Page 8 of A Hint of Scandal

Ogden for a moment looked as though he might like to suggest that his wife should tell the housekeeper herself, as the woman was standing right there, but wariness got the better of him. He relayed this message to the housekeeper in as loud a voice as possible, and with a shrug of her thin shoulders and a resigned expression of annoyance, off she went to comply. Hopefully. It was always possible what she’d gone off to do was sulk at the imposition of having to cook.

“Goodness knows whether there’s even any food in the house,” Araminta snapped. “Now, girls. Upstairs to find your rooms and see if Roberts is unpacking your clothes.”

Serafina and Letty took advantage of this command to absent themselves from the hall, hurrying up the murky staircase to the next floor. Visibility wasn’t helped by the fact that the windows were all shuttered. A lot of the furniture was still swathed in dust sheets, as though no one had known which day they were to be arriving, if at all. Or that the housekeeper was lax in her duties, which seemed more likely.

“The parlor,” Hetty said, peering inside the first doorway.

Serafina tried the other side of the landing. “Library. Lots of books. That’s good.” Having worked her way through most of the books in what had once been her father’s library, a new set would be a boon.

Hitching up their skirts in a way Araminta would have condemned as unladylike, they ran up the next flight of stairs.

Hetty peered into a room on the right. “This must be Mama and Papa’s room. They won’t like the fact there’s only one bed. Mama says Papa snores far too loudly.”

Serafina pushed open the other door. Two beds. That would make a change. She and Hetty had been sharing a bed since Hetty had left the nursery six years ago. She crossed the room and unlatched the shutters. Folding them back revealed a long sash window with a view from the front of the house onto the foggy street below. The hired carriage that had brought them up from Berkshire had gone, but the street was busy with other types of vehicles, pedestrians and people hawking merchandise. Even at this time of day, it bustled with a vivid life that made her want to run outside and join in, only she had no pin money to spend on the gingerbread the girl across the road was selling, or the hot chestnuts a man further down was shouting about.

Hetty, who’d spent a minute bouncing on one bed after the other to test out their comfort, joined her at the window. “I can’t believe we’re actually here. London. And I’m going to go to real balls. I’m going to wear those beautiful gowns Mama had made for me and dance with handsome young gentlemen who will no doubt all fall head-over-heels in love with me.” She clasped her hands together under her chin. “And if I’m lucky, I won’t ever have to return to Milford and spend another winter nursing chilblains and looking forward to the hot brick in my bed at nights.”

Serafina nodded. “But nevertheless, you must promise me that you won’t accept the first offer you receive. If any young man makes an offer, you must tell me about it and we’ll decide together if he will suit. A little research into their background will be necessary before you commit yourself. After all, you don’t want to end up with a reckless gambler who never has any money to pay the household bills. Or a man who’s so tight-fisted he squeaks when he walks.”

Letty nodded with girlish vigor. “I promise. I shan’t be like the girls in any of the novels I read. I shall act with the greatest of prudence. And don’t worry. I have no intention whatsoever of ending up with a man like Papa.”

Serafina returned her gaze to the street, where already darkness was falling. Despite Letty’s promise, she had little faith in her living up to her words if she took a fancy to some handsome young man, suitable or not. Previous experience of her niece had led her to doubt she possessed much in the way of common sense. No one but Serafina knew, but Letty had nurtured a fledgling passion last autumn for the new young groom at Milford House, whose employment had perforce been very short-lived. Yes, he’d been abnormally handsome, but he’d also been a little too free in his manner, and Serafina had surprised him and Letty wrapped in one another’s arms in the carriage house one afternoon.

She’d threatened the young man in question with revealing all to Letty’s father if he didn’t resign his job, and he’d believed her. Which was just as well as she wouldn’t have told Ogden anything, as it would have entailed revealing Letty’s part in the fiasco. Which would in turn have meant that Letty would never have succeeded in persuading her parents to let her have a London Season if they’d known she’d compromised herself with a lowly groom. Serafina was almost but not quite certain the relationship had gone no further than the furtive embrace she’d disturbed, but with Letty’s impulsive, self-centered nature, one could never be completely sure.

A knock sounded on the bedroom door. Roberts came in holding a single candle, followed by Ogden’s valet with the girls’ trunks. Time to unpack and dress for dinner. Whatever that might entail.