Page 21 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
Serena gave her a small shrug.
“Some of it is from my savings,” she said. “And the rest I got from selling some of my personal jewellery.”
Evelyn laughed, sounding genuinely delighted.
“That’s my girl,” she said, embracing Serena again. “But I cannot take this.”
Serena pushed away, shaking her head.
“Please, Evelyn, I insist,” she said.
But the housekeeper would have none of it. She put the money back into one of Serena’s hands, placing her other hand on top of it.
“I cannot take your last fifty pounds,” she said. “I assure you, I won't need for anything when I reach my sister’s home. I have some money I’ve saved, should I ever need it. But you will need that money. I love you for trying to do that, but I cannot accept that which I do not need.”
Serena stared at her for a moment. She was sure it was largely pride that made Evelyn so insistent. She desperately wanted Evelyn to take the money, but she could not insult the woman who was like a second mother to her simply to pacify her own guilt.
“Very well,” she said. “But I promise, if there is any money left after the sale of the house, that you and Whitton shall have it. I will not rest until I have recompensed you both.”
Evelyn smiled fondly, but she did not reply.
It was just as well, because just then, the carriage sent for Evelyn arrived. Serena’s heart ached, and she desperately wanted to stop the housekeeper from leaving. But that would be cruel and unfair, and she knew she must be strong and let events take their course.
“Goodbye, love,” Evelyn said, hugging Serena once more.
Serena sobbed, squeezing her dear friend for possibly the last time before stepping back.
“Goodbye, Evelyn,” she said.
The housekeeper turned, with tears in her eyes, and boarded the carriage. Her belongings were hurriedly loaded onto the roof, and then it was pulling away. Serena waved until she could no longer see the carriage. Then, she turned and fled inside the house, still crying.
She hid herself away in the study, but she didn’t have the heart to even look at the paperwork on the desk. There was hardly any point. She would be packing it up or throwing it away soon enough. She just needed a quiet place to console herself for a while. But solace was difficult to find.
Sometime after the housekeeper had left, Whitton brought Serena a tray of tea. She had stopped crying, but her heart felt no less broken, and she was grateful for the gesture.
“You are too kind, Whitton,” she said, giving him a sad smile. “But I can hardly accept it, seeing as I don’t even have the money to pay you your wages.”
The butler scoffed gently, putting down the tray in front of her with a kind smile.
“It would be a waste to refuse it now I’ve made it, Miss Serena,” he said with mock indignation. “And that, to me, would be a much greater offence.”
Serena laughed despite herself at the jesting of the tall, portly man. He was only two years older than her father had been at his death, and he’d been with her family her whole life.
“Oh, Whitton,” she said, wanting the butler’s mood to cheer her, but feeling her brief happiness vanishing. “How can you be so cheerful at a time like this?”
Whitton shrugged, as though he did not have a care in the world.
“Why should I not be cheerful?” he asked. “I do not see anything happening that will not soon be resolved.”
Serena sighed. She understood then that he was trying to help her feel better.
“Are you not distressed at the idea of being jobless?” she asked timidly. She had not been brave enough to speak to him about the dismissal herself. The least she could do was to show him she cared by listening to what he had to say about the subject.
The butler waved a hand and scoffed again.
“Dear Miss Serena,” he said with a smile, “you really must not worry about me. I have been offered a good position, which I have accepted. I am simply waiting to see what will become of you before I leave.”
Fresh tears filled Serena’s eyes, and she was overwhelmed with emotion.
