Page 45 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
Clarke sighed, gesturing for Edward to follow him.
“There is something which requires your immediate attention,” he said.
Edward was confused, but he followed down the hall and toward the entryway without a word. Whatever awaited him, he was sure it could not ruin his jubilant mood. His mother would recover, after all, and nothing could detract from his joy.
That determination was instantly challenged when he saw why Clarke had summoned him. Standing just inside the doorway, with large trunks in tow, stood the last two women Edward wanted to see just then. Or, perhaps, ever.
“Well, thank you for leaving us here waiting for you for so long, Edward,” Blanche Taylor said, putting her chubby hands on her wide hips. “I declare, I was sure we might have to sleep here in the hall, atop all our belongings.”
Edward chuckled nervously, glancing at Clarke like a hunted deer.
“Aunt Blanche,” he said, walking over and reluctantly kissing one of her round cheeks. She was almost as tall as him, which made the gesture awkward. “It is so good to see you.”
“I’m sure,” she said, sounding sceptical, but kissing the air beside his face, nevertheless.
Then, he turned to the other woman. She was exactly the opposite of her sister; so short that Edward had to stoop down to kiss her cheek, and so thin, he’d always believed she would break in half or blow away at any time.
Yet despite their physical differences and the three-year age gap between them, with Blanche being the eldest, the aunts wore identical blue silk gowns. Edward thought the dresses were a bit too young for such unmarried, middle-aged ladies.
“Aunt Rose,” he said, pasting on his best false smile. “It has been ages since I last saw you both. May I ask to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?”
Blanche huffed, shaking her head with impatience.
“Have you not received our letters?” she asked. “We wrote to tell you weeks ago that we would be arriving from the Continent this week, and once again to tell you that we expected to arrive here today.”
Edward glanced back at Clarke to hide the fear creeping onto his face. Of course, he had seen no such letters, as the study and library had been in shambles when he’d returned. Probably, the letters had been burned or discarded when his father went mad. But he could hardly tell his aunts any such thing.
“They must have been lost in the post,” he said, trying to shrug nonchalantly.
The two women exchanged snide looks, before turning back to him.
“Well?” Rose said archly, glancing with distaste at the butler. “Is there a servant to help us?”
Edward hurried toward their enormous trunks, signalling to Clarke for help.
“Of course, Clarke and I will have your things taken upstairs,” he said, his false smile still in place. “And while we have tea, some temporary chambers will be prepared for you.”
Blanche burst out laughing, startling Edward. He stared at her, perplexed, until she finally caught her breath.
“Well, since you did not receive our letters, I suppose it makes sense that you do not know,” she said. “We have the rest of our luggage in the carriage to be fetched in. We wrote to say that we shall be staying for an indefinite period, you see.”
Edward dropped one of the trunks, narrowly missing his foot, on hearing this.
“Indefinite?” he queried, feeling sweat begin to bead on his forehead. Had the aunts corresponded with his parents before the calamity had befallen them? Did they even know about their brother’s passing?
“Excuse me, Edward,” Rose said before he could say or think any more on that subject. “Where are the servants? The maids? And why are you and the butler carrying our trunks? Have you no footmen?”
Edward groaned.Clearly, they havenotcorresponded with either Father or Mother in some weeks, it seems.He stifled a groan as he realised the gravity of the situation in which he now found himself. He would have to explain everything that had happened to his two dour aunts, after which he would have to allow them to stay.
He had no choice, he quickly realised. They were family, after all. The only family he had left, in fact, apart from his mother. He had no idea how he could possibly manage to feed and comfortably house two extra people at Chimneys, not when they were barely making ends meet as it was. But he would have to figure it out quickly.
“And what has happened to this place?” Blanche demanded incredulously, glancing around the hall as though seeing it for the first time.
This time, Edward audibly groaned, but he masked it by immediately hefting the trunk he’d previously dropped. Clarke was by his side in an instant, taking it from his master.
“I’ll take them up, my lord. You see to the ladies,” Clarke puffed, throwing one of the trunks on his shoulder and heading for the stairs.
Edward gave him a grateful smile and nodded before turning back to his aunts.
