The Bluebell Castle Collection

by Sarah Bennett

  Not by so much as a shift of his eyebrow did the butler show any hint of surprise at finding the master of the house creeping around barefoot with his shoes in one hand. ‘Good morning, Sir Arthur.’

  There was nothing to do but brazen it out. ‘Good morning, Maxwell. You’re up and about early.’

  ‘I’m bringing Miss Morgana her tray.’

  As he did every morning at 6 a.m., Arthur recalled about five minutes too late to be useful. ‘Yes of course. I woke a bit early, so thought I’d take the dogs out for a walk. Lots to do today.’

  ‘Very good, Sir Arthur.’ The butler inclined his head before turning left towards the family quarters which was most definitely not the direction Arthur had just come from.

  So much for protecting Lucie’s privacy. With no other option, he headed down stairs pausing at the bottom to put on his shoes. With a whistle to the dogs, he grabbed his coat from the cloakroom and trudged out into the still-dark morning. A fine misty drizzle began to settle on his head the moment he cleared the front door. Stuffing his hands deep in his pockets, he set off across the gravel knowing if it weren’t for his foolish attempt to do the right thing, he could still be snuggled up in bed with the woman he was coming to adore.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Dressed in her most comfortable leggings and a denim shirt over a long-sleeved pink T-shirt, Lucie flexed her ankle against the restriction of the knee-length riding boots Iggy had lent her, trying to get used to the stiff leather. A couple more rotations of her foot and the boot settled more comfortably. A footstep echoed against the stone flags of the great hall and she turned, expecting to see Iggy, who’d run upstairs to fetch her gilet. Instead, Lucie found herself swept into the cloakroom by a pair of strong arms and before she knew it Arthur was crushing her against him as he planted a kiss firmly on her mouth.

  ‘Good morning,’ he said when they finally came up for air. ‘I’m sorry I left you to wake up alone.’

  Lucie slipped her arms around his waist, her mood improving 100 per cent. Though he’d sent her a very sweet text, when he hadn’t appeared at breakfast a little bit of doubt had started gnawing at her. ‘It’s all right. I appreciated your discretion.’

  ‘For all the good it did me. Maxwell caught me fair and square tiptoeing along the landing.’

  She bit her lip, trying not to laugh at the image of the very proper butler catching Arthur in the act. ‘Oh, dear.’

  ‘Indeed.’

  He snuggled her closer against him, his lips finding the spot where her shoulder met her neck sending heat flashing through her. ‘Arthur.’

  ‘Don’t say my name like that, or I’ll have to drag you back upstairs again,’ he murmured against her ear.

  ‘Well, behave yourself then,’ she admonished, winding her arms around his neck in a way that told him she wanted him to do anything but behave.

  They were still kissing when the sound of boots clattering across the stone floor of the hall was followed by Iggy’s voice talking affection nonsense to the dogs. ‘Oh, hell.’ Lucie tried to wriggle free, but Arthur wouldn’t let her go until he’d planted another kiss on her mouth. Grabbing the nearest gilet she could lay her hands on, Lucie all but stumbled out of the boot room. ‘Hi Iggy.’

  Iggy stopped short, her gaze on the thick hank of hair which had fallen over Lucie’s eye. ‘Oh, there you are. Are you ready?’

  ‘Yes, I think so.’ Apart from the embarrassment she was sure was making her glow like a sunset at almost getting caught by Iggy twice in the past twenty-four hours. A low chuckle came from behind her in the boot room and Lucie quickly thumped her way across to the front door, hoping to cover the sound. ‘Let me just sort this out, and I’m all set. She freed her plait from the band holding it together and quickly rewove it as Iggy continued to watch her. ‘It gets very slippery when I’ve washed it,’ she added lamely, though the mess had more to do with Arthur’s busy fingers than the effects of her shampoo.

  ‘How very annoying for you.’

  The dogs, who’d all been crowding around Iggy, suddenly made a beeline for the boot room. In desperation that they’d unearth Arthur and blow their secret, Lucie grabbed the front door and yanked it open. ‘Let’s make a break for it before they try and come with us.’ To her relief, Iggy allowed herself to be ushered out with nothing more than a quizzical glance at Lucie’s no-doubt glowing face.

