The Companion of Lady Holmeshire

by Debra Brown

  “I do fervently pray that she thrives in childbearing, for there is but one to carry on for her!” Helena’s worries presented on her troubled face. Surely, in her mind, Victoria would soon breathe her last. Her blind cousin would ascend, and he could be the last of the line.

  Winnie proposed an ill-designed solution. “You must keep trying, Helena, there must be a spare should she not succeed, and sons are quite hard won, it seems.”

  “That is the greatest grief in my life—I am sure by now, being barren still and growing older, that it is impossible for me. What a joy that would have been, bearing the next king. I often imagined playing with my little king, presenting him with lovely gifts, turning him on my lap to look on me while sternly teaching him to rule a great Empire! He should now be one and twenty, or twenty at least. Please, do not entreat me again.”

  She sat down and Winnie touched her shoulder, rendering apology. Helena sighed, “I do realize how very serious the situation is.” She toyed, for a time, with a pillow. The past at last extinguished by an abysmal breath, she smiled and raised her eyes. “But Emma, just who are you, and what nation will you rule?”

  “Oh, dear, you see, I do not know who I am, to be perfectly forthcoming.” Emma, relieved to have left the heirs behind, battled other emotions that commandeered her thoughts and altered her face. “Perhaps Milady did not say? I was left an infant at the home of Squire Carrington and raised by his wife. She took the kindest care of me, along with their children, and I adored her, but it was clear that I was not deemed a Carrington by the Squire, who greatly favored his daughters. That is as it should be; nature does as it does. I became more a servant, being especially glad to care for Mrs. Carrington. But when she died, he was done with me. I had spent some of her priceless hours on our lovely discussions, wasted them, robbed him of them, you know, and he could not endure my company. Milady graciously offered me a place in her service to keep me from perishing of the rain! How I have come to be so blessed as to be stationed where I am today, I cannot surmise, but my gratefulness will never end.” Her words were finalized with a nod.

  Winnie implored them, “Dearest ladies, there must be something better to discuss after these months apart. Emma, pray tell Helena of your stay with dear Miss Wathem!” And the ladies’ conversation diverged, thankfully, in a much favored direction.

  ***

  Upstairs the Nanny and maids had been curtly introduced to their quarters and had put away their clothing, brushes and trinkets. Nicky had been tucked into bed in the nursery that Helena had created just for him, to sleep off the exhausting travels.

  The three servants sat down together in the adjoining day nursery, with its gay gingham curtains, to have their tea, hoping that the staff of Belgrave Square would not mind their absence from the downstairs table. After all, Elizabeth pointed out, they had just arrived and Nicky must be watched, and Anne had not even met the staff as of yet. “Surely, though, someone will take offense. That is the way here,” she sighed. “You saw the glare of the kitchen maid who brought up our tea. On my previous visits, they were so antagonized by my existence that I was required to eat next to the kitchen maids rather than next to Helena’s lady’s maid.”

  “Perhaps they do not like servants from other houses?” Anne meekly suggested.

  Lizzie’s corrective voice appeared briefly. “Or perhaps they do not like servants from smaller houses, or servants who outrank the scullery maid. And if I understand things properly, from what I observed, they do not even like each other! I am inclined to say something particular to the lot of them.”

  “It does not matter. Let it be. I will tell them that I do not care to take meals alone here when Nicholas is sleeping,” confident Gwyndolyn stated. “There is no other nursery staff, no nanny belonging to this house, no nursery maid. It will have to please them. I suggest that we give the girl the kindest thanks when she returns for the dishes. Perhaps she will like that.”

  “Yes, you are right, Nanny Bowen. We should just be ever so kindly, as Lady Holmeshire, and probably the Bible, would say. But will you not have a nursery maid here?” Lizzy was shocked.

  “I have not been told of one. The footman did not say, and there is no one here. I have not come with the family before; Nicky and I stayed at Holmeshire, you know. But I do know that I cannot take proper care of Nicholas and do the floors and laundry as well, nor is it my obligation, so I suppose that there will be someone. I will ask about it! Girls, tell me please, did you feel that Mr. Barreby acted strangely for a time before we left?”

