A Christmas Surprise

by Lindsay Downs

  With a nod Debbi turned her horse and raced to the house, while Aleece spurred hers toward the burning farm.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Fire. From the sound, it would appear not far.”

  Together they stepped outside and their senses were assailed with the acrid smell of smoke. Being the taller of the two, Thomas quickly noticed its origin.

  “There,” Thomas said, pointing to a rising column of smoke. “Across the field. Looks to be a farmhouse.”

  Instinct kicked in as he spun on his heel and raced to the barn only to see the stable boy already bridling Trooper.

  “That’ll do and thank you for thinking so quickly. When I return I’ll reward you,” Thomas called out as he led his horse from the barn.

  Easily he swung onto the horse’s bare back, tapped his heels in Trooper’s side and galloped off.

  ****

  Within two minutes of Debbi bursting through the front door of the mansion and explaining to Horsfall and the duke what was happening, all the authority of the Duke of Carlisle come to bear on the emergency.

  Swiftly, he ordered riders to alert the several neighboring estates of the need for manpower. Next, he called for the hand pump fire engine and several drays hitched. To his wife he left the responsibility of organizing the maids and kitchen staff. They were to provide and make sure nourishment was delivered at the Smyth farm for everyone after the fire was extinguished.

  At full gallop, mounted on his charger Saber, the duke led the staff to the farm to help save the building.

  Entering the farmyard, he caught a fleeting glimpse of deep red velvet disappear into the inferno. Immediately he knew it could only be his beloved daughter, risking life and limb to rescue someone.

  He wanted to start after her but knew first directions were needed to get water onto the roof. He had the men direct the hose in advance of the flames to soak the wooden shingles. Seconds later, when he glanced to the door she’d entered, he found no sight of her and started to panic.

  ****

  When Mr. Thomas got to the burning structure, he saw a group men and women attempting to quench the flames with buckets of water. That, however, paled to the sight he saw. A young woman, his Aleece he immediately knew, dressed in a dark red habit, dash into the inferno.

  He started after her but was halted by an authoritative voice directing him to assist with the fire wagon. The voice he knew belonged to the Duke of Carlisle. Not one for wanting to challenge his hopeful future father-in-law, Thomas did as he was told.

  He wanted to let the duke know where his only daughter was but from the way the man kept staring at the house, he knew. She was someplace in the inferno risking her life.

  Only when he witnessed the duke grab an axe, sprint to a window, smash it then bring Aleece out, holding a crying infant in an arm, did Thomas force his mind back to the task at hand. For him, helping man one of the pump handles was child’s play. While others tired, he stayed performing his duty to the point even the duke appeared to take notice. That was the last thing he wanted. Right now trying to stay hidden and be just another worker was what counted.

  Once the fire was extinguished, he stepped in to help a few of the men tear down the burned timbers. Most were too far gone to salvage, so those were put in a pile. If it was him, he’d save the wood for burning to warm the now homeless family.

  When offered foodstuff, he ate sparingly, not wanting to deprived the more needed of a meal. What did give him a catch was when one of the little children, a girl, was having trouble with her food. As he helped her, he could feel hazel colored eyes watching him. Not wanting to draw undo attention to himself, he focused on the urchin not Aleece.

  It wasn’t until later, as he sat with his back against a fence post talking with a few of the other men, did he get a chance to watch her interact with the Smyth’s little ones. What he witnessed warmed his heart, as she took to keeping them entertained as they were her own. That, more than anything, cemented in him the fact he’d picked the perfect wife.

  ****

  With a wave of his hand, Carlisle collected Smyth and his wife to his side. Little did he realize Aleece had joined them.

  Before he could say anything, she stepped forward. “Father, the hunting lodge at the edge of the forest isn’t being used. Mayhap they can stay there until their house can be rebuilt?”

  Try as he might, the duke wasn’t able to give his daughter the glare she deserved. When he turned to her, all he saw was her face spotted with soot from when she’d rescued the infant. He didn’t even care her habit was ruined from the smoke and burning embers.

