The Country Bride

by Dilly Court

  THE COUNTRY BRIDE

  Dilly Court

  Copyright

  Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2020

  Copyright © Dilly Court 2020

  Map Copyright © Liane Payne 2019

  Jacket Photographs: © Gordon Crabb/Alison Eldred (Girl); Claire Ward (building); Shutterstock.com (all other images)

  Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020

  Dilly Court asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

  Source ISBN: 9780008287832

  Ebook Edition © March 2020 ISBN: 9780008287849

  Version: 2020-04-15

  Dedication

  For Ann Spivey

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Map

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Read on for a sneak peek at Dilly’s next book, Rag-and-Bone Christmas

  Keep Reading …

  About the Author

  Also by Dilly Court

  About the Publisher

  Map

  Chapter One

  Creek Manor, Essex 1879

  The old house seemed to have been awakened from a long sleep by the sound of children’s laughter and the pitter-patter of scampering feet. Judy glanced anxiously at Mary Tattersall, who looked pale and tired as she sank down on the sofa, while the new parlour maid cleared up the debris left by Daisy Walters’ boisterous young sons.

  ‘Would you like me to make you a camomile tisane, Mrs Tattersall?’ Judy asked gently.

  Mary gave her a wan smile. ‘No, thank you, Judy. I love Daisy’s children, but they are exhausting. I’m always delighted to see them when she brings them over from Colneyhurst Hall, but it’s a relief when she takes them home again.’

  ‘They are very lively,’ Judy conceded, smiling.

  ‘To think that they might have been my grandchildren.’ Mary sighed and turned her head away. ‘Jay not only cheated on Daisy and that other woman he married bigamously, he deceived me, his own mother, and that I find very hard to forgive.’

  ‘Thank you, Lizzie.’ Judy nodded to the maid, who had stacked a tray with the dirty crockery, half-eaten slices of bread and butter, and cake crumbs. ‘That will be all for now.’

  ‘Yes, Miss Begg.’ Lizzie backed out of the door, narrowly missing collision with a young woman who rushed into the room, blonde curls falling loose to her shoulders, and her bonnet hanging over her arm.

  ‘What have you forgotten, Molly?’ Judy asked with a sigh. Her seventeen-year-old sister carried out her duties as nursemaid to Daisy Walters’ children in a haphazard style all of her own. Scatterbrained and disorganised, Molly was disarmingly good-natured and extremely pretty – qualities that were guaranteed to make everyone forget her failings.

  ‘I’m so sorry,’ Molly said breathlessly. ‘I forgot Master Henry’s jacket.’ She gazed round the room and her blue eyes lit up as she spotted the missing garment. ‘There it is.’ She pounced on it. ‘I’d better hurry. They’re waiting for me.’ She left the room with a flurry of starched white petticoats.

  ‘That girl gives me a headache,’ Mary said feebly. ‘She’s exhausting.’

  ‘She means well, ma’am.’ Judy caught sight of herself in one of the gilt-framed mirrors that adorned the walls of the drawing room. The likeness between herself and her sister was striking, but Molly was the flighty one, who could get away with anything. Judy had always been the serious, responsible older sister. She raised her hand to smooth a stray curl that had dared to escape from the chignon at the back of her neck. ‘I sometimes wish I was more like her.’

  ‘You’re fine as you are, my dear.’ Mary fidgeted restlessly. ‘I’m not very comfortable.’

  Judy plumped up the cushions, and Mary leaned back, closing her eyes. ‘Where’s your mother, Judy?’

  ‘She’s in the study, ma’am. It’s the end of the quarter and she’s getting the household accounts ready for me to check before they go to Mrs Ralston.’

  ‘I don’t know what I’d do without her, or you, come to that, Judy. I’ve no head for figures and when Mrs Ralston finally retires, you will take over her position as housekeeper. That is, if you still wish to do so?’

  Judy hesitated. To agree to such an offer at the age of twenty seemed like condemning herself to early middle age, but what alternative was there for a woman like herself? She could remember what life had been like in London when she was a small child. The smell of poverty, and the gnawing pangs of hunger were something she would never forget. Life had been so much better since Daisy, having witnessed the terrible street accident that had killed their father and crippled their mother, had brought Judy’s small family to live at Creek Manor. They had nothing to complain about, although sometimes Judy found herself wondering what life would be like now if she returned to London. She had broadened her very basic education by reading as many of the books from the late squire’s library as she could, and she had had the added bonus of sharing lessons with Mary’s youngest son, Jack, who had been a somewhat unwilling student. They had been close friends since childhood, although she had seen little of him since he went away to the school that educated the sons of gentlemen and the ambitious middle classes. But that friendship had changed subtly last summer, and Jack’s return to university had left Judy feeling bereft. She had been counting the days until his return. She came back to the present with a start, and realised that Mrs Tattersall was staring at her with a puzzled frown.

  ‘You do want to stay on here, don’t you, Judy?’

