Candlelit Christmas Kisses: Captain Moorcroft's Christmas Bride / Governess Under the Mistletoe

‘Yes, of course,’ Selina replied easily. ‘And so shall we, for this is to be our home in the meantime, and we wish to do everything as it ought to be—and I know you will be able to tell me how things used to be, Trent. Although we may need to change certain things. I have only a few servants, as you see. My groom is bringing the horses, but I shall have to acquire a chaise for our use.’

‘I daresay there is one you may use in the coach house, ma’am—and the carriage horses are still here. The earl did not wish to dispose of them, you see. My brother’s grandson has been helping out in the stable while we waited to see what happened.’

‘Well, that would be useful—though I’m not sure I ought to take advantage.’

‘A tenant is entitled to use all the facilities, ma’am.’

‘Well, we shall see,’ Selina said. ‘Our goods are not far behind us. I see you have two strong men. Do you think they could unload the wagon for us?’

‘Certainly, ma’am, it’s what they’re here for. They will take your trunks up first, and then you may wish to direct them where to put your furniture.’

‘It will mostly go in our bedrooms. There are only a dozen pieces or so—also some china, glass, silver and linen. I have a beautiful spinet and a sewing table, also a pretty desk which may go in the parlour …’

‘We have several parlours. You must allow me to give you a tour, ma’am. You will want to decide which is for your personal use.’

‘How kind you are, Trent. I was afraid you might resent us because we’re not family,’ Selina said gently.

The old man looked sad. ‘We’ve lost our family, ma’am. All but the new earl. Until he decides to take a bride and bring the house back to life, we shall be glad to have a family like your own staying here.’

‘Thank you. Perhaps I may introduce you to Miss Amy Searles and Miss Millicent, known to us all as Millie.’

‘Pleased to meet the young ladies, I’m sure,’ Trent said, and turned towards the elderly lady standing behind him. ‘This is Nanny Barnes. Nanny had nowhere else to go, so like me she decided to stay while she was of use. Nanny is very good at preparing tisanes and the like—and she’s more than capable of helping to keep the rooms tidy, Miss Searles. She won’t ask for more than her keep.’

‘Oh, I think Mr Breck intends to pay you all a wage,’ Selina told him. ‘I shall certainly see that you receive remuneration of some kind. For the moment we shall manage with a small staff, but in time Mr Breck may consider it necessary to bring in others—particularly for the outside work.’

‘The old earl only used a few rooms, ma’am,’ Trent said, clearly feeling he needed to give her the status of an older woman, as she was the head of the household. ‘Should you wish to entertain on a large scale, you would need more than you have presently—if you do not mind my saying so.’

‘As you know, we are in mourning for our mother,’ Selina replied, a catch in her throat. ‘We shall not entertain much for a while.’ She frowned as a phrase he’d used more than once registered warning bells in her mind. ‘You spoke of the new earl—has the old earl died? We understood he was expected to live some months—even a few years if he removed to a better climate?’

‘Yes, that is so, Miss Searles. Unfortunately it seems he was caught in a sudden thunderstorm while out walking. The soaking he received gave him a nasty chill, which turned to pneumonia and led to his sudden demise.’

‘How very unfortunate,’ Selina said, and her heart caught. ‘You have not heard when the new earl intends to return?’

‘We suppose he will not think of it yet, since he has leased the house to you, ma’am,’ Trent said, and led the way inside. ‘Would you like Nanny to bring you some tea to the back parlour? It gets the evening sun and we had a fire lit there earlier. Your servants will need to find their way about before they start work, I imagine.’

‘Would it be too much trouble for you, Nanny?’ Selina glanced at the elderly lady, who had merely inclined her head when she was introduced yet watched them anxiously.

‘No trouble at all, ma’am,’ Nanny replied, taking her cue from Trent. ‘If the young ladies would join you in the parlour, Trent, I will bring some refreshments—and then we’ll take you up once your things have been carried up.’

‘I should love to explore,’ Amy said. ‘Tell me, Mr Trent—is there a minstrels’ gallery here, and do you have any priest holes?’ Her excitement showed in her pretty face. ‘I am hoping one of the towers is haunted!’

‘We have a minstrels’ gallery in the great hall, miss,’ Trent told her, an indulgent look in his eyes. ‘We have two priest holes, but I fear there is no haunted tower. We don’t have any skeletons in the cupboard—though the family has been unfortunate these past years.’

‘Will you show me the house?’ Amy asked. ‘I can’t wait to see simply everything.’

‘The folly is out of bounds, miss,’ Trent told her. ‘It’s dangerous because some of the stonework is crumbling. But there’s no reason you shouldn’t explore the rest of the house and estate whenever you wish.’

‘Not yet, Amy,’ Selina said. ‘We must give Jane and Betty time to get our things settled, and for the moment no one has time to show us the house. I do not want you getting lost on your first evening.’

‘Oh, nonsense,’ Amy said. ‘I shall not lose my way—but if you want me with you until things are ready, I suppose I must wait.’

‘I’m hungry,’ Millie said. ‘I don’t suppose there’s any cake?’

‘I’m sure Nanny baked something this morning,’ Trent told her. ‘She has been cooking for all of us since the earl left and most of the servants decided to move to a better place. Not that you could blame them for leaving in the circumstances. This house has been like a morgue for the past three years or more.’ He looked embarrassed. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am. I forgot for a moment that you’re in mourning, too.’

