Page 8 of Lady Audacious
‘What do you know about the history of this house?’
‘I was hoping you could tell me. I came to Arundel after the war looking for work. I was a footman at the Amberley residence before I enlisted to serve king and country, but they had no need of my services when I returned.’
‘That’s unfortunate,’ Odile replied, thinking the earl must be a very unfeeling person to turn his back on a man who had fought for his king.
Harris sniffed. ‘It were the same for a lot of others too. Their places had been filled and we was turned away. At least I was turned in this direction.’
‘The earl recommended you for this position?’
Harris waved the suggestion aside. ‘I doubt he even knows my name. It were his steward who heard that a caretaker was needed and put in a word for me. Best thing that ever happened to me, as it turns out. I like being me own master. Of course, now that you’re here—’
‘Now that I am here I shall need you more than ever. Your position is secure, if you are willing to work for a woman.’
Harris assessed her, and nodded thoughtfully. ‘Don’t see why not.’
‘Excellent. I shall need you to make enquiries about the roof and chimneys, and employ a couple of strong young men to do the heavy work, as well as a cook and a couple of maids. Don’t know if there will be enough work for them indefinitely, but there will certainly be enough for the next few months, at least until we’ve brought the house back to life.’ She smiled at Harris. ‘What do you say? Will you help and guide me? I need someone upon whose integrity I can depend, since being a woman there are bound to be those who think they can bamboozle me.’
‘Aye,’ Harris replied, nodding slowly. ‘I’ll stand by you.’
And with that he took himself off to arrange her truckle bed.
Chapter Three
‘A house party.’ The Dowager Countess of Amberley beamed, clapped her hands and nodded decisively. ‘Yes, definitely, don’t you think so, my dear? It’s the season for country pursuits, after all.’
Reuben Emory, her eldest son and the current earl, threw up his hands and laughed. ‘Mother, this house is constantly full of people. It’s one continuous party.’
‘Pah, there is no one here at present other than dear Sarah, and she is almost one of us. We must decide whom to invite, girls,’ she said, turning to her three daughters for support.
‘I’ll grant you that you have temporarily run out of houseguests, which is a rarity,’ Reuben replied, looking up from the newssheet he had been reading and regarding his mother with affection. His rangy greyhound, the aptly named Chase, lay spreadeagled at Reuben’s feet with his head resting on his master’s toes. Chase might look asleep but Reuben knew that as soon as he moved a muscle his dog would be instantly alert. He bent to ruffle Chase’s ears, thinking it a great pity that his racing days were behind him. Reuben’s kennels were now full of Chase’s progeny and he had high hopes for some of those in training at this summer’s races. ‘Sarah doesn’t qualify. She is here so often that she is like another sister to me.’ He glanced at the three sisters in question as he spoke and winked at Emily, the youngest and his favourite.
Sarah, who was sitting beside his mother, seemed for some reason a little offended by Reuben’s remark, which was intended to make her feel as though she belonged, given that her mother appeared to be more or less permanently indisposed and in no position to care for her only child. Reuben’s mother had a soft heart, and as a close friend of Sarah’s mother she had taken her goddaughter under her wing.
‘We must invite Lord Naysmith’s mama, and hopefully her son will feel duty-bound to escort her,’ the countess said, fixing her eldest daughter Beth with a significant look. ‘He danced with you at the last assembly we attended, paid you a lot of attention and the two of you seemed to find a lot to talk about. Everyone remarked upon it. Lady Rillington was quite put out. I think she has designs upon him for her own daughter, but I believe she is being rather optimistic in that regard. Miss Rillington cannot hold a candle to you.’
‘We discussed horses, Mama,’ Beth replied, sharing a complicit smile with Reuben, both finding endless entertainment in their mother’s chatter. She had a lot to say for herself, but was seldom unkind and saw the best in everyone. ‘He promised to find me an Arabian if there was one available the next time he went to Tattersalls. Has he mentioned anything to you, Reuben? He said he would let you know if anything came up.’
‘He has not. Would you like me to send a note of enquiry?’
‘Heavens, no! It would make me look desperate.’
‘Well you are,’ Avril, the middle sister, pointed out. ‘You often mention his name and I am absolutely sure that you daydream about him. Not that I can blame you for that. He is rather dashing. You had best snap him up quickly, Beth, because if he is still on the market when I come out next year, you can be sure that I shall make a play for him.’
‘On the market?’ Reuben raised a brow. ‘You make him sound like a commodity.’
‘Well he is, isn’t he?’ Emily asked. ‘Aren’t all you unmarried people of impeccable breeding who show your faces in thetonthere for one reason only?’ She shuddered. ‘You won’t catch me within five miles of it. Marriage mart? You would be better advised to call it a cattle mart. I want no part of it. I shall remain here and help Musgrove train your dogs, Reuben,’ she said decisively, bending to stroke Chase’s sleek back and receiving a thorough hand-licking by way of reward.
‘Stay here?’ The countess, who had taken Emily’s declaration seriously, looked astounded. ‘I never did hear such nonsense! You are at least as pretty as the rest of your sisters, my dear, and you will be a sensation. Provided, of course, that you refrain from expressing your opinions quite as forthrightly as you are inclined to do here, and on subjects that young ladies are not supposed to know anything about.’ The countess’s brow crinkled. ‘I must say that I am very proud that you are so clever but it would be better to keep your intellect hidden. Gentlemen do not like to have their opinions contradicted, you know.’
‘Precisely my point,’ Emily replied.
‘You are prettier than Beth and me,’ Avril said without rancour. ‘And by far the cleverest of us as well. It is most unfair. Tell her that it is unfair, Mama.’
‘Don’t get your hopes up in respect of Lord Naysmith, Mama,’ Beth advised. ‘He singles me out because we are on friendly terms and he feels safe with me, being such a close neighbour. He has known me since I was an annoying little girl who trailed behind him and Reuben everywhere, threatening to squeal to Papa about their exploits if they didn’t let me join in their games.’
‘I don’t suppose he looks upon you as a little girl anymore,’ Emily remarked.
‘I don’t know about that, but I do know that he is handsome and the best of fun when he feels relaxed enough to behave spontaneously. A difficult feat to achieve in a ballroom full of predators, I’ll grant you,’ Beth said with her customary logic. ‘But he is also in great demand and I will not stoop so low as to add my name to his list of obvious admirers. Instead, I shall content myself with keeping a dignified distance.’