  Elizabeth laughed. “You have been there long enough to know that he always acts strangely!” Anne and Gwyn smiled.

  “Yes, Lizzy, but I mean...just recently. Have you noticed anything different?”

  Anne spoke up. “I thought he was poking around strangely in the house. I found him in our room once! It seemed most unusual. I did not know whether I should mention it to anyone.”

  “Anyone? Who could you mention it to besides Her Ladyship, silly?” Lizzy corrected. “Mr. Barreby is over everyone else!” Anne could never say or do things right, according to some. Never mind if she should; Lizzy’s powers needed exercise, and Anne needed keeping in her place.

  Gwyn continued with her thoughts, “Yes, that is what I mean exactly. He has been intently going through everything in the nursery, as though he is looking for something, when he was unaware of my presence. I do wish he would tell me what it is that he is devouring the house after! Or at least I wish he would stay out of the nursery; it just does not please me for Nicky to see him behaving so. It disturbs his rest time, and I do not know what to tell the lad when he asks me what is happening.” She frowned. “I have never seen Mr. Barreby so sober; I think he suspects me of having pinched something.”

  “I think he suspects everyone of having pinched something!” Anne countered, “But, nevertheless, he keeps a pleasant household like my Papa; we laugh and jest at supper. I am far more in fear of this Belgrave staff! What shall we do at suppertime? Where must we eat?” Her fidgeting reappeared, and Lizzy pressed her hands to her lap with a governing glare. Anne conceded.

  Gwyn was the decisive one of the lot. “I shall demand that they bring your food up here. We will see how that pleases the butler. If it does not go well, you girls will be forced to eat downstairs, I suppose, so no one is angered. If necessary, I shall stay here alone with Nick. I am the only one required to eat here, anyway, unless I have a nursery maid, and I best have one!”

  The butler was pleased enough to allow them to eat upstairs for the first day, but it did not last. And Sarah, the kitchen maid, was unimpressed with the gracious thanks that she had received upon reclaiming the dishes from their tea. She had even stood and checked them for chips!

  ***

  “Buy myself a home in London? Please, I am trying to eat my dinner!” Wills put down his hand a bit too firmly and was surprised at himself. “I have enough to care for, thank you. I want only one house to be bothered with for now, while I am single and focusing on the needs of the country, and the Northumberland air is much more pleasant. Why should I care to have a house in the city? I do not wish to throw parties, should you have thoughts about that. I shall leave that to Helena. She is a divine hostess. Is her dining room not perfect?” He parted his upturned palms to draw attention to its burgundy and gold elegance. “And someone will always take me in when I come limping into town, as my doting Grandmother did a few weeks past! And someday I’ll be stuck with Grandfather’s house to refurbish. How many can I manage?”

  “Why do you think I have brought these peers here to dine?” the Duke leaned toward Wills, “I need support to take on your stubborn mind. You shall be required to have a city house, and entertain, should you sit in Parliament.” He leaned back into his chair. “Everyone must agree if they are to have Cherries Jubilee!”

  Jovial Lord August-Crane raised his glass, “A house for Lord Holmeshire! To be sure. It does not have to be a Belgrave mansion, My Lord, but you’ll need
a home here. I agree.” He leaned closer to Miss Carrington, uncomfortably seated in a room full of peers, and whispered, “I do favor tinned cherries!”

  “Lady Genevieve will have a home for you here; when she marries, she shall have Chenbury House with her settlement. You should be able to entertain well from there. But I hear you are not in a hurry to marry!” the Duke scolded with his fork.

  “And now I know the purpose of this. I must entertain, so I must have a house. The need for a house shall make me marry! Do you suppose she would allow me to live in the house on her expectations? Or would the young ladies advise her against it?” At that he rolled his eyes, but being a gentleman, ever so slightly.

  The room was stunning, the banquet table sparkling with the chandelier’s reflections dancing on the crystal and silver. Floral bouquets of spring roses, lilies and ivy trailed down its middle over elaborate, lacy linens. Footmen moved silently, in and out, as though choreographed. Serving dishes were attractively filled and daintily emptied. Everything was beautiful, orderly and agreeable. It was only the conversation that was trying.

