Love Sneaked In (Montgomery Family Trilogy) (11 page)

Sally had located Helen’s deep blue day dress, and she quickly changed after she had washed away her travel dirt. Then she sat down at the dressing table and brushed her hair. She hoped Matthew was able to locate his daughters. It certainly sounded as if the little girls were mischief-makers.

Matthew returned looking exasperated. “I’ve found my daughters. Please come with me to the nursery so I can introduce you to them.”

Matthew offered her his arm, and he led her upstairs. When she walked into the nursery, she saw another poorly kept room. The windows were dirty, which made the room dark and dreary. Changing this room would be a top priority, because children needed to be in cheerful surroundings.

Then Helen saw his daughters and my goodness—they were identical twins. They had long, dark brown hair that needed to be brushed, big, chocolate brown eyes and pink cheeks, but there was dirt on their button noses. They were dressed alike in pale blue dresses with what was supposed to be white pinafores. Their stockings were torn, dirty, and falling down around their ankles.

Matthew turned to her with a grimace on his face. “Sorry, they were playing outside in the garden when I found them, so I didn’t have a chance to get them cleaned up. Let me introduce you to Christina and Catherine. Girls, come over here and meet your new mother. I’m sure you’ll get along splendidly.”

Helen looked at the girls and wondered how in the world she would ever tell them apart. They were looking at her as if she were some bitter medicine that they had to swallow. She knelt down so she could be eye level with them. “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you. Can you help me? Since you both look exactly alike, I need your help. Which of you is Christina?”

The girls looked at her and pointed to each other and shouted together, “She’s Christina!”

Matthew got another exasperated look on his handsome face as he turned to his daughters. “Girls, that’s not very nice!” He looked at Helen with trepidation in his eyes as he continued, “I know they’re hard to tell apart. I guess it doesn’t help that they’re dressed alike. Christina has a small birthmark on her hand.” He looked at the little girl on the right. “Christina, show Helen your hand.” With a belligerent look on her cute little face, Christina shook her head defiantly. “Christina, come here now and show Helen your hand.”

As they ran across the room, they shouted in unison, “We don’t want a mother. We can take care of ourselves. All we need is each other. We don’t need a nurse or anybody!”

Oh dear, what was she going to do?

It was very apparent that these little girls hadn’t been taught any manners. She was at a loss for words.

What could she say to them to try to earn their trust?

It appeared that Matthew had no control over them at all.

A young girl entered the room and said, “Milady, I’m Mary, and I’ve been tryin’ to watch these little ladies, but they keep runnin’ off. I’ll get ‘em cleaned up right away.” She took each of the girls by the hand and led them out of the nursery.

With a strained look on his handsome face, Matthew said, “Well, that went well. I’m sure that once they get to know you they’ll warm up to you. Unfortunately, I’ve had a difficult time keeping a nurse, so they’re a little unmanageable, but they’re basically sweet little girls. I’ve had Wells lay tea out in the drawing room, so let’s go downstairs.”

When the tea tray was brought to them, she noticed that the cups were chipped, and the tea service was tarnished. The sandwiches were made with stale bread, and the biscuits were hard. As she poured their tea, she looked at Matthew. “I’d like to meet the housekeeper and the rest of the staff. I feel it’s important that I meet with them so I can begin to know their names. I hope that’s all right with you. I assume that you’ll want me to take over running your household.”

Matthew nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes, please take over. Unfortunately, I don’t have a housekeeper. She quit shortly after I left, and I haven’t had time to find a replacement yet. Normally, there are two upstairs maids and two down, and then there’s Cook in the kitchen, and she has two helpers. But, Wells told me we lost the two downstairs maids yesterday. Mary’s supposed to be one of the upstairs maids, and Dottie is the other one. I can introduce you to Cook and her helpers, if you’d like. Presently, we don’t have any footmen because they left last week.”

Helen looked directly into Matthew’s eyes, a bit put out by all this new information. “Matthew, why do you have so much trouble keeping help? Is there something you should be telling me?”