  She slammed the door behind them with more force than necessary, although she doubted Arthur would get the message—he was probably too busy congratulating himself for stealing so many kisses, the beast—then hurried after Iggy who was already striding away. Sneaking around with Arthur was proving one thing to Lucie: she would never make a living as a secret agent.

  It was only a short walk across the back lawn to the stables. The drizzle she’d noticed on waking had cleared up, leaving tiny shimmering droplets on the grass. As they passed the huge marquee, she paused to marvel at the glistening jewel of a spider’s web draped like a diamond necklace between the edge of the marquee and one of the guy ropes holding it in place.

  ‘They’re putting the floor matting down today, and the furniture’s arriving tomorrow,’ Iggy said, ‘so we should be able to start decorating inside on Thursday. Tristan’s come up trumps with a disco and lights system. Another one of his many contacts from work.’

  ‘I can’t imagine your Aunt Morgana getting down on the dancefloor.’ Although Lucie was warming to the older woman, she still found her a little bit intimidating.

  Iggy laughed as they rounded the corner of a single-storey building built with the same grey stone as the castle. ‘You’d be surprised. She wasn’t always so severe. When we were little, she used to put on the old record player in her sitting room and teach us how to do the twist, the bump, all those funny Sixties dances.’

  ‘Now that would be something to see. Perhaps we can persuade her to have a bit of dance with us on Saturday after all.’

  ‘We should definitely give it a try. Those kinds of songs are always great at getting people on the floor.’ Iggy unhooked one side of the heavy wooden stable door and Lucie gave her hand to swing it back against the wall, securing it in place with an iron hook and eye. ‘Right then, let’s get you kitted out and these boys saddled up.’

  Within about ten minutes, Lucie found herself astride Lightning, a glossy black mare that, Iggy promised her, was the gentlest mount in their stables. ‘We’ll stick to walking until you tell me otherwise,’ Iggy promised, as she turned a much livelier looking bay gelding in a tight circle before urging the horse out of the stable yard with a squeeze of her knees and a click of the tongue. Thankfully, Lightning seemed content to follow in the bay’s wake without any real guidance from Lucie leaving her free to concentrate on trying to remember those riding lessons from so many years ago.

  Iggy led them along the path Lucie and Arthur had taken to the woods then turned right as they grew close to the trees. She dropped her mount back to walk beside Lucie. ‘How are you doing?’

  ‘Okay, I think. She’s very easygoing, isn’t she?’ Feeling confident and much more relaxed as muscle memory took over, Lucie took the reins in one hand and leaned forward a touch to pat Lightning on her thick, sturdy neck.

  ‘She’s a proper sweetheart,’ Iggy agreed. ‘If we follow the tree-line for about a mile, the land will open up and you’ll get a good view across towards the dales.’

  ‘Sounds good to me.’ Lucie drew in a deep breath. ‘I still can’t get over how clean and fresh the air is here.’

  ‘Wait until we’re up to our knees in snow and the wind tries to knock you down every time you stick your nose out the door, then you’ll know the meaning of fresh.’ Iggy winked across at her. ‘Some people think it’s bleak up here in the winter, but I think there’s a beauty in the land you don’t find anywhere else. I can’t imagine not living here.’ She sounded so wistful, Lucie’s heart went out to her.

  ‘Well, hopefully you won’t have to.’

  ‘How’s the sea
rch going, turned up any masterpieces yet?’

  Lucie shook her head. ‘Not so far, but there’s a lot of very fine pieces here. I’ve got quite a list of items I want to get a second opinion on when I go back to London.’

  Iggy reined in, and Lightning drew to an obedient halt also. ‘You’re going home?’

  ‘Well, I’ll have to at some point. I need to get some proper valuations done once the database is completed, and besides, the contract is only for a couple of months.’

  ‘Yes, of course. Sometimes it feels like you’ve been with us for much longer, you fit in with everybody so well, it’s almost like you’re a part of the family.’ With a touch of her heels, Iggy urged the bay forward into a quick trot.