  “The benefits of marriage are not to be downplayed, sir.” Lord Embry waved a bun at him. “That is why I am a father so many times over, you see. At any rate, I cannot understand why you delay the inevitable. It is not as though you must sit home and gossip once married, you know.” He covered his mouth with his fingers, but then threw his hands upward. “Pardon my...misinterpretation of tea time, ladies. I realize it is not only politics that need to be bantered about. My wife is so very clear about that. What would London do, should one hand not know what the other was doing, after all? But, Lord Holmeshire, tea tables would be happier places if you fulfilled your obligations to womankind.”

  “Are there a lack of balls and dinners?” Wills admirably kept himself from fuming. “Are people in want of reasons to wear white vests or diamonds, or is it that the Abbey sits empty without more weddings? I simply cannot fathom the rush everyone is in to have me married. Must one marry in their early twenties? Emma, what do you think of it?”

  The poor girl was in horror! Her heart raced as she looked to Winnie, who replied with a sympathetic nod, and back at Wills. “My Lord, I cannot dare to voice my thoughts over these noble people!”

  “At least she knows her place,” muttered the hefty Lady Embry, reaching for her bread and glittering far more than the crystal.

  Wills ignored her and continued to address Emma. “Ah, so you do have thoughts on the subject! I am glad to hear that! I shall come to you for counsel when it will not dismay you so.” Emma took a deep breath and tended to her plate. “The Duke has voiced his delight in having Emma to dinner, my friends; have you not, Your Grace?” Wills took after his mother in his disdain for the rigidity of society. “She was a Squire’s ward, you know.”

  “A Squire. I’m sure she is proud of that!” Lady Embry snorted. “And just how many squires does England have?”

  “I pray, Madam, allow me my guests,” the Duke retorted. “Emma, will you join us tomorrow again?”

  “Your Highness, thank you, I shall hope to,” she sighed.

  “I should not inquire, then, being a squire’s ward, who her parents are, or pardon me, who they were, should I? Or when she was presented at court?” The lady stabbed her partridge.

  “Lady Embry, you are the first to remind people of their social graces. Can you not practice yours?” the Duchess countered. “You must consider your example! Eminence is enhanced by civility and charm.”

  The dashing Mr. Gabriel Hughes, having observed Emma thoughtfully through the meal and having admired her greatly, spoke up from several seats down the table. “How I wish I were to visit tomorrow myself. Alas, I cannot dine with Miss Carrington. I shall be fighting for the Crown in court and then be elsewhere.” He had been introduced to her earlier as the most successful and impressive barrister in the land.

  “The Crown is very much in need of you, my learned friend. Here we can make do with just the few of us and enjoy your company another night,” uttered His Grace, his admiration for the barrister evident.

  “I fear there will be very few of us, indeed, my dear, as we and our guests are to dine at Handerton House,” Helena interjected. “It will be the servants alone here tomorrow!”

  “And which party will Miss Carrington be with?” Lady Embry oh-so-sweetly inquired. Her query was ignored, while the poor, mortified Emma longed to melt off her chair and down underneath the table, never to resurface. Could she bear any more of this dinner? Wills considered raising a toast to her for courage in the face of adversity, but feared that it would distress her for not being well received in certain seats.

  “We shan’t be having such conversations at Holmeshire Hall,” he commented pleasantly, hinting at who might and who might not receive invitations under his jurisdiction, “nor at my London home, should I be forced to produce one as a single gentleman.”

  “I understand that Lady Genevieve is well acquainted with the proper ways of society,” intimated the glistening, overly perfumed personage, taking advantage of his nearly having brought up the subject himself.

  “I understand that Lady Genevieve someday will have a husband to acquaint her with the more benevolent ways of humanity,” countered the handsome young man. “I see that not a few people remain quite concerned about His Majesty, King George the Fourth, and his marital meddlings.” Wills then emphatically announced, “And now we shall honor the peace of His Grace’s home and his gracious hospitality.”

