by Vikki Vaught
Helen breathed a sigh of relief as she gave Matthew a gentle smile. “Thank you, Matthew. I was very apprehensive, because I do feel as if we’re strangers. I would like it very much if we could get to know each other better before…we…are intimate. I didn’t sleep well last night because I was so worried. I had already planned to ask you if we could wait, but I didn’t know how to approach you about it.”
“Helen, we have the rest of our lives to be together. A few weeks shan’t be hard, and if it means you’ll be more comfortable, I’m more than willing to wait.”
Helen felt as if a thousand pounds had been lifted from her shoulders. “Your thoughtfulness means the world to me. It shows me that my feelings about you are right and true. How many hours will we travel today? I’d like to talk, but to be honest with you, I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. Would you mind terribly if I took a short nap?”
“We’ll travel until sunset, and then we’ll stop for the night. It will take us several days to get to Collingswood Hall. I’m sure you’ve been very busy planning our wedding, so please rest. I didn’t sleep well myself, so I think I’ll rest also.”
Chapter 7
Early July 1820
Helen and Matthew both slept for several hours. When they arrived at the coaching inn where they would spend the night, Matthew told her he’d reserved a suite with adjoining rooms. She went upstairs, and Sally helped her freshen up. Then she went to the private parlor where they would have dinner. The food was delicious, and she was ravenous since the only thing she had eaten that day was a few bites of wedding cake. Now that she didn’t have to worry about the wedding night, she was able to relax and enjoy the meal.
Matthew appeared to be more relaxed also and told her several amusing stories about his scapegrace of a brother, Gregory. “As I told you earlier, Gregory’s eighteen, and he’s not a very good student. He’s been sent down from school several times, but, so far, I’ve managed to keep him from being expelled. When he gets with his friends and they go carousing, that’s when he really gets into trouble. Then I have to go bail him out.”
“Goodness, I’m sure that’s been worrisome for you.”
Matthew sighed. “I do worry about him quite a bit. My father was ready to wash his hands of him right before he died. That’s the reason he made me promise to marry again and have an heir right away, since he didn’t want Gregory to inherit. He’d make a terrible earl and would bankrupt the earldom quickly with all his gambling. He’s always overspending his allowance.”
“I’ve never known anyone who gambled excessively. I’m sure it must concern you terribly. I hope he’ll grow out of this phase as he matures.”
“It’s difficult to understand why Gregory is so fascinated by gambling. For myself, it never has really interested me. I’ll play a few hands of cards with some of my friends, but I’m very careful that I don’t lose more than I can spare.”
“Well, I’m certainly glad you don’t enjoy gambling. Tell me about your sister, Margaret. What’s she like?”
“Margaret’s sixteen and turning into a real beauty. She’ll be seventeen this fall. I’ll have my hands full when she has her come out next year. I hope you’ll be willing to help her learn how to navigate through the ton. Margaret is somewhat of a hoyden. My father spoiled her, so she can be a hand full. So far, she hasn’t gotten into trouble at school, and she says she enjoys being with all the other girls. Did you go away to school when you were her age?”
With a sigh, Helen said, “My parents felt we didn’t need to go to school, so Kathryn and I had a governess, Miss Tillman, and she was wonderful. You met my mother, she isn’t very affectionate and left us alone most of the time. Miss Tillman was a wonderful teacher, and Kathryn and I were sorry to see her go when we no longer needed her. I’ve kept in contact with her ever since she left. In fact, she has just become a teacher at Mrs. Manning’s School for Young Ladies. Wait a minute…isn’t that the school where your sister goes?”
“That is indeed the school she goes to. Isn’t that a coincidence! Maybe she has your Miss Tillman as an instructor. I’ll have to ask her in the next letter that I write to her. I’m hoping, as she matures over the next couple of years, she’ll calm down and start acting more like a lady. Well, it’s been a long day, so let’s go up to bed. Separate beds of course…just as I promised. You don’t need to worry.”
