She would not be there to supervise in future years. “Very well, I shall be glad to accompany you. Cook is making leek and vegetable soup and beef pasties for luncheon. It seems a long time ago since I ate that half a pineapple.”

“Good girl. Here, take my arm and I’ll guide you back to the others.”

She remembered the sly pinches she’d received from Amelia during the morning to remind her that she was only with them on sufferance and this made her refuse. “Thank you, Sir James, but wouldn’t it be more appropriate if you were to walk back with your…with Eleanor?”

He glanced at the waiting group and smiled ruefully. “Perhaps, in the circumstances, it might be wiser for us not to walk together. There is one amongst us who seems determined to find fault with your behaviour. Don’t let her intimidate you, Miss Baverstock, you have as much right to be here — no, more right to be here — than she does.”

Buoyed up by his perspicacity, she called her farewells to the hard-working men and left them to fill the cart. The contents would be transferred to the flower room where it should have been her task to sort it all out. However, as Amelia had insisted
she
was in charge she would leave everything in that person’s overconfident hands.

David Bloomfield made no attempt to walk at her side; no doubt he had been told she was of no account by Amelia. As they approached the rear of the house, she branched off and entered through the servants’ door. She was greeted by Mrs. Blake.

“My dear Miss Elizabeth, you resemble a snowman. I’m glad you decided to leave it to the men to finish; you overtax yourself. One of these days your strength will fail you if you don’t take care.”

“Mrs. Blake, I am as strong as a horse and we both know it. I admit I have lost weight, and do not sleep as well as I might, but a little outside exercise never did me any harm. My head cold has all but gone, and only someone with a healthy constitution would have recovered so quickly.”

“Why don’t you retire to your rooms, get yourself warm and dry and put your feet up for a bit? I shall send Tilly and Jenny along with hot water for you. I shall send up a tray in half an hour when you’re warm and dry.”

Elizabeth hurried up the back stairs and out onto the nursery floor. There was still ice on the inside of the windows at the far end of the corridor that overlooked the park. She shivered at the thought of having a wash in such unpleasant conditions. Upon entering the schoolroom , which doubled as her parlour, she stopped in surprise. Fires had been lit at both ends of the room, two baskets of logs and four scuttles of coal stood ready by each grate. She ran into her bedchamber and found the same had been done for her there. Small wonder Mrs. Blake had been eager for her to return to her apartments.

Her ablutions were a pleasure. She would have enjoyed it more if there had been sufficient water to fill a tub. She managed by standing in a basin and tipping the water over herself when necessary. After dressing in a warm tea-gown of damask rose twill, she used the remainder of the water to sponge the mud from the hem of her velvet gown. The gown would dry beautifully hanging over the back of a chair in front of one of the fires.

Her tray had arrived with the expected treats and also a mug of steaming chocolate and a slice of cook’s delicious plum cake. This was a feast indeed and for the first time in many months, she would do justice to her meal. She had just pushed away her plate and shaken the crumbs from her gown when the door of the school room flew open.

Lady Hartford stood framed in the doorway, crimson egret feathers bobbing wildly in her turban. Her eyes were hard, her lips thin. She stared around the chamber with growing disbelief.

“As I thought. Someone shall be dismissed for this, young lady. I gave no sanction to you having one fire in here, and you now have two. I’ll not be ignored in this way.” Her eyes snapped with venom. “And where, pray, did the flowers and fruit come from?”

“I ordered the fires. The footmen could hardly disobey me as they have been following my orders for many years. The fruit and flowers came from Sir James; you must take the matter up with him.”

This only added to her ladyship’s fury. Elizabeth continued.

“I wished to be warm for once. So now I shall tell you what I intended to keep secret. I have accepted the position of governess with a prestigious family in Yorkshire. I will take up my employment immediately after Christmas. I have already booked my seat on the mail coach.”

For a moment her adversary seemed startled by this statement, then she rallied. Lady Hartford had the same triumph in her expression as Amelia’s earlier. “That’s an excellent idea, for you are not welcome here. With you gone, we shall not be constantly reminded we are but recent arrivals and neither will we have to support an ingrate.”

“Then you will dismiss no one? Allow me to have a final Christmas in comfort, one last opportunity to join in the festivities before leaving forever?”

“Amelia told me you insinuated yourself into the young men’s regard and invited yourself to the ball. This shall be your swansong, miss. Do not think you may come down to dine with us, or fraternise with the guests in future. That would be the outside of enough. Be satisfied you may remain in luxury up here and attend our gala occasion the day after tomorrow.”

Standing straight and proud, Elizabeth did not flinch. “If there is nothing else, madam, I bid you good day.”

Unused to being dismissed by someone who was usually too cowed and beholden to fight back, her ladyship fired her final riposte. “I warn you, miss, that if you disobey me in this matter I shall turn away six of the oldest staff. They shall leave this house when you do.”

