The Housekeeper's Daughter

by Rose Meddon

  Stopping a few yards short, she turned to stand and stare out over the gardens. Nothing was moving: the breezes that came off the sea every afternoon to ruffle leaves and flirt with the brims of hats had already dropped; it was too early for the rooks to be chattering and settling into the tall trees for the night; and the tide had withdrawn to its lowest, meaning there was no rushing sound from the cobbles in the cove, there being no waves to tug them back and forth.

  Out in the open she felt conspicuous and so she took herself around the corner of the little building, intent upon waiting somewhere less exposed. But, once there, with a sense that she was being watched, she turned sharply. A little way into the trees, with his arm reaching to the trunk of a holm oak, stood Luke. Out of his overalls, he looked less shambling and more purposeful. He also looked to be waiting. Holding back a groan, she hung her head in dismay. She should have known this would be a trap.

  ‘You been summoned here, too?’ he asked, his expression giving away nothing of his mood.

  Reluctantly, she nodded. ‘I’m meeting Miss Naomi.’

  ‘Mr Lawrence,’ he said in explanation of his own presence.

  ‘Oh.’ Inside, she was seething, her disappointment with Miss Naomi such that she could cheerfully have throttled her. ‘I don’t think I’ll wait,’ she said, trying to sound more decisive than she felt.

  ‘Fair enough.’

  ‘I wasn’t sure about coming anyway.’

  ‘I’ll tell her.’

  ‘All right.’

  Before she had even moved, though, with a nod of his head he gestured beyond her. She turned to look. Making their way across the lawn, and walking to either side of Aunt Diana, were Miss Naomi and Mr Lawrence, the latter in evening dress, the former in the pale blue silk that made her look as though she’d stepped out from a fairy tale. Well, whatever sort of trap they thought they’d so cleverly set, she was not about to step into it. She would make a point of letting them see her leaving. She didn’t care.

  ‘Kate, please wait.’ Coming to an indecisive halt, Kate stood for a moment, unable to decide whether or not to comply with the request Miss Naomi called towards her. ‘Please wait. We’ve something to tell you.’ And then, lifting the hem of her gown and accepting Mr Lawrence’s arm as he assisted her up the grassy rise, she added, ‘Please, do wait.’

  With her shoulders sagging, Kate turned back; she would stay and listen. But that was all she would do.

  ‘Good evening to you, Luke.’

  ‘Evenin’, Mr Lawrence. ‘Ow be?’

  ‘Fair to middlin’, as I’ve come to learn is the correct response to that enquiry.’

  Astonished by the easy way with which the two men exchanged greetings, Kate turned to look at them. How had Luke come to be on such comfortable terms with Mr Lawrence?

  ‘I shall withdraw for a moment,’ Aunt Diana announced. ‘I shall take a stroll along the border to see whether that Matthiola has any fragrance this evening.’

  ‘Thank you, Aunt. We won’t be long.’

  With Aunt Diana’s departure, Kate felt her pulse quicken. Won’t be long suggested this was to be nothing more than a straightforward announcement. But if so, why was Luke there? Presumably, any moment now she would find out.

  ‘Announce away,’ Mr Lawrence said with a smile and a gesture to Naomi.

  Naomi wasted no further time. ‘Lawrence has asked me to marry him. And I’ve accepted.’

  Although, at the sight of Miss Naomi flushing pink, Kate’s mouth formed into a smile, behind it, she could feel her throat constricting. Miss Naomi was to marry Mr Lawrence. But that was the way of the world: people of good fortune begot more good fortune; princesses married their princes. Ordinary people like herself, on the other hand, rarely had such luck.

  ‘Congratulations, Mr Lawrence, sir.’ At Luke’s hearty response, Kate looked up. He was shaking Mr Lawrence’s hand. And he was doing so warmly, the smile on his face seemingly genuine.

  ‘Thank you, Luke.’

  ‘Congratulations, ma’am.’

  ‘Thank you, Luke.’

  ‘That’s… lovely news,’ Kate felt the need to add, her remark rather less assured. ‘Congratulations to both of you.’

  Miss Naomi stepped towards her, fixing her look as she did so. ‘Thank you, Kate, from both of us.’ But then, from within the secrecy of an embrace, she whispered, ‘I told you I hadn’t been letting the grass grow under my feet! And don’t worry, although Mamma is beside herself and Aunt Diana has warned me that the Colborne coffers are bare – the result of a scandal of some sort, I’m led to believe – I want to marry him anyway.’