  Lightning would’ve followed had Lucie not tightened the reins, and she was doubly grateful she was such an obedient horse when Iggy kicked on again and the bay stretched his muscular flanks into a full-blooded gallop. Lucie patted Lightning once more. ‘Leave them to show off, girl, we’re quite all right as we are.’ The mare nickered in agreement and they ambled along in Iggy’s wake, Lucie’s brain racing. Had there been something in the way Iggy had looked at her as she’d those words? Did she…Could she suspect there was something going on between her and Arthur? No! She was still feeling a bit guilty about nearly being caught earlier, that was all. Not that she and Arthur were doing anything wrong, but perhaps the others wouldn’t think so if they found out about it. God, what a muddle. ‘Forget Arthur for five minutes, and just enjoy the morning,’ she muttered to herself before cautiously urging Lightning into a slightly quicker walk.

  When they caught up with her, the gelding was blowing hard, and Iggy’s dark curls had half escaped from the loose ponytail she’d dragged it into. ‘Sorry about that.’

  ‘We were fine, don’t worry about it. If I had a bit more confidence, I might have joined you.’

  ‘You’ll get there soon enough. I can see already how much better your seat is. A few more sessions and you’ll be charging across the country.’

  Lucie couldn’t see when she’d have the time to do that, but she didn’t want to dampen Iggy’s enthusiasm, or get them back to speculating on what her future might or might not be. ‘You wanted to talk about the party?’

  ‘Yes. I’m glad we’ve invited everyone up from the village. Arthur’s idea to do a bit of test run before we try and open things up to the general public is a really good idea. I’m just a bit concerned the kids might get bored if we don’t have a few things organised for them.’

  She had a point, and at the end of the day, the party was supposed to be for Morgana, so keeping the children out from under foot so the adults could relax and celebrate with the guest of honour would be a good idea. ‘What do you suggest? Some school sports day style games? A few races, egg and spoon, that kind of thing?’

  Iggy nodded. ‘I like that. And they wouldn’t be hard to organise. There’s an old maze that’s part of the formal gardens, but it’s still in such a state, I’m not sure it’s safe enough to let them go wandering around in it.’

  ‘Can we cordon it off, perhaps? A bit of rope should be enough to deter people, especially if there’s more fun attractions on offer.’

  ‘I’d like to keep people away from the formal gardens, generally. There’s a couple of pools, and a fountain which needs repairing, and a few of the walkways are really overgrown.’ Iggy slumped in her saddle. ‘It breaks my heart to see them in such a state, they must’ve been magnificent once upon a time.’

  Remembering her conversation with Arthur, Lucie reached out to touch Iggy’s arm. ‘I’ve found loads of old maps in the library archive. Once we’ve got this party out of the way, what say you and I trawl through them and see if we can find anything which might show the original layout.’

  Iggy brightened immediately. ‘That sounds great.’

  ‘And even if there aren’t any, I bet there are loads of designs from the same era online. We could find something that’s at least in the spirit of the original, and it would give you something to work with.’

  ‘You’re just full of good ideas! I’m going to tell Arthur we have to keep you.’

  Lucie laughed. ‘I try. If we want to keep people away from the gardens, let’s concentrate on keeping them all at the rear. We could open up the orangery for those who are interested in looking around it, set up the games at the bottom of the lawn so they can be supervised by parents from the comfort of the marquee and maybe do a guided walk in the woods. Arthur said the bluebells might be out by then.’

  ‘With any luck, they should be. It’s the first time we’ll have let anyone other than a professional photographer down there so they should be the star attraction. The paths are straightforward enough to follow, and it wouldn’t take much to put a couple of arrows up to point people in the right direction.’ Iggy steered her horse in a slow circle and they began to amble back the way they’d come.

  As they reached the edge of the woods once more, Lucie ducked over Lightning’s neck to peer under the thick branches of the trees. They’d filled out a lot in the past few weeks and as she glanced through the undergrowth beneath the gnarled branches, she could make out a few patches of blue. ‘Look!’ She pointed, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

  Iggy ducked down beside her. ‘Wait until you get deeper in, the ground will be thick with them.’

  ‘What if we did an Easter egg hunt? We could hide them along the edges of the path and around the stone circle.’

