The Maid of Fairbourne Hall

by Julie Klassen

  Nathaniel seethed. “Father put me in charge when you insisted on remaining in London while Fairbourne languished. Had you stayed in Barbados as he wished, I—”

  Lewis leaned back and crossed his long legs. “Too dashed hot there. Too much work.” He raised a brow. “Not enough beautiful women.”

  “Lewie . . .” Helen scolded, but affection tinged her tone.

  Nathaniel inhaled deeply and moderated his voice. “So, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

  Lewis shrugged. “No reason. Does a man need a reason to come to his own home?”

  “Usually. Do you mean to stay, then?”

  “No, not yet. I’ve just come down for a day or two.”

  “What are your plans?”

  “No plans.” He grinned at Helen. “Just wanted to see my favorite girl.”

  Even though Lewis directed the words at Helen, Nathaniel had the distinct impression she was not the “girl” he meant.

  Life in service could be very regimented and dictatorial,

  with little time off and the knowledge that romantic

  relations between servants were forbidden in many houses.

  —Luxury and Style, “The History of Country House Staff”

  Chapter 20

  In the morning, Margaret trudged downstairs beside Betty. They were both exhausted from being up so late the night before.

  “Fiona looked so lovely in her gown last night,” Margaret said. “I still can’t imagine how she came by it. And did you see her dancing? So graceful and elegant. Almost as if she were a lady.”

  Betty sighed wearily, eyes distant. “She might have been once.”

  Margaret turned to stare at her.

  “Thought she was giving up all this”—Betty lifted her housemaid’s box—“but it weren’t to be.”

  Stunned, Margaret grasped Betty’s wrist to halt her progress. “What are you talking about?”

  Betty winced, chagrined. “I’m tired and not thinking straight. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “But you have to tell me now.”

  Betty shook her head. “No I don’t. And don’t you be askin’ Fiona either, my girl. That would be foolhardy indeed. Do you hear?”

  Margaret nodded. Satisfied, Betty continued down the stairs, but Margaret stood there, mind whirling.

  After breakfast and prayers, Margaret set about cleaning Lewis Upchurch’s bedchamber, which had been fastidiously neat until his return the night before, but which had already been marred by his presence—small clothes on the floor, bedclothes in a tangle as though he’d spent the night wrestling angels or someone more earthly, water sloshed onto the washstand, a jumble of toiletry items in disarray. And she didn’t even want to think about what might await her in the chamber pot. The reality of men was certainly different than the pristine image they portrayed in a ballroom.

  Where was Connor? She had not seen him since morning prayers. Even with a valet in residence, she would be expected to deliver water and empty slops first thing in the morning, and to return later to clean the room and make the bed. But the valet was responsible for his master’s clothing. Was Connor down in the stillroom, becoming “reacquainted” with Hester? Margaret lofted the bedclothes high, enjoying the way they rose and billowed before settling flat. The door behind her flew open with a bang. She stifled a shriek and spun around, pillow to her chest. A shield.

  Lewis Upchurch hesitated fractionally upon seeing her, and then a lazy grin spread over his face. “Well, well. Look who’s here. How kind of you to pay a call after our dance last night.”

  He was wearing riding clothes—cutaway coat, leather breeches, Hessian boots. He looked devilishly handsome, and his light brown eyes glinted with confidence and mischief. She had always been drawn to confident men.

  She dipped an awkward curtsy, pillow still in arms. “Good day, sir.”

  She should have gone about her work. Instead she remained motionless, thoughts racing. Was this an unfortunate coincidence or the answer to her plight? Before her stood Lewis Upchurch, the very man she had sought out with marriage in mind at the Valmores’ ball, hoping to foil Sterling Benton’s plan. Now, at last, she was alone with him—in broad daylight and behind closed doors. The thought made her palms perspire.

  Should she tell him who she was? Dramatically remove her cap, wig, and spectacles and wait for realization to dawn? Her heart pounded, her breathing grew shallow and rapid. How would he react? Would his heart go out to her when she explained her desperate situation, or would he grimace in scandalized disgust to see Miss Macy so denigrated? Or worse, would he sneer or flee, thinking it a desperate ploy to trick him into marriage? “By Jove, one moment I was in my bedchamber flirting harmlessly with a housemaid, and in the next, I was trapped by a spoiled hoyden demanding I rescue her reputation!”

