by Anne Herries
She came out from behind the screen, walking over to the washstand in the corner of the room. The water jug was empty. Clearly it had not been filled because they did not expect her to be here yet. Frowning, Sarah walked into the little dressing room that joined her bedchamber to John’s. Here she found hot water in a can and cold water in the earthenware jug.
She frowned as she realised that the oversight in her own room was deliberate. Mrs Raven had sent up water for her master, but ignored the needs of her new mistress. Another hint, if Sarah needed it, that she was not welcome here.
She picked up the can of hot water and took it into her own room, using half of it. Returning it to the dressing room, she went through the same action again, carefully measuring cold water into her bowl so that she had enough to wash, but did not leave John without any. She had brought a bar of the soap she liked in her travelling bag, and she was able to wash and dress in a clean shift by the time Ruth returned with her gown.
Ruth had an expectant look in her eyes, but if she was waiting to be asked to fetch hot water she was disappointed. Sarah accepted her help with the gown, which fastened to the waist with little buttons at the back, and then gave her a cool nod.
‘Thank you, Ruth. I shall not need you again for the moment. You may go.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Ruth said, a defiant light in her eyes. ‘Mrs Raven said would you care for some soup in half an hour—or shall you wait for the master to return?’
‘I hope that Mr Elworthy will be back by then,’ Sarah said. ‘However, if he does not return, I shall take my supper up here in the dining room, thank you.’
‘Yes, ma’am, of course,’ Ruth said, bobbed a slight curtsy and walked away.
Sarah stood staring after her. She had never had to deal with hostile servants before, and she was not quite sure what to do. Arabella’s people were all devoted to her, and Mrs Hunter would not have stood for any nonsense. Sarah was unwilling to make a fuss the moment she arrived. She would feel better when Ellie was here, but in the meantime she would just have to make the best of things.
John did not return in half an hour and Sarah’s supper tray was brought up to her. She ate her chicken soup and bread in solitary state at the dining-room table, feeling close to tears. This was not how it was supposed to be! John should be with her. She was certain that neither Mrs Raven or Ruth would have dared to use that tone to her had John brought her into the house as she had expected.
It was most distressing and she wasn’t sure whether she most wanted to weep or get angry and shout. She had a book of poetry in her bag and she sat reading by the light of a candle in her sitting room until it grew quite late.
Where was John? What business was it that kept him out until this hour? When a clock chimed eleven downstairs in the hall, Sarah went into his bedchamber, curling up in a chair by the empty fireplace. Even though it was summer evening, she felt cold in the huge room and got up to drag a cover from the bed and wrap it around her as she hugged her knees.
She was very tired and eventually her intention to wait up for John was overcome by the need to sleep. Her eyes closed and she put her head back against the wing of the chair and dozed.
She was sound asleep when John came in a little later. He frowned as he saw there was no fire. She must have been cold or she would not have taken a cover from the bed. Why had she not ordered a fire lit? He had imagined that she would find it easy to take charge of her new home. After all, she had brought it to his attention that Nathaniel needed a proper nurse and that he needed a manservant.
Sighing, John bent and lifted her into his arms. She looked younger and more vulnerable as she slept, and he realised that he ought to have seen her settled in the house before going off to his meeting with Daniel and Tobbold. The fact that his enemy had managed to follow them to Scotland despite their precautions was unsettling. It meant that whoever it was would not give up his campaign of hatred! John had quickly realised that he was dealing with a dangerous situation. He had been anxious to make certain that all the protective measures he had ordered were in place, but perhaps he should have taken a few minutes to see Sarah settled. She seemed to be confident and in control, but perhaps he had expected too much of her—as he had perhaps of Andrea. She had been even younger and more diffident than Sarah.
Carrying Sarah into her own bedchamber, he was aware of the strong perfume that seemed to hang in the air. It was a perfume he disliked, because it was Andrea’s. He had ordered it removed from her bedchamber with all her things—but it had no right to be here, because Andrea had never used these rooms. Someone must have done this deliberately and he could guess why!