  “Excellent suggestion, my dear,” the duke said before he turned back to the Smyth’s. “Once it is safe to enter, collect your belongings, and I will arrange for one of the drays to take you to your temporary home.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  As Lady Aleece, with Debbie at her side, rode into the stable yard, they were greeted by Jackson, the stable master, leading two of the youngest helpers.

  Aleece tried to appear nonchalant as one of the boys held her horse while she dismounted at the block. But she could feel her nerves tingling from being positive she had seen her Mr. Thomas moments earlier. That and she’d, without a thought for her safety, entered the burning building to save the baby.

  With a warm smile to the old man who’d taught her to ride, she watched as he directed the boys in their new, albeit temporary duties.

  “I was wondering if anyone would be here to help with the horses,” Aleece said to Jackson.

  “Aye, m’ lady. I’m a bit too old to be any help and someone had to stay behind to make sure those,” he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the youngsters, “boys stayed outa trouble.”

  With a nod to the man, Aleece started for the front of the mansion as her maid headed around to the kitchen entrance.

  “M’ lady,” Debbi said.

  “Yes, Debbi,” she replied, walking toward her.

  “If I might suggest, considering the smoke smell on your riding habit, wouldn’t going in through the kitchen be a better notion? I don’t think Mrs. Linna or Horsfall would appreciate you traipsing through the house to your suite trailing a wave of burnt wood in your wake.”

  Aleece raised an arm to her nose and took a sniff. “I think that might be a good idea. But even better, since your outfit isn’t smoky, when we get inside, scurry up and get my robe. I can then shed this, slip into the dressing gown, and sneak up the backstairs. The dress is ruined. Cook can have one of the girls dispose of it.”

  Together they entered only to have Aleece shooed back into the hallway by Cook.

  “I’ll na be haven that wicked smelling thing in my kitchen,” Cook ordered.

  “Yes, Cook,” Lady Aleece meekly said, knowing full well it never did any good to get on the woman’s bad side. Sometimes she thought that between Cook, Mrs. Linna, and Horsfall they ruled the house while she and her parents were mere guests.

  Whilst she waited for Debbi to return with the robe, Cook helped her out of the ruined dress. When Aleece heard the woman cluck at the burns to her back, she started to worry.

  “Are they that bad?”

  “No, dear. I’ve got an ointment, as I’m sure Mrs. Linna does, that will heal them up in no time.”

  Just then the housekeeper with Debbi came down the backstairs. With a nod to Cook she examined the injuries. “Yes. Let’s get you upstairs and into a bath then I can tend to them.”

  With Debbi’s help Lady Aleece slipped on the dressing gown then led the way upstairs.

  ****

  Bathed and the injuries tended to, Lady Aleece tried to relax as she sipped on a cup of chamomile tea beside the fireplace. Not surprising it had taken several washings to rid her hair of the smoky smell.

  Earlier the sound of the duke returning home and the ruckus he’d stirred up didn’t bode well for her. She feared for her safety from reprisal at the dressing down for risking her life in rescuing the infant. Now, several hours
later and not a word or an order to report to him was slowly turning her worry into full outright panic.

  A soft knock on the bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. “Come.”

  She watched as, with a smile on her face, Debbi entered and walked to the closet.

  “Fear not, m’ lady. The word downstairs is His Grace is quite pleased with your rescuing the child. Turns out Her Grace did something similar not long after they wed and she pointed that fact out to him.”

  On hearing that little piece of information regarding her mother, she could feel her shoulders relax, not realizing they’d been tensed from worry, until then.

  “I think the blue gown will be best for this evening. I don't want anything that is too constricting across my shoulders.”

  “Very good, m’ lady. If I might also suggest the pale yellow shawl to keep the chill off of you.”

  Dressed, her hair in a bun at her nape, Aleece entered the drawing room where her parents were enjoying a cordial before dinner.

  “Ah, and here is the lady of the hour,” the duke announced, getting to his feet from the sofa where he’d been sitting beside his wife.

