They were making their way to the hall when she missed Dolly. She found her kneeling down digging in the dirt beside Andrew’s headstone. “Dolly, what on earth are you doing? And where did you get that spoon?”
“I brought it with me, Mama. I want to bury Gamby’s turtledove beside him so he will know I will love him forever.” Dolly had given her grandfather an ornate stick pin with a little turtledove on it to put in his tie one Christmas and he always wore it. When he was murdered, the thieves took all his clothes, but he had the pin clenched in his fist and they didn’t see it. Her grandfather’s lawyer gave it to Dolly before she left Dover.
“But he wanted you to have it.”
“No, Mama! He wanted to keep it forever, and that is why he had it in his hand. I know he wants it, Mama; I just know.”
“Well, you will not be able to bury it deep enough with that little spoon. I think we should have a talk with Mr Grimsby; I am sure he will help you.”
Mr Grimsby was very understanding, and he and Dolly slipped out while the others were enjoying their tea. With the help of a garden spade, they buried Andrew’s pin deep and as close to his gravestone as they could.
Lady Sorenson was very pleased to see how happy Gladys and Dolly appeared, and on her way home, she told Lord Cedric that by the way James Hornsby and Gladys seemed to be getting along, she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a new Mistress at Four Oaks before too long.
Although Cedric was convinced that Gladys had led Andrew on, he didn’t think she deserved to be left penniless, and replied, “Let us hope so, my dear, for both her and her daughter’s sake.” Lady Madeline smiled up at him while patting his leg.
Before they left for home, Gladys learned that Hugh Mason and Priscilla had indeed been married and were in London arranging their passage to America. Surprisingly, she felt no envy and asked Mrs Mason to give them her best wishes. However, when she heard how Peter, his mother, Rose, his sister, Mildred, along with Rose’s new husband, Richard the Duc de Artois, had moved into Oaken Arms, she almost cried out with jealousy. It seemed that Rose had sold the house in town and paid off Richard’s debts after he agreed to marry her.
The thought of those dreadful people living in the house she had helped plan was so upsetting that she couldn’t hide her tears. Fortunately, everyone thought her grief was over the loss of Andrew. Gladys thanked everyone then made her way to James’s coach where the second footman, Rex, was waiting. He gave Gladys a friendly smile as he took her arm to assist her. If she had known the thoughts that were hidden behind his smile, she wouldn’t have returned it.
Rex had been on the staff at Four Oaks for two years, and he doubted James Hornsby would recognize him if they met on the street. Then along came Gladys, and in no time at all, James was treating her like a guest rather than a servant. Even though she had James hire a boy to take over some of his duties, he was still jealous of her.
Rex’s father had been a butler in a grand manor and had hopes his son would work his way up to the same position at Four Oaks. Rex was something of a narcissist, and since he thought he was far handsomer and more personable than John, he believed he deserved to be first footman. He was also a sly fellow and managed to hide his jealousy so well that Gladys was becoming very fond of him.
Molly’s sullenness had always worried Gladys, but whenever she confronted the young girl and asked if she was ill, she was given the same answer, “No, missus, I aren’t sick.” Then, one day, Gladys paid an unexpected visit to the laundry room and passed Rex coming out the door as she was going in. He seemed to be in a hurry and went past her without a greeting. She found Molly in the room, and it was obvious by her red nose and eyes that she had been crying.
“What is the matter, Molly?” Gladys asked, although by the way Rex had avoided making eye contact with her as they passed each other, she had a good idea.
“Nothin’, missus, I just got somethin’ in me eye.”
“Now, Molly, I know that isn’t so. You do not need to be afraid to tell me. It is something to do with Rex, is it not?”
“I needs this job, missus. My da can’t keep me anymore.”
“You won’t lose your job, Molly, I promise. Now tell me what he has been doing to you.”
Molly broke down sobbing, and told Gladys that, “He don’t really do it to me, missus, but he makes me do things to him. Oh, missus, don’t tell, please. I can stand it long as he don’t do it to me and gets me in the fam’ly ways. I’d have to go to the poor house then, and they says it’s like goin’ to hell.”
Gladys assured the poor girl that everything would be taken care of and Rex would not bother her anymore. Molly found out that Gladys kept her promises, and from that time on, she truly believed that the new housekeeper was really an angel sent by God himself to save her.
Rex, on the other hand, believed it wasn’t God who sent Gladys to Four Oaks but the devil himself. As soon as she left Molly in the laundry room, she tracked him down and confronted him. When he denied Molly’s accusations, Gladys threatened to go directly to James and tell him what happened. Rex was aware of James’s feelings toward her and knew that not only would he be sacked but turned over to the authorities as well. He had no choice but to confess and beg forgiveness.
Gladys threatened him, stating that if he gave Molly, or any of her subordinates, a reason for complaint, she would see that he was punished. After he left, she wondered if she had been too lenient and reproached herself for having a weakness for dark handsome men.