He frowned and turned back, taking Sarah to his own bed and laying her gently down, pulling the cover over her. Was it starting again? He had thought all that nonsense had stopped after he had made Mrs Raven aware that he wouldn’t put up with it. He wasn’t sure who was trying to torment him by leaving Andrea’s things about, but it had to stop. He was simply not prepared to keep a servant who did not obey his orders, and he would speak to Mrs Raven again in the morning.
For a moment he stood looking down at Sarah as she lay sleeping. He should never have given into temptation, never have married her. As his wife she was the one who would suffer if the assassin’s shot found its mark next time. She would be a widow all too soon—and he was afraid that worse might happen. He had that evening told Daniel what was on his mind.
‘Someone is determined to destroy me. I have brought danger to Sarah. I knew at the start that it could happen, but…’ he shook his head ‘…what else could I have done? She had near ruined herself for my sake. If I had turned aside, she would have been cast off by society. Besides, I love her, Daniel. I do not think I could bear it if anything happened to her because of me.’
‘You must keep a watchful eye on her,’ the earl said. ‘Tobbold will have someone watch your back, and Sarah’s, of course—but it sounds to me that there is more than one involved in this affair, John. This soldier, whoever he may be, does not have access to your house—unless he knows one of the servants, that is. Yet what you tell me is not something that I believe a man would do…it is more a woman’s trick. Forgive me, I must ask—you have not in your loneliness taken one of the maids to your bed?’
‘Damn you, Daniel! What do you take me for?’ John said, shocked at the suggestion. ‘That is not my idea of home comfort! If I visited an obliging lady—and that has been seldom enough since I left the army—it would be one who was married and wished for a discreet arrangement for our mutual benefit.’
‘Yes, as I expected,’ Daniel said with a rueful look. ‘I did not mean to offend you, but it was a possibility. Jealous women may do anything and it could have been one of the maids leaving Andrea’s things about the house.’
‘Yes, perhaps you are right that one of the maids is playing tricks on me, but I would not have seduced a servant. I was not in love with Andrea, but I was fond of her. I cared for her in my own way and wanted her to be happy. To have slept with one of the maids under her own roof would have been a wicked insult. Unforgivable! I would never have done it to her.’
‘Then whoever it is must have some other reason for making mischief.’
‘I shall discover who it is and dismiss her!’
‘Be careful, John. It is sometimes better to have an enemy where you can see him or her. If this woman has been paid to torment you, you should have her watched—see where she goes, who she meets. Ignore her tricks and do not let Sarah be upset by them. She cannot harm you if you stay strong in mind and purpose. It is the man who fired at you that worries me. If that shot had hit home…’
‘It was not meant to,’ John said. ‘I think he is playing games, as a cat might with a mouse it has captured in its paws. I am meant to suffer torment, as perhaps he does if he loved Andrea. And yet you are right, I have been thinking that there is more to this than immediately meets the eye—Andrea may indeed have had a lover who hates me because she is dead.’
‘Yes
, that is perhaps the reason why he has not killed you before,’ the earl said, looking thoughtful. ‘Which means that it might not be you, but Sarah, who is in the most danger…’
Looking at his sleeping wife, John knew a moment of despair. He must keep Sarah safe. Somehow he must protect her…and he thought he had discovered the way to do it. If his enemy guessed that she meant the world to him she might be killed, but if he kept his distance, appeared more interested in his estate than his lovely new wife, perhaps she would be allowed to live.
It was a cruel choice, for he knew that any distance on his part would distress Sarah, but it was perhaps the only one he had for the moment…
Sarah awoke to find that she was lying on John’s bed with the cover over her. Sitting up, she saw that one of the covers was lying on the chair where she had curled up the previous night, and she thought that John must have slept there. She frowned and wondered why he had not lain beside her. Why had he not woken her?
Getting up, Sarah went into her own room. She saw that someone had been in and pulled back her curtains. A tray of hot chocolate and biscuits was on a table near the window, but when she touched the pot she discovered that it had gone cold. Ruth—if it had been her—had simply brought it up and left it, neglecting to see if her mistress was in the next room.
