Heart Strings (Music of the Heart Book 1) (12 page)

“This is beautiful,” Susanna said in an awed voice.

“Polly will assist you with anything you need.”

Polly, a trim girl with dark hair, bobbed a curtsy, and folded her hands together to await instructions.

Esther hugged Susanna quickly. “I hope you are comfortable and happy here, Susanna.”

Susanna set down her portmanteau. “I can’t thank you enough for your generosity—especially on such short notice.”

“I’m so glad you let Kit and me bully you into staying here.” She grinned and swept out of the room.

Polly sprang to life. “There’s hot water here if you wish to take a sponge bath, miss.”

Susanna blinked. “I do, indeed.” She could hardly wait to peel off her clothing after traveling and sleeping in the street. “But you needn’t help me. I can do it.”

“It’s my pleasure, to serve you, miss.”

Polly set up a screen in front of the fire. As Susanna started to remove her gown, Polly hurried over. “Allow me, miss.”

Susanna faltered but allowed Polly to help her out of her gown, unlace her short stays, and remove them along with her chemise. What must the maid be thinking of Susanna—so dirty and ragged and showing up unexpectedly in the wee hours of the morning?

Susanna blushed at the attention and at being so unclad in the presence of another person. However, Polly’s efficient, no-nonsense manner eased her discomfort by degrees.

Susanna scrubbed herself with a sponge until her skin turned red. The wash water turned an embarrassing color of dirt. Oh, how glorious to be clean! She smiled at the thought that something she’d once taken for granted could now be such a delicious indulgence.

Polly said, “Tomorrow, if you wish, I will have a hip bath brought in.”

A bath. A full bath. She sighed. The luxury of immersing herself in warm water taunted her like a sweet dream. “Oh yes, please. My hair needs washing, too. But you needn’t go to so much trouble. I can do it.”

Polly held a towel to Susanna. “No trouble at all, miss.”

“I wouldn’t dream of you carrying up all those buckets of water. I can bathe in the kitchen, can’t I?”

The maid paused. “If you don’t mind my asking; haven’t you ever had a lady’s maid?”

“No. As a child, I had a nursemaid. When I was thirteen, my aunt and uncle became my guardians. They dismissed my nursemaid because they said poor relations should be more self-reliant.”

The maid nodded sympathetically. “Well, as long as you are here, I am pleased to serve you, and that includes having a bath brought into you any time you desire. If it makes you feel better, I am not required to do the carrying—that’s for the footmen to do.”

Susanna nodded but still regretted having to ask some poor young men to carry all that weight up several flights of stairs.

“Or if you prefer,” Polly added, “You can bathe in the shower-bath like Lady Daubrey does.”

Susanna froze. “
Lady
Daubrey?”

“Yes, miss. My lord’s father had the shower bath installed a year ago—quite a clever invention. My lady likes it ever so much.”

Susanna barely noticed talk of the shower bath. Her attention focused on the title and the seed of suspicion that her hosts were more than she’d first believed now grew into a sapling. “Your lord is who?”

A brief flash of confusion slipped over the girl’s features. “Lord Daubrey. Didn’t you know?” She blushed and stammered, “Forgive me for my impertinence, miss.”

Weakly, Susanna managed, “No, it’s quite all right.” Still, just to be sure, she asked, “Robert Daubrey is a titled lord?”

“That’s right, miss.” The poor girl glanced about as if she feared she were in the presence of a bedlamite.

“And Esther Daubrey is a titled lady?”

“Yes, miss.”

Wrapped in a towel, Susanna sank into the nearest chair. A lord. A lady. Good heavens. The full impact of whose hospitality she’d accepted finally hit her. She should have known. She had imposed on nobility like some kind of lost puppy too desperate and naive to know better.

Weakly, she asked, “What exactly is Lord Daubrey’s rank?”

“He’s a viscount, miss.”

Who, exactly, was Kit that his sister married a peer? Was she the daughter of a gentleman who’d married above her class? Or was Kit’s family a member of the
beau monde
by birth? If so, that would explain much. It would also generate more questions. She really must find out more about him. Kit must have suspected if he told her such a crucial piece of information she would never have agreed to come.

She wanted to put a hand over her face. She had not only appeared on the doorstep of Kit’s sister, but that of a titled lord and lady. She moaned out loud. Based on her appearance and state of need, they must think her some kind of gutter rat trying to ingratiate herself into the world of her betters.