  ‘I love it! It’d certainly give the kids something to do for a couple of hours, and we’d have time on Friday to come out here and set it all up. I have to run into town later to do some errands. There’s a retail park on the outskirts that’s got a supermarket and a few discount stores, so I’ll see what I can pick up.’ Iggy beamed at Lucie. ‘See, I knew you’d be full of good ideas.’ She leaned across and gave Lucie a quick hug.

  ‘Don’t forget my mum will be here later, and I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to get stuck in with the arrangements, so we’ll have an extra pair of hands.’

  ‘Must be nice,’ Iggy said, reminding Lucie that the triplets had never had their own mother around to rely on for anything.

  ‘Do you miss her, your mum, I mean?’

  ‘Hardly. You can’t miss what you never had, right? Come on, let’s get back.’ Not quite a slap-down, but it was clear from Iggy’s harsh tone the topic was not up for discussion.

  They walked on for a few minutes, Lucie feeling worse with every stride of the big mare beneath her. Why hadn’t she kept her mouth shut, instead of speaking without thinking and spoiling the happy mood between them? ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pried.’

  Iggy glanced at her over her shoulder. ‘What? Oh, don’t worry about it. We’re better off without her. Dad gave us everything he could, and what little gaps there were, Aunt Morgana and Lancelot did their very best to fill them. She tried a couple of times over the years, but to be honest it was a relief when she stopped. Some people just aren’t capable of putting anyone other than themselves first, and Helena Ludworth-Mills-Wexford-Jones is one of them.’

  Lucie goggled at the list of surnames. ‘Wow, that’s quite a mouthful.’

  ‘That’s Mother for you. All she kept of her husbands was their last names and her hand in their pockets.’

  They entered the stable yard, the horses’ hooves clopping loudly on the cobblestones. Iggy slid easily from the gelding’s back before taking hold of Lightning’s bit and leading her to the mounting block.

  With a groan, Lucie swung her leg free from the stirrup and clambered down. Bending her stiff knees, she winced at the ache in her bottom. ‘I’d forgotten how this feels.’

  ‘I’ve got some muscle soak stuff in my bathroom. Remind me later and I’ll get it for you. Make sure you have a hot bath before you go to bed or you’ll be sorry in the morning.’ Iggy began to lead the two horses back into the stables.

  Hobbling down off the block, Lucie did a sort of crab-w
alk as she tried to catch up. ‘I’m already sorry.’ When Iggy raised an eyebrow, she laughed. ‘My bum is sorry, I should’ve said. The rest of me is thrilled to bits. It’s been wonderful.’ And not just because she’d got the chance to be on horseback again. Spending time with Iggy was always easy. On a spur of the moment, she put her arms around Iggy’s neck and gave her a quick hug. ‘Thank you.’

  ‘My pleasure.’ From the way she beamed from ear-to-ear, it was clear Iggy meant it and Lucie was pleased she taken the step towards a closer friendship with her.

  They took their time unsaddling the horses, brushing them down and making sure they had a drink. As Iggy did a quick check that the other horses were all happy, Lucie did a few stretches and lunges to keep her lower half from stiffening up. ‘I’m sure Arthur will give you a massage later, if you ask him nicely.’ Iggy gave her a knowing wink as she secured the last of the stall doors then slung her arm around Lucie’s shoulders.

  ‘A…Arthur?’ Lucie felt her face flaming.

  ‘Give it rest, Lucie,’ Iggy scoffed. ‘Anyone can tell you two have the hots for each other. I know he was in the boot room with you earlier.’

  ‘We were going to try and keep things quiet,’ Lucie confessed with a grimace. ‘Although between you rumbling us and Maxwell catching him sneaking around on the landing this morning, the cat’s well and truly out of the bag.’

  ‘Oh, he didn’t!’ Far from looking upset, Iggy’s eyes were dancing with delighted mischief. At least one member of Arthur’s family didn’t seem in the slightest bit bothered about anything going on between them.

  ‘Apparently so.’ Lucie started to giggle. ‘Can you imagine it?’

  ‘God!’ Iggy was laughing so hard she could barely close the stable door. ‘He must’ve been mortified.’

  ‘Arthur? I think he’ll get over it.’