This could not be allowed to go on. She knew that her own maid would arrive later that day, but it was time that she asserted her authority here. If she allowed this behaviour to continue, she would never be mistress in her own home. She gave the bellrope a determined pull. It was answered a few minutes later by Mrs Raven herself.
‘Yes, ma’am?’ she asked, a sullen expression on her face. ‘Was there something else you wanted?’
‘The chocolate is cold,’ Sarah said. ‘It was left in here and I was in my husband’s room. Who brought it up?’
‘That was Ruth, ma’am,’ Mrs Raven said. ‘I am sorry if she did not do as she ought, but I dare say she was in a hurry to leave. It is her day off. She has one day a month and she wanted to get away.’
‘I understand that Ruth wants her day off. She is certainly entitled to it,’ Sarah said. ‘But could you not have sent someone else with it—someone who would have the good manners to let me know that it had been brought up?’
‘I’ll speak to her about it when she gets back,’ Mrs Raven said. ‘And I’ll have one of the other girls bring you some more chocolate. I’m sorry you’ve been badly served, ma’am, but we are short-handed at the moment.’
‘Do not trouble with the chocolate. I shall have my breakfast in the small parlour downstairs,’ Sarah said. ‘My own maid should be here later today, Mrs Raven—but you will please speak to Ruth. I am not prepared to put up with insolence from anyone.’
‘As you say, ma’am,’ the housekeeper said. ‘You are the mistress here now, are you not?’
‘Yes, I am,’ Sarah said, ‘and there will be some changes, Mrs Raven. I shall make an inspection of the house after I have taken breakfast, and I shall let you know what my intentions are when I have thought things over.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Mrs Raven inclined her head and went out, leaving Sarah to wash and dress. The water in the can was still warm, though not as hot as she would have liked, but she could put up with it for once.
Sarah dressed in a serviceable blue gown, wearing a crisp linen collar to set it off, and white cuffs. She wanted to look efficient, as the mistress of a house this large would need to be if it were to run as it ought. She was smiling to herself as she went downstairs. She was the mistress here. She would not dwell on the feeling of being unwelcome that she had experienced on her arrival. She did not need to put up with Ruth’s impertinence, for she could dismiss her if need be.
‘I have to be careful,’ Ruth said as she looked at the man she had slipped away to meet. ‘If I go too far, she will dismiss me. My aunt took a risk in having me back after he told her it had to stop. She told me that if she got another complaint from him, she would have to send me away for good.’
‘Play your tricks on her…his new wife,’ the man said and gave her a hard look. ‘I gave you money for the child and I want results. He murdered Andrea! He has to pay for what he did.’
‘I agreed to help you for the sake of my child,’ Ruth said. ‘She was ill and I needed the money for medicines and food. I was desperate when you found me, near to starving, and I would have done anything—but I’ve done what you asked and I can’t go on for ever…’ She gave a little cry of fear as he grabbed her wrist, his fingers biting deep into her flesh. ‘You are hurting me…’
‘If you let me down over this you will discover that I can find ways of hurting you that will really make you scream,’ the man said, his features twisted and angry. ‘He has to pay for what he did! You told me that you had good reason to hate him. He was one of the men who kidnapped and murdered Richard Palmer, wasn’t he? Do you not want revenge for what he did to your lover?’
Ruth’s gaze narrowed as she looked at him. She did not like him. He had given her money when she needed it, but he was not a good man.
‘Richard Palmer was a gentleman. He wasn’t my lover, but we had an arrangement. He knew the child was his and he gave me money for her. When he disappeared I was left with nothing. I thought he would come back, or send me money, but he didn’t…and then I came in search of him and you told me that he had been kidnapped and murdered by some other gentlemen. You said Mr Elworthy was the ringleader, but I have only your word that—’ She broke off as she saw the murderous look in his eyes. ‘It wasn’t him that killed his first wife…’
‘What do you know of that?’ The man’s expression hardened in suspicion and his fingers dug into her flesh, making her wince with pain. ‘Tell me what you know, girl! If you lie, it will be the worse for you.’
