Chapter Ten
Harry had spentthe morning in the library poring over maps of the Windrush estate and going over old ledgers. He’d discovered that Rampton Farm was listed as one of the estate properties. So perhaps his predecessor had left it to her in his will. Small compensation for having lost the Hall. Even though he’d gained by this, he couldn’t help but feeling it was an unfair exchange.
He’d had yet another disturbed night, this time waking in the pitch darkness of the early hours and being unable to get back to sleep again. This had led to his eventual rising at a little after six, when he’d dressed and sneaked downstairs with a candle hoping not to disturb the servants at their early morning chores. Of course, someone unseen had spotted him, and within half an hour Crawford, ever immaculate, even at half past six in the morning, brought him coffee in the library.
“Mrs. Barnes thought you might like this, Sir Henry,” he said, with a deferential bow.
The smell was enticing. Hester had preferred tea at every opportunity, so it was a long time since Harry had drunk really good coffee. He thanked Crawford, who retreated towards the door and then halted. Did he have something he wanted to say?
“Yes?” Harry looked up from the pile of ledgers, raising an eyebrow.
Crawford cleared his throat. “I just wanted to say, Sir Henry, that did you wish for any kind of assistance with the estate papers, I myselfam familiar with them.”
Harry weighed this offer for a moment. He’d never so much as glimpsed estate ledgers before, and he was finding them somewhat confusing.
Crawford took the opportunity to expand. “Sir Geoffrey was a very astute landowner, and did not employ either an estate manager or a man of business. Only Mr. Pratt to deal with legal matters. But I was often involved as I’d served him most of his life. We were of an age, you see. My father had one of the tenant farms. My brother has it now. So Sir Geoffrey and I were well acquainted with each other as boys. And he knew the extent of my numeracy as his father had sponsored me to attend the grammar school in Market Harborough.” He shifted a little. “He trusted me. And as a result I know a great deal about the estate.”
This sounded as though it might be useful. “You do?”
Crawford nodded with grave imperturbability. “I do.”
Why not? Harry waved a welcoming hand at his butler. “Then perhaps you might stay for a while? I know it’s early, as yet, and you must have work to do, but I could do with a hand at familiarizing myself with matters concerning the estate.” He smiled. “It’s not the sort of thing I’ve had to deal with before, and I hesitate to approach it incorrectly.”
So Crawford stayed, and proved he did indeed have a vast knowledge of the estate and what went on within its confines, and also about Sir Geoffrey’s finances which were now Harry’s own. So much so that Harry felt a tiny bit uncomfortable that his butler possessed such knowledge. But there was nothing he could do to change that, and he had the feeling Crawford might be the repository of many secrets.
Eventually, as he felt he was beginning to get to know Crawford’s jib, Harry decided to ask him about Lady Madeley.
He looked up from the map he’d been perusing and cleared histhroat. “Might you be able to tell me a little more about Lady Madeley’s move to Rampton Farm? I confess to feeling a little guilty that she thought I might be such an ogre that she needed to vacate this house for me.” He paused. “Although I see she’s not gone far.”
Crawford froze in the act of picking up one of the ledger books.
Harry waited.
“Lady Madeley? Rampton Farm?” The butler set the book down with careful precision.
Harry nodded. “I called there yesterday morning. I like to be up early, as you must have noticed this morning, and I frequently take a walk. For my health. I need to regain my previous fitness, you see.”
He kept his gaze fixed on Crawford.
“Yesterday I walked into the village and met the rector, Mr. Mastin, who was kind enough to invite me to breakfast with him and his sister. On the way back, I encountered Miss Margaret Madeley, and she invited me to accompany her to Rampton Farm.” He managed a smile. “In fact, it would have been impossible to refuse her insistence. She’s a most determined young lady.”
Crawford’s face had not lost its guarded expression. “Ah, Miss Margaret. As you say, a most determined young lady.”
“Quite a character.”
Crawford nodded, his eyes betraying his obvious fondness for the child. Probably for the whole family. This did nothing to lessen the guilt Harry was already feeling for having driven them from their home, however unwittingly.
“They didn’t have to move out, you know,” Harry said, his fingers playing with the edge of the map. Anchored down on the library table by books at each corner, it was the oldest map he’d been able to find, dating from 1660, the year of the Restoration. Harry’s mother had been quite the scholar and he knew a lot about British history.
Crawford’s fingers drummed on the ledger. “Lady Madeley thought it would be easier for you if you were to have the house toyourself.” He fidgeted in his seat. “At the time, we had no idea you were not a married man. It would have been wholly unsuitable for your wife, had she existed, to arrive here and find another lady in possession. Lady Madeley assured me it was the correct thing for her to do.”
If only he knew how very difficult Harry’s life was. The presence of the widow and her three children could not have made it any worse. Might even have improved it, in fact. “That was very thoughtful of her.” He leaned back in his seat. “Although I can’t help but think that the house is very empty without her and her children. Very empty and quiet.”
Crawford nodded, a little soulfully. “It is indeed, Sir Henry.”
Harry frowned. He would have much preferred to be called Sir Harry, but probably Crawford wouldn’t approve of such familiarity. No, let him remain Harry just for Megs, and perhaps also for her sisters. And most especially for their mother, if he could persuade her. To everyone else he would be Sir Henry.
Crawford picked up the ledger again and opened it.
