For a second she had her own vision of the gardens as they could be. And with it she could see that, maybe, Miss Jerrold was right and that she could carve out a career for herself.
She could be independent and then she need never worry about men trying to seduce her.
As the full glory of this prospect burst on Selena, there came a knock at the door and there was the Earl.
“I hope I have not returned too soon,” he beamed.
Again Selena felt that jolt of electricity stab through her veins.
Angrily she pushed it away – such feelings could have nothing to do with her at the present time.
“Come in, Alex,” said Miss Jerrold. “Miss Norton and I have agreed that we will work together well. She is to be my apprentice and stay with me here. And from now on I will be calling her Selena and not Miss Norton. And you,” she turned to Selena, “will call me, Jemima.”
The Earl came over and took Jemima Jerrold’s hands in his. Delight was all over his face.
“Nothing could be better! Jemima, I am so pleased my suggestion has worked out.”
Then he turned to Selena.
“And you are really happy to come here?”
She nodded, almost speechless she was so pleased.
“I am about to write a letter to my stepfather to tell him what has happened.”
“Excellent. Give it to me when you have done and I will see that it is mailed.”
“Together we are going to produce plans for your gardens,” continued Selena, now finding it easier to speak. “Plans that will mean the whole country will beat a path to Wakefield Hall and shower you with entrance fees!”
“Which will also mean you will be in great demand for your services.”
He grinned at Selena.
“Of course!” said Miss Jerrold trenchantly. “Now, Selena, you will find pen and paper over there. Alex, she has told me everything and I am that sure the Countess will have telegraphed Mr. and Mrs. Anstruther with news of her departure. They will surely be worried about her welfare.”
“I should have thought of that. Miss Norton, write a telegraph and I will send Morland out to despatch it post haste. You can assure them that a letter follows.”
Soon it was all arranged.
Selena watched the Earl leave the cottage with her telegraph in his hand with a sense of great excitement.
Hector got up and stuck his wet nose into her hand and then pressed his warm body against her leg. Absentmindedly she stroked his shoulder.
‘Oh, Hector,’ she sighed. ‘Isn’t life unpredictable? Who would have thought on the ferry this morning that by this evening my life would have changed so much?’
“Come and meet Martha,” called out Jemima, “you can help her prepare your bedroom.”
Never in her life had Selena had to make her own bed as there had always been a servant to do it for her. But living with servants to look after her every wish had brought her nothing but trouble.
Here, in this cottage, with Jemima Jerrold, her life was going to be very different, she told herself. She was not going to need the wonderful wardrobe that Beatrice had arranged for her.
She would not be presented at Court or take on the Season with all the other Society girls.
Instead she would be digging flowerbeds, pulling up weeds, carefully planting and making certain the plants grew. And she would be using her imagination and skills to design gardens that people would want to view again and again.
What a blessing it was that she had met the Earl on that ferry and that he had been there to rescue her when her money went missing.
Suddenly Selena realised that living with Jemima could mean that she would see him nearly every day.
Or even, perhaps, it would be every day. She could not understand why that was such a sweet thought. After all, he did not seem to be attracted to her in any way.
But for the first time since her Mama had died, Selena felt excited and happy and looking forward to the next day.
She did not know what it would bring, but surely it would be something she would enjoy, would it not?
CHAPTER FOUR
Selena retired to bed that night in the little bedroom that was now hers, exhausted but very happy.
As she prepared herself for sleep, she thought about the Earl. What a shame it was that his wife and their baby had died – it must have destroyed his life.
No wonder he seemed a little remote from day-to-day things.
And no wonder that he did not respond to her looks the way most men did.
She curled into a tight ball and clutched at the stone hot-water bottle wrapped in flannel that Martha had tucked into her bed.
As she drifted off into sleep, she had an astounding thought – the Earl of Wakefield was the first man she had met who she would not mind being kissed by!
When Selena woke up in the morning, the sun was shining through the thin cotton of her bedroom curtains.
There was a knock at the door and Martha entered with a jug of hot water.
She had surveyed Selena the previous evening, then said,
“Well, handsome is as handsome does. I never seen anyone quite so pretty in my life as you, Miss Norton, but I shall expect pretty behaviour and not spoilt tantrums as is usually handed out by them pretty girls!”
Selena was quite unnerved by this, but Jemima had given an abrupt laugh.
“Martha, do you think I’d’ve asked that sort of girl to share with us? Selena will knuckle down and pitch in, won’t you, my dear?”
“Just tell me where the sheets are and I’ll make my bed,” came back Selena.
“That’s the girl!”
Martha led the way upstairs, handed out bed linen and showed Selena into a small but charming room with a sloping ceiling and a dormer window that looked towards Wakefield Hall.
Later Selena helped to peel carrots for the evening meal and washed up afterwards. These were all tasks she had never had to perform before and she needed Martha’s advice on how they were done.