Ruth knew that she had gone too far. She threw her head back, looking into his eyes. ‘I don’t know anything,’ she said. ‘But I know John Elworthy and I’ve seen the way he has been haunted by what happened to his wife. He didn’t kill her—’ She gasped as he struck her across the face. ‘No! Stop it…’
He let her go suddenly, thrusting her so hard that she stumbled and fell to her knees. ‘Let me down and that child of yours will disappear, do you hear me? I want John Elworthy reduced to his knees for what he did to my Andrea. He drove her to her death and this is what I want you to do to that new wife of his…’
Ruth got slowly to her feet, her eyes opening wide in horror as he told her what he expected her to do next. ‘I can’t do that,’ she whispered, her hand creeping to her throat. ‘I won’t…’
‘You will either do as I tell you or face the consequences,’ he growled. ‘It’s either her or the child…’
Chapter Ten
Sarah spent the morning touring the house and examining its storerooms, of which there were several. Some of them were packed with furniture and ancient trunks containing old curtains, musty linens and tapestries that had fallen to pieces with the moth. It looked as if nothing had been thrown out for a century or more! However, amongst all the dross that had been uselessly stored, she discovered one or two pieces that she thought would be usable, and she asked that they be taken to the family rooms.
‘I think everything in here should be taken out and burned,’ Sarah told Mrs Raven when they left one of the rooms in the west wing. ‘I intend to refurbish several of the rooms in the main section of the house and I think we should start by clearing out the things we don’t need.’
‘I’ll ask Alfred to do it, ma’am,’ Mrs Raven said. ‘He’s the under-footman—and he can detail a couple of the gardeners to help. We’ve three of them and a couple of lads.’
‘How many servants do we have here, Mrs Raven? I’ve seen two maids besides Ruth, and two footmen, but that can hardly be enough to run a house like this?’
‘It isn’t, ma’am,’ Mrs Raven said. ‘Besides the nursery maid, and those you’ve named, we’ve the scullery maid, a bootboy and Jack, who is a man of all t
rades and chops the wood for me as well as a bit of silver cleaning. It has been too much for me running this huge house these past months, I can tell you. A lot of the servants left after Mrs Elworthy died, and then more ran off when Mr Elworthy was ill. Your own servants will be a help to us, and no mistake.’
‘Ellie will be my personal maid, which means that Ruth will no longer be responsible for looking after me,’ Sarah said. ‘I also have a groom who wanted to come with me. And my husband has employed a valet, who is due to join us this week, but I can see that we need more help. I believe Ellie has a younger sister who would be happy to come to us, and I shall ask John to advertise for a cook. Your cooking is very well, Mrs Raven, but you have enough to do, taking charge of the house.’
‘Yes, ma’am, I do,’ Mrs Raven agreed and looked pleased. ‘I’ll send to the village. We might be able to find one or two girls willing to work here now that you’re in charge. It was the late mistress that made them uneasy with her strange ways…’
There was something in her face that made Sarah hesitate before she asked, ‘Why did the servants leave? Was it because of these wicked rumours concerning my husband, Mrs Raven?’
‘This wasn’t a happy house, ma’am,’ the housekeeper said. ‘It was unnatural, the way he treated her…like she was a child and no marriage at all. The servants were sorry for her. She used to wander all over the house at night in her night-robe…sleep walking she was and sometimes she would scream as if she had terrible dreams…’ Mrs Raven shook her head. ‘Some of the girls thought she was a little odd in the head, because she kept losing things and she would mutter to herself. It wasn’t so surprising that she killed herself…only I know for a fact that she was terrified of the river. She told me once that she had a fear of drowning…’
‘So it seems odd that she should have chosen that method to take her own life, doesn’t it?’ Sarah’s gaze narrowed as she looked at the older woman.