It took them four days to get to Devonshire. While they were traveling they talked quite a bit, and it helped them get to know each other better. Helen was feeling much better about her marriage by the time they arrived at Collingswood Hall. It was a sprawling old Manor house with two large wings. The architecture was slightly different than the main building, so she imagined they were added at different times. She noticed that the windows appeared to be dirty. The front lawn was freshly cut, but the landscaping was sparse. The house did overlook the sea, and it truly was an amazing sight. It was so beautiful, it took her breath away. Now that she’d seen it, she had a better understanding of why Matthew loved the sea so much.
Once the carriage stopped, the door opened, and a tall older man came out. “Welcome home, my lord. I’ve had the countess’s bedchamber aired out as you requested. My lord, we have a slight problem. The nurse has left us, so your daughters have been acting up and getting into all kinds of mischief. I’m sorry, but several more of the staff have also resigned, and several more are threatening to quit if your daughters can’t be controlled.”
Matthew looked over at Helen with an exasperated look on the face. “I believe I mentioned to you that my daughters were a bit of a handful. Helen, this is Wells, the butler, and he’s been with my family for as long as I can remember. If you need anything, he’ll be happy to help you.” Matthew looked over at his butler and asked, “Wells, where are my daughters at the moment? I want to introduce them to the countess, their new mother.”
Wells answered with a bit of testiness in his voice. “My lord, they were in the nursery with Mary, but she was having a difficult time keeping them there. Hopefully she has been able to keep them out of anymore mischief.”
“Helen, I’ll take you to your rooms, and after you have freshened up, I’ll introduce you to my daughters.” Matthew smiled as he placed her hand in the crook of his arm, and led her up the steps.
When they went inside, she noticed it was very dark and not very appealing. The table by the door was covered with dust. She wondered where the housekeeper was, because normally she should have been waiting for them when they arrived, so she could show her to her rooms. At least, it had always been done that way at her home.
Matthew led her upstairs, and they entered her bedchamber. It was dark as well. The closed heavy, faded blue drapes at the window didn’t allow any sunlight into the room. In fact, the whole room was dismal. It did look as if someone had made an attempt to clean it up, however the room still smelled damp. The counterpane on the bed looked as though it may have been royal blue at one time. It had heavy dark furniture, which wasn’t very feminine looking at all. This would be the first room she redecorated. She would end up melancholy in a room like this.
Matthew looked over to her and said, “This room hasn’t been used since my mother died sixteen years ago. So please, feel free to redecorate it anyway that would please you. There’s also a sitting room and a dressing room attached. My room is on the other side of the sitting room. I’ll be back to get you once I’ve located my daughters. So, please excuse me while I go make sure they’re in the nursery.”
After he left the room, Helen looked around and wanted to cry. The parts of the house she had seen so far were in a terrible state of disrepair. Helen wondered why it was in such bad shape, and she again wondered where the housekeeper was.
There was a knock on the door, and Sally entered. “Oh, my lady, I’ll get this room cleaned up right away, and I’ll put all your things away immediately. I’ve asked for water to be sent up, so hopefully that will be here soon. I had a hard time finding anyone to help m
e. There doesn’t seem to be much staff here.”
“I appreciate your help. I know this is going to be quite a bit of work for you, with everything so disorganized. Can we find one of my day dresses so I can change? Lord Collingswood will be back here shortly. He’s going to introduce me to his daughters. Evidently, they tend to disappear quite often.” Helen sighed in disillusionment.
There was another knock on the door, and a young girl, who appeared to be about twelve years old, entered carrying a pitcher of water. Helen smiled invitingly at the young girl and said, “Thank you for bringing the water. Please, what is your name and position in this house?”
The young girl hesitantly replied, “Me name’s Dottie, milady, and I’m th’ upstairs maid. Course, since some o’ th’ rest o’ th’ staff quit, I’ve been helpin’ out downstairs too. Please let me know if there’s anythin’ else ye’ll be wantin’, and I’ll be gettin’ it fer ye.”
