Page 28 of Lady Audacious
Odile watched her uninvited visitors ride away. She assumed that curiosity had driven them to her property and wondered what impression they would carry away with them. Not that she particularly cared. She wasn’t about to alter her personality in order to impress the local gentry, with whom she intended to have as little to do as possible.
She had taken an immediate liking to the vivacious Lady Emily, but the same could not be said for Miss Farquhar, who had made little effort to conceal her disapproval of Odile’s living arrangements.
‘Ridiculous woman,’ Odile muttered.
‘That’s the chit everyone says Lord Amberley will marry,’ Mrs Blaine said, coming outside to join Odile, clearly having seen the ladies from the kitchen windows.
‘In that case they deserve one another,’ Odile responded crisply. ‘Have they made their announcement?’
‘No, but she always seems to be at Amberley Hall, and his lordship seldom goes up to London, so everyone assumes…’
‘Everyone assumes he is too idle to bother choosing his own wife and that the lady living beneath his roof will do as well as any.’
Odile wondered why she felt relieved that the engagement existed only in the minds of the local populace. She was barely acquainted with Lord Amberley and had resented his assumption that she would sell her property to him simply because she didn’t have the ability to restore it without the help of a big, strong man to guide her. Even so, he deserved better than Miss Farquhar. Not that it was any of her concern, and her feelings were out of all proportion to her fleeting acquaintance with her new neighbour.
‘You don’t like her?’ Mrs Blaine asked.
‘It was more a case of her disapproving of me.’ She sighed. ‘Even so, I suppose I shall have to develop a thick skin in order to withstand the criticism that is bound to be directed my way. Everyone will eventually tire of holding their collective breath when a male relative does not arrive to guide me in the restoration of my home and control my domestic arrangements.’
‘The aristocracy don’t conduct themselves in the same way as the rest of us,’ Mrs Blaine said prosaically. ‘Allowances must be made for their idiosyncrasies.’
‘Must they? In that case, it is a very great pity that they don’t make allowances for mine. Anyway, if Lord Amberley isthatdisinterested in his own destiny and cannot take the trouble to find a wife with whom he has something more in common, then they deserve one another.’
‘You really didn’t take to her.’
‘Not at all. She spent her entire time looking down her pert nose at me, which was unpardonably rude of her. She would have heard from her beloved what sort of person I am, and if she is that easily offended it makes me wonder why she bothered to accompany Lady Emily, whom I did like very much, by the way.’
‘Everyone locally adores Lady Emily. She doesn’t have a pretentious bone in her body, joins in all the local activities, and I’ve heard it said that she takes the sunshine with her wherever she goes.’
‘So I just discovered for myself. Anyway, Mrs Blaine, how are we getting along? I see that the roof has already been pulled apart.’ She glanced up and noticed a strong young man who didn’t feel the need for a shirt ripping up more cracked slates. She sent Mrs Blaine a jaundiced look and they both burst out laughing. ‘Now I see why Miss Farquhar’s attention was drawn quite so frequently to the roof. My back was to the house at the time. Even she, with all her pretentions, is not immune to the sight of a strong man displaying himself to his best advantage. Anyway, I hope we shall not have any rain before the roof can be fully repaired.’
‘The weather looks set fair for the time being.’
‘I had a most successful day in Chichester,’ Odile told the older lady as they returned to the house together. ‘I have ordered new drapes for all the principal rooms, as well as cushions for the settees and all sorts of other bits and pieces that are actually luxuries rather than necessities. It was such fun that I’m afraid I got a little carried away. Anyway, everything will be ready fairly quickly.’
‘Did you take the time to order yourself some more gowns?’
Odile blinked in genuine confusion. ‘Whatever for?’
‘It’s best to be prepared in case you are invited anywhere.’ Mrs Blaine’s glance strayed towards Amberley Hall.
‘Oh good heavens, no! Even in the unlikely event of that happening, I should not accept. I would much prefer a good book to sitting at a table with Miss Farquhar and enduring her disapproving scowls. She would definitely look upon my presence as lowering the tone.’ Odile chuckled. ‘I am afraid I wouldn’t be able to help retaliating, and then the entire family would have to take her side.’
‘Even so, lamb, you ought to have some nice things for yourself. You can afford to indulge yourself.’
‘Perhaps in time I shall, but for now the house is my priority and it’s in such a state of upheaval that any delicate fabrics would be bound to suffer damage.’
Odile was still smiling at Mrs Blaine’s unrealistic expectations as she changed into her boys’ clothing and continued her determined attack on the vines that had crept over the ground floor windows. The difference the additional light filtering into the rooms had created was remarkable, making it feel as though the house was already coming alive again. Doris, for all her resentment, seemed like a good worker and the smell of beeswax pervaded everywhere she went. The wainscoting gleamed and the girls were now giving the dining room table a thorough polish.
Encouraged by their example, Odile set to on the dining room French doors once she had persuaded them to open. Albert and Jed risked life and limb balancing on ladders to clear the windows on the upper floor and were required every so often to dodge falling slates.
Tired after her full day, Odile was about to return to the house to wash the grime from her hands when a splashing sound coming from the stream caught her attention. Irritated at first to think that someone from Amberley Hall was again intruding, she turned to send the person away, but there was no one there. With her curiosity piqued, Odile walked to the stream and was astonished when she saw a young greyhound, little more than a puppy, struggling in the water. It didn’t seem able to swim and appeared to be in distress. Odile plunged into the stream without hesitation, water seeping into her boots as she caught hold of its wriggling body and swooped it to safety in her arms.
‘What happened to you?’ she asked, thinking it must be one of the earl’s dog’s latest litter. ‘Did you escape and get lost?’
The puppy whined pathetically and trembled in her arms, yet licked her face.
‘Yes, you know I want to help you,’ she said, tickling its tummy. It was a bitch, with a patchwork of colours emerging from its wet coat.
