Page 6 of A Hint of Scandal

Serafina ached to point out that she wasn’t an indigent girl now, and she hadn’t been then, and that if they’d only relinquish her two thousand pounds she’d be glad to leave Milford House and make her own way in the world. But for the children, that was, and especially Letty, who, despite her inclination to behave like a spoiled brat, she loved. So instead, she held her tongue on that point.

Letty waded into the fray. “Do say she can come with me. You know how I’ve always loved to have her with me—to fetch and carry for me, and of course to do my hair. I’d be lost without her.”

Her parents regarded her out of sour, pursed mouths, as alike as two peas. For a long moment neither of them spoke.

Serafina held her breath. If she could just get to London, just see what the Season was like, even if it was from the shadows, and if she could make sure dear Letty didn’t choose the wrong man for a husband, she would be content. Although she didn’t agree with Letty’s avowed intent to accept the first man who offered for her in order to get away from her parents. Something that had made Serafina all the keener to keep an eye on her niece.

Ogden patted his potbelly, where his waistcoat buttons were straining in a losing battle to hold him in. “I suppose we could take her with us, if just to please little Letty. And it would be an economy if she were to do Letty’s hair, and yours, too, my dear. I’ve noticed she’s a dab hand at hair. Otherwise we might have to hire another maid who understands the latest fashions.”

“But what about the other children?” Araminta asked, her voice rising in indignation but perhaps suspecting that on this subject she was likely to lose. “Who will look after them while we’re all away?”

Ogden waved an airy hand. “They have a governess, don’t they? Miss Wychwood can look after them perfectly well. Anyone would think there were dozens of them instead of just four. Yes, I think it a good idea of Letitia’s to take Serafina with us. She’ll be very useful. To us as well as Letty.”

Letty shot a triumphant glance at Serafina and bent her head over her sewing. “Thank you, Papa.”

Bedtime at Milford House was always early in the winter months, because neither Sir Ogden nor his wife liked to waste unnecessary money on lighting and heating, even though they were not in the least bit poor. Sir George had left his oldest son comfortably off, as well as a good stipend to his younger son, the Reverend Eustace Gilbert, along with four parishes to administer. As a consequence of their father’s abstemiousness, the children’s bedrooms were never allowed fires, not even when snow covered the ground. As a consequence, when Serafina and Letty retired upstairs that evening, one candle between the two of them, they found their room was icy cold. As usual.

Roberts, Letty’s recently acquired maid, was waiting for them, red-nosed, and already rubbing her hands together to restore the circulation. She bobbed a curtsy as the two young ladies came in.

Serafina shot a warning frown at Letty to abstain from discussion until Roberts had left, and they hurried through their ablutions and undressing into their thick flannel nightgowns. At least Roberts had put hot bricks in the big bed they shared.

As Roberts departed with their dirty water, Serafina blew out the candle, which was meant to last them all week, and snuggled down under the thick blankets with Letty.

“Every time I have to go to bed in the cold,” Letty whispered, “I thank God for you. If it weren’t for you I should have to go to bed by myself every night. And not only would that be much colder, but I’d also be so terribly lonely.”

Letty’s siblings were all much younger than her, and the next one down was Theodore, known as Teddy, who was only twelve. Consequently, she’d grown up with Serafina as her usual playmate as a child, and then as her confidante as she’d grown older.

“I can’t help but think a fire would be nice, though,” Serafina said, with a hint of wistfulness. “I remember when my papa was alive there was always a fire in the nursery.”

Letty shivered. “That was before my mama decreed being warm was spoiling us children and making us feeble. I know she’s my mother, but sometimes I do wonder if she loves us. Little Amy has chilblains on her fingers as if she were the child of one of the poorest of Papa’s farm workers.” Amy, the youngest in the family, was only seven and still slept in the night nursery with Laurence, who was eight and Charlotte, who was ten. No fire in there, either.

Serafina ignored this pronouncement as there was so little she could do about it. “Well done for asking if I could come. That was very brave of you.”