  “Perhaps, then, we should change the subject of our conversation,” the dear lady duplicitously announced. “Lord Holmeshire, are you looking forward to some time alone with Lady Genevieve tomorrow, perhaps on your knee in the garden?” The room fell silent with the ultimate in painful toleration. It was left for the portraits, the statues and the stately columns to demonstrate nobility—and hope that the occupants would perhaps learn the art of it.

  Mr. Hughes made a particular effort to spend time talking with Emma, later in the evening, making sure she was quite comfortable at all times and uninjured by Lady Embry’s attacks. He gave her a rosebud from the table for her “beautiful black and shining hair.”

  ~Chapter 5~

  A Visit to Handerton House

  Elizabeth and Anne were comfortable, spending much of the day in the nursery suite with Gwyndolyn and a warm and friendly woman, Miss Adelina Darivela, who had stepped in to greet them. She spoke pleasantly with an appealing foreign accent. Outside the house, Miss Darivela kept to herself. She wore lacy brown veils and could not be recognized from any distance. But she seemed to have Helena’s confidence and was invited to have tea alone with the Duchess upon occasion. Adelina was a servant, of sorts, the creator of floral bouquets in huge crystal vases that beautified the great house from one end to the other. Although she lived in her own home elsewhere, supported by the Duke and Duchess, she was often to be seen in the mansion with baskets full of long-stemmed roses and irises.

  Though five and twenty years of age spread between the four women in the nursery, they enjoyed each other’s company greatly. They helped to entertain Nicky and then talked quietly of books they had read while he napped. They tried a new hair style on Gwyn for the evening at Handerton, as she would be accompanying the boy. They helped her dress in a beautiful, pale yellow gown loaned to her by Helena for the occasion, and she acted out being a lady, ordering them around.

  Along with Adelina had come a housemaid, Hattie, who did not have nearly the same friendly attitude. Assigned to be under Gwyn as the nursery maid for The Season, she was required to be present and to take orders. Because of her continual scowl, she was much ignored after an attempt by the three to earn her friendship. It was just as Adelina had signaled; she could not be won over.

  Hattie was angered that she would have to eat upstairs with Gwyn and Nicky for the summer. It would ruin her life, she said, and she will have only one life, as far as she knows. Anne and her sister were happy to leave Hattie behind
to dress the ladies for the evening.

  ***

  Emma descended richly carpeted stairs to meet the waiting Winnie and Helena on a vast landing. A silk settee of floral embroidery had been placed for those who cared to watch Belgravia through a red-velvet-draped window; the ladies were very much enjoying the show, while awaiting the others for their outing to dinner at Handerton. Outside the window, carriages bore gentlemen toward home for the evening and couples to their engagements. Nannies led children home from late outings and greeted others who were likewise pushing perambulators across the streets. Hearing Emma approach, Helena rose and turned away from London’s happy proceedings.

  Winnie had chosen for Emma the most angelic dress that she had ever worn; it was a sheer, white gown with faceted golden beads across the top, off the shoulders and with billowing sleeves. She looked heavenly, standing before the sun, as she rested against the dark wood newel that was struck by its golden beams. Sadly, she felt all the worse for the distinguishing gown. “Shall I go, Milady, truly, is it worth the fray?”

  Winifred looked up from admiring the embroidery on her newly made gloves, and turned. “I am sorry, my dear, that you have so much to endure on this foray into The Season. Wills and I do wish to make it clear how life will be in Holmeshire Hall for anyone who should care to perch themselves there. Better that it is understood and agreed upon now than trying to change it later with no prior understanding.” She paused and acknowledged Emma’s position. “How can I make it more bearable for you?” It seemed to Emma that her avoiding the visit was going to be out of the question, but she thought she would attempt it just once more.

  “Ma’am, are you sure that we need to press the matter? It is not regular for a servant to come to be a dinner guest at a noble’s home dressed perhaps too beautifully. I fear that my gown may be more exquisite than that of the lady there who should wish to enchant her gentleman! I am most honored to keep you company when you would be lonely in your home, but in society you have others to converse with, and I could be content to wait at home for you and spare you ever so many comments and complaints.”