Helen was enthralled by the quaint way Dottie spoke. “That’s all right for now, but I’ll let you know if I need anything else. Well, it certainly sounds as if you have quite a bit of work to do, so I’ll let you get back to it. Thank you again for your help. I’m sure we’ll have additional help in the very near future.”
Sally had located Helen’s deep blue day dress, and she quickly changed after she had washed away her travel dirt. Then she sat down at the dressing table and brushed her hair. She hoped Matthew was able to locate his daughters. It certainly sounded as if the little girls were mischief-makers.
Matthew returned looking exasperated. “I’ve found my daughters. Please come with me to the nursery so I can introduce you to them.”
Matthew offered her his arm, and he led her upstairs. When she walked into the nursery, she saw another poorly kept room. The windows were dirty, which made the room dark and dreary. Changing this room would be a top priority, because children needed to be in cheerful surroundings.
Then Helen saw his daughters and my goodness—they were identical twins. They had long, dark brown hair that needed to be brushed, big, chocolate brown eyes and pink cheeks, but there was dirt on their button noses. They were dressed alike in pale blue dresses with what was supposed to be white pinafores. Their stockings were torn, dirty, and falling down around their ankles.
Matthew turned to her with a grimace on his face. “Sorry, they were playing outside in the garden when I found them, so I didn’t have a chance to get them cleaned up. Let me introduce you to Christina and Catherine. Girls, come over here and meet your new mother. I’m sure you’ll get along splendidly.”
Helen looked at the girls and wondered how in the world she would ever tell them apart. They were looking at her as if she were some bitter medicine that they had to swallow. She knelt down so she could be eye level with them. “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you. Can you help me? Since you both look exactly alike, I need your help. Which of you is Christina?”
The girls looked at her and pointed to each other and shouted together, “She’s Christina!”
Matthew got another exasperated look on his handsome face as he turned to his daughters. “Girls, that’s not very nice!” He looked at Helen with trepidation in his eyes as he continued, “I know they’re hard to tell apart. I guess it doesn’t help that they’re dressed alike. Christina has a small birthmark on her hand.” He looked at the little girl on the right. “Christina, show Helen your hand.” With a belligerent look on her cute little face, Christina shook her head defiantly. “Christina, come here now and show Helen your hand.”
As they ran across the room, they shouted in unison, “We don’t want a mother. We can take care of ourselves. All we need is each other. We don’t need a nurse or anybody!”
Oh dear, what was she going to do?
It was very apparent that these little girls hadn’t been taught any manners. She was at a loss for words.
What could she say to them to try to earn their trust?
It appeared that Matthew had no control over them at all.
A young girl entered the room and said, “Milady, I’m Mary, and I’ve been tryin’ to watch these little ladies, but they keep runnin’ off. I’ll get ‘em cleaned up right away.” She took each of the girls by the hand and led them out of the nursery.
With a strained look on his handsome face, Matthew said, “Well, that went well. I’m sure that once they get to know you they’ll warm up to you. Unfortunately, I’ve had a difficult time keeping a nurse, so they’re a little unmanageable, but they’re basically sweet little girls. I’ve had Wells lay tea out in the drawing room, so let’s go downstairs.”
When the tea tray was brought to them, she noticed that the cups were chipped, and the tea service was tarnished. The sandwiches were made with stale bread, and the biscuits were hard. As she poured their tea, she looked at Matthew. “I’d like to meet the housekeeper and the rest of the staff. I feel it’s important that I meet with them so I can begin to know their names. I hope that’s all right with you. I assume that you’ll want me to take over running your household.”
Matthew nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes, please take over. Unfortunately, I don’t have a housekeeper. She quit shortly after I left, and I haven’t had time to find a replacement yet. Normally, there are two upstairs maids and two down, and then there’s Cook in the kitchen, and she has two helpers. But, Wells told me we lost the two downstairs maids yesterday. Mary’s supposed to be one of the upstairs maids, and Dottie is the other one. I can introduce you to Cook and her helpers, if you’d like. Presently, we don’t have any footmen because they left last week.”
