Page 22 of Moonlight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall

‘I thought it would tide me over whilst I look for something else.’

Her mother nodded, knowing that her daughter’s income would help. But she still looked confused. ‘So you’re a cleaner now?’

Lily shook her head. ‘Apparently Megan’s niece is starting in the next week or so as a sort of maid, I think. So she’ll do that kind of thing.’

‘A chambermaid,’ said her mum.

Lily looked at her, surprised.

‘I watchedDownton Abbeyjust like you did,’ said her mum in a prim tone.

Lily frowned. ‘I don’t think it’s really like that.’

‘They’re just normal people,’ said her grandad, reaching across the table for a buttered roll. ‘Nothing to fret about.’

‘Still, a housekeeper role is a huge responsibility,’ carried on her mum, looking pleased. ‘Like Mrs Hughes. You’ll keep the whole place going. Afloat, as it were.’

‘Sounds more like the Titanic,’ said Lily’s dad, with a wink.

‘I hope not,’ said Lily, feeling a little more nervous now.

She decided to Google the job requirements after dinner and was startled to read up on how much it entailed. Apparently, the main aim of a housekeeper’s role was to ‘maintain a clean, sanitary, comfortable and tidy environment for a private household’.

Lily made a face as she looked at the screen. Clean? Well, she could ensure that Megan’s niece kept it all looking nice. Tidy? She lived for neat and organised, didn’t she?

She glanced around the box room. Well, she normally did. Current circumstances didn’t help, as everything had to be squeezed into one tiny room. She hadn’t mentioned the possibility of sleeping at Willow Tree Hall yet. She would see how the first few days went. But the thought of a normal-sized bedroom and an en suite was tempting.

The other jobs that the housekeeper role entailed interested her more. She needed to ensure that groceries and household supplies were maintained to adequate levels. Fireplaces needed to be lit. But seeing as it was August, and summer was still going strong, that could be ignored.

To plan and cook meals for her employer? That made her sit up straighter in a slight panic. She had many gifts but cooking wasn’t one of them. But Annie hadn’t mentioned cooking, so that was fine.

Anyway, she was certain that she could totally handle it. After all, she had checklists. She would be fine.

She turned up the following day at nine o’clock sharp in the morning. She waited outside the front door for about five minutes until a blond man appeared from around the side of the building, carrying an empty coffee mug.

‘Hey. You must be Lily,’ he said, by way of welcome. ‘I’m Will.’

‘Hi,’ she said, shaking his hand.

Will was a slimmer, blonder version of his elder brother, Sam.

‘You can just go on in, if you dare,’ he told her.

‘I would, but it’s locked,’ said Lily.

‘Nobody’s used it yet probably. It’s still early. You’d better come around to the back door, then,’ said Will. ‘That’s the one everyone uses, anyway.’

Lily followed Will into the kitchen, where she found what appeared to be most of the family. In fact, she could hear them all before she saw them, such was the crescendo of noise that was created.

‘Will!’ called out Sam from the head of the long kitchen table. ‘Settle this argument once and for all, would you? I caught a fourteen-pound carp in the river when we were younger, didn’t I?’

Will laughed. ‘I think you’ve added ten pounds too many to that estimate, bro.’ He picked up the kettle and, finding it empty, went to the sink to refill it. ‘By the way, I found our new housekeeper if anybody wants to say hi.’

A chorus of welcome bubbled up from the table.

‘Welcome,’ said Sam, jumping up to shake Lily’s hand. ‘I didn’t get a chance to say hello properly yesterday.’ He looked along the table. ‘So, do you know everyone?’

‘More or less,’ said Lily, blushing at being the centre of attention.