Hope was well aware she had even less experience than them of the world beyond Briargate, but she read the periodicals, newspapers and the occasional book which found their way down to the kitchen. She knew many working people were brave enough to challenge the government about the unfairness of the laws, and up and down the country there was rioting as there had been in Bristol the year before her birth. She could see that it wasn’t right that only property owners could vote. They elected men to Parliament who would only look after their interests, and the poor had to shift for themselves.
‘So you’re going away with Lady Harvey?’ Hope said later when Nell came down. Fortunately, Martha was talking to Baines in the servants’ hall so they had the kitchen to themselves.
‘Don’t look so glum about it,’ Nell smiled. ‘It will only be for a few weeks.’
‘I hate it when you aren’t here,’ Hope sighed. She was often lonely since Ruth and James had left, but with Nell gone too she knew she was going to feel very alone and isolated.
Nell patted her sister’s cheek affectionately. ‘I think we’ll have to find a sweetheart for you. You wouldn’t be thinking about your old sister if a young man took your eye.’
‘There’s about as much chance of me meeting a young man working here as there is of becoming Queen,’ Hope said grumpily.
Nell looked anxious then and Hope felt ashamed of herself. ‘I’ll be fine really,’ she said quickly. ‘Just be back before Christmas.’
‘Will you go down to the gatehouse now and then and tidy up for Albert?’ Nell asked. ‘And if I can’t get back before Master Rufus comes home for the Christmas holiday, will you promise me that you’ll keep an eye on him?’
Hope nodded and smiled. She knew what Rufus would make of that request. He said Nell treated him as if he were still five or six, but he was a strapping lad of almost thirteen now, and his school had hardened him up considerably.
‘And don’t go anywhere near Sir William when he’s drinking,’ Nell said warningly. ‘If he rings the bell, let Rose or Baines go.’
‘Will Lady Harvey stand up to losing her father too?’ Hope asked. She sensed Nell was worried about something and thought perhaps it was that.
‘I think so – she isn’t as close to him as she was to her mother,’ Nell replied. ‘But his death will give her more problems.’
Hope raised one eyebrow questioningly.
‘I shouldn’t really tell you this, especially as Squire Dorville hasn’t even gone yet. But Sir William is assuming that the estate will be divided between the three sisters.’
‘It will, won’t it?’ Hope said.
‘Lady Harvey thinks not. Her father doesn’t approve of Sir William’s spendthrift ways.’
Hope knew exactly what Nell meant by that. A wife’s money became her husband’s, and possibly Sir William was banking on Lady Harvey’s inheritance to get him out of his problems. If that didn’t come about, he would be savage.
‘So neither younor Lady Harvey will have a lot to come home for?’ Hope said archly. She didn’t mean to be sarcastic, but it had struck her over the past year that the mistress and her maid had a great deal in common as far as their husbands were concerned.
‘I’ve got you, and Lady Harvey has Rufus,’ Nell retorted. ‘And that’s all either of us needs.’
Hope felt ashamed then for she knew that Nell thought of her as her own child rather than a much younger sister. She put her arms around Nell and held her tightly. ‘I love you, Nell,’ she whispered. ‘You’ve always taken care of me and I can’t imagine what I’d do without you. I just wish you had the kind of life you deserve.’
‘I’m a great deal more fortunate than some,’ Nell said stoutly against Hope’s shoulder, but the crack in her voice meant she was crying. ‘Will you do something for me?’
‘Of course,’ Hope replied.
‘It’s for Lady Harvey really,’ Nell said, withdrawing from her sister’s arms, dabbing at her damp eyes with her apron and sniffing back her tears. ‘What I’m going to tell you is a secret; you must promise me that you will never tell anyone?’
‘I promise,’ Hope said, wondering what on earth this secret could be.
‘Cross your heart and hope to die!’ Nell said.
Hope dutifully made the sign of the cross on her chest.
‘Right,’ Nell said. ‘I want you to go through the post in the mornings and retrieve any letters that look like this.’ She put her hand in her apron pocket and pulled out an envelope addressed to Lady Harvey. The handwriting was a bold script that was quite unlike any other handwriting Nell had ever seen. ‘Will yourecognize that?’ she asked.
Hope nodded. ‘What do you want me to do with them?’ she asked.
‘Just keep them safe until we get back, and don’t say a word to anyone about them,’ Nell said, her voice lowered conspiratorially.
Hope’s mouth dropped open in shock, for such a request could only mean one thing. ‘Has she got a lover?’
