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

‘I had some help, ma’am,’ Nanny said, and looked self-conscious. ‘Sadie is not quite as she ought to be. No one in the village will employ her, but she comes here to be with me because I helped her when she needed me, and the old cook here showed her how to cook. Makes wonderful cakes, she does—never asks more than a few pence and her dinner.’

Selina sighed inwardly as she saw her slender funds diminishing rapidly. At this rate she would have to apply to Mr Breck for more help with the servants’ wages, but Nanny’s words left her little option.

‘I can see someone has worked extremely hard,’ she said. ‘You must thank Sadie for me. Does she live in the house?’

‘Oh, no, miss, Sadie is a wild creature, a law unto herself. She can be an angel one day and the next she’s off roaming the woods, getting up to who knows what. I think she has a hut in the woods somewhere.’

‘I see. Well, at least she is no trouble to you, then.’

‘Good as gold, she is, with me—but not always with others, if you see what I mean.’

Selina feared she did. This wild girl Sadie sounded more of a liability than a help, but she would not turn her away unless she caused trouble in the house. She tasted the cake cautiously, half expecting to find salt had been used instead of sugar, but it was in fact delicious.

‘This is very nice,’ she said. ‘I do not think my cook could do better.’

‘I’ll tell my girl you were pleased,’ Nanny said, and smiled. ‘Like a daughter to me, she is, ma’am—for all her faults.’

‘Well, I shall expect you to look out for her,’ Selina said. ‘In the meantime, I can pay her a shilling a week and her meals—if that is sufficient? If you think she needs more, I will apply to Mr Breck.’

‘No, please don’t do that, ma’am. The old earl told me to send her away—thought she was a troublemaker, he did, and Mr Breck would say the same. A shilling and her dinner will do very well for Sadie.’

‘Then I shall allow her to come here, providing she causes no trouble in the house,’ Selina said. ‘Clearly you are fond of her, and I have no wish to cause anyone unhappiness. There is sufficient of that in life without creating more.’

She’d had her share of it—not least the disappointment she’d suffered when she was sixteen and her first love affair had come to naught, leaving her with sweet but empty memories.

‘That’s what I always say.’

Nanny nodded approvingly, and Selina knew she had passed the first test with flying colours. How many more there would be before she was fully accepted here she did not know, but she had a feeling she would soon find out.

‘The library is wonderful,’ Millie said the next morning, when Selina found her two sisters sitting in the parlour they had used the previous evening.

It smelled of lavender, and she realised they had been polishing and cleaning with a will. The beautiful old furniture was gleaming and nothing was out of place. They had positioned their mother’s sewing box beside a comfortable chair they had brought with them, and the men had carried in the delicate spinet to stand before the window. On the mantelpiece were the silver candlesticks that had belonged to their mama, and a French silver-gilt clock with painted enamel sides. She might almost have been in her own home, and a lump came to her throat.

‘Oh, you have been busy. Everything looks … like Mama’s parlour.’

‘Except it is too tidy,’ Millie said. ‘We always left our books and our sewing about, but otherwise it is very like home.’

‘Yes.’ Selina smiled, because they had worked hard to please her. ‘Is there a good selection of books—books you can read and enjoy?’ So often people filled their libraries with boring books covered in leather to look smart, which they never read.

‘Oh, yes.’ Millie sighed with pleasure, for reading was a particular favourite with her. ‘There are novels, plays, books of poems, as well as history—and a wonderful Bestiary with marvellous drawings that have been coloured in.’

‘Then you will not miss Papa’s books so much. I hated telling you that you must leave your favourite books, dearest.’

Millie looked away with a little shake of her head, a rather odd expression on her face. Selina wondered, but then forgot as Amy went into raptures about the family journals and the portraits she’d discovered in the gallery.

‘Trent showed me the priest holes and the minstrels’ gallery. They are in the west wing, which is not used now—though it could be, for there is nothing wrong with any of the rooms. All the furniture is under dustcovers, which makes it look sad, but it could be brought to life again with a little industry.’

‘We might open it up for Christmas,’ Selina said. ‘I have been so busy with sorting out cupboards and the household accounts that I haven’t seen as much as I would like of the house. However, I promised Mr Breck I would see to the business of the house and what I can of the estate accounts. Mr Breck has employed a bailiff to overlook the tenant farmers, and a couple of keepers for the park, but from what I’ve seen, two gardeners are hardly enough. I mean to pry into everything so that I can send Mr Breck my report by the end of the week.’

‘After luncheon you must at least explore this wing,’ Amy said, just as the gong sounded. ‘Ah, that sounds as if it is ready. You know we are to have a simple buffet now and serve ourselves? Mr Trent offered to serve us himself, but I said we shouldn’t need him until this evening.’