  ‘Yes, of course, ma’am. This is my home and my family are here in Little Creek.’

  ‘The position of housekeeper is a worthy occupation,’ Mary insisted wearily. ‘You could do a lot worse, and Ida Ralston is an excellent example.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Judy shifted from one foot to the other. They owed everything to the Tattersall family, but sometimes she longe
d to be free. There was a whole wide world out there, although her choices were limited, and she would either opt for a life in service, or marriage to one of the village boys she had known from childhood. Jack’s friends Danny Shipway and Alfie Green both vied for her attention on Sundays when everyone attended morning service, but she could never take them seriously. ‘If that’s all, ma’am, I’ll go and check on the arrangements for Master Jack’s return from university.’

  Mary’s face lit up with a smile. ‘I can’t wait to see him. I could never have imagined that my little Jackdaw would do me proud, and it’s all thanks to Daisy’s husband. I can never thank Marius enough for everything he’s done for my son. Jack was born into poverty, but now he’s a gentleman.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Judy had heard it all before, but she tried to look as if this was a revelation. ‘May I be excused now, Mrs Tattersall?’

  Mary raised herself to a more upright position. ‘Not yet, Judy. I want a word with you before my son arrives. Sit down, please.’

  Judy eyed her warily as she perched on the edge of a chair opposite the sofa. ‘Have I done something wrong, ma’am?’

  ‘No, of course not, my dear. It’s just that things have changed since we first moved into Creek Manor. You were just a child then and we were all like one big family.’

  ‘I’m sure we’re very grateful for everything, ma’am.’

  ‘I’m not asking for gratitude, Judy. But I’m neither blind nor insensitive. I know that you and Jack were always good companions, and I suspect that your friendship deepened into something more when he came home last summer.’

  Judy felt the blood rush to her cheeks and she stared down at her clasped hands. ‘Nothing untoward has ever occurred between us, madam.’

  ‘I’m sure it hasn’t, which is why I wanted to speak to you now. Jack will have to take over running the estate, because it’s become too much for me, even with all the help I have had. Legally it all belongs to Jay, but I haven’t heard from him since he left this house ten years ago, and I doubt if he’ll ever return from Australia, so that means that to all intents and purposes Jack will be lord of the manor.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’

  ‘Do you understand what I’m saying, Judy?’

  ‘Not exactly, ma’am.’

  ‘This isn’t easy because you’re a sweet girl, and I’m fond of you, but Jack needs to marry a woman of good breeding, preferably someone with a decent dowry. The estate makes very little profit and the old house needs a good deal of renovation. Do I make myself clear?’

  Judy bowed her head. Of course she knew all this to be true, and she should have been prepared for Mary’s blunt statement of the facts, but facing the truth had hit her like a physical blow. ‘I understand, ma’am.’

  ‘I knew you would. Don’t think this makes any difference to your position here, Judy. I value you more than you can imagine.’

  Judy rose to her feet. ‘I have work to do, if you’ll excuse me, Mrs Tattersall.’

  ‘Of course. What am I thinking of?’ Mary sighed happily. ‘I’ll just rest my eyes for a few minutes before I go upstairs and change for dinner. We have to keep up the traditions of Creek Manor, after all, and with luck Jack will arrive soon.’

  Judy left the room quietly. She had known all along that her position was tenuous, and her relationship with Jack was doomed from the start, but hearing it put into words had been the final blow. She stood for a moment, and took a deep breath before making her way to the study. One thing was certain: no one would ever know how deeply she had been hurt, although it was her own fault. She had allowed herself to dream, and that was fatal for a girl born in the East End slums.

  She found her mother in the study, as expected, poring over an open ledger.

  ‘Are you still at it, Ma?’ Judy forced herself to sound normal, although her heart was still thudding away against her ribs and her knees felt weak.

  ‘Nearly finished, dear. Has Daisy gone home?’

  ‘Yes, and I’m not sorry. I love Daisy, but those boys of hers are tiny terrors. They’ve practically wrecked the drawing room and poor Mrs Tattersall is worn out.’ Judy managed somehow to sound normal, knowing that her mother would spot the slightest tremor in her voice or a fleeting look of sadness.

  ‘They’re full of life, and Daisy adores them. I always knew she would be a good mother.’

  ‘Yes, but she has Nanny Cummings and Molly to look after the children. I had to take care of Molly, Pip and Nate when we were little because you and Pa had to go to work. I was left in charge when I was just a child, and it was hard.’

  Hilda closed the ledger and turned to give her daughter a sympathetic smile. ‘I know, dear. But things are different now. One day you’ll have children of your own and you will give them a better life than we gave you.’

  ‘I didn’t mean that,’ Daisy said hastily. ‘It’s just that Mrs Tattersall is convinced that I’m going to take over from Mrs Ralston when she retires. I’m young, Ma. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life waiting on other people.’

