Page 46 of A Housekeeper for the Earl of Drinkwater
“Let us have tea,” he said, gesturing for the elderly women to follow him. “I shall explain everything.”
Rose and Blanche shared another wrinkle-nosed glance, but they nodded.
“Lead on, Nephew,” Rose said.
Edward tried to ignore the critical and fussy remarks he heard the two women exchange as they made their way to the drawing room. Clarke, bless his soul, had managed to not only disappear with the trunks, but Emily also appeared with the tea things soon after. Edward marvelled at how quickly she had prepared everything. He gave her an inquisitive look as she set down the tray, but she simply shrugged.
“Thank you, Emily,” he said, smiling warmly.
The maid curtseyed, smiling sweetly. He realised he had never seen her smile in such a way. It seemed the spirits of everyone in the mansion were lifting, which warmed Edward’s heart.
As soon as he took a bite, he knew instantly from whence the treats had come.
“Miss White,” he whispered, savouring the bite of apple cookie in his mouth.
“I beg your pardon?” Rose asked, looking at him quizzically.
He was fumbling for a response when Blanche cut him off.
“Sister, dear, it appears that nothing in this house has been properly cleaned for quite some time,” she said, looking around the room critically.
Just like that, Edward’s fleeting joy at tasting Miss White’s delicious treats were destroyed. He set aside his tea and plate and looked at his aunts sheepishly.
Briefly, he explained to them what had happened while he was away at war. He first told them of his brother’s deaths and the state into which the news had thrown his mother and father, leading to the destruction of much of the manor’s contents and decor. Next, he told of the events leading up to their brother’s death, sparing them the details of how and where the old earl’s body had been discovered. He recounted the countess’s madness following learning of her husband’s death, on top of her sons’, and the parlous condition of the manor, the estate, and his mother on his recent return from the war, and all the efforts he was making to restore everything and get his mother well again.
His aunts looked at one another with unreadable expressions. Edward waited to see how they would take the news of their nephews’ and brother’s deaths, wondering if he should have waited a little longer to tell them, or given them the news with a little more tact, smelling salts in hand.
“Tragic,” Blanche said, shaking her head.
“Pity,” Rose said with a heavy sigh.
Edward gave them a sympathetic smile.
“I apologise for you are having to find out this way,” he said. “I did not even arrive home in time to attend my father’s funeral.”
Rose shrugged.
“It couldn’t be helped,” she said. If Edward didn’t know better, he would have thought she was almost indifferent to the news of her brother's death. “All that can be done now is to get the mansion back to something resembling its former glory,” she added. “Fortunately,” she paused, lifting her chin, “Blanche and I are here now, and we can help you to do everything properly.”
Edward started to point out that he was already far advanced in his plans to restore Chimneys, but Blanche rose, pushing aside her plate of pastries and looking at them with disgust.
“We must see your mother immediately,” she announced, already heading for the door. “Come, Rose.” Rose hastened to follow her sister.
Edward started to protest, but again, one of his aunts interrupted.
“I am sure she is simply starved of genteel company,” Rose told him as they crossed the hall. “In a place so dismal, what lady wouldn’t wish to stay in bed and not speak a word?”
Edward clenched his jaw, silently leading his aunts up the stairs and to his mother’s bedchambers. He could hear, even before they reached the door, that his mother was awake. In fact, she was laughing. And so was Miss White. He grinned, all irritation with his aunts dissipating.
At least he could spend a little time with his mother and the housekeeper, ignoring his insufferable aunts for a while.
But as soon as they entered the room, Blanche and Rose gasped.
“What impropriety is this?” Rose asked, glaring at Miss White.
Blanche nodded, putting her hands on her hips.
“Servants should never mingle with nobility,” she said, shaking a finger toward the housekeeper.