  Lewis walked near. “Cat got your tongue?”

  Margaret swallowed. So near, yet no flicker of recognition. Should she abandon the idea while she still could? If he refused her, how humiliating that would be. What would she do then—shrug, slap her wig back on, and empty his chamber pot?

  In her earlier fantasies, she had imagined a thrilling scenario. The tragic heroine, standing on the dim balcony, staring up at the stars bemoaning her unjust fate, when handsome Lewis appeared. One moment, he regarded a dejected housemaid with compassion. The next, the scales fell away, and his eyes were opened.

  “Of course! No wonder I thought we had met before. My soul recognized you, even if my foolish eyes did not!”

  And he would put his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him when she would look away. “Look at me. What is the matter?”

  And she would tell him, all maidenly embarrassment and injury. And he would assure her no one would harm her. No one would touch her, except him. His hands would cradle her face.

  “There you are,” he would whisper, his voice growing husky, his face, his lips nearing hers. “How I have missed you . . .”

  “You missed something.”

  “Hmm?” Shaken from her reverie, she found Lewis smirking at her. He pointed to a soiled stocking on the floor.

  Cheeks heating, she bent to retrieve it. When she straightened, she saw him tugging off his gloves.

  He glanced around the room with a frown. “Have you seen my valet recently?”

  “No, sir.”

  He muttered something derogatory about the young man, then arched an eyebrow. “I don’t suppose you would like to help me undress?”

  He was probably joking, but still her body flushed in indignation. “No, Mr. Upchurch, I would not.”

  She turned and stalked from the room, glad she had not revealed herself to him. She was halfway down the corridor before she realized she had addressed him in her normal voice, and quite haughty in the bargain.

  On her way downstairs, Margaret stopped at the housemaids’ closet to gather up the lamps she had collected. She carried them down to the butler’s pantry, where Craig would trim the candles and clean the lamps. On her way along the basement passage, she passed the stillroom, surprised to see its door partially closed—it was usually wide open. She glanced around the door, hoping Hester was all right.

  She was more than all right, apparently. She was leaning back against her worktable, wrapped in the arms of a ginger-haired man in a dark suit of clothes. Margaret pulled back guiltily and quickly continued on her way. She had wondered where Lewis’s valet was. Now she knew.

  Margaret watched Mrs. Budgeon fly about the house in a flutter of nerves and preparations. Evidently, Lewis Upchurch had taken it upon himself to invite guests to dinner while he was home and they had insufficient staff to wait at table. Piers Saxby, his sister, and Miss Lyons had come to Maidstone to visit the Earl of Romney and see all the improvements to his estate. But Lewis had persuaded them to come to Fairbourne Hall first. Together with Helen, Lewis, and Nathaniel, they would be a party of six.

  Mr. Arnold, Thomas, and Craig would wait at table, of course, as would the valet
, Connor. But that meant they would also need to find livery to fit Freddy, the hall boy. And one of the maids would need to wait table as well. Betty was chosen, but Mrs. Budgeon informed Fiona and Nora that they would need to lend a hand as needed, both in delivering dishes from the servery warming cupboard and carrying away lids from covered dishes and plates from used courses as the dinner progressed.

  Margaret was relieved she would not be required to stand behind one of the chairs, to serve the guests directly and risk Lavinia Saxby or even Miss Lyons recognizing her. If Helen was any indication, women were more likely to see through her disguise than men were. The thought of venturing into the back of the dining room to deliver and carry made her nervous enough.

  At seven, the guests made their way into the dining room, lit with candelabras and decorated with towering displays of fruits and flowers, which Margaret had helped the chef arrange. Monsieur Fournier was more tense and bossy than she had ever seen him. Not harsh, but focused and exacting, aware of the pressure to perform, to please, and well represent his employers. Pressure exacerbated by the fact that they were all—from chef to scullery maid—out of practice in entertaining.