Still, Esther had been an unexpected delight. Susanna couldn’t very well leave now after accepting the Daubrey’s hospitality. Such a thing would be ungracious to say the least. Susanna would make all haste to find a place of her own, lest she become some kind of mushroom, feeding off the kindness of lords and ladies.

“Are…” the maid wetted her lips. “Are you ready to dress for bed now, miss?”

“Yes.” Susanna stood. “I think rest is just what I need.”

Polly eventually stopped looking at Susanna as if she suspected she were touched in the head, and helped Susanna dry off and dress in the other chemise she’d brought in her portmanteau.

As Susanna reached for the hairbrush, the maid picked it up. “Allow me, miss.”

While Polly brushed and plaited Susanna’s hair in one long braid, another maid who looked surprisingly wide-awake appeared and took away the filthy wash water.

Sheepishly, Susanna watched Polly in the mirror. “I’m sorry if you were all awakened to take care of me. I really am accustomed to managing on my own.”

“Oh, not to worry, miss. Our days always begin about this time.” She sprinkled toothpowder on Susanna’s toothbrush and handed it to her.

Susanna brushed her teeth while Polly filled a bed warmer with coals and carried it to the tall four poster bed. How luxurious to have someone care for her and warm her bed!

As Susanna slipped between soft, warm sheets on a mattress like a cloud, she let out a little sigh. “I feel like a new person. Thank you for your help, Polly.”

“My pleasure, miss. Sleep well.”

The words proved prophetic. Susanna tumbled into a deep slumber. The next time she opened her eyes, late golden rays of afternoon sunlight peeked in between heavy draperies. What a lovely dream. She was warm and safe, and in a beautiful room that reminded her of her childhood bedchamber.

“Miss? Are you awake?” A hushed voice called.

Not a dream, then.

“Miss?” The voice persisted.

“I’m awake,” Susanna mumbled.

Polly came into view, peering anxiously at her. “I’m sorry to awaken you, but Lady Daubrey is asking after you.”

Susanna pushed herself to a seated position and rubbed her eyes. Then the maid’s words sank in. Lady Daubrey. Kit. Susanna was in London in Kit’s sister’s house—his sister, the titled lady married to a viscount.

“It’s four o’clock in the afternoon, miss. You’ve slept away the whole of the day,” Polly said. “Are you ill?”

Groggy, Susanna smiled at Polly. “No, I assure you, I’m quite well. I was merely tired.”

“You must have been all worn out, then.”

Considering that Susanna hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep since she left home, that was an understatement. She felt like a new person, content and comfortably drowsy from such a lengthy rest.

“Indeed I was. But I feel much better now.”

Polly took a step closer. “I’ve arranged for the hip bath brought in—unless you want to try the shower bath?”

“The hipbath is perfect, thank you.”

Polly rearranged her pillows and placed a tray on her lap. “The bath will be ready in a few minutes, then.”

Susanna tried not to gape at the appearance of a tray of food on her lap. While Susanna sat propped by a luxurious number of cushions, she feasted on fruit, scones, and cheese. She washed it down with tea, complete with cream and sugar. How lovely!

After eating, she slipped into the hip bath and scrubbed herself all over again, washing her hair. Once dried and dressed in her clean chemise and the only stays she owned, she slid her arms into a dressing gown Polly held out for her. Fingering the soft dressing gown, she sat at a table while the maid combed and styled her hair.

“Beautiful hair,” Polly said.

“It’s just brown.”

“Oh, no, miss. It’s such a rich, dark color and so thick and long. So pretty.”

“That’s kind of you to say.”

Watching through the large, clear mirror, Susanna tried to follow the maid’s movements. Over the years, her own poor attempts at styling her hair had resulted in a loose chignon low on the back of her head. Of course her small, dark-spotted and cracked mirror in her bedroom back home had not aided the task. Polly’s skilled hands worked too quickly to be a guide for Susanna to recreate later.

Before long, her hair was arranged in a style so becoming that Susanna gaped at her own image. Gone were the unattractive little frizzy pieces that refused to stay smoothed back. Instead, her hair shone smooth and sleek, swept back into an elegant swirl of braids at the crown of her head. Curls framed her face, softening the sharp edges of her features. Why, she almost looked pretty.