With an abashed expression, Matthew replied, “The girls tend to pull pranks on the maids. Just harmless things, but they end up quitting anyway. From what Wells told me, the footmen left to try their fortune in Plymouth. I know this looks bad, but I promise we’ll find new help soon. I’m sure you’ll do wonders with Christina and Catherine, and once you have them behaving we won’t lose any more staff. I’ll contact the agency in Plymouth tomorrow, and we should have a full staff by next week. Surely we can manage until then. Let me take you to the kitchen, and I’ll introduce you to Cook. She’s been here since I was a young child.”

Cook was a pleasant looking woman, but it was evident that she felt overworked. The two kitchen helpers, Suzie and Sarah, looked about thirteen years old. Helen smiled as she said, “It’s nice to meet all of you. Cook, I would like to meet with you in the morning, immediately following breakfast, so we can discuss some changes to the menu. I’m sure it’s been difficult without a housekeeper. We should be able to hire one by next week. I’d appreciate your help between now and then.”

Cook rushed over to Helen and curtsied. “O’ course, milady. I’ll be happy t’ help ye. I’ve been tryin’ t’ keep ever’thin’ t’gether, but it be hard, what with no housekeeper, then th’ maids quittin’, and all.”

Helen said in a firm voice, “Well, we’ll work together to get everything back in order. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Helen asked Matthew to give her a tour of the house. He showed her the library, which had floor-to-ceiling bookcases lining the walls, but everything was so dusty she couldn’t even see the titles of the books, and the books didn’t seem to be in order either. There was a ballroom, a music room, and his study on the first floor, along with the two drawing rooms and a morning room. All the rooms were in need of a good cleaning and were very out of date, so she would definitely want to redecorate them also.

Matthew showed her all the bedrooms on the second floor, and there were six of them, plus the family apartments. The bedrooms would also need to be redecorated. The third floor was where the nursery was located, and there were more bedrooms on that floor as well. Then there was the attic where the servants slept.

Helen would definitely have plenty of work to do, trying to get this house in order. Of course, this was what she’d been trained for, and she looked forward to the challenge. Matthew told her to redecorate wherever she saw a need and to not worry about the cost.

“Matthew, I noticed most of the house looks as if it hasn’t been updated in twenty years. Didn’t your wife do any decorating while she was alive?”

Matthew adjusted his neck cloth, looking as if he were suffocating. “Belinda…was delicate. My father arranged my marriage when I was one and twenty, and she was only seventeen…Belinda became pregnant right after we were married. The doctor confined her to her bed for most of her pregnancy, so she never had a chance to do any decorating.”

“That explains why she didn’t do any decorating, but the house doesn’t look as if it’s been touched in many years.”

“My mother was the last person to decorate the house, and that was well over seventeen years ago. My father was very frugal and didn’t see the need, so he never changed anything. When he died last year, the estate was a bit run down, and I’ve been focused on getting it taken care of first, before I worried about the inside of the house.”

Helen nodded. “I can understand that had to be a priority for you.”

“Now you can see why I wanted a wife so badly. I guess I should have been more forthcoming about what you would be facing, but I didn’t want to scare you off.”

“I can understand why you needed a wife, but you could have at least prepared me on our trip here so it wouldn’t have been so shocking, Matthew. Have you been able to get the estate turned around?”

Matthew answered as he nodded his head. “Yes, the home farm and the tenant farms are now producing nicely. The income is more than enough to give us a comfortable living, and now with your dowry things can really change around here. I don’t want you to think that I even considered your dowry when I asked you to marry me, but it will be helpful and will allow us to have a few luxuries that I might not have been able to supply without it.”

As they went back downstairs to their rooms, Helen remarked, “I’m glad my dowry will help around here, and I know you said to spend whatever I wanted to redecorate the house, but I’ll be careful to keep the costs down. The house seems to be strongly built, so at least we won’t have to spend much money on the structure. It’s mainly just refurbishing the inside, so that shouldn’t cost that much. New wallpaper and fabrics will make a world of difference in how the house looks, and I’ve always enjoyed decorating, so it will be fun.”

