He thought she’d reneged on her promise to elope with him, but the fact that he’d believed it without so much as asking her made her even more furious. How could he have had so little faith in her? But perhaps he’d been relieved? Maybe his ardour had cooled, walking up and down that dark lane, and he’d realised he didn’t want to be shackled to a girl without a dowry? He’d certainly left fast enough the next day. Well, he could fend for himself now. Why should she help him?
‘Where would you go?’ he asked, glancing at the darkness and inclement weather outside.
‘To an inn at first, then I shall seek employment as a housekeeper. I have written to a good agency in London and they have promised to assist me.’
‘Ridiculous.’
‘What? How dare you?’ Maude felt her cheeks turn pink with anger. What right did he have to criticise her plans? How dare he dismiss them with just that one word? ‘I have to provide for my daughter somehow since my husband, your cousin, didn’t see fit to do so,’ she replied, raising her chin.
‘He obviously thought I would see to it.’
Maude gave a mirthless laugh. ‘I doubt he thought any such thing. He knew your views on our marriage.’
‘Nevertheless, I am not a complete cad,’ he said, his voice still low so that it wouldn’t carry, but with enough force to convince her, ‘and I will provide adequately for my relations. You will please stay here for as long as you wish.’
‘No. Thank you.’
He took another step closer and Maude felt her heart beat faster. His nearness was disturbing and she couldn’t look him in the eye.
‘What do you mean, no?’ His scowl became even more pronounced.
‘I mean, I cannot stay here with you. It wouldn’t be seemly. You … you’re not married, or so I’ve been told.’
‘You think I have designs on your virtue?’ She heard the bitterness in his voice and looked up, catching a glint of something in his eyes – anger perhaps? Then he laughed and the sound cut through her most cruelly.
‘No, but you can’t want me under your roof after … after what happened.’ Or rather, what he thought had happened, but she wasn’t going to argue the point. It was futile since he’d already made up his mind to cast her as the villain of the piece.
‘I told you, it was a long time ago. It is no longer relevant. The welfare of my cousin’s child is more important. Now please, no more excuses. Why don’t you go back to your room and prepare yourself for dinner? And the little one as well. I would like to get to know her.’
Maude took a deep breath, not sure whether to accept, but in the end the needs of her daughter took precedence over her own feelings. She couldn’t let her own pride stand in the way of her child’s welfare. If Anna could stay here, she would have much better prospects as a relative of Lord Hexham than the daughter of someone’s servant. Reluctantly she made up her mind.
‘I’ll stay on one condition.’
‘And that is?’
‘That you employ me as your housekeeper. I will not remain here otherwise, an unpaid drudge and poor relation.’
‘You think that is how I would treat you?’
‘I have no idea, but that is what I would be, in effect.’
‘Isn’t there a housekeeper here already? What happened to Mrs Simpkins?’
‘She retired some years ago and was never replaced.’
‘I see.’ He narrowed his eyes at her, as if he was weighing up his options, then nodded. ‘Very well, but I’d like you to take your meals with me unless I have company, please. You and the child. Agreed?’
‘If you insist, but not tonight. Anna has had too much excitement for one day.’ And my nerves wouldn’t stand it, Maude added silently.
‘Very well.’
Maude didn’t like his last proviso one bit, but there was no more time to argue. Anna, who had been listening to their exchange with big eyes, grabbed Maude’s hand and shouted, ‘We’re staying? Hurrah!’ She turned to Donne and commanded imperiously, ‘Have my trunk taken up to my room, if you please.’
‘Anna, really ...’ Maude was once again mortified, but she knew that Donne had a soft spot for her daughter and didn’t mind being ordered about by her. Indeed he only smiled and nodded.
‘Of course, Miss Anna, right away. Hardy? You heard the young lady.’
One of the footmen hurried to do the butler’s bidding and Maude soon found herself upstairs again in the guest room she had occupied since her husband’s death. It hadn’t felt right to stay in the master bedroom suite somehow and truth to tell she’d been glad to escape its confines. Those rooms held nothing but bad memories. She shivered at the thought.