A firm knock at the door provided only a second’s warning before Esther—Lady Daubrey—swept into the room. All style and elegance and self-possession, she walked as a woman confident with the world and her place in it. Though dressed in a simple muslin gown, she exuded the very finest
ton
, from the excellent cut and workmanship of her gown, to the artful arrangement of her hair, to the healthy glow in her complexion that indicated she’d received ample nourishment all her life. Over her arm she carried pale blue fabric—a gown or a wrap, perhaps.

Kit’s sister glided like a queen to Susanna. “You look better, I must say. The dark circles under your eyes are gone. And your skin! Lovely—creamy and flawless like a china doll, and there is color in your cheeks now. And your hair! Oh, I had no idea it was such a beautiful shade.” She nodded. “Well done, Polly. The style is perfect for her face.”

Polly curtsied and moved to stand near the wall with all the silence of a well-trained servant.

“Thank you,” Susanna said. “I apologize for sleeping so late—”

“Think nothing of it. You clearly needed the rest. Did you sleep well?”

“Better than I have in . . . what seems like a long time.” She swallowed, ashamed to reveal that she’d only napped on the mail coach when possible but the road conditions made sleep difficult. Then, once in London, she’d spent the night in an alley.

“I brought you a gown to wear while yours are properly laundered. Polly noticed your portmanteau got wet so your other gown was soiled. I’m happy to let you borrow one of mine.” She held up a sky blue gown she’d been carrying over her arm.

A gown that fit Esther’s full figure surely would not fit Susanna’s shapeless frame.

As if guessing her thoughts, Esther added, “It’s an apron style gown so I believe it can be pinned in enough to fit you, although it might be too long. Here, try it.” She made a quick gesture to the maid.

Polly dashed forward and helped Susanna out of her dressing gown and into the blue gown which opened at the front. After much tucking and pinning, the maid stepped back and glanced at Esther for her approval. Susanna glanced in the mirror. The gown fit her as if made for her, although long enough to drag a little on the floor. Susanna ran a hand along the skirt, savoring the softness of the fine cambric.

“Yes,” Esther nodded, circling Susanna. “Yes, I believe that will do.” She looked her over critically. “I apologize for giving you an afternoon gown rather than a formal evening gown but it’s the only thing I had that I thought might fit you—you’re so tiny. We are only having a family dinner tonight, so no need to worry about dressing formally enough for guests.”

Still stroking the gown, Susanna let out a tiny sigh of pleasure. “It’s lovely, my lady. I don’t know how to thank you.”

Esther glanced at the maid as if guessing the source of her information but returned her gaze to Susanna. “Oh, let’s leave off all this ‘my lady’ business. Esther suits me much better. Or Tess, as Kit has always called me. And remember, my husband prefers to be called Daubrey. Come, dinner is ready.”

Susanna flushed. “I don’t think I could be so familiar with a viscount.”

“As you wish. But please know that we won’t insist on formality while you’re here in our home. By the way, I invited Kit to join us for dinner tonight, as well. He visits far too seldom.”

Susanna almost laughed at the force of nature that was Esther Daubrey. There was nothing for it but to go along with her. For now. Susanna refused to impose on the Daubreys’ hospitality a moment longer than she must. Still, the thought of seeing Kit again sharpened her senses and put a bounce in her step.

Polly brought Susanna silk stockings unlike any Susanna had ever owned, tying the garter above her knee. Her shoes looked shabby and crude by comparison to the fine gown and stockings. Thank goodness for the overly long hem. After adding a pair of blond lace gloves, Susanna was pronounced ready.

Esther linked arms with Susanna. “The gentlemen await us in the drawing room.”

As they descended the staircase, Esther kept up a steady stream of conversation about places she wanted to bring Susanna, trips to the theatre for various operas and theatrical productions, and laughing over the habit of many theatre-goers to watch other patrons more than the stage performers.

After crossing the great hall, they reached a set of double doors. Here, Esther paused and fixed a sober gaze on her. Very gently, she said, “I won’t ask you prying questions, but it’s clear to me that you’ve suffered recent losses, and I realize you are not in a situation that you have been bred to face. Please know that if I can be of any assistance, you have only to ask. I hope you view me as your friend.”

Tears burned the back of Susanna’s throat. “Thank you. You have already been too kind, and I do not wish to impose on your charity.”