The Accidental Marriage by Sally James

Author:Sally James [James, Sally]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Regency Romance
Publisher: Belgrave House
Published: 2008-08-21T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Julia was exhausted by the time she left Fanny. Her sister had demanded every detail of the journey, pressed repeatedly for assurances that there had been nothing improper between her and Sir Carey which had forced his hand, and exclaimed about Angelica’s defection in words which Julia, amused, thought rather disparaging to herself, even if she privately agreed with them.

She had thought it expedient not to reveal the real nature of the marriage, for that would have set Fanny off again in further speculations.

On the way back to Upper Brook Street she bought some flowers. From what she had glimpsed of the garden there, it would provide nothing but dark green ivy, and some cheerful spring blossoms would do much to brighten the house.

Foster greeted her politely, and informed her that Sir Carey had gone into the City to see his man of business.

‘Shall I send Molly to you, my lady?’

‘Please. And is there anywhere I can arrange these? Do we have some vases?’ she asked as he took the flowers from her.

‘There is a cupboard near the kitchen where they are stored,’ he said. ‘I suggest I prepare the morning room and have some water sent there for you. We do not have a flower room here as we do at Courtlands. My lady, Sir Carey’s mother, used to be fond of arranging flowers, and it will be good to see some in the house,’ he added.

‘Thank you. I will be down as soon as I have changed.’

Molly appeared within a minute of Julia reaching her bedroom. She was a rosy-cheeked country girl, with slow drawling speech but a ready laugh, and Julia had taken to her immediately. The previous evening she had unpacked and stowed Julia’s new clothes swiftly and efficiently.

‘Molly, what is your position here?’

‘Head housemaid, my lady.’

‘Would you like to be my personal maid?’

Molly’s eyes widened, and she nodded eagerly. ‘I would that, but I’m not sure Mrs Carter would let me.’

‘Mrs Carter?’

‘The housekeeper, here and at Courtlands, my lady. Real strict, she be, with us maids. When she put me up to head housemaid, when Janie left, she warned me I had to prove myself or I’d be back where I started.’

Julia raised her eyebrows. Mrs Carter sounded like a strict disciplinarian. ‘How long have you held the position?’

Molly counted on her fingers. ‘Let me see, it were October Janie left to be wed, so it’s five months.’

‘Then you must have given satisfaction.’

‘Well, mebbe so, but as she said this morning, with Sir Carey back, and with a wife, there’ll be more to do, and she’ll be watching me. She said you’d most like be entertaining. Sir Carey didn’t do much.’

‘Does Mrs Carter hire all the servants?’

‘The maids, yes. Mr Foster hires the men.’

‘I see. Well, I’ve a mind to choose my own personal maid, and if you want to, you can have the position.’

‘Ooh, my lady! Thank you! I didn’t expect to have such a job for years,’ she confided.

Julia smiled. ‘I’m sure we’ll get on.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.