Anna came dancing in, her brown curls bouncing. ‘See, Mama, didn’t I tell you? We’re family so this is our house too.’
Maude took a deep breath and prepared to try and explain to her daughter once more that they were only there on sufferance. She wasn’t at all convinced that Luke saw them as family. More like a burden he would gladly have done without. Looking at Anna’s happy face, however, she couldn’t bear to disillusion her, so in the end she just murmured, ‘Perhaps, dearest, perhaps.’
Chapter Two
Maude was determined not to be beholden to Luke for anything, so the following morning she was up early, making sure that all was in order and the staff were performing their duties. She spoke to the butler, who told her everything was running smoothly. She then conferred with the cook about the various dishes that would be offered to his lordship for breakfast and tried to plan a menu for the week. This was rather hampered by the fact that she had no housekeeping money as yet and there wasn’t much food in the larder.
‘You’ll have to speak to the new master, my lady,’ the cook grumbled. ‘I’m not a magician that I can conjure meals out of thin air.’
‘You’re right, Mrs Mason. I will do so as soon as the opportunity presents itself.’
In the event, that proved to be shortly after breakfast, when Maude was summoned to the estate office. She wondered if he’d decided he wanted to discuss their past after all. Since they had to live in the same house it might be as well to clear the air in order to avoid any awkwardness. She would welcome the opportunity to explain to him that he’d been wrong in his assumptions, even though it didn’t really matter any longer.
Luke was sitting behind the desk, which was piled high with papers and ledgers that looked as though a whirlwind had gone over them. His expression was, if anything, even grimmer than the night before. And Maude soon found out that his mind was not on matters past, but very much in the present.
He looked up when she entered and glared at her accusingly. ‘So you thought to leave me with this mess, did you? Well, let me tell you – you’re definitely not going anywhere until you help me sort it out. This is abominable.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ Maude squared her shoulders. ‘What are you talking about?’
He waved a hand to indicate the papers strewn about in front of him. ‘This. The accounts. The running of the estate.’
‘I told you, that is Mr Aiken’s task. I was not encouraged to meddle. In fact, the solicitor specifically instructed me not to touch anything.’
‘Well, you damn well should have,’ Luke grumbled. ‘And as for Aiken, I’ve just dismissed him. A more incompetent fellow I’ve yet to come across. What was Edward thinking, employing such a man? He couldn’t even add up, for heaven’s sake!’
‘I know. I did tell Edward that, but he said that it was my own mathematical skills that were at fault. As long as Aiken provided him with funds on a regular basis, he didn’t question the man’s methods.’
Luke shook his head. ‘I have no idea how he did that, since there seems no rhyme or reason to these accounts. Either way, we are starting with a clean slate as of today.’ He held up a brand new ledger and indicated the first page which was blank.
‘We?’
‘Yes, we. There’s no need to pretend with me, Maude, I know you were never obtuse. In fact, your
brain is as sharp as mine.’ When Maude opened her mouth to protest, he held up a hand to stop her. ‘No, I won’t listen to any more arguments. Come and take a seat here beside me and let’s make a start. The sooner we sort this out, the better it will be. I need to know if this estate is producing any profit at all, and if not, why not. You should be able to help me make sense of the various entries. It’s too long since I lived here and some of the tenants have changed. I can barely remember the names of the various farms, let alone who lives there.’
‘Very well, I’ll do my best. On one condition.’
He frowned at her. ‘You seem to have a lot of those.’
‘This one is not for myself.’
‘What is it then?’
‘I will help you if you promise to pay the staff their wages immediately for the last quarter as soon as you know whether you have the finances for it. And also, you’ll need to pay some of the tradesmen because most of them have stopped their deliveries until further notice.’