Letty giggled. “I thought they were going to say no, though. And if they did, I was ready to have a fit of the vapors and declare I couldn’t possibly go without my precious Serafina. You know I couldn’t manage without all your help. And besides which, if I’m standing beside you at a ball, I’ll look all the prettier.”

Serafina flinched at this casual insult as she was well-used to Letty’s lack of tact, and besides which, what she’d said was true. She’d had it drummed into her by Araminta that any girl standing beside her would look pretty. And of course, she could forgive Letty anything.

“I’d have loved to have seen their reaction if you’d had to resort to the vapors. Your mama would have had her smelling salts out in a flash.”

“Thank goodness I avoided having to sniff them. They smell awful. I pretended the vapors once before when she was present, and she practically stuffed the bottle up my nose. Horrible. Couldn’t get the smell out of my nostrils for days.”

Serafina giggled too. “All the same, it was very kind of you to stand up for me like that.”

Letty leaned over and planted a kiss on her aunt’s forehead. “Darling Serafina, how could I possibly not stand up for you? You’re my dearest friend and you know I spoke the truth when I said I couldn’t go without you. I’m determined to find a husband and I need you to help me do that. Mama will be no help at all—she just wants me to marry someone with the most important title. Or perhaps with the biggest fortune.” She gave a shiver as if of cold, even though they were now snug in bed. “What I want is a husband who lets his servants light fires in the bedrooms. I think that’s on the top of my list of requirements.”

Serafina smiled in the dark, even though Letty wouldn’t have been able to see her. “An admirable trait in a prospective husband.” She knew better than to criticize Letty’s parents directly, but she was thinking how well Araminta had adapted to Ogden’s penny-pinching ways. Although they had a fire in their own bedroom, of course. The warmest room in the house was always the kitchen, a place Serafina, and then her nieces and nephews, had spent a lot of time in over the years, getting under Cook’s feet.

“And you never know,” Letty whispered. “But we might be able to find you a husband as well.” Although she didn’t sound as though this was more than a sop to instill hope in her aunt.

Serafina shook her head. “You know that isn’t going to happen. Who would want me? I’m twenty-three next year, have no looks to speak of, and no chance of offering my inheritance as an incentive, because your papa will never relinquish it. And besides, if I were to capture some old widower on the lookout for a carer for his motherless children, I might only find myself in a similar situation to the one I’m in here. Beholden to him for everything. And also with, an, er… different obligation I might well be expected to fulfill.” She shivered, but not, this time, from cold. “I almost think I’d rather stay here than do that.”

Letty, who could at times be practical, gave a shrug. “Well, if not a husband, perhaps we could procure you a governess’s employment with a nice family? Where you’d be paid for the duties you perform here for nothing? There’s always that possibility. And if you were employed, and paid, and found you didn’t like your situation, then you could always up and leave and find another one.” She paused. “But only once I’m married. I couldn’t lose you until I’m safely married myself. So you’re not allowed to marry before me.”

One thing you could say about Letty was that she was ever the optimist. “I have no letter of recommendation to show anyone requiring a governess, and I can’t see Ogden or Araminta giving me one. They like having me here at their beck and call to do all the jobs no one else wants to do.”

Letty took her hand. “Stop being such a pessimist. You should do more looking on the bright side, like I do. I can assure you that doing so will improve your mindset. I am convinced that I’ll be married before the end of the Season. To a man who has fires lit in every hearth in his house. All you have to do is think positive thoughts and they’ll come true.”

Serafina frowned, a little concerned at Letty’s blasé view of her possible future. “I’m not precisely a pessimist. More what you might call a realist. We have to face it, Letty. I’m on the shelf. A spinster. Too old and too plain, and lacking any kind of dowry, and no one will want me like that. Besides which, I don’t think I have it in me to fall in love with anyone.”

Letty snorted. “What makes you plain is the way you do your hair, the awful gowns you wear and the sad look on your face all the time. You make nothing of yourself. When we get to London, I’m going to make sure you get a new gown, even if you only get one. And I’ll get Roberts to do your hair for you so you look a bit more attractive. She’s not as good at it as you are, but you can’t do your own by yourself. Trust me, Fina, we’re going to find your handsome prince for you.”