Chapter Six
Lady Madeline’s housekeeper had said that she and the butler always took their meals apart from the rest of the staff, so Gladys asked Freda, James’s cook, what the customary procedure was in the Hornsby residence. Freda said the entire staff ate together in the servants’ dining room, just off the kitchen, and that James usually dined in the conservatory.
Gladys thought it might be a good idea to allow the rest of the staff a little privacy while they dined, but decided not to change the routine so soon. After the first week, she knew she had made the right decision. Jenkins’s silent behaviour toward her was far less awkward and annoying when she had others to talk to. She was very pleased with Freda’s cooking. As soon as the staff began to relax in her presence, they chatted away without concern, and mealtimes proved to be an enjoyable break in their busy day.
Dolly also seemed to enjoy the company and listened attentively to every little bit of gossip. Normally a quiet child, she even surprised Gladys when she began sharing some of her memories of her beloved grandfather.
One morning, not long after her conflict with Rex, Gladys was in her office when Jenkins dropped in to say that he had noticed an improvement in the appearance of the female staff. She was pleasantly surprised by his complimentary remark. From then on, their friendship grew, and, before long, they were sharing their various household concerns. Because of his many years of service, Gladys soon learned that she could always rely on Jenkins’s advice.
One day, he mentioned that Rex seemed to have gone through a metamorphosis and his attitude toward his job appeared to be far more positive. Gladys had to bite her tongue to stop from replying that Rex’s metamorphosis was nothing compared to Molly’s. Now that Molly was no longer threatened by the second footman, her personality had changed amazingly. She was seldom seen without a smile on her face, and whenever she and Rex came in sight of each other, it was he who dropped his head.
Jenkins interrupted her thoughts and said, “You seem to have had an amazing effect on all the staff, Mrs Pickwick, and on my footman as well.” Gladys had no idea if he had heard about their confrontation or not, so she just smiled and changed the subject.
James had been in the habit of spending most of his days at his club playing cricket or at one of his offices located in Sandwich, Dover, or London, even though he had plenty of competent employees to look after his interests. Although he had had a great
deal of respect for his wife, he had found her company uninspiring and felt more relaxed amid the hustle and bustle of the shipyards.
Now that Gladys had made such remarkable improvements, both in the appearance and the atmosphere of the manor, he began to enjoy his home for the first time. He even took more interest in his grounds. One day he was walking in the garden and came across a bed of bright yellow daffodils he had never noticed before. When he remarked to Rahmir, the gardener, how pretty they were, he was told that Gladys had planted them shortly after her arrival.
He put his hand on Rahmir’s shoulder and, laughing, said, “My word, she’s even made a difference to the outside.”
Rahmir, whose English was limited, had no idea what his employer was talking about, but thinking it must have been a joke, he politely and whole-heartedly joined in with a very comical mixture of loud “ho ho hos” and squeaky little “hee hees” which caused James to laugh even harder.
Ruby, the groom, happened to be passing by with James’s mount, and he could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw the bearded and turbaned gardener dressed in his overalls and the master in his high collar and ascot laughing so hard that they had to lean against one another to keep from falling over. He had never seen the master laugh before and couldn’t help but stare.
When James caught sight of him, he realized what a spectacle he was making of himself. He stopped laughing and said, “Don’t worry, Ruby, we’ve not gone dotty.” Then he gave Rahmir a friendly pat on the back, and, reminding himself never to laugh in the presence of the gardener again, he added, “Do not bother to walk him, Ruby; you may saddle him instead. It is high time I began riding the fat off him. I shall change my attire and be right with you, and perhaps I shall persuade Mrs Pickwick to join me on her mare. It is a mare, is it not?”
“No, sir. He’s a gelding, sir. And a right fine horse he is, if I do say so. Shall I saddle him too, sir?”
“Well, perhaps I should ask her first. No, no, go ahead and saddle him. I shall insist she join me. It is about time she became familiar with her surroundings.”
Gladys knew that what James admired most about her was her competence. However, he had no idea how much time it took her to run the house efficiently. When he came to her and asked her to go riding, she was busy going over the linen to ensure there was plenty of it ready for the housemaids to use the following day, so she thanked him for asking but said she couldn’t possibly get away at the moment.
After James had left Ruby, he began planning where on his estate he and Gladys should ride first and was looking forward to showing her his grounds; therefore, he was most disappointed with her refusal. He had been happy with everything she had done since she came to live at Four Oaks until now. Because she was one of the hired help, he felt she should feel honoured to receive the invitation, so in a tone of voice that left no doubt he was her master, he said, “I have told Ruby to saddle your horse, so I think you had better leave whatever you are doing and put on your riding habit. I shall meet you at the barn in twenty minutes.” Then, without waiting for a reply, he abruptly turned and left.