Helen looked directly into Matthew’s eyes, a bit put out by all this new information. “Matthew, why do you have so much trouble keeping help? Is there something you should be telling me?”
With an abashed expression, Matthew replied, “The girls tend to pull pranks on the maids. Just harmless things, but they end up quitting anyway. From what Wells told me, the footmen left to try their fortune in Plymouth. I know this looks bad, but I promise we’ll find new help soon. I’m sure you’ll do wonders with Christina and Catherine, and once you have them behaving we won’t lose any more staff. I’ll contact the agency in Plymouth tomorrow, and we should have a full staff by next week. Surely we can manage until then. Let me take you to the kitchen, and I’ll introduce you to Cook. She’s been here since I was a young child.”
Cook was a pleasant looking woman, but it was evident that she felt overworked. The two kitchen helpers, Suzie and Sarah, looked about thirteen years old. Helen smiled as she said, “It’s nice to meet all of you. Cook, I would like to meet with you in the morning, immediately following breakfast, so we can discuss some changes to the menu. I’m sure it’s been difficult without a housekeeper. We should be able to hire one by next week. I’d appreciate your help between now and then.”
Cook rushed over to Helen and curtsied. “O’ course, milady. I’ll be happy t’ help ye. I’ve been tryin’ t’ keep ever’thin’ t’gether, but it be hard, what with no housekeeper, then th’ maids quittin’, and all.”
Helen said in a firm voice, “Well, we’ll work together to get everything back in order. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Helen asked Matthew to give her a tour of the house. He showed her the library, which had floor-to-ceiling bookcases lining the walls, but everything was so dusty she couldn’t even see the titles of the books, and the books didn’t seem to be in order either. There was a ballroom, a music room, and his study on the first floor, along with the two drawing rooms and a morning room. All the rooms were in need of a good cleaning and were very out of date, so she would definitely want to redecorate them also.
Matthew showed her all the bedrooms on the second floor, and there were six of them, plus the family apartments. The bedrooms would also need to be redecorated. The third floor was where the nursery was located, and there were more bedrooms on that floor as well. Then there was the attic where the servants slept.
Helen would definitely have plent
y of work to do, trying to get this house in order. Of course, this was what she’d been trained for, and she looked forward to the challenge. Matthew told her to redecorate wherever she saw a need and to not worry about the cost.
“Matthew, I noticed most of the house looks as if it hasn’t been updated in twenty years. Didn’t your wife do any decorating while she was alive?”
Matthew adjusted his neck cloth, looking as if he were suffocating. “Belinda…was delicate. My father arranged my marriage when I was one and twenty, and she was only seventeen…Belinda became pregnant right after we were married. The doctor confined her to her bed for most of her pregnancy, so she never had a chance to do any decorating.”
“That explains why she didn’t do any decorating, but the house doesn’t look as if it’s been touched in many years.”
“My mother was the last person to decorate the house, and that was well over seventeen years ago. My father was very frugal and didn’t see the need, so he never changed anything. When he died last year, the estate was a bit run down, and I’ve been focused on getting it taken care of first, before I worried about the inside of the house.”
Helen nodded. “I can understand that had to be a priority for you.”
“Now you can see why I wanted a wife so badly. I guess I should have been more forthcoming about what you would be facing, but I didn’t want to scare you off.”
“I can understand why you needed a wife, but you could have at least prepared me on our trip here so it wouldn’t have been so shocking, Matthew. Have you been able to get the estate turned around?”
Matthew answered as he nodded his head. “Yes, the home farm and the tenant farms are now producing nicely. The income is more than enough to give us a comfortable living, and now with your dowry things can really change around here. I don’t want you to think that I even considered your dowry when I asked you to marry me, but it will be helpful and will allow us to have a few luxuries that I might not have been able to supply without it.”