‘Yes, we are,’ Selina agreed. ‘But you mustn’t think we intend to dwell on our sorrow, for we don’t. Mama would hate it if we all went around with long faces. She always wanted us to be happy, and she will want us to make the best of our situation. We shall wear black or grey until Christmas, when I intend to hold a little party. However, we shall be at home to our neighbours, should any call—and we shall attend small dinners soon. We may also ask one or two people to dine here on occasion, but nothing resembling a party until Christmas.’

‘That sounds very much better than we’ve been used to,’ Trent said, patently relieved. ‘I daresay we could send to the village for extra help should you need it, ma’am.’

‘We are accustomed to keeping our own rooms tidy—at least Amy and I do our best.’ Selina arched one delicate eyebrow at her youngest sister. ‘I am trying to teach Millie to be a little more careful of her things, but sometimes I despair of her.’

Sensing the teasing note underlying Selina’s words, Trent smiled and nodded. Having delivered his new family to a charming parlour that overlooked the back lawns and rose gardens, he left them to go in search of Nanny and their refreshments.

‘What shall we do if the new earl comes home?’ Amy asked in a low voice as the butler left them. ‘He instructed Mr Breck to employ a housekeeper, not let the house to a non-paying tenant.’

‘We shall pay our way,’ Selina said firmly. ‘I do not wish for any remuneration, but I intend to keep the house in good order. We shall all clean our own bedrooms. Amy, you will do the flowers for the rooms we use, and Millie can help by picking up books, scarves and any other personal items we leave about. It is my intention to make an inventory of the linen and household goods. I shall beeswax the furniture in the rooms we use, for it has not been done in an age. Cook will rule in the kitchen as always, Jane will organise our clothes, and Betty will see to the other housework and help Cook. We may need help from the village for the laundry, but if we all do our share, I see no reason why we should not bring the house to life again.’

‘Amy is always leaving things about,’ Millie said, looking put out. ‘I do not see why I should pick her things up.’

‘You leave far more about than I do. Besides, I’m doing the flowers—and that takes ages,’ Amy replied.

‘You can change jobs if you wish,’ Selina said, ‘But I cannot do it all myself, and so you must help. I shall help with the estate, as well as organising the house, keeping our accounts and ordering what we can afford from the local suppliers. Please do not argue, Millie. I am finding the prospect quite daunting enough as it is.’

Millie looked self-conscious. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘It’s just all so new and … so horrid without Mama. I shouldn’t have minded where we were if she was with us.’

‘Please don’t cry, my love,’ Selina begged, her throat closing. ‘I do know how you feel but … we are lucky to have this chance. Even if it only lasts for a few months, it will give us the opportunity to decide where we want to live when the earl does come home.’

‘I wasn’t going to cry.’ Millie sniffed hard, holding back her tears. ‘But why did Cousin Joshua have to be so mean?’

‘He is entitled to instruct the builders to make repairs. Mama ought to have done it sooner—indeed, it was truly Papa who was at fault. Instead of gambling his money away in London, he should have stayed at home and looked after his estate.’

‘I shall never understand how it happened,’ Amy said, her eyes glittering with suppressed anger. ‘Papa never gambled to excess. I think he must have been cheated.’

‘Why did he gamble at all?’ Millie asked.

‘Because he knew that the estate was suffering,’ Selina explained, as she had several times previously. ‘We had two bad harvests, and there was that nasty sickness that killed off most of our prime herd of cattle—and then Father made a bad investment with some merchant or other. He hoped he might win a few thousand pounds to tide him over until the harvest came in.’

‘Instead, he lost what money he had and—’ Amy choked. ‘I shall never forgive him for doing that to Mama. She loved him so much, and his death in that manner broke her heart.’

‘It broke all our hearts,’ Selina said, and held out her arms to her sisters. ‘Come here, my dear ones. We have each other and in that we are lucky. We may be poor, but we still have our pride and our love for each other—as long as we have that, we shall manage.’

‘You shame us,’ Amy said, and brushed her tears away. ‘You’ve had most of the burden to bear—and then Lord Markham stopped calling when he learned Papa had—’ She broke off and shook her head. ‘No, we shall not think of it again. Millie, we must help Selina all we can. The work will only take an hour or so in the mornings and then we may do as we like. I cannot wait to explore and discover the history of the house. Do you suppose there is a library and records of the family?’

Selina nodded and hugged both of her sisters in turn. ‘That’s right, Amy. We must all find ways to enjoy ourselves. It will seem more like home when we have our own things about us—and it will not be long until Christmas. We shall have a little party then, and presents, all the decorations we brought from home—and we’ll make new ones.’

They heard a little cough from the hallway and then the door opened. Nanny entered, followed by Trent, who carried a large tray. He set it down on a table next to Selina’s chair. Nanny had brought a stand on which she had placed plates of cakes, dainty pastries and some little sweet treats. Clearly it was not the work of a few minutes, which meant she must have spent some hours earlier that afternoon in preparing for their arrival.

‘How lovely,’ Selina said. ‘Nanny, you must have worked very hard. I cannot thank you enough for making us feel so welcome.’