  Aleece could feel her face flush with embarrassment as she curtsied to her parents. Rising she gave them a smile then. “Father, I didn’t do anything that a duchess wouldn’t do.”

  Now it was the duchess’s face which turned to a soft red rose color Lady Aleece was pleased to see. Fortunately she was saved from any further discomfiture as Horsfall entered to announce dinner was served.

  Once seated in the small dining room, Aleece waited until the soup course, a light barley and beef concoction , which was her favorite, was laid down before asking the question that had weighed on her mind.

  “Father, were you or the Smyth’s able to determine the origin and mayhap who set the fire?”

  “Yes,” he easily replied, settling his spoon on the white china plate that rested under the soup bowl. “We found a torch on the ground near the end of the house where the two oldest daughters have their room. It would appear someone wanted to kill one of them.”

  They waited for the soup course to be cleared and fresh trout was presented, then venison with her favorite hothouse vegetables was set down. That was when Aleece noticed all the foods were her favorites. She decided to hold the thought to herself until dessert.

  “Darling,” the duchess continued. “When I was doing my sick calls the other day, Sally, their eldest, I noticed was having a very heated argument with the oldest Travers boy, not the bad one but the lazy one. By the time I got to the house to see the baby, he had left and she was in tears. Turns out he had wanted to offer for her but Sally said she did not love him and turned him down.”

  “I know the boy you are talking about, Mother. I don’t blame Sally for refusing him. If there ever was a lazier person in the world they wouldn’t be as idle as he,” Aleece interjected.

  “But that is no reason for starting the fire. As magistrate I need more evidence than that of an overwrought chit,” the duke insisted, slicing into a thick slab of beef with Yorkshire pudding, the next course.

  “Yes, I know, darling, but Sally said the last words he had with her before stomping off were if he could not have her than no one would,” Eleanor said, concluding her recollection of the events.

  Aleece watched as her father set his knife and fork down on his plate and leaned back in his chair. When he started stroking his chin with his thumb and forefinger, she knew he was going over what he’d just learned. Also, blending this new information from what had been obtained from not only the Smyth’s but the first to arrive at the fire.

  As she continued to observe him, she felt her eyelids getting heavy.

  Chapter Nineteen

  December 21, 1812

  The sound of a distance clock chiming the hour slowly seeped into Aleece’s sleepy mind. From habit she started counting the faint peals. When the number passed ten, she rolled to her back only to bolt upright when she felt a sting on her right shoulder. As she started to reach for the bed curtains, they were pulled back giving her a start.

  “Debbi, what is the time? I heard the clock strike more than ten times,” Aleece ordered, then regretted her tone when she saw the woman smiling back at her.

  “Yes, m’ lady. It’s half eleven. I was instructed by Her Grace to let you sleep as late as you pleased. His Grace even ordered that no staff were to go near your suite for fear their walking and talking might awake you,” Debbi said, handing Aleece her robe.

  She had barely gotten an arm in the sleeve when Mrs. Linna entered, a silver tray with a bowl, white towels, and a jar of one of the housekeepers many salves on it.

  “Ah, not so fast, my dear. First I want to look at your injuries,” she announced, setting the tray down on the bed.

  “Injuries?” She looked to Debbi for an answer, but when she saw none were coming, she turned her eyes to Mrs. Linna.

  Then, she remembered the fire at the Smyth’s farm yesterday. Riding back to the estate and taking a long hot soak scented with her favorite rose bathing oil. Those were the last clear things she was able to summon up.

  “Yes, m’ lady. Seems you fell asleep at the dinner table and we put you to bed. Her Grace said she’d stay with you through the night, but I was able to convince her that wasn’t necessary. That myself and Debbi would watch over you.”

  Aleece could feel her face and neck warm at the thought of being cared for like a little girl in braids again.