“Thank you, Helen, but please don’t worry about the cost of repairs. I’m glad you see it as fun, because to me it just looks like a lot of work. I’m sorry.”

“It will be fun. I see it as a challenge. I’m sorry you lost your first wife when you were so young. That must have been difficult to lose her so soon after your marriage.”

By this time they had reached Helen’s door. “As I mentioned before, it was an arranged marriage, and I really never had much of a chance to get to know her well. Belinda was very quiet and shy, and I’ll be honest with you, I was resentful over being forced to marry her. I was saddened when she died, and of course, overwhelmed to become a father of twin daughters. You’re nothing like her at all. You’re a much stronger woman. That’s one of the reasons I wanted you as my wife. I know my children are unruly, but I’m sure you can take them in hand. Please help me with them. I do realize that it’s asking quite a bit of you.”

“Matthew, I’ll help anyway that I can. It may take a while to get everything turned around, but I’m up to the task. I’m happy we had this talk. I hope we can do this every day, because I’m committed to making our marriage work. Well, I’m going to take a short nap so I’ll see you at dinner.”

Matthew grabbed her hand, kissed it. “You’re the most understanding woman in the world. Thank you. I look forward to seeing you later. I hope you have a good nap.”

The evening meal was better than the tea. The food was plain, but nourishing. Since it had been such a long day, Helen decided to go to bed right after dinner. As she turned to go upstairs, Matthew said, “I’m going to stay up for a while. I’ll see you in the morning. Good night, my dear.”

Chapter 8

July 1820

When Matthew went into his study, he poured himself a large snifter of brandy, sat down at his desk, and thought about what an incredible woman Helen was. Most women would have run screaming from the house, what with all the problems with the servants, and then his daughters being perfectly horrible to her. He certainly hoped she would be able to do something with them, because they were definitely out of control. They didn’t listen to him at all, and this problem with keeping a nurse was troubling.

Matthew was feeling much better about his decision to marry Helen, and now he could concentrate on getting Collingswood Hall in good shape. He had made quite a bit of progress this past year, but there was still so much to do.

He certainly hoped Helen would feel she knew him well enough to consummate the marriage soon, because he wasn’t used to being without a woman. Helen was beautiful, and she stirred his blood. Every time they accidentally touched, he felt a tightening in his loins. Even though he wanted her badly, he didn’t regret telling her they would wait to consummate their marriage. When he’d seen her face in the carriage as they pulled away from her home, he knew she’d been terrified about being intimate with him.

This time they would take to get to know each other would be worth it, because Matthew wanted her to be a willing partner in his bed. They had the rest of their lives to be together, so a few weeks wouldn’t be too much to ask. As the clock struck twelve, he headed up to his empty, lonely bed.

The next morning, Matthew left a message telling Helen he’d be gone most of day, and he wasn’t sure if he’d be there for dinner. Today, he had to go see his mistress and let her know it was over between them. Her house was on the other side of the village, so it would take him about an hour to get there. Since he knew she was going to be angry with him, he wanted to give himself plenty of time. He was really dreading the confrontation he knew would happen when she found out he was married.

When Matthew arrived at Cecilia’s house, he found her alone. She was overjoyed to see him, and ran over to him and kissed him passionately. It was hard not to respond, since Cecilia was such a desirable woman, but he knew it wouldn’t be fair to Helen, so he controlled his urges. Cecilia was a pretty woman with her jet-black hair and violet eyes and a mouth that just begged to be kissed. Her figure was voluptuous, and he’d always been attracted to that type of woman until Helen. He broke their kiss, and then he gently pushed her away, not meeting her eyes.

Cecilia looked at him in bewilderment. “Why did you push me away, and why aren’t you kissing me back?” Her tone was rising, so Matthew knew she was getting upset, as she continued, “Why aren’t you looking at me?”

He could hear the hurt in her voice, and he felt terrible that he was going to cause her pain. Even though their relationship had just been sexual, they
had
been together for three years. It was only understandable that she had grown fond of him. He’d been fond of her also.

Oh God, why didn’t he break it off before he went to London?