By bedtime the housekeeper and she were on the way to becoming good friends. Selena loved the woman’s no-nonsense attitude and occasional caustic comments and Martha seemed to appreciate that Selena was willing to do whatever was asked of her.
Jemima gave her a candle to take upstairs and told her to be prepared for the next day to be full of activity.
There was hot porridge for breakfast and a freshly baked loaf of wholemeal bread.
“Martha believes in a very healthy diet,” remarked Jemima, cutting a thick slice for Selena and pushing over a big jar of homemade marmalade.
“Do you like it toasted?” she asked as she handed over the bread.
“Oh no, it is much nicer as it is. I’ve never eaten anything so delicious,” mumbled Selena, speaking with her mouth full.
Jemima laughed.
“A hearty appetite is an excellent aid to enjoyment of life, that’s what my mother used to say and I think she was right. Now this morning I will take you round the Wakefield gardens and this afternoon we could discuss the possibilities. This evening we will invite Alex over for one of Martha’s extra special stews and tell him what we have decided.”
The Wakefield gardens were extensive. Once they must have been magnificent, but everywhere Selena could see neglect and decay.
“Caroline and I had a number of discussions over what kind of approach she and Alex believed would suit them,” Jemima told her as they walked through the ruined rose garden.
“But her ideas I have to say were fairly hackneyed. She just wanted things ‘to look pretty’. And Alex was no help – in fact he was hardly ever present when we talked and frankly I think he was relieved when he could abandon any idea of redesigning them.”
“So why exactly has he changed his mind now?”
“Caroline was an heiress with great expectations, so when she and the baby died, those expectations evaporated. Alex needs an income and opening up to the public offers a good way of earning one.
/>
“Restoring the house to its former glory would take far too much money, but he believes the gardens could be rebuilt without enormous expense. After all much of the framework still exists.”
Selena thought of all the economies her parents had had to make through lack of income and felt very sorry for the Earl.
“Just how long ago did his wife die?” she enquired, looking at the rubbish filling the bottom of a fountain with entwined figures holding up a scalloped basin.
“Hmm, let me think. It will be coming up to three years now.”
“And he hasn’t remarried?”
Selena recalled how difficult it had been for her mother to marry Mr. Anstruther. If there had not been herself to consider, she would probably have remained a widow.
“Tell you the truth, I don’t think he’s interested in marriage. He’s too involved in – well, I’ll let him tell you what lies nearest his heart.”
Selena was intrigued and longed to hear more, but they had now reached the Parterre garden and the boy who had been digging yesterday was again at work.
“Meet Joe,” said Jemima. “Joe, this is Miss Norton, she has come to help me transform the garden.”
“Hello, Joe” called out Selena, holding out her hand in a friendly way.
Joe looked up from his digging.
He had large bright blue eyes in a broad ruddy face. He was not tall but his figure was sturdy.
“Good to meet you, miss,” he answered, his ruddy colour going bright pink. “Me ’and’s too dirty to shake.”
Selena recognised with amusement that he thought her a very pretty girl.
“We will soon be working as a team, Joe,” she told him in her soft voice.
At which news he went even brighter pink.
“Right ho,” he replied and bent over his digging.
As they moved on, Jemima confided,
“Joe is a good worker and he’s learnt a bit about plants. He has helped make my garden at the cottage and I need to ask him if he’s got any mates who can come and help us. Alex wants a show place and it’s going to be a tall order to make enough of it worth showing this season.
“I told him only the other day that I can’t do it without help – and lo and behold, he produces you. He must have thought you were sent directly from Heaven!”
Selena laughed.
“What an odd thought. I think my old Vicar would have said that was akin to blasphemy!”
“What was it that Hamlet said in the play? ‘There are more things in Heaven and earth than are dreamed of in our philosophy.’ I do believe that.”
“I really do think this place has a charm that is quite heavenly,” sighed Selena, as they moved down a series of stone steps to a lower level. “I mean, everything here is so quiet and peaceful and beyond the garden there seem to be so many fabulous trees. It’s as if they weave a magic spell over the entire house and gardens. Wakefield is a bit like Sleeping Beauty’s Palace!”
Jemima chuckled.
“What a romantic you are, Selena.”
Impulsively Selena asked her,
“I do like being called by my first name and being able to call you by yours. Do you think the Earl would like me to call him Alex?”
“I am sure he will tell you to do so.”
“Do you know, I have never met anyone who I felt could be a real friend until I met you yesterday, Jemima.”
Jemima came to a halt by the border and looked at Selena as though weighing up something.
For a moment Selena felt that she might just have overstepped some mark. After all, for all her informality, Jemima Jerrold was considerably older than herself and by way of being a mentor.
Then Jemima gave her a warm smile.
“My dear, that is the nicest thing I have heard in a long while. I have not been skilled at making friends and since my parents and dear Caroline died, I have been all on my own – apart from Martha, of course.”