‘Damnation! Beg your pardon, but really, what’s been going on here?’ He broke off, took a deep breath and pushed his fingers through his hair. Maude noticed that it was longer than when she’d last seen him, the dark brown waves brushing his collar. Not for him the fashionable Brutus style favoured by the London beaux, but then he’d look good whatever he did with it. She suppressed a sudden longing to run her own fingers through those dark tresses and averted her gaze. ‘But of course I’ll be paying their wages,’ he added. ‘I don’t expect people to work for me for nothing.’
‘I’m sorry you had to come back to this,’ she said softly. ‘I have done what I could, but Edward was away a lot and ... well, he wasn’t the easiest of men to deal with.’ That was an understatement, but she wasn’t about to go into that right now.
If she’d expected Luke to take this opportunity to discuss her marriage to his cousin, she was disappointed. He just nodded and picked up an old ledger and a quill. ‘The sooner we make a start, the quicker we’ll have some idea of how matters stand. In the meantime, I will pay the staff what they are owed and you may send any tradesmen to me. I’ll pay for victuals.’ He shook his head again. ‘Just as well I didn’t spend all the money I received when I sold out.’
‘Thank you.’
He pushed the inkstand towards her. ‘Probably best if you do the writing, it’ll be neater than mine.’
They became caught up in trying to unravel what Aiken had done – or not done as proved to be the case most of the time – and they both looked up with surprise when Donne knocked on the door and came in to tell them that luncheon was served.
‘Thank you, Donne. Is it midday already?’ Luke took out his pocket watch to check as he didn’t quite believe the butler. The man nodded, but before he left, Luke noticed that he sent them a strange look and opened his mouth as if to comment on something, but then thought better of it.
Luke turned to Maude and suddenly realised that they’d been sitting with their heads close together, bent over the ledgers, and that to the butler this might have seemed rather intimate. ‘Dash it all,’ he muttered.
They had been intimate once, but it was a long time ago now and ... He steered his thoughts away from old memories. It was too painful to think about it, even after all this time. He’d sensed earlier that Maude would prefer them to discuss what had happened and perhaps attempt to justify her actions, but he’d rather not dredge up the past. What purpose could it possibly serve? What was done, was done.
Maude had busied herself with tidying some of the piles of papers, but looked up at his words. ‘What’s the matter, my lord?’
Luke frowned at her use of his title. She hadn’t always been so formal with him, but obviously things had changed. And not for the better. ‘Did you see the expression on Donne’s face?’
‘What expression?’ Maude blinked in confusion and Luke almost swore out loud. Her eyes were the brilliant blue of cornflowers and he couldn’t help but remember how they used to sparkle at the sight of him. It was no wonder he’d been taken in by her. He swallowed hard and buried the memories deeper inside his mind. There was no point dwelling on them. Maude had made her choice.
He dragged his thoughts back to the present. ‘Your ... er, that is to say, my butler seems to disapprove of us being alone together.’
‘Oh. I did try to tell you yesterday, but you said ...’
‘We’re family, I know. Still, I don’t suppose the local gossips will see it that way and we don’t want to add grist to their mill. You’ll have to have a chaperone.’
‘Surely not? I’m your housekeeper and a respectable widow. The house is full of servants so there are people about all the time.’
‘Won’t matter to the old biddies – the conventions must be adhered to.’
‘But where will I find a chaperone? Besides, I doubt there’s enough money to pay for one.’ She indicated the books before them. ‘Perhaps it’s best that I leave after all.’ She stood up and shook out her skirts.
‘No!’ He startled himself with the vehemence in his voice and made an effort to moderate his tone before adding, ‘I mean, can’t we just invite some female acquaintance of yours or a relative to stay for a while? There must be someone.’
Maude thought for a moment. ‘There’s Eliza, I suppose. She has often stayed here over the years to keep me company while Edward was in London.’
‘Eliza Manning, the vicar’s daughter?’ Luke snorted. ‘That whey-faced friend of yours who was forever trailing after you when you were younger? A great nuisance, she was.’
Maude frowned at him. ‘There’s nothing wrong with Eliza’s looks. Being pale is very fashionable, I’ll have you know. And she never complained about having to be the third wheel when ...’ She caught herself and Luke saw her take a deep breath. ‘In short, she might do. She’s a widow now too and lives nearby at Holby Manor.’
