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‘Hmm.’ Abigail had an idea. If she bumped into Lord Somerville again, she’d have no qualms over speaking her mind on the subject. She knew the plan had been to keep a low profile while she was working there – even to the extent of using her maiden name – but she wouldn’t be able to help but speak up on this issue.
‘It’s a shame,’ the gardener continued, ‘there’s a games room and a gym which nobody uses. It would be nice to play a game of snooker or have a game of cards at lunch time. Beats sitting down here in the damp basement.’
‘Not good for my arthritis,’ another member of staff added. He had also been listening in to the conversation with the new girl, although they all knew she wouldn’t be there for long.
‘What’s not good for your arthritis?’ the housekeeper asked, overhearing the last part of the conversation as she walked into the kitchen.
He looked up and said, ‘Oh, never mind.’
The housekeeper walked straight up to Abigail. ‘Can I have a word?’
‘Oh, okay.’ Abigail got up from her seat and joined her by the door. ‘What is it?’
‘Carys Somerville would like to meet you.’
‘Carys Somerville?’
‘Lord Somerville’s daughter.’
Abigail hadn’t been aware there was a daughter. ‘Is it because of what I said to her father? Are they letting me go?’More to the point,she thought,are they letting my sister go?
The housekeeper smiled reassuringly. ‘No, nothing like that. She just makes a point of meeting all the new staff who start work here. They don’t always get directly involved in hiring people. We get quite a bit of leeway, advertising for posts, interviewing, taking up references.’
Abigail stared at her, thinking,don’t you mean you get all the extra work?Then she requests a meeting after all the hard work of hiring people has been done.She kept the thought to herself.
The housekeeper added, ‘She likes to know who you are.’
Abigail swallowed. ‘Um, but I’m just temporary, only here for a few days – a week tops.’
‘Yes, I explained that. But she insisted.’
Abigail remembered to breathe. She had nothing to worry about. Everyone there knew her by her maiden name.Nothing to worry about,Abigail chanted internally as she was led down the corridor. Besides, even if they found out, it wasn’t like she was there under false pretences. She was helping her sister, and it was her choice if she wanted to use her maiden name.
They stopped at the staff lift. ‘Up two flights, then turn to your left and it’s the third door—’ The housekeeper stopped. ‘You know what? I’ll take you there.’
‘No, it’s fine – I’ll remember.’
The housekeeper thought about it for all of two seconds. ‘No, come on.’
Abigail joined her in the lift.
‘Here we are.’ They had exited the lift on the first floor, walked along a carpeted corridor and arrived at the door. ‘This is the study.’
Before the housekeeper knocked, she whispered in a tight voice, ‘Perhaps you can avoid being too confrontational?’
‘I wasn’t being confrontational.’ Abigail wasn’t like that by nature. If anything, she avoided those sorts of situations. ‘Look, I just had to speak my mind.’
The housekeeper sighed. ‘That’s what I’m afraid of …’ She knocked on the door.
Abigail heard a woman’s voice call out, ‘Enter!’
The housekeeper raised her eyes at Abigail as if to say,remember what I said?
Abigail nodded and smiled. She’d try her best. She didn’t want to get the housekeeper or Emily in trouble. And that wasn’t her only concern. As she grasped the door handle, she hoped she didn’t get thrown too many searching questions.
