The Unexpected Marriage of Gabriel Stone by Louise Allen

Author:Louise Allen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-06-30T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

It had never occurred to her that a housekeeper’s life would be a lonely one. In a large household there was a butler, a steward, a cook and a mature lady’s maid for the mistress of the house, a little inner circle of upper servants. But here, with no family in residence, the housekeeper reigned in an isolated state.

Caroline set the flower arrangement on a table in the hall and looked out through the open door, down the carriage drive between the high yew hedges that were receiving their first good cut in years and on to the green haze of the Vale of Aylesbury in the August sunlight. Behind the house the beech woods rose like a blanket over the swell of the Chiltern Hills, nestling it into the tiny valley of the Spring Bourne, the seasonal stream that rose from the chalk after heavy rain, then vanished in summer.

This was a lovely spot, the house was charming and soon it would become a home for Anthony and for herself. But meanwhile, although there was a lot to do and even more to be thankful for, the loneliness pressed in on her. And it has only been three weeks.

‘I’ve finished the panelling in the dining room, Mrs Crabtree.’ Jane, the housemaid, came into the hall carrying a basket of jars of beeswax and polishing cloths. ‘It’ll take a few more goes to get the shine up proper, though.’

‘Once a week and not too much wax, more elbow grease,’ Caroline said. That was what was advised in Mrs Pomfrett’s Household Management, the thick tome that was her night-time reading. ‘Too much wax builds up and dulls the shine.’

‘Yes, ma’am. I’ll lay the table in your room, Mrs Crabtree. Almost time for luncheon.’

That was another thing. Every meal had to be taken alone in the housekeeper’s parlour while the cheerful sounds of chatter from the servants’ hall echoed down the flagged passageway. She’d been tempted to prop a book up in front of her, but that was a bad example to the maids, so must be resisted. They relied on the training they received here for their next post, perhaps promotion to a bigger household, or cook-housekeeper to a widow or single gentleman. It all left far too much time to be thinking about a certain brown-eyed gentleman.

‘There’s a rider coming up the drive, Mrs Crabtree.’

‘Who can that be?’ Caroline squinted against the sunlight, heart pounding. A boyish rider on a chestnut hack with a rather shambling gait. Not a tall man on a fine piece of bloodstock. Of course not.

‘Close the front door, alert William that someone is coming. Possibly they are lost and want directions.’

She followed the scurrying maid towards the back of the hall and waited in the shadows while the footman emerged, tugged down his waistcoat and went to open the door.

‘Good morning, sir. I regret that none of the family is in residence.’

‘Well, I am now.’ The light, cheerful voice cracked mid-sentence, betraying the speaker’s nerves as well as his age.

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.