  Young Freddy seemed especially nervous, decked in livery tacked up to shorten sleeves in haste, hair slicked back. Betty looked somewhat flushed herself, in black dress and white cap and apron, pressed for the occasion. Fiona, meanwhile, was cool and calm as usual. Thomas and Craig were powdered and proud in their best livery, and Mr. Arnold oozed chin-up decorum, though Margaret noticed his hand tremble when he poured the wine.

  With Fiona, Margaret carried up dish after dish from kitchen to servery, now and then peeking in to catch a glimpse of the august company.

  There was Nathaniel, stiff yet undeniably masculine in evening dress. Lewis looked handsome as always, perfectly attired and with an air of confident ease. Piers Saxby eschewed traditional dark colors for a patterned waistcoat in apple green, his hair brushed into a high cockscomb over his brow. Fitting, Margaret thought.

  Beside Helen sat Lavinia Saxby, Mr. Saxby’s sister, with whom Margaret had been at school. And between Piers and Lewis sat the beautiful brunette, Miss Barbara Lyons, whom Margaret had seen with these same two men at the London masquerade ball. How Margaret’s life had changed since then.

  Carrying in courses and handing them off to Mr. Arnold or Thomas, Margaret heard snatches of dinner conversation. Most of it vague pleasantries—the weather, upcoming shoots and hunts, various house parties attended. But then Margaret heard her own name mentioned and nearly spilled a platter of poached pigeon.

  “. . . scouring all of London and beyond, but still no sign of the missing Miss Macy.” Saxby swallowed a bite, then continued, “At first, the gossips predicted an elopement.”

  Margaret’s cheeks burned. She felt someone’s eyes on her and glanced over to find Helen looking her way.

  Thomas stepped near and took the pigeon from her, whispering for her to next bring in the sweetbreads. In the servery she could still hear the humiliating conversation.

  “But if that were the case, the family would have heard from her by now,” Lavinia Saxby insisted. “And we would have heard of a missing gentleman as well.”

  Saxby considered. “Then perhaps she has been abducted. Or worse.”

  “Never say so,” Lavinia protested.

  Margaret returned from the servery and stood at the rear of the dining room, holding a silver serving dish of sweetbreads at the ready.

  Lewis leaned back, all elegant nonchalance. “Be careful what you say about Miss Macy,” he warned. “Nathaniel here was quite besotted with her once upon a time.”

  “Were you indeed?” Miss Lyons asked, brows arched high.

  Nathaniel fidgeted. “That was a long time ago. Before I sailed for Barbados.”

  Saxby smirked. “Some say that was why you left the country.”

  “I left because my father asked me to, Mr. Saxby.”

  “Nate here is the dutiful son.” Lewis winked. “Or was.”

  “I don’t imagine Margaret was very happy when her mother married Sterling Benton so soon after Mr. Macy’s death,” Helen mused. “And even less so when Benton sold their family home.”

  “To give up some rural cottage for a chance to live in Berkeley Square with Sterling Benton?” Miss Lyons scoffed. “I’d say she had not a thing to complain about.”

  Nathaniel’s expression hardened. “Then you did not know Stephen Macy, nor Lime Tree Lodge, if you think Sterling Benton or Berkeley Square could compare favorably with either of them.”

  Margaret’s throat tightened to hear Nathaniel say so.

  “So what do you say, Nate,” Saxby asked. “Has some harm befallen Miss Macy, or has she gone off on a lark?”

  Nathaniel flicked a glance across the room—toward her? “Miss Macy was headstrong and impulsive when I knew her years ago. And I imagine she is headstrong and impulsive now.”

  Embarrassment flushed through Margaret.

  Saxby goaded, “Impulsive, as in throwing you over for a chance at Lover Boy Lewie here?”

  Margaret’s vision blurred and she felt herself sway.

  “Piers, really,” Miss Lyons murmured disapprovingly.

  Likely hoping to bring the subject to less volatile ground, Lavinia said quickly, “I wonder if there is any truth to the rumor that Margaret will inherit a great—”

  Crash. The silver serving dish slipped from Margaret’s fingers. All heads turned her way. She swiftly turned and bent to begin picking up the mess, self-conscious at having her backside taken in by so many pairs of eyes. In a moment, Fiona was on her haunches beside her, scooping up the sweetbreads and sending her an empathetic grimace.

