White Rose of Winter by Anne Mather

Author:Anne Mather [Mather, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472097767
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1973-08-31T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

JULIE moved into the house at Thorpe Hulme at the weekend.

Her furniture had been delivered, so Lucy advised her, a couple of days earlier, and a housekeeper by the name of Mrs. Hudson was already in residence. As Julie had not wanted a housekeeper any more than she wanted a governess for Emma it aroused a fleeting sense of frustration inside her, but later, as she reviewed the situation, she decided that a housekeeper might come in useful. After all, if she was to get a job and support herself, she could hardly run the house as well.

Since the night Emma had been ill, she had scarcely seen Robert at all. Lucy had told her irritably that Robert had slept on the couch in the lounge that night, and it was obvious that she disapproved.

Robert himself did not refer to it. He was away most days at the office anyway, and his evenings seemed taken up with Pamela and her friends. Which was only natural, Julie told herself bitterly.

In actual fact, it was rather nice moving into her own home again. And Mrs. Hudson turned out to be not at all the sort of person she had expected after meeting Sandra Lawson. The housekeeper was a middle-aged widow, whose family were all grown up and married, and she treated Julie from the beginning more like a daughter than an employer.

It was arranged that Robert should drive them down to Thorpe Hulme on the Sunday morning, but on Friday evening he received a telegram from his New York office advising him of a meeting which he wanted to attend. Pamela, who was at the apartment when the telegram arrived, waiting for Robert to take her to the theatre, immediately essayed that he must go and that she would drive Julie and Emma down to the house herself.

‘After all, darling,’ she went on, ‘it doesn’t really matter who takes Julie down, does it?’

Robert did not reply for a moment, and then he shrugged. ‘No, I suppose not,’ he agreed. ‘Is that all right with you, Julie?’

Julie wasn’t particularly keen on having Pamela as her chauffeur. ‘We could take a taxi,’ she suggested.

Pamela spread her hands. ‘My dear, that’s not necessary. I’m free—’ she glanced insinuatively at Robert – ‘in more ways than one.’

Julie had perforce to accept her offer and so it was Pamela who drove her to the house and helped her carry her luggage inside.

Mrs. Hudson came to greet them from the direction of the kitchen. She was small, like Julie, but much more rotund, with greying hair and a warm and smiling countenance. She gave Emma a particularly welcoming smile and then said:

‘I’ve made some coffee, Mrs. Pemberton. It’s waiting for you in the lounge. Would the little one like to come to the kitchen with me? I’ve been baking and there’s a nice jammy doughnut if she’d like one.’

Emma’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, super!’ she exclaimed, and Julie said:

‘Well, all right. But don’t overdo it, will you?’

‘I’ll see she doesn’t,’ promised Mrs.

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