“Right this way, gentlemen,” Lord Fletcher said, directing them to the parlor.
Audrey’s heart expanded with joy as she followed the workers. Lord Fletcher was the epitome of kindness. Each time she thought he couldn’t do anything more to increase her love for him, he surprised her. She was beginning to realize how empty her life had become before he popped into it. Now she couldn’t imagine life without him, but that was a dangerous thought. Even though he’d rented a house in London, that didn’t mean he would stay permanently, and she needed to temper her emotions accordingly.
Her plans hadn’t changed, even though her heart was already spoken for. She needed to find a husband to secure all of their futures, not just her own. As much as her growing love for Jacob warmed her heart, it would make everything worse if she ended up having to find herself a husband who wasn’t him.
She watched the movers for a few moments… until she heard Mia calling for her. “Excuse me, Lord Fletcher. My sisters need my guidance on packing the rest of their belongings.”
“Of course. Will you all be ready soon?”
“Yes. My things are packed, and Grace and Mia just need to finish up a few things.”
“Excellent. I will have the wagon wait for your belongings, and then we can all ride to our new home in the carriage together.”
Audrey nodded and left the parlor, racing up thestairs to hurry her sisters along. She wanted to change her dress, but she’d neglected to keep out one of her day dresses. They were packed at the bottom of the chest, and she didn’t have time to retrieve one before she heard Mia call, “Audrey, we’re all done.”
She walked into the bedchamber. “Good job, sisters. Let’s carry down our valises. The movers can carry the chests.”
Mrs. Culbert and Beckwith had been carrying out boxes and were loading them into the wagon. “That’s the last of it,” Mrs. Culbert said. “I shall ride with the movers so I can oversee the moving of the boxes into the kitchen.”
The cook went back into the house with the butler, and each came out carrying a valise. When Beckwith saw the sisters come down the stairs with their own valises, he offered to carry them out to the carriage.
“Thank you, Beckwith.”
“It’s no problem, Miss Parker. I shall ride up on the box with the driver so I can be readily available to help move your things into the house.”
“That would be very much appreciated. I do hope you’ll like our new accommodations. Your bedchamber will be larger than here, and there’s also an office for your personal use. Lord Fletcher intends to hire more footmen, so you’ll have need of an office space.”
“It all sounds wonderful. I look forward to seeing everything,” he said as he took their valises out to the carriage while the movers went back inside for their chests.
It wasn’t long before everything was secured, including the pianoforte. Lord Fletcher handed them all into the hackney, and Beckwith climbed up with the driver.
“I think I’ll definitely need to buy my own carriage so we won’t have to rely on hackneys,” he said.
Audrey filed that piece of news away. It was one more thing tying Jacob to London, but would it be enough?
It took longer than she expected to reach their new home with all the traffic clogging the London streets. Their belongings were brought inside, and they spent the rest of the day organizing everything before exploring a bit of the neighborhood. Hyde Park was only a few blocks from their residence, so they could all enjoy it much more often. There was also a smaller park only a block from their home.
Mia kept her first choice of the bedchambers, and Grace took the room next to hers. That left the last room on the left for Audrey. It was a pleasant enough room, and it never left her mind that Jacob was just across the hall and two doors down. Whenever she thought about it, her cheeks pinked, and she felt hot inside. She had to learn to control her feelings, as she couldn’t walk around being flushed all the time.
The next morning after dressing for the day, Audrey made her way to the dining room. She was surprised to see that Jacob was already seated at the table, reading the paper. When she entered, he stood. “Good morning, Miss Parker.”
“Good morning, Lord Fletcher. I hadn’t expected to see you this early.”
“I’m an early riser, always have been. Did you sleep well?”
Audrey didn’t want to say that she’d tossed and turned for a long time before sleep finally claimed her. She would never admit she was unsettled because he was sleeping so near. “Yes, thank you. Very well.”
“Good. I wonder if I might ask a favor of you. The agency is sending over two candidates for the housekeeper position today, and as I’ve never had one before, I wondered if you could help me decide on the best candidate.”
Audrey took a seat and poured herself a cup of tea. “I would be happy to help. What time are they coming?”
“One should be here at ten and the other at eleven. I’ve asked Beckwith to interview the footmen and told him to hire the two best candidates.”
“Once we settle on a housekeeper, she may know of a few young women we can bring on as maids.”
She couldn’t remember the last time they’d enjoyed a fully staffed household. After her mother died and the money ran out, her sisters and she had taken on the responsibility of keeping the house clean and taking care of the laundry. It would be nice not to have raw hands on laundry day, but she knew it could all be taken away in an instant if Jacob left London.
“Miss Parker, I was wondering if you’d like to go to the modiste to see if there are any ready-made gowns available for you to wear to the Devons’ dinner tomorrowevening. I’d be happy to take you.”
