Page 43 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
“You stay here and turn that dough into bread and cookies before you get to your duties,” she said. “I am sure the countess would love to taste your next batch of, say, apple cookies.”
Serena grinned and nodded.
“That is a wonderful idea,” she said. “I do hope I can learn some main dishes soon too. In fact, I cannot wait to learn everything I can about cooking.” She paused. “That is, if the earl is willing to allow me to take the time to practice like this.”
“Do not worry, dear,” she said. “I will not be retiring for a little while yet. If you would like to spend a little more time cooking, I would be happy to take over some of your duties whenever you wish to come in here and practice on your own.”
Serena squealed with delight, embracing the senior housekeeper.
“If you are not careful, I will beg you to stay on here, just for that reason,” she said.
The two women laughed.
Chapter Eighteen
After her morning spent cooking with Mrs. Chantry, Serena happily returned to her regular housekeeping duties. She was floating with happiness. When she’d taken the almond pastries into Lady Drinkwater the day before, she would never have imagined that the countess would finally speak. Nor would she have believed she would be present when the lady of the manor started talking again.
She was fortunate to have witnessed such a miraculous event, and to see the earl’s entire being light up at the sound of his mother’s weak, but determined, voice. The countess’s speaking had been incredible enough in itself. But seeing the way it clearly made her son feel had been pure magic to Serena.
She was so delighted that she began to hum to herself as she washed the linens. She thought about what Mrs. Chantry had said about Serena having had something to do with the countess speaking again, and perhaps wishing to taste more of her similar creations.
Truthfully, she gave all the credit to the elder housekeeper for giving her the idea in the first place, and for teaching her how to make the pastries. But Lady Drinkwater had not been the only one to enjoy them. The earl had raved about her baking too, praising her even more highly than he often had about her cleaning.
If only he knew how badly I botched the rest of the recipes,she thought, thinking of Mrs. Chantry’s gentle teasing that morning with a giggle. She had panicked at first, naturally. Supplies were precious, as she was well aware, and she had been terrified of having to tell the earl that she had wasted food.
However, she had decided she would simply save the ruined dishes for her own meals rather than allowing Emily to cook them afresh and waste food. Though the dishes had been unfit for serving to others, they were fine for Serena. And in the process, she had learned what not to do when making them.
That, she knew, would come in handy, especially now the countess was eating again. And she had done a fine job baking the delicious pastries that both the earl and his mother loved so much.
She made a mental note to make them again as soon as she had time. She also decided that, as soon as she was able, she would buy as much food as she could possibly afford from her own money, just to be helpful. And now that Mrs. Chantry had taught her a great deal more about cooking, and had promised to continue to do so, Serena had high hopes that no such mishaps would ever occur again.
As she sang, she realised she would do anything for the earl and the countess. She had only heard Lady Drinkwater speak once, but she felt very close to her, after all the time she had spent with her. And she found more joy in seeing the earl smile than she ever had in almost anything in the world.
He was devastatingly attractive, especially when his whole face lit up. And for the first time, she had seen the shadows lift from his countenance, and the sadness vanished from his eyes. She’d glimpsed his true handsomeness when his mother had spoken, and it had filled her stomach with butterflies that had yet to settle.
She blushed as she recalled being unable to take her eyes off him in his mother’s room. But better still was that he had seemed to be unable to stop looking at her too. It was hard for her to continue to believe she was merely imagining the special connection she felt between them.
Even before his mother had spoken, Serena had noticed that he often seemed to smile in her company. And his eyes lit up in a way that no one else ever seemed to see. Plus, he was very easy to talk to, and not just about her duties.
When they shared tea and pastries with his mother, they talked about many things. His laugh came naturally and freely because he was such a genuine person. She could tell he had a cheerful underlying nature because, whenever those brief periods occurred, she could see it clearly.
Another thing she noticed about him was that he was in no way grand. He did not have about him the air of proud arrogance that many of the noblemen of thetonhad. And though he was her employer, he never spoke in a condescending fashion to her, or to any of the other servants.
One of the most admirable about him, in her opinion, was how he worked right alongside the farmers to fix the estate. She did not know of another nobleman, apart from her father, perhaps, who would have rolled up his sleeves to labor in the same way as his servants and tenants.
The majority of the wealthy elite felt that to do so was beneath them, and they hired people to do everything for them. To Serena, it showed that the earl truly loved his home, and that he was not above doing whatever it took to show it.
He is perfect,she thought, sighing. Even if it was a silly notion, one she should not entertain, she could not help thinking the earl truly was the perfect man. He was certainly the kind of man she had always hoped to marry, if she ever married at all now. He was the kind of man she knew her father would have approved of.
She thought about his damaged leg and his limp then. It was not something she often thought of because it mattered so little to her. Of course, she wondered how he’d got it, but she knew he had been in the war. She imagined it must be a battle wound, and that he did not like talking about it.
But she did not care if he’d gotten it by drunkenly falling off a horse; it was part of what made him perfect to her, and she believed it was a badge of courage. No matter how he’d come by the limp, he wore it with his noble head held high. And he did not let it stop him from doing anything. That endeared him to her even more, as did his clear love and concern for his mother.
Never had she seen a man love his mother as the earl did the countess. Showing affection for one’s parents was not overly common among the men of theton, not beyond childhood at least, and even then, parents and children often only saw each other rarely.
But the bond between the earl and countess was clear and strong, perhaps strengthened by the loss they had both suffered. In any case, she desperately wanted to help the earl as much as she possibly could. And, the countess, as well.
For a time, Serena allowed herself to dream that Lord Drinkwater felt the same way about her as she did for him. It was easy to imagine, since he had looked at her with such warmth and affection in his mother’s room. And it did not take much for her to pretend that the kind praise he gave her about the housekeeping work she did was the closest he felt he could come to telling her how he felt.