  In a bid to stop herself crying, Kate bit hard on the side of her tongue. While there was no shame in shedding tears of happiness, she couldn’t be sure that was what hers were – even though happiness was what she genuinely wished for the two of them; they were nice – for people of their sort. No, the twisting of her insides felt to have rather more to do with the unfairness of life.

  ‘The wedding won’t be a grand affair but it will be soon,’ Mr Lawrence picked up. ‘I’m going up to see my grandfather’s regiment next week. Seems they’re keen to have me.’

  ‘That’s good news, sir.’

  ‘It is, Luke. Having a family connection and volunteering early ought to bring rewards, which leads me to another proposal I wish to make.’

  Kate bowed her head. Had she misunderstood – again? Had she been mistaken in her thought that Miss Naomi had a proposal to put to her. She was sure that was what her note had said. But here was Mr Lawrence making a proposal to Luke.

  ‘Yes, sir?’ Luke, evidently, was all ears. Well, good for him.

  ‘This war is going to bring opportunities for men who are prepared to put themselves out. It is, in part, why I have been so quick to volunteer. And so, with your agreement, I should like to put in a word for you – see if they’ll have you, too. All those evenings when you stuck it out, endeavouring to master the maintenance of Father’s infernal motor and learning how to drive it, will have set you in good stead. Get in early – to the right battalion – and you have a good chance of advancing rapidly.’

  Luke blew out a long stream of breath. ‘Much obliged, sir.’ And then, after a mere moment’s hesitation, he stepped forward and reached to shake his benefactor’s hand. ‘Thank you, sir. I’d like that very much.’

  In Kate’s stomach, something twisted further. Luke was going to join up. He was going to war. He was leaving Woodicombe. How unfair was that? The man who hadn’t wanted to go anywhere, was now, without very much effort at all, going to do the very thing for which she herself had strived so hard but failed.

  ‘I should also like to make it known, Luke, that while none of us can say how things will turn out, I very much hope that once this war has been won, you will permit me first refusal upon your service in our household.’

  Standing a little aside, Kate curled her hands into fists. Was Luke now being offered a job as well – a future after the war? Just how wicked must she have been to have missed out on such good fortune?

  ‘Thank you, sir,’ she heard Luke reply, the delight in his voice impossible to miss. ‘I’d be honoured.’

  ‘Good man. Then that’s settled.’

  Somehow, before she took her leave of the happy little gathering, Kate knew she ought to wish Luke good luck. It was only right and proper. While it pained her to admit it, he deserved this turn of good fortune. He was decent. He was honourable. And, but for her own foolishness, she might now be contemplating a future with him – in London, of all places! As it was, he would now go on to find someone else with whom to share his new and exciting life. Well, therein lay her bitter lesson: sometimes the grass on the other side wasn’t as green as it looked. And there had to be some parable in there about inspecting the mouths of gift horses, as well.

  ‘Now, Kate, don’t feel left out. I too, have a proposal.’ From where she had taken to staring out towards the horizon, biting back tears, Kate turned her attentio
n to Miss Naomi. ‘When Lawrence and I marry, I shall become eligible to receive an income from my trust, from which I shall be able to pay a small salary, should I so choose. To begin with, Lawrence and I will rent a house – a modest one, of course, nothing on the scale of Clarence Square, but then neither of us wants anything grand. Anyway, my point, is that in our new home, I should like to propose a position for you.’

  Kate stared back at Miss Naomi’s light smile, eventually finding her tongue to respond with, ‘A position, miss?’

  ‘Yes. I haven’t decided what – well, I wouldn’t, not without discussing it with you first. But I have spoken to Lawrence and… explained your situation… and he said that it’s my money to do with as I please. And what would please me, would be to have you in our home.’

  Eventually, Kate remembered to breathe. ‘In your home?’

  ‘What I would prefer, of course, is simply to have your company. But, since I’ve learned enough about you to know that you wouldn’t settle for being something woolly like a lady’s companion, I thought perhaps you might like to become our housekeeper.’

  A housekeeper? Her? ‘You want me to be your housekeeper, miss?’

  ‘If you think you’d be happy in that position, yes. Also, since Lawrence will be away giving orders on a battlefield somewhere—’

  ‘And taking them, darling.’

  ‘—leaving me largely alone, it occurs that I should like to become involved in some sort of voluntary work.’

  ‘Like with the Voluntary Aid Detachment, did you mean?’ Remembering then how it was only through Ned that she even knew of it, Kate winced.

  ‘Perhaps. Or perhaps with another organization. Either way, since it was you who put the thought into my mind in the first place, I should very much like it if you would join me.’

