Daisy picked up the pile of letters on the table and thumbed through them. Some had been forwarded from London and some had been sent locally. There was one from Lady Grayson, all the way from Sweden, and she put that aside. She and Kitty had developed a regular correspondence since the remarkable events of Lady Hathaway’s themed ball. Daisy knew full well that she’d need tea and concentration to fully take in Kitty’s letter—it would be full of delightful tableaus from her wedding trip and the charming things Lord Grayson had said or done, interspersed with interesting conjectures on all manner of sciences. Kitty might be writing quite above Daisy’s head when she pondered hemi-parasitic flora, but she was a darling for not knowing it. As well, Kitty would not have been made aware of Daisy’s more recent changed circumstances and she would take her time in writing out all the details.
There were seven letters written in distinctly male hands and all sent via penny post. As she had no close acquaintance in this town, she was very afraid of what these letters contained.
Determined to be done with it, rather than sit in dread staring at them all, she opened them one by one.
The first six were as off-putting as she thought they would be. All from her father’s unsavory cronies, all purporting to be devastated to hear of his demise, and all proposing to call upon her to pay their respects. Some claimed they understood her at-home day to be Tuesday, some Wednesday, still another Thursday. She had set no at-home day, and if she had she would not be at home to any of them.
The seventh letter was entirely different. It was from Lord Burke, who informed her that he stayed not a mile off with a family named the Minkertons. His note was kind. Though he recognized she was in mourning, he ever so gracefully hinted that she might not be overly distraught and he did not think an intimate family dinner would go amiss. The Minkertons, according to Lord Burke, were anxious to make her acquaintance and Mrs. Minkerton and her daughter would call upon her whenever she found it convenient. He would await her further instructions in case he had overstepped and she was not equipped to see anybody just yet.
It was so like Lord Burke. There was a kind offer, but no pushing in. She would write him back this very day. She was anything but distraught and ifhejudged the Minkertons worth knowing, then they certainly must be.
Daisy heard a soft knock upon the drawing room door and Bellamy came through.
“The candidate for housekeeper, a Mrs. Broadbent, has arrived,” he said stiffly.
The butler’s tone was distinctly disapproving, which gave Daisy the idea that she was about to like Mrs. Broadbent.
“Do show her in, Bellamy,” she said pleasantly.
Though she attempted to look unconcerned, Daisy felt her nerves creeping up on her. She had been determined to do the interview herself with no help from Lord Dalton, or even Mrs. Jellops. She’d felt it vital for anybody who was hired to be in no confusion over who was in charge. Dear Mrs. Jellops would have been a mighty help to her, but Daisy knew that it would appear as if she were not old enough or wise enough to manage her own affairs.
For all that, though, she now wished her companion was by her side.
Daisy had expected the lady to walk through the door, but Mrs. Broadbent rather charged through it. She was, as her name hinted at, rather broad, not just in figure but in features. Thebenthalf of her name let her down however, as there was not anything bent about the lady—she comported herself ramrod straight like any soldier. Daisy’s grandmother would have called her looksfarm-raised on ample fresh food.
Aside from her stride, there was a general energy about the lady as she ducked her head and said crisply, “Miss Danworth.”
“Mrs. Broadbent,” Daisy said. “Do sit down, Bellamy will bring in tea.”
Despite telling Lord Dalton that she would do the interviews, Daisy had not the first idea of how they were conducted. As the lady seemed rather surprised that she would get tea, Daisy said, “I will admit to not knowing what is regular in these circumstances, but I do not see how one goes wrong with tea.”
Mrs. Broadbent sat herself down and said, “Quite right, Miss Danworth. Just don’t go giving tea to a candidate for housemaid else they’ll take on airs and prove themselves intractable.”
Daisy nodded, though she had no idea what sort of airs a housemaid might take on or what the trouble might be if she did. The housemaids she was used to generally were of a skittish nature, always looking to be well away from wherever her father happened to be.
Bellamy brought in the tea in good time, as Daisy had forewarned him that it would be wanted. He had sniffed at the idea, which had not moved her at all on the subject. She rather thought his complaint was over having to deliver tea to a mere housekeeper.
As he laid the tray, Bellamy eyed Mrs. Broadbent. Mrs. Broadbent eyed Bellamy. The lady did not look the least put off by him.
As Bellamy shut the door, Daisy poured the tea and handed Mrs. Broadbent a cup. “I have your references of course, but perhaps you could tell me of your last employment?”
Mrs. Broadbent nodded as she added an alarming amount of sugar to her tea. “The dear earl and his lady were quite kind, I got on very well there. They ran a tight ship, which any housekeeper must find comfort in. Though, the poor earl was not so tight with his money, gambling you know. Now, they’ve set off to India to try to rescue his fortunes. I was sad to part with them, but I could not see my way clear to accompany them.”
“Ah, I see,” Daisy said. “I suppose you would be averse to the heat of the place?”
Mrs. Broadbent shook her head vigorously. “Weather, Miss Danworth, would never have the power to overcome me, of that I can assure you.”
Daisy waited to be told the reason, then, that the lady did not go with her employer.
“I see you wonder at it,” Mrs. Broadbent said. “I will not prevaricate or shilly-shally round the thing. As much as I like a tight ship, I will never set foot on anactualship. I do not approve of all this traipsing about the world. Englishmen should stick to England and all this marching into other countries does us no more credit than if we were Napoleon himself. It is my view that people, wherever they live, would prefer to be left alone. I am afraid you will find that a daring opinion, but I am an exceedingly direct person!”
Daisy nodded, and heartily agreed that the lady was direct. However, it was not an opinion that concerned in the least as it related to housekeeping duties.
“We have an unusual situation here,” Daisy said, “as I imagine you’ve gathered.”
“Oh yes, everybody in town talks about the poor orphaned miss and how the duke ought to have brought you to his estate in Somerset. A shame, everybody thinks it.”
Daisy worked not to blush, she’d had no idea her circumstances were spoken of widely. She supposed she should have, there was nothing thetonliked so much as gossip. Once a thing was said in a drawing room, it was just as quickly said at the servants’ table, and then out the door it went into the wider world.
