of hot water that was nearly half her size.
“Goodness, where is a footman?”
“I don’t need a footman,” she said between pants. “This is my job, and I can do
it. You’ll see, my lady.”
“I do see,” I said, grinning at her show of independence. “Who are you?”
She set down the huge can and took a few moments to catch her breath. “I’m
Belinda, formally a sometimes-maid to Mrs. Thomas when Stella is out of sorts,
which she many times is, since she just stopped speaking to the butcher in
Devbridge-on-Ashston, our village just a mile to the east.”
I stared at her, fascinated. “Why did Stella stop speaking to the butcher?”
“Well, naturally I’m not one to gossip,” she said, stepping closer, “but since
you’re the new lady of the house, you should know about this fellow, who, Stella
heard, had been seeing Mrs. Graystock, a female of very loose repute who lives
in a charming cottage just outside the village.”
“Oh. That explains it very well. I am glad to meet you, Belinda. If you would
pour the hot water, I would appreciate it.”
“I’ll do more than that, my lady. I’ll scrub your back for you.”
No one had ever scrubbed my back. Not even once in my life. “That sounds
marvelous.”
And it was. I didn’t even think of dismissing Belinda after that. I had left all
my black gowns in London. She helped me dress in a soft gray muslin gown, then
sat me down at the dressing table and plaited my hair quite nicely atop my head.
“If it were evening, I would thread ribbons in and out, but it’s morning and we
don’t want to make Mrs. Thomas feel like a dowd compared to you.”
When I rose, I felt my spirits also rise considerably when she said, all sincere
and enthusiastic, “Oh, you’re beautiful, my lady, just beautiful. Such glorious
hair you’ve got?all red and brown and every shade in-between, and ever so nice
and curly.”
I would have kissed her for her splendid opinion if Brantley hadn’t returned
with George at that moment. “Mr. George,” Brantley informed me, “walked all the
way to the Devbridge stables with Jasper, a young footman of great energy and
goodwill. Jasper reported a satisfactory conclusion to Mr. George’s
constitutional.”
“Thank you,” I said. Truth be told, I’d forgotten all about George once Belinda
was rubbing a soft sponge over my back.
“It’s only eight o’clock in the morning, my lady,” Belinda said, eyeing the
beautiful old clock on the mantel. “Mrs. Thomas won’t be downstairs until at
least ten o’clock. Just gentlemen, I fear, except for Mr. Thomas. Ah, that poor
gentleman must be so terribly careful, you know. You will learn that Mr. Thomas’s
health isn’t always steady. All of us want him to move slowly in the morning, to
be certain that all his parts are operating well before he begins to partake
fully of the day. We want to keep our beautiful young man as healthy as possible.”
“He does look like a god.”
“That is true. It is hard not to just stand and gawk at him.” Belinda added with
absolute conviction, “We won’t let him get ill. All of us are vigilant.”
George and I went to see Miss Crislock, who was still in bed, her lovely black
hair, barely peppered with gray, plaited in a thick braid that fell over her
shoulder. She was such a kind lady, about my mother’s age had she lived. Miss
Crislock had come to me when I had moved to Deerfield Hall to be with
Grandfather. I was very fond of her. “You must let everyone in the family meet
you today, Milly,” I said, leaning down to kiss her smooth cheek. “I don’t
suppose you remember that man, John, whom I saw on three different occasions?”
“Of course, dear. You were afraid of him, although you didn’t say so.”
However had she come to think that? “Oh, no, I wasn’t. Truly, Milly, it is just
that he was very forward, perhaps even overly anxious, until he finally let me
be.” I drew a deep breath. “John is Lawrence’s nephew and heir. It appears that