‘I remember that. Old Gascombe’s estate, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes. Eliza married him.’
‘The devil she did! I mean, beg pardon, but ... wasn’t he in his dotage?’ Luke was shocked that such a young girl should have been married off to a man more than twice her age, but Maude shrugged.
‘She wasn’t coerced, she agreed to it readily enough. He was quite rich after all and she had no dowry to speak of.’
Luke wanted to protest further, but thought better of it. ‘Please invite her then. Ask her to come as soon as she can.’ Maude nodded. ‘Now we’d better go and eat or Cook will be offended.’
As he held open the door for her to pass through, he suddenly recalled her daughter. ‘Where’s young Anna this morning? At her lessons?’
‘No, I’ve been teaching her myself and since I’ve been busy with you, I expect she’s been hanging around the kitchen. Mrs Mason is very patient with her and allows her to help a little with baking and such things.’
‘Shouldn’t she have a governess? How old is she?’
‘Anna is six and as I had the time, it seemed easier for me to teach her myself to begin with.’
Maude wouldn’t meet his eye, and Luke had a suspicion that wasn’t the whole truth. Judging by her comments about expense, he guessed that there hadn’t been any money for a governess. This made him frown. What had his cousin been doing? The estate was in a mess, the house was dilapidated, the servants unpaid and tradesmen refused to bring supplies. It was all a shambles.
In his uncle’s day, the estate had been very prosperous and Luke didn’t recall that any penny-pinching was necessary. So what had brought the family to these straits?
‘What happened to your dowry?’ he said suddenly, thinking out loud. They had reached the main hall by now and were about to enter the morning room where the family had always taken meals when there were no guests.
Maude threw him a startled look over her shoulder. ‘M-my dowry? I don’t know. I mean, it wasn’t that large. Papa’s estate was entailed to some cousin or other.’
Luke frowned. ‘I shall have to have a word
with the solicitor. He wrote to me, of course, but I’ll need to discuss things with him in person. I noticed from the letter I received that his office is in the nearest town.’
‘Yes, indeed. I’m sure he’d be only too happy to come and see you.’
‘Mama, there you are! And Uncle Luke – look, there’s an omelette for your lunch and I helped make it.’ The little whirlwind that was Anna came rushing towards them, cutting off the conversation. Luke saw Maude shake her head at her daughter.
‘I told you, Lord Hexham isn’t your uncle. You’re to address him as “my lord”.’
But Luke had had enough of formality. ‘Nonsense,’ he said and lifted the little girl up high so that she squealed with pleasure. ‘Uncle Luke sounds fine to me. If I may call you Anna?’
She giggled as he put her down. ‘Of course. What else would you call me?’
‘Well, I could have called you Miss Hexham, but that sounds so grand I’d have to bow every time I did.’ He made her an exaggerated bow as if she was a queen and he her courtier. Anna laughed again.
‘Silly,’ she said. ‘Not even Donne calls me that, but when I have my first season all the boys will have to, won’t they?’
Luke took her hand and steered her towards the table. ‘Yes, unless there is one in particular that you like above the rest. Then you can allow him to call you by your pretty name. But that won’t be for a while yet, now will it? So let’s try this omelette of yours, shall we?’
Luke caught Maude’s gaze as Anna settled in her chair. She seemed torn between horror and amusement at her daughter’s high spirits, but he thought he saw relief as well. ‘Thank you,’ she murmured when he held out a chair for her, and sent him a small smile, the first genuine one he’d seen from her since he arrived the day before. He got the impression she was thanking him for his patience with the child as well as his courtesy.
He was annoyed with himself for being pleased that he’d made Maude happy. He wanted to stay angry with her. It made it so much easier to cope with seeing her, being near her ... To distract himself from thinking about it further, he turned to Anna. At least the child was easy to talk to and he didn’t have to pretend with her.
Never Too Late Page 2