  ‘You’re an extremely pretty girl, love. With your looks and charm you won’t end up on the shelf.’ Hilda put her head on one side, smiling. ‘Danny and Alfie are always making excuses to see you, and that new young curate went out of his way to speak to you last Sunday. If he decides to stay in Little Creek I’ve no doubt he’ll take over from Mr Peabody one day, and you could be the vicar’s wife.’

  The idea of taking over from Grace Peabody, who thought she was queen of Little Creek, made Judy smile. ‘Thank you, Ma, but I don’t think so.’

  Hilda rose awkwardly to her feet. Although she managed well with the wooden leg, crafted for her by the village carpenter, the stump left after the amputation became inflamed if she put too much pressure on it, forcing her to rest.

  ‘Don’t look so worried, Judy. I did too much gardening yesterday and I’m paying for it today, but it will wear off.’

  ‘You ought not to work so hard, Ma.’ Judy knew only too well that her mother did not want sympathy, but sometimes it was necessary to remind her that she should take care of herself. Hilda Begg was a hard worker by anyone’s standards, and the small cottage that Daisy had given them when she had run the estate was kept spotlessly clean. The garden produced enough fruit and vegetables to keep them going all year round, even allowing for the huge appetites that Pip and Nate brought home from the stables, where they were now employed. Jack had also worked there for a time, but that was before it was known that Mary’s illegitimate elder son, Jay Tattersall, had married Daisy bigamously. Judy had only been ten at the time, but she remembered the hurt it had caused and the ensuing scandal, which had rocked the village. All these ghosts from the past had been resurrected by Mary’s blunt words, and the names and faces whirled around in Judy’s mind, shattering her hopes and dreams.

  ‘Are you all right, dear?’ Hilda asked anxiously. ‘You’re very pale.’

  The sound of horses’ hoofs and the grinding of carriage wheels on the gravel brought Judy abruptly back to the present.

  ‘I’m fine, Ma.’

  ‘That sounds as if Jack has come home. You’d better go and see if he needs anything, Judy.’

  ‘Yes, Ma.’ Judy made an effort to walk slowly, but her feet did not seem to be linked to her brain and she ran to the front entrance.

  Jack Fox leaped down from the carriage, exchanging a cheerful greeting with James, the footman, who had been with the family for as long as Judy could remember. She stood at the top of the stone steps, smiling despite the pain in her heart.

  ‘Judy, you’re looking well.’ Jack was at her side before she had a chance to back into the shadows of the great hall, and he was even taller and better-looking than when she had seen him in the summer. Was it her imagination or did his blue eyes dance with pleasure when he looked at her? Was he even more handsome than the pictures she carried of him in her heart? She lowered her gaze.

  ‘Welcome home, sir.’

  ‘Since when did
you become so proper, Judy Begg?’

  She met his amused gaze with a determined look. ‘We aren’t children now. You’re the master of Creek Manor and I’m one of your servants.’

  ‘That’s nonsense and you know it. Nothing’s changed, Judy. We’re both older, and I hope a bit wiser than we used to be, but we’re more than just good friends. I intend to marry you one day, but not yet.’ Jack moved to one side as James came puffing up the steps carrying heavy luggage.

  ‘You’re wrong, Jack,’ Judy said in a low voice. ‘We can never be married.’

  ‘Why not?’ Jack caught her by the wrist as she was about to walk away. ‘What’s this all about?’

  She gazed down at his slim fingers as they circled her slender arm like a band of steel. ‘Let me go, please.’

  ‘For heaven’s sake!’ Jack released her with an exclamation of annoyance. ‘What sort of welcome home is this?’

  ‘Your mother is coming.’ The conversation with Mary was still fresh in her mind, and Judy prepared for flight.

  ‘Thank you, Judy,’ Mary said firmly. ‘I hope you paid attention to what I said earlier.’

  ‘Yes, ma’am.’ Judy bobbed a curtsey and hurried off in the direction of the servants’ quarters. She could hear Jack demanding an explanation, but she knew in her heart that his mother was right. A girl from her background could never aspire to mixing with the gentry, and although Jack had not been born to the position, in his brother’s absence he would inherit the manor house and the estate together with all the responsibilities. Judy remembered only too well the struggle it had been for Daisy when Jay disappeared on their wedding day, and had left her to drag the estate back into profit after years of neglect by the old squire. There had been enough heartache and unhappiness in this house, and Judy was determined to avoid being caught up in the curse of Creek Manor.

  She made her way to the kitchen to give Cook the good news that Master Jack had returned and there would be one more for dinner that evening. Nell Pearce had been Judy’s friend since she was a child, and Nell had taught her how to make bread, cakes and tarts, as well as the basics of roasting meat and making savoury stews. The delicious aroma of cooking and the warmth from the great range had always made the kitchen a welcoming place. Nell was always patient, even when Judy had burned the meat pies, or when she had put salt in the gooseberry tart instead of sugar.