‘Quite right. I believe he has enough to do with cleaning the silver and making sure everything is as it ought to be downstairs.’

‘It’s quite an adventure looking after ourselves, isn’t it?’ Millie said, surprising them both as they all trooped into the little dining parlour. ‘I thought I should hate it but I’ve had fun.’

‘Yes, of course you have,’ Selina said. ‘We can make what we want of our lives. We do not need a house filled with servants and lots of money to be happy.’

‘I should like a new dress for Christmas, though,’ Millie said. ‘Mama said I would have my gowns made in a different way when I was thirteen—and my birthday is the week before Christmas.’

‘We haven’t forgotten,’ Amy said, and raised her eyebrows at her elder sister. ‘When do you ever let us?’

‘Please do not quarrel now,’ Selina said. ‘We can still have new gowns sometimes, Millie. It’s just that they may not always be the best silk—and we may have to make them ourselves.’

‘I can’t sew!’ Millie exclaimed with horror. ‘Please don’t say I have to make my dress myself, Selina.’

‘Amy and I will make it for you,’ Selina promised. ‘Besides, you must learn to set simple stitches. I wish we had some way of earning money that was acceptable in society, but I fear that if Amy became a companion she would lose her chance of a good marriage. Perhaps you should have a little season in Bath next spring, Amy. It is not so expensive as London, and we might contrive a wardrobe for you—but I am not sure we could all go. Besides, I shall be busy here.’

‘What about Great-Aunt Hilda?’ Millie asked. ‘I know she and Mama did not like each other—but she sent us all a present for our christenings.’

‘And nothing since,’ Amy reminded her. ‘She and Mama fell out over something, and Aunt Hilda has never visited or sent even a card since. She would not consider taking me to Bath with her. I am not sure I should wish to go if I were beholden to her’

‘It all depends how much my pearls bring when I sell them,’ Selina said. ‘I am certain one of Mama’s friends would take you, providing we did not expect her to pay for your clothes or expenses. If you found a rich husband, he might give Millie a home with you. I should then be able to find work as a companion, or perhaps a governess …’

‘No, you would not,’ Amy contradicted. ‘If he wanted to marry me, he would have you to stay often. Given your chance, I am sure you would find a rich husband.’

‘I suppose I might.’

Selina held her peace. She was not at all sure she wanted to marry for the sake of a fortune and a home. She was finding her present position more than satisfactory. Indeed, had it not been that she feared to spoil her sisters’ chances, she would, she thought, be content to find a position as housekeeper in a house much like this one.

Selina had refused the three hundred pounds a year Mr Breck had offered to pay her, which would have solved all her financial problems, because it would not do for the sister of two young ladies who had yet to establish themselves in life to be known as a paid housekeeper. If they were taken care of, she could be quite independent without worrying how it might affect their lives. No one would even have to know that she existed.

The more she thought about it, the more she thought that she would be content to work for her living. It might be preferable to marrying a man she did not love just to gain a home. Or was she just being foolish because of a long-held dream?

The picture of a young soldier’s face entered her mind, and she smiled at the memory. He’d swept her off her feet that night, giving her a taste of feelings and sensations so intense that she knew no one else would ever measure up. Indeed, she’d been so carried away that she had allowed him liberties no decent young woman should. Did that make her a wanton?

He’d said he would return to claim her one day—what did that mean? Had he meant marriage or …? Her cheeks flamed. Had he thought her wanton because she’d been carried away by her feelings? Sometimes Selina was shocked when she recalled what he’d done, but then she remembered how sweet had been the touch of his lips, and she could not be ashamed of what had been so pleasurable.

No, she would not let her thoughts dwell in the past. Time enough to think of her own future. First she had to make sure that Amy and Millie were safe, and until then she must struggle on as best she could.

CHAPTER THREE

‘YOU are jesting?’ Henry Norton stared at his friend in genuine surprise. ‘She turned you down? Have her wits gone begging or did you offend her?’

Robert smiled wryly. ‘You know me too well, Nor. I was too direct, of course. Told her it would not be a love match while assuring her that I was fond of her and found her desirable as a companion and a mother for my children.’

‘I am not surprised she turned you down. Indeed, I wonder that you escaped unscathed to tell the tale. Knowing her temper, I would have expected you to bear some injury. What possessed you to say such a thing to the lady? You might have known she would be angry. The fair Adelaide has a score of gentlemen languishing at her feet.’

‘Well, they may take their chances with her and good luck. She is beautiful but a spoiled brat,’ Robert said, and touched his cheek with feeling. ‘Not quite unscathed, Nor. The lady packs quite a punch, believe me.’