Warmth flooded through Selena as they continued round the gardens, discussing possibilities as they went.
Several times as they rounded a hedge or a broken-down wall, she felt they might come across the Earl, but there was no sign of him.
Once again Selena wondered about what it was that Jemima had said was nearest his heart.
She was not, however, to find out that day.
The afternoon was spent sketching out a number of ideas and at four o’clock Martha brought in tea.
Jemima sat back and stretched out her arms.
“Martha, that’s exactly what we need. Did you take that note across to the Hall?”
“I did and his Lordship is delighted to join you for dinner tonight. He has asked if I am cookin’ my goulash.”
“And are you?”
Martha smiled confidentially.
“Wait and see.”
Selena thought how comfortable these two women were with each other. The atmosphere at Wakefield was so different from anything she had experienced in her life and the sense of informality was delightful.
Jemima held out a cup of tea.
“You realise you will have to start helping Joe with the weeding tomorrow, Selena?”
“That’s fine, I like digging.”
“But do you own any sturdy boots? And something waterproof to wear? We don’t come inside if it rains.”
Selena looked dismayed.
“No. Is there anywhere around here I could get hold of some?”
“We’ll go shopping tomorrow morning!”
*
The Earl arrived that evening with a bottle of claret.
“It’s a Château Talbot that I found in the cellar and it should be rather good,” he confided as he handed it over.
He had not changed into evening clothes. Instead he was wearing the tweed suit he had worn the previous day.
“Wonderful,” enthused Jemima as she handed him a corkscrew. “I think it should be opened now, don’t you?”
Then she gave him a glass of sherry.
“Drink it slowly, because it is the last of the bottle. I will purchase some more tomorrow when Selena and I go looking for proper gardening wear for her.”
The Earl turned towards Selena, his face alive with amusement.
“Oh, dear. Do I gather you are going to be getting down to the muck?”
Selena was now getting used to the little thrill that ran through her whenever he appeared and decided it was delightful.
“I am looking forward to it. I just love digging and planting.”
His amusement deepened.
“That is just as well.”
He turned to Jemima.
“Do I understand you have worked out some plans for me?”
She picked up some sketches from the table.
“First I need to clarify your intentions. Let’s all sit down.”
There was a short argument as to who was going to sit where, which Selena ended by sitting at the table so that the Earl and Jemima could sit by the fire.
“I need to be here,” Selena told the Earl, “so that I can sort out the sketches and then I have promised Martha I will lay the table for dinner.”
The Earl gave her one of his warm smiles.
“I’m glad you have made yourself at home. I knew when we met that you would fit in with Jemima’s regime.”
Jemima raised an eyebrow.
“Alex, I did not realise you knew me so well, but let me spell out what I understand your aims are – to create gardens that will give such a beautiful setting to Wakefield Hall that the public will be prepared to pay to come and see them, and to provide as well a nursery with plants for sale. Do I have it right?”
He sipped at his sherry and nodded.
Selena thought how relaxed he looked sitting beside the fire.
“You have it exactly correct and we both know that the estate is more or less destitute. If something isn’t done, I shall not be able to finance my work.”
Selena wondered to herself when she was going to find out w
hat this work was that so engrossed him.
“Right,” Jemima said decisively. “Remember that it is now March and we need to start planting at once if we are to have any sort of show this summer.
“Joe is doing well in the Parterre and I have nothing else on at the moment and Selena assures me that she loves digging and weeding. Can you fund some more help?”
“I’ve arranged for an antiques dealer to see me in a few days. There are still a few items of value I can sell.”
Selena remembered how upset her mother had been at having to sell treasured pieces of furniture and pictures when her father died so that there could be enough funds to acquire the house in Richmond.
“Oh, what a shame and how sad you must feel, my Lord,” she exclaimed.
He smiled.
“Please, call me Alex, as Jemima does.”
Selena felt a flush of delight.
“And you must call me by my name.”
“I shall feel privileged. It is very charming of you, Selena, to sympathise with me, but I have to confess that they are not things I shall be sad to see leave the house. I’m afraid I am not a romantic and possessions hold little value for me. I would much rather see the garden flower again. Now tell me your suggestions.”
Jemima held out a sketch.
“We decided that the gardens must be completed in various stages. We cannot conceivably do everything this season.”
She looked across at Selena, gesturing to suggest that she now say something about their plans.
“If we can create a series of what might be called ‘rooms’, not only will the final garden be most effective,” Selena told him eagerly, “but we can work on individual sections piece by piece so that from the start there will be something to view.”
“And those who come first will want to return and visit the garden again as it evolves,” added Jemima as she handed the Earl one of her sketches.
“This is a plan for the completed garden.”
“Hmm. It’s difficult to picture it from this.”
Selena handed him another sketch.
“This is what we suggest is done to the rose garden. The existing yew hedges already make it a room, but the rose bushes are exhausted and need to be replaced.”
Love Came From Heaven Page 5
