Page 30 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
“I hoped you might say the opposite,” he said ruefully, rubbing his chin.
Mrs. Chantry reached out and squeezed his hand.
“I am sorry, my lord,” she said. “But you are already working on the big house and the rest of the estate. It surely can’t be any more difficult to fix up the dower house, I should think.”
Edward gave the housekeeper a weak smile.
“I hope you’re right, Mrs. Chantry,” he said.
***
When Edward unlocked the Dower House later that day and entered, it turned out that Mrs. Chantry was, indeed, mostly right. In fact, apart from heavy layers of dust coating the dust sheets, floors, and rugs, some slightly moth-eaten upholstery and drapes, dull furniture, and a problem with overgrown ivy on the sides and back of the red-brick Dower House, it was otherwise well-preserved.
He noted some frost-cracked bricks outside, as well, beneath the ivy, but those would be easy enough to repair. With fresh hope, Edward ran back to the main house, bumping into Clarke as he bolted in through the back door of the manor.
“My, my, my lord,” Clarke said, smirking. “You have the energy of three young men today.”
Edward grinned.
“Would you ask Miss White to begin the cleaning of the dower house today?” he asked. “I want it to be ready for occupation as soon as possible.”
The butler looked surprised, but he bowed.
“Straightaway, my lord,” he said.
When the butler disappeared, Edward headed for his study. But a smell suddenly overwhelmed him, stopping him in his tracks; it was a scent that sent him reeling. It was unrecognisable at first, and he breathed in deeply.
All at once, all his childhood memories, the best ones, flooded his mind. The scent in the air took him back to happier days; it was the fresh perfume of lemon polish.
He detoured, going through the great hall instead of straight to the study. He immediately noticed that there were vases placed on the side tables, each filled with fresh, sweet wildflowers. And around each corner, he spied freshly polished surfaces glinting in the sunlight.
He marvelled to himself; Miss White was evidently making a drastic and immediate difference in his home, in the best way possible, and it filled him with new energy. He smiled to himself, making a mental note to commend the new housekeeper on her hard work.
When he got to his study, ideas began flooding into his mind. He sat down at the desk and wrote a list of the work needed to make the Dower House more appealing to a tenant, including some pieces of furniture that could be taken over from the main house to make it more comfortable.
Then, spurred by his progress, he hurried back through the house, pausing for a moment to take another deep inhale of the lovely fragrances from the flowers and the polish. Then, he found Clarke, handing his list to him.
“See what we can do about fetching these items,” he said.
Clarke looked at the list, frowning.
“Can we afford this, my lord?” he asked, sounding more hopeful than cautious.
Edward grinned, for the first time in days.
“Yes. If we get these things sorted out, then we most certainly can,” he said mysteriously.
With Clarke looking bewildered, Edward left the room and exited the house to begin work on the estate for the day.
***
The following morning, he wrote the advert seeking a tenant for the Dower House and had it placed in the local paper. A few days after that, he had letters from three interested potential tenants land on his desk, all seeking to meet with him later that week to see over the house. He read the letters, choosing the applicant he believed would be the best fit.
If Colonel Johns, retired from the British Army, was not a match, then he would start over with the other two. But he had a good feeling about the colonel, and he was sure he would make a good, reliable, long-term tenant. He quickly wrote a letter, inviting the colonel to view the house the following day. Then, he returned to his plans for the estate.
The following day, Colonel Johns arrived ten minutes early. Within moments of meeting the cordial, upright ex-military man, Edward decided he would rent him the house, if he was interested in it. He shook the colonel’s hand warmly, grateful that the new housekeeper had already cleaned and tidied his study so he needn’t be embarrassed by it.
“Good day, Colonel,” Edward said, gesturing for the man to sit.
