“I have learned to make do on my own.”
“And your hair?”
“Our housekeeper usually pins my hair into a tight chignon, but I am not averse to doing it myself.”
Mary walked over to the dressing table and picked up a brush. “I didn’t think it was possible for a woman of your station to do without a lady’s maid.”
“That is generally the case, but my situation changed after my father died.”
“I am sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be,” Ellie said as Mary started brushing her brown locks. “I’ve learned that it’s the little things in life that matter the most, especially since I still have more than most.”
“That is a good way to look at life.”
“I’m afraid it wasn’t always the case,” she replied. “It took losing nearly everything to change my perspective.”
Mary put the brush down and reached for the pins on the table. “I heard that Thorne assumed you were the new scullery maid.” She giggled as she placed the pins. “I would have loved to have seen his face when he recognized his error.”
“Poor man,” Ellie said. “It was an honest mistake.”
“But Thorne is so…” Her words trailed off. “I would say he is very finicky.”
“I can see that, but he has only been kind to me.”
Stepping back, Mary asked, “Would you care to dress now?”
“I would.”
Mary walked over to the armoire and opened it. “Lady Emma has supplied a few gowns for you to wear.”
“That is most gracious of her.”
Reaching in, Mary removed a jonquil gown and held it up for her inspection. “Does this gown please you?”
“It does.”
After she was dressed, Ellie walked down the hall and headed towards the drawing room. She stepped into the room, her eyes wandering over the red-papered walls. Every space on the tables and mantel over the fireplace was filled with trinkets of every size and color.
Walking over to the mantel, she picked up a decorative box and took a moment to admire the ornate markings in the wood.
Lord Bideford’s stern voice came from the doorway. “Be careful with that.”
“I have every intention to be.”
He walked further into the room. “My father gave my mother that box when he returned home from his trip to India.”
“How remarkable,” she murmured.
Lord Bideford put his hands out. “All of these trinkets came from my father,” he revealed. “He worked for the East India Trading Company before he inherited his title, and he always brought back a gift when he traveled.”
Ellie returned the box to the mantel. “I think it’s sweet that your mother has kept all of them.”
“She has,” Lord Bideford responded, giving her a pointed look. “And she knows precisely where they belong, in case one should ever go missing.”
Ellie looked at him in disbelief. “I have no intention of stealing one, if that is your concern.”
“I was just making conversation.”