  Mr. Arnold spoke up. “I’m terribly sorry, sir.”

  “No matter, Arnold,” Nathaniel said. “These things happen.”

  Face burning, Margaret retreated belowstairs.

  ———

  Nathaniel glanced toward the servery door. The uncomfortable conversation continued, though its subject had disappeared from sight.

  “I only met Miss Macy once,” Barbara Lyons said. “At the Valmores’ ball. And she did seem desperate enough to elope. For she all but begged a partner. I nearly felt sorry for her.”

  “If she wanted a partner,” Saxby said, “she had only to turn to Marcus Benton, who was at her heel all night, like a besotted hound.”

  Barbara shook her head. “It was obvious to me she did not care for young Mr. Benton.” She fluttered her lashes at Lewis. “She only had eyes for you, Mr. Upchurch.”

  Lewis leaned near the brunette beside him. “While I only had eyes for you, Miss Lyons.”

  “As did I,” Saxby said, glaring at him.

  Lewis shook his head and confessed, “I am afraid I was less than gallant with Miss Macy. For the truth was, I was smitten with another lady.” He looked meaningfully at Miss Lyons. “One as far from my reach as Miss Macy is from Nate’s.”

  Nathaniel inhaled slowly, willing anger to remain at bay.

  Saxby huffed. “Oh, you are never heartbroken for long, Lewis. I seem to recall you flirting with a whole succession of females since then.”

  “None seriously.” Lewis kept his gaze on Miss Lyons’s face, coyly dipped though it was.

  “I wonder you find yourself at Fairbourne Hall so much more often lately,” Saxby persisted, reptilian eyes sliding to Miss Lyons before returning to Lewis.

  “It’s Nate here,” Lewis quipped. “Has me on a short tether these days.”

  “Has he? I thought it might have more to do with a certain ginger-haired girl in Maidstone.”

  Lewis’s grin faded. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Oh, come, Lewie,” Saxby sneered. “You forget Lavinia and I still have friends and family nearby. Local gossip does not fail to reach us.”

  Lewis said through clenched teeth, “The gossips have it wrong.”

  “Do they indeed?”

  Nathaniel wondered if Saxby manufact
ured such a claim to put a wedge between Lewis and Miss Lyons. It was obvious both men were vying for the woman’s affections.

  While the question, the challenge, hung in the air, Lewis flicked a look across the room, as if checking his reflection in the window. Connor, his valet, stood behind his chair, ramrod straight.

  Lewis then riveted Saxby with an icy glare. “Indeed.”

  “Then I stand corrected.” Saxby met his glare, then relaxed back against his chair. “Or should I say, sit corrected.” He raised his glass in a mock toast.

  Nathaniel glanced at his brother’s valet. Noticed Connor’s jaw tighten. He supposed the young man was privy to most of Lewis’s comings and goings, clandestine or otherwise. He likely knew whether Lewis—or the gossips Saxby quoted—spoke the truth. But Nathaniel knew a good valet was nothing if not discreet. Lewis’s secrets would be safe.

  Just as Margaret’s secrets were safe with him.

  Formidable in her dark silk dress, the keys to the

  household at her belt . . . it was often the housekeeper’s

  duty to show visitors around the house.

  —Margaret Willes, Household Management

  Chapter 21

  Even after the uncomfortable dinner party, Margaret’s mind continued to drift to the mystery of Fiona’s ball gown. While she and Betty scrubbed the dining room floor the next morning, Margaret daydreamed about Fiona’s past, imagining several possible scenarios.

  Unable to resist any longer, she slid her pail forward and asked, “Why can’t I ask Fiona about the dress?”

  Betty pulled a face. “Not this again. Just . . . don’t ask.”

  “A gown like that must have cost a great deal of money. Too much for a housemaid to afford. And I can’t imagine her mistress handing down such a gown—it’s too impractical.”

  Betty squeezed out her cloth. “Fiona wouldn’t want us talking about this.”

  “Do you know how she came by it?”

  Betty hesitated. “Yes. But not because she told me.” Betty sat back on her heels, regarded her warily. “Fiona will be vexed indeed if you pry into this—believe me.”