  “You should have reason to flush, m’ lady.” She glanced back at the housekeeper in shock. Her raised brow questioned the statement. “Seems you had a rather interesting dream. But, that can wait. Let’s have a look at the burns while Debbi runs to get your breakfast.”

  Aleece returned her maid’s curtsey with a slight nod and watched as she slipped from the room before turning back to Mrs. Linna. Under the stern watchful eye of the woman’s gaze, she removed her arm from the robe’s sleeve. With help from the housekeeper, she slipped her night-rail down to expose the injuries.

  A noncommittal cluck from the other woman caused Aleece to try to look at her shoulder, only to be stopped with a pat on her backside.

  “You maybe the duke and duchess’s daughter, but with me you’ll behave or I might let slip about the gentleman you were talking about last night,” Mrs. Linna softly reprimanded.

  Suddenly, what the housekeeper said brought overly pleasant thoughts into her head as she remembered what she was talking about. “Oh, that.”

  She relaxed her shoulders as her mind drifted back to late yesterday afternoon and the man who’d helped her onto her horse. The same person who’d invaded her sleep…

  As the Smyth’s had packed their few remaining possessions onto the dray, she, with Debbi, had kept the smaller children entertained. Once the wagon was on its way the realities of what she’d done started creeping into her mind. That was when she realized she had several small but uncomfortable burns on her shoulder, from where her cape had slipped off.

  Never one to accept assistance readily, Aleece attempted to climb up onto her saddle. She’d had a special strap made for her right foot, which she used when no mounting block was available. This time, though, the pain was such she didn’t have the strength until a man appeared, like a vision at her side.

  With his face, except for his mouth and chin, hidden by a large brimmed hat, try as she might, Aleece couldn’t recognize him. She knew he had to have been assisting in quenching the fire as his shirt carried the same acrid smell of smoke as her habit did. He laced his fingers together, bent over to offer his service to help boost her up. Unsure but wanting to get home she accepted his offer of service.

  Once settled on the saddle, with her right leg around the pommel and left in the stirrup, Aleece adjusted her riding habit skirt when she witnessed her savior walk off. She started to call her thanks out when she noticed he walked with a limp. She thought, at first, it might be from an injury he received while fighting the fire. When her ey
es noticed not only his broad shoulders and back tapering to a trim waist but the length and hue of the man’s hair Aleece was almost positive the man was her Thomas.

  From his last dispatch she knew he had planned to arrive in the district on or about this date. If it was him, she pondered, why didn’t he make himself known to her, why hide his handsome visage behind a hat?

  Her reverie was interrupted when Debbi had ridden up. Quickly, Aleece turned to her, “Do you see than man there? The one in the white shirt and broad brimmed hat?”

  She’d watched as Debbi scanned the area.

  Aleece frowned when her maid indicted her inability at searching out the person her ladyship had described.

  The heavenly fragrance of coddled eggs dripping with Hollandaise sauce, ham, toast and tea brought Aleece back to the present.

  “Yes, that man, m’ lady,” Mrs. Linna said, as Aleece watched her cap the ointment then wipe her hands on a towel.

  This time Aleece could feel not only her face but neck heat from the embarrassment of being caught thinking about a man, her Mr. Thomas she was sure.

  With help from Debbi, she started to right her nightrail and robe, then turned to Mrs. Linna.

  “Did I talk in my sleep?”

  “Yes, my dear. Several times, but your secret is safe with us. Plus, we both know all about your Mr. Thomas. It’s a shame you won’t be able to marry the gentleman.”

  “What?” Aleece all but screamed, as it wasn’t in her nature to show such displays of emotion even toward the staff.

  “Aye, tis the reason for the ball on Christmas Eve. To introduce you to your future husband.”

  Aleece slumped down in the chair in front of her breakfast. “He must know or shortly will learn that I can never love him for I have given,” she glanced at the two shocked staff, “my heart to only Mr. Thomas.”

  Tears started streaming down her cheeks, blinding her.

  “Cheer up, dear. I’m sure everything will work out for the best. Now, eat up, and Debbi will get you ready for the day.”