Gladys had no choice but to obey, but she had plenty to say about it under her breath. At first, she thought about putting on the pair of men’s riding britches that had shocked Tom, but she feared she might lose her job if she did. Ten minutes later, she arrived at the barn properly clad, except she wore a ribbon in her hair instead of a hat. Ruby had Tig saddled, and he helped her to mount, but the horse hadn’t been ridden for quite a time and was so anxious to run that he had trouble standing still. Unfortunately, James arrived as he was prancing about and snorting.
“Are you certain you can handle him?” he said, not meaning the words to sound as sardonic as they did.
“I think so, sir.” Gladys answered with a tone of false timidity.
“Well, we shall go at a slow pace, and if you have any trouble, I shall take hold of the reins and lead you.”
“Thank you, sir,” she replied again with a diffident tone. When Ruby brought James’s horse out of the stable he was just as frisky as Tig, because he hadn’t been ridden for a time either.
Gladys was delighted and couldn’t resist saying, “Are you certain you can handle him, sir?”
At first James’s emotions teetered on anger, but then he grasped the humour in her remark and took the jibe good-naturedly. “Touché!” he said with a grin. “Shall we give them their heads?”
It took more than a few hours for them to ride from one end of the estate to the other. They stopped to admire the scenery and watch a family of deer grazing in a field.
As they were about to leave a grove of trees and come out beside a small lake, they spotted a man sitting on the bank with a fishing rod. James motioned for Gladys to stop. Then he helped her down. “That’s old Lockhart,” he whispered. “He has been fishing here for years and thinks I don’t know. He professes to have a bad leg and walks about town with a limp, but watch this.”
Stepping out from the cover of the trees he shouted, “You there, what do you think you are doing? This is private property!”
The “you there” was all it took. Lockhart didn’t wait to hear more. He was up and running like a young boy, across the field and over the fence, before they could mount their horses. As they rode to where the old man had been fishing, James said, “Ah, we shall have a nice feast of trout for dinner tonight. Old Lockhart is the best fisherman around here, and he has left his catch behind.”
“But why don’t you stop him?”
“Oh, I could if I wanted to, but there’s plenty of fish in the lake, and besides, I have heard tell he has made it known among the local poachers that I have granted him sole permission to fish here. He has even gone so far as to say that I have ordered him to report anyone else who drops a line in the water. By letting him think he is outsmarting me, I only have to contend with one thief.”
As they were riding home, James mentioned how much he enjoyed her company and suggested they ride more often. Gladys decided there was nothing to do but tell the truth, so she explained that she would not be able to keep the house running efficiently and take so much time off. James merely nodded and they kept riding. Gladys had no idea whether he thought she was complaining or just being honest, and she was about to add an apology when he inquired, “Are the three girls I hired not adequate?”
“Oh yes, sir, very much so. And once I have them completely trained, I shall have much more time to myself. I am sorry if I sounded unappreciative. I had a wonderful time, and I would love to go again. I promise that I shall not say no the next time you ask me.”
“And I shall be more considerate with my requests,” he answered. Then he surprised her and added, “I suppose if you hadn’t been such a good friend of Keith’s, I would think of you only as a housekeeper and not a friend.”
“It would be wonderful if I could be both, sir, but I suppose that wouldn’t be proper.”
“What is proper is not always what is right. Damned if I can see why we shan’t be both. We do have a lot in common. We both enjoy music and riding, and since we live in the same house, why should we not enjoy them together?”
“I am looking forward to playing the piano again,” she replied. “I am so thankful that I was Keith’s friend, or you might not have hired me.”
“That is probably true. I certainly had no intention of hiring a woman with a child. Speaking of your daughter, I think it is about time I showed her my library. Would you ask her to come and see me there, say around two o’clock tomorrow?”
Dolly was astonished when she saw the number of books James had. “I did not know anyone ever owned this many books. Have you read all of them, sir?” she asked.
“About three quarters of them. You see, many belonged to my father and some of the writers he admired are not to my liking. Do you have a favourite author or a favourite story?”
“When I was l
ittle, I liked Mother Goose stories the best.”
“Ah yes, John Newbery’s. I think Horace had a few of his books, including the alphabet book. But now that you are a little older, which one is your favourite?
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is my very, very most favourite.”
“Do you know who the author is?”
“I do not remember his last name, but his first name is Samuel. I remembered that because Gamby’s farrier had a big orange cat named Samuel.”
“Well the last name of the Samuel who wrote The Ancient Mariner is Coleridge. I think it is important to remember the names of authors as well as the stories they write. Do you agree?”
Dolly nodded.
“But that is a very forbidding story for such a young girl. Why did you choose it?”
“It was one of my father’s books and Gamby had read it to him when he was little, so I thought it would be like he was there with us when Gamby read it to me. Does that sound silly?”
“No, Dolly. It sounds very profound. Did your grandfather read it to you?”
“Oh, yes. He read me ten verses every night. He was a very good reader. When he read about the sea, I thought I could taste the salt on my lips and feel the wind on my face. He could make everything sound so real.” Dolly looked down at the floor and James could hardly hear her when she whispered, “He never came home to read the last ten verses.”
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