The door slammed shut behind her. Elizabeth wished she’d not eaten so heartily for her stomach threatened to rebel. This was the one thing she feared the most; there were several elderly retainers who had been with the family for the whole of their working life, if they were dismissed they would surely starve.

This was unthinkable. How could Grandfather have been so remiss? He had been the kindest of men, never had a cross word to say to anyone and was respected and loved by everyone throughout his vast estate. Why had the second copy of his will not been found? He must have had the foresight to provide for his staff and herself. The fact that the lawyer who had drawn up the will was now deceased had meant that only the heir could be traced. The original document had been lost in a fire so even the names of the witnesses were not known. Goodness — legal crows had ransacked the study to find the errant document. Without the legal evidence, she could do nothing about it. There was no point in repining. She must protect these people until she finally departed.

Tears filled her eyes as she realised the futility of this. Half the staff would be sent packing as soon as she had gone. They would be replaced by people who would not cast judgements on the new Lord and Lady Hartford and find them wanting. She was in no position to provide for her loyal retainers; she barely had enough to take her safely to her employment. The urge to hurl the coal scuttle at the door almost overwhelmed her. Her nails bit into her palms. She swallowed and drew a steadying breath — only a few more days and she would be free of them. She couldn’t wait.

The Christmas ball was to be held on the 23rd of December; it would not be seemly to have such an occasion on Christmas Eve itself. Last year, the house had still been in mourning so the Hall had not been decorated. Whatever Lady Hartford said, Elizabeth was determined to organise the greenery. She wanted one last chance to see the house decked out in its festive finery.

She would leave Amelia in charge of the decorations until teatime, by then she would have become bored and abandoned the assignment. At that juncture, no one could possibly object if
she
stepped in to complete the work. She paced the length of the schoolroom, unable to enjoy the unaccustomed warmth. Her emotions were in turmoil, thinking about the fate of the servants who had devoted their lives to the Hartford family.

She could not remain here as instructed; she would creep down to the study. This room was seldom used; the present earl took no interest in running the estate and relinquished all that to the manager. Mr. Bishop could achieve a far better result left to his own devices than if someone like Lord Hartford constantly interfered. As long as his lordship saw funds flowing into his coffers, he would be satisfied.

Although the fire in the study was unlit, someone had left it ready for her to push a taper into the kindling. The curtains were half drawn, the large desk and the other items of furniture undusted. She would occupy her time rectifying these omissions. Grandfather had loved this room and they had spent many happy hours together in front of the fire.

The library ran the entire length of the upper floor. The chamber was not conducive to a comfortable conversation; one would be obliged to shout to make oneself heard on the other side of the room. Over the years, she had selected books to read and then taken them down to the study where she would curl up in an armchair and watch her grandfather work at his extraordinary desk. He had told her the desk came from far off India, where it had been crafted especially for him and carried across the Himalayas on the backs of two donkeys.

No doubt, the current incumbents disliked the faded furnishings and elderly armchairs. Fortunately, Lady Hartford’s ruthless improvements had not reached this room. It would be heartbreaking to see it transformed into yet another homage to the Egyptians.

The cleaning materials she required were kept in a large cupboard downstairs in the servants’ quarters. She stopped to talk to several maids and footmen on her way. They were eager to tell her that Amelia had already abandoned the flower room and retreated to the grand drawing room where the young people were organising a pantomime to be performed on the day after Christmas. No doubt, the older folk were occupied in other pursuits. She was sure they would not wish to participate in anything so active as a pantomime.

With the wooden box filled with beeswax polish, dusters and a damp cloth, she hurried back to the study. Once inside, she donned her apron. Now the fire was alight it would be a shame to waste the fuel. When the room was pristine once more, she would take over where Amelia had left off.

An hour later, she was satisfied everything was as it should be — apart from the desk itself. This was an ornate item and had many drawers and nooks and crannies and she had no time to polish this today. She tucked the cleaning materials under the kneehole and, still enveloped in her apron and voluminous cap, she headed for the flower room.

The sound of voices and activity inside meant the staff had not also abandoned the job. This was good news. Twining holly, ivy and other evergreens into the garlands needed to drape across the over mantels in all the reception rooms was an arduous task.

“Miss Baverstock, thank goodness you have come to organise matters. We are sadly adrift here, and have no notion how to do things.”

Sir James was standing at the sink in his shirtsleeves, vainly attempting to weave the material together. Several other guests were in there also; none of them were known to her. She hesitated in the doorway, uncertain if she should blatantly disobey Lady Hartford’s instructions. If Amelia and Eleanor and the Bloomfield gentlemen were not with this party, perhaps she could do this and still remain undetected by the family.

“It’s very kind of you all to offer to help. I’m afraid I have only been introduced to Sir James.”