  How different the world suddenly looked! Miss Naomi was asking her to keep her house for her. And she wanted them to volunteer together, as well. It was almost too good to be true. Things like this didn’t happen to her. And Luke: Luke was being given the chance to go with Mr Lawrence and become a driver – the very thing he’d once said he would like. Heavens. Now all she had to do was find a way to stop grinning long enough to give Miss Naomi her answer.

  ‘Yes, miss,’ she said, it proving completely beyond her to stop smiling. ‘I should like that very much.’

  ‘Good. I didn’t think I would be asking out of turn. Well, now we all know where we stand. And Lawrence, you and I can make plans with that in mind.’

  ‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’ Lawrence asked, his tone such that both Kate and Luke turned to look at him. ‘We need to check they are both willing to be bound by our condition. Remember?’

  Briefly, Naomi Russell looked taken aback. ‘Oh, my goodness, yes,’ she said, nevertheless stopping short of explaining further.

  Across from her, Kate noticed that Luke was frowning. ‘A condition, sir?’

  While Luke asked the question on her own tongue, Kate felt her heart miss a beat. Now what unforeseen cloud was about to darken her horizon? What spanner was now about to fly into the works?

  ‘Well, you must understand that while we’re more than happy to have you both in our household and in our employ, we cannot afford… shall we say… any whiff of impropriety—’

  Puzzled, Kate looked first to Luke’s face and then to Miss Naomi’s. Impropriety? What did that even mean? Didn’t it have to do with scandal? ‘I don’t understand,’ she blurted, hoping desperately that this incredible opportunity wasn’t about to slip from her grasp. That would be just too mean for words. ‘Is it to do with my… your… our… father?’

  ‘No, silly, of course not,’ Naomi replied, reaching to touch her arm. ‘No, what Lawrence is saying, in his round and about way, is that if the two of you are going to be together in our home, then we ask only that you be married.’

  ‘To one another?’

  ‘Yes, Kate,’ Lawrence said, clearly struggling not to laugh. ‘Since the two of you are clearly meant for each another and, since you’ll be together under our roof, it would seem only proper.’

  Feeling all of their eyes upon her, Kate spun away, her fists curled tightly and her eyes narrowing with mistrust. She should have known there would be a trap. Anything that sounded too good to be true usually was. But surely, if Miss Naomi had told Mr Lawrence of her infatuation with Ned and how she had, in the process, trampled all over Luke’s feelings, he would know that what he was asking was impossible. She had behaved appallingly – well beyond anything Luke would feel able to forgive. In particular, he would know that the only reason she had given up her pursuit of Ned, was because he’d turned out to be her half-brother.

  Seemingly then, she had cost herself not only the job and the home of her dreams, but the man with whom truthfully, she would once have been more than happy to share them. Before setting out so single-mindedly on her doomed pursuit of Ned, everything about this proposed arrangement would have felt utterly right.

  Unable to turn back and face the three of them, she heaved a very long sigh. There was only one thing for it: if Mr Lawrence’s condition meant that only one of them could accept the proposal, she would let it be Luke. He was being offered the most incredible opportunity and, now that it was far too late, she knew that she loved him too much to stand in his way. Somehow, she would find it within herself to let him go.

  But, when she forced herself to turn about, it was to see that Mr Lawrence and Miss Naomi were grinning – and that Luke was down on one knee.

  ‘What do you say then, Kate?’ he asked, reaching for her hand. ‘Now will you name the day, you bloody obstinate woman?’

  Dialect Words Used in This Book

  Bellyharm: Stomach ache

  Culver birds: Wood-pigeons

  Dimpsy: Dusk, twilight

  Drangs: Alleys or narrow passageways

  Fadge and find: To toil for one’s daily bread

  Mazed: Mad, crazy (of a person)

  Nobbling and newsing: Gossiping

  Stickle: Used to describe a hill or path that is steep in gradient

  Taffety: Fanciful, without substance

  Tallet: A hay-loft

  Acknowledgements

  To Kiran Kataria, I say thank you for never giving up. To Louise Cullen and the team at Canelo, I say thank you for always pointing me in the right direction. And, to my husband, I say thank you for believing in me, and for always turning up with a cup of green tea just when I need it!

  Next in The Woodicombe House Sagas:

  A Wife's War

  Kate Channer thought married life was going to be a grand adventure. But when Luke ships off for war before the echoes of their vows have ended she’s left behind, desperate to make a difference and bring him home.

  Find out more

  First published in the United Kingdom in 2018 by Canelo

  Canelo Digital Publishing Limited

  57 Shepherds Lane

  Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU

  United Kingdom

  Copyright © Rosie Meddon, 2018

  The moral right of Rosie Meddon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 9781788630795

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Look for more great books at www.canelo.co

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