Page 37 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
Lady Drinkwater nodded, her eyes filling with tears. They were not tears of sadness, however. They were tears of joy.
“Very well, my lady,” Serena said, removing the drooping tulips and replacing them with the lilies. “If those are your favourite flowers, I shall bring more and fill every vase in the room with them.”
The countess looked at her with a wonder that was almost childlike and nodded her head eagerly. The moment was so sweet and precious that Serena could not help giggling.
“Consider it done, my lady,” she said.
She kept her promise, as well. Within two days, there were six vases, all filled with lilies, and all sitting where the countess could see them. And after Serena had done that, about eight days after her first visit, the countess at last began sitting up and even taking tea with Serena.
It was hard to conceal her excitement at the progress Lady Drinkwater was making. But the joy was easily dampened each time Serena tried to get the countess to eat. And in truth, she could not be sure how much of what she said the countess understood. Perhaps her facial expressions were simply reflections of Serena’s own, but Serena tried to believe otherwise. But until the lady spoke, she could not know.
The last thing Serena brought into the room one day before moving onto her other duties on the first floor was a stack of colourful ladies’ periodicals. She had been saving them whenever they came in the mail, and she intended to surprise the countess with them.
When she entered the sick woman’s room, however, she found she was sound asleep. Serena frowned, thinking it strange, as she had not been sleeping until later in the day since she’d started visiting her.
She tiptoed over to the countess, telling herself it was to just put the periodicals where she would see them. In truth, however, it was to ensure the poor lady was still breathing.
It was then that she noticed a bottle of laudanum sitting just beside the countess’s bed. She dared not touch it, but she studied it for a moment. She understood the drug was to help the countess rest. But surely, it would only serve to make her sleep more, and thus, be able to put less effort into getting better.
Deciding to speak with Emily about her theory the next time they met, Serena slipped out of the room. She would try to visit the countess later, perhaps while the earl was having dinner. She hoped the ailing woman would be awake then. She could not be sure, but she thought her visits gave the countess some comfort. She prayed that was the case, at least.
Chapter Sixteen
After receiving Caroline’s devastating letter, Edward put every moment of his time into the repairs on the estate. Those at the farms were making surprising progress, and the farmers were, gradually, beginning to seem in better spirits.
Many of them began to look healthy again, as did their children and wives; Edward was providing the food they needed until the farms were able to grow food themselves once more.
And yet, Caroline’s letter loomed over him. He was slowly coming to terms with the notion that what they’d shared might not have been true love. But it was the closest thing he had ever known to it, and he did not expect, not with all his new responsibilities, and caring for his mother, ever to find anything like it again.
Perhaps, though, that was for the best. He really needed to focus all his attention and time on the projects at hand around the estate. There were always many in hand and would be for years to come. Truly, it would be unfair to seek female companionship, let alone have a wife, when he had no time to spare for her.
He was very grateful for the help of the new housekeeper in the few weeks since she had been at Chimney’s. She impressed him more every day with the amount of work she was capable of, and the extra effort she made to make his home fresh and bright.And she is so beautiful. . .
***
“Forgive me if I’m bein’ too bold, my lord,” Stamp the bailiff said one day, about a month after beginning the first repairs to the farm building, “but you look awful troubled lately. Are you not pleased with the speed of the progress?”
Edward shook his head firmly, flushing at the thought of the farmers having noticed his mood, and especially fearing they might be taking it as an indication that he was displeased with them.
“Not at all, Stamp,” he said. “The estate is coming along splendidly. In fact, I could not be happier with your progress.”
The bailiff grunted, studying him.
“I understand you must be sufferin’ a great deal, my lord,” he said. “My only hope is that you are not settin’ yourself up for any more grief.”
Edward snorted, immediately giving the former sergeant a sheepish grin.
“Forgive me,” he said. “It is just that grief seems to findme. I do not have to do much to findit.”
Stamp nodded sagely.
“It won’t be that way forever, my lord,” he said. “It may not seem like that now, but it is true.”
Edward nodded, dubiously.
“I have to believe it,” he said. “There is only so much a man can lose in his life. And eventually, he must be able to find what he truly wants.”
Those words earned him another long, thoughtful stare. Edward suddenly got the impression that the elderly veteran could see straight into his soul. Or, at the very least, could read his thoughts. And the man’s next words all but confirmed the theory.
