Beckwith turned and walked to her. “Miss Parker, what do you need?” He frowned when he saw her face. “What happened?”
“Nothing for you to worry about, but thank you for your concern.” Audrey reached into her pocket, retrieved the last of the coins, and held out her hand. “
Beckwith looked at the coins in her hand and took only a single one. “Keep the rest, Miss Parker. This is all I need.”
Audrey blinked back the tears forming in her eyes. “Are you sure? You do so much for us and definitely deserve more.”
“Yes, I’m sure. My needs are quite basic. I have a roof over my head and food in my belly. What else do I need?”
“Oh, Beckwith, whatever would we do without you?”
“No need to worry about that, miss. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thank you, Beckwith. I’m so happy you’re with us. Why don’t you go to the kitchen? Mrs. Culbert will have breakfast ready shortly,” she said before turning on her heel.
Audrey joined her sisters in the dining room. Her mother had loved this room. It was cheerful and painted in a light, sunny color. Unfortunately, the lovely seascapes that once adorned the walls were now gone. Sold for whiskey money, no doubt. It was easy to see where the paintings had hung, since the paint there wasn’t as faded as the rest of the walls. One saving grace was that her father hadn’t torn down the silk drapes… probably because they were starting to fade now and wouldn’t be worth much.
“Are you all right, Audrey?” Grace asked when shenoticed Audrey’s tear-filled eyes.
Audrey nodded. “Yes, I’m perfectly well. Nothing to worry about.” Her sister had become quite perceptive these days. “Beckwith told me a funny joke that brought tears to my eyes, that’s all,” she said.
There was no way she wanted to lay the burden of their financial situation on Grace’s slim shoulders. She’d figure everything out, just like she had for the past four years since her mother left them.
Her explanation seemed to mollify Grace, and that was the best she could hope for at the moment.
Chapter4
After breakfast, the three Parkersisters did a methodical search of the house for things they could hide from their father’s grubby hands.
“Sisters, look in every drawer and closet. We don’t want to overlook anything,” Audrey said.
Unfortunately, as Grace had mentioned earlier, Mama’s candlesticks were nowhere to be found. Even the silver tea service Mama received as a wedding gift had disappeared. The set should have gone to Audrey, the eldest daughter, when she married. She had always dreamed of using that tea set in her own home. Another keepsake from her late mother was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. Luckily, their pianoforte was still here, probably because Papa wouldn’t pay someone to take it away. He preferred taking items he could carry and easily sell to fund his gambling and drinking.
“Miss Parker, may I help with something?” Beckwith asked as they walked from room to room.
“We’re trying to figure out what Papa has already sold. There seem to be many items missing from the house of late,” Audrey said.
Beckwith nodded. “I have noticed, these past few weeks, that Lord Fletcher was leaving home with various items tucked under his arm, and I could guess what he was doing, but it was not my place to say anything.”
“Of course. We understand. Papa would have sacked you if you’d confronted him,” Audrey said.
“That’s what I thought as well, but I hated to see the house stripped bare. May I show you something, Miss Parker?”
“Of course.”
The three sisters followed the butler down the hallway to the small closet where linens were stored. “I know what these mean to you, Miss Parker, and I couldn’t let the baron take them,” he said, lifting a pile of linens to reveal their mother’s silver candlesticks.
For the second time that day, tears filled Audrey’s eyes. “The candlesticks! How can I ever thank you for hiding these for us?”
“No need to thank me, Miss Parker. When I realized what Lord Fletcher was doing, I first tried to move things around, thinking he would lose interest, but he was persistent. I watched him cart family heirlooms out the door day after day while you were away, and I had to do something. Unfortunately, the baron found most of the items I moved around, so I hid these.”
“I don’t know what to say. You risked your position for us, and I have no words to express my appreciation.Somehow, thank you doesn’t seem like enough,” Audrey said.
“Just looking out for you, that’s all,” Beckwith said with a bow before walking away.
“Oh my, I cannot believe Beckwith did that for us,” Grace exclaimed.
“I know. It was a lovely thing to do. I hope that after all the trouble he went through to save these, we aren’t forced to sell them, as we’ll have to do if I can’t secure another position soon,” Audrey said.
