Page 70 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
“Well, now you are to be countess,” she said, suddenly sounding as meek as she had the day Serena met her, “it is only fitting that we begin addressing you properly.”
Serena shook her head, taking her friends in her arms again.
“I will have none of that from either of you,” she said gently. “Mrs. Chantry, you taught me everything I know about this place. And Emily, you have worked alongside me as my equal all these weeks. I cannot bear the thought of either of you calling me anything but Serena, as you will always be my best friends.”
Mrs. Chantry gave Emily a knowing glance, then beamed proudly at Serena.
“I knew you would say that,” she said. “Now, you two ladies, go on up to Serena’s new chambers. I shall bring up some wine shortly. Tonight is a night for celebration, after all.” She paused. “Oh, and Clarke said to tell you to not lay a finger on your things in here. He said he will see to it that everything gets moved properly. You are, after all, nobility now.”
Serena laughed.
“Please, give him my thanks,” she said.
Mrs. Chantry left, and Emily showed Serena to her new chambers. Her heart stopped when she saw how lavishly the room was decorated.Freshly lavishly decorated,she noticed, staring at the pink canopy and bed covers, the fresh lilies and roses in vases all over the room, the red and purple carpet, and the deep-red curtains.
“I do hope you like it, dear,” the countess said, stepping from the wash area with two young maids trailing behind.
Serena gasped.
“You have done all this for me?” she asked, stunned.
The countess walked over and embraced her tightly.
“After everything you have done for us, it was the least we could do,” she said.
Serena blinked, confused.
“But how did you do it all so quickly?” she asked.
Lady Drinkwater smiled mysteriously.
“Let’s just say I had an inkling several days ago that the chambers might need to be refurbished, so I arranged it.”
“But how could you. . .?” Serena queried, looking quizzically at the countess, but she simply shrugged.
“Ah, well, a mother just knows, darling,” she said, winking.
***
Edward and the countess pulled every string they could to get the licence for Serena and Edward to marry in two weeks’ time. And those two weeks flew by faster than Serena could have imagined possible. Mrs. Chantry and Emily, as well as the countess, were right by Serena’s side as they planned the entire wedding together.
Serena was giddy with joy to know that she could now afford to pay for everything she wanted to make hers the wedding she had always dreamed of. Yet the night before her wedding, the countess caught her crying in her bedchambers.
“Oh, dear,” she said, hurrying over and sitting on the edge of Serena’s bed. “You are not having second thoughts, are you?”
Serena shook her head fervently, looking at her future mother-in-law with earnest.
“Not even for a moment,” she said. “I’m simply wishing that my former servants, and dear friends, could attend my wedding. I miss them so dearly, yet I have not even had the time to write to them and tell them of all that has happened.”
The countess embraced Serena tightly. When she pulled away, her smile was warm and understanding . . . and mysterious.
“Do not fret, darling,” she crooned. “I can promise you that tomorrow will beeverythingyou always dreamed it would be.”
With that, the countess hurried from the room. Serena watched her leave, pondering the older lady’s strange confidence.
It was impossible to believe that, just weeks before, the countess had been bedridden and mute. She now had a healthy glow about her and was full of energy. Serena smiled to herself as she settled into bed.
She contented herself with the thought that, even if Evelyn and Whitton would not be at the wedding, she now had the money to help her dear friends, and she could visit them whenever she liked, and introduce them to Edward. She was fortunate, and so she put aside the sad thoughts; she would not allow anything to ruin her wedding.