Nell put a warning finger to her mouth and looked over her shoulder nervously. ‘I wouldn’t call him that,’ she whispered. ‘He’s just her friend, but if Sir William was to see a letter from him it would cause her a great deal of trouble, and things are bad enough at the moment without that.’
‘Then why doesn’t she just write to him now and tell him she’s going away?’ Hope asked.
‘He’s a soldier,’ Nell said impatiently. ‘Letters take a long time to arrive.’
Hope knew there was no point in asking further questions because she could see by Nell’s tight expression that this was as much as she was prepared to reveal and she was worried sick at involving her younger sister in something she didn’t approve of herself.
‘Don’t worry, I can be as tight-lipped as you,’ Hope smiled. ‘I just wish it was you who was getting secret letters; that would make me very happy.’
Nell half-smiled, her dark brown eyes softer with relief. ‘You’re a good girl,’ she said, reaching out to stroke Hope’s cheek with the same affectionate gesture their mother had always used. ‘Don’t forget about tidying the gatehouse,’ she said, clearly reminded of her duty to her husband. ‘Will you do his washing too?’
‘Yes, that’s if I can beat Martha to it.’ Hope felt she had to try to make her sister laugh. ‘With you out of the way she’ll be fussing over him even more.’
Nell giggled, and for a second or two she looked like a girl again instead of a rather worn, tubby woman of thirty-one. ‘She’s welcome to fuss over him as much as she likes. But just remind her you can’t squeeze blood out of a stone.’
Hope gave Lady Harvey’s mysterious friend a great deal of thought over the next couple of days. As far as she knew, Captain Pettigrew was the only soldier who had ever been to Briargate, and he was certainly the only male visitor who always seemed to arrive when Sir William wasn’t there. Then there was that remark Rose had made years ago about Nell being flustered by him. It hadn’t made any sense before, but it did now. When Nell disapproved of anything she always wore that tight expression.
So it had to be him.
It was of course shocking that her mistress had a secret beau, but Hope had retained all the good thoughts she’d formed about the Captain on the day she found Cook unconscious. He was charming, handsome and dashing and she could well imagine that any woman, married or not, would like his attention. For him, Hope was quite prepared to intercept the letters and keep them safe.
The weather grew more wet and windy after Lady Harvey and Nell had left for Sussex. One night the wind was so strong an old oak tree in the garden came crashing down, narrowly missing the stables. The following morning Hope and Rose went out with Baines to look at it and it was fearsome to see the vast roots exposed and a huge hole left in the ground where the tree had stood for probably a hundred years.
‘My father used to say when an oak came crashing down that it was an omen of something worse to come,’ Rose said fearfully.
‘I’m sure your father believed in witches too,’ Baines retorted sarcastically. ‘I would say this is fortuitous as it means we’ll have plenty of logs this winter. So get about your work now, and don’t be so foolish.’
Hope missed her sister dreadfully. She hadn’t realized until Nell went that it was she who had become the glue that held everyone together. Although she was a quiet person, she really cared about her fellow servants and could stimulate chatter and laughter between them. Without her it was very gloomy. Martha talked of nothing but food. Rose would grumble about how much work she still had to do, and Baines hardly said a word.
Sir William’s unpredictability didn’t help the mood. They’d lay the dining-room table for him and he’d want his meal in his study; he’d tell Baines he wouldn’t be back for dinner, then come in roaring drunk late in the evening and demand a meal. Several times he’d told Martha he wanted a special dinner that evening because he was bringing a friend home, and then didn’t turn up at all. Rose said he was a selfish swine, but as Baines pointed out, it was Sir William’s house and he paid them to dance attendance on him. He also reminded them all that if they thought they could get an easier job, they were free to leave Briargate.
A letter with the same bold script Nell had shown her came after Lady Harvey had been gone over two weeks, coinciding with one for Hope from Nell. She put them both into the pocket of her apron, placed the rest on the silver tray in the hall for Sir William to look at later, finished laying the drawing-room fire, and then returned to the kitchen before reading her own letter.
Nell couldn’t write very well so it was brief and to the point: Squire Dorville had died. She expected it would be about two weeks before they set off for home, and she hoped everything was running smoothly at Briargate.
Hope knew that if Nell was writing to her, Lady Harvey would have written to her husband, and presumably he would leave immediately for Sussex. She wondered in passing whether he’d collect Rufus from school and take him too, or just write to him to pass on the news of his grandfather’s death.
It wasn’t until after breakfast, when Hope went upstairs with Rose to see to Sir William’s bedroom, that she thought about the letter from the Captain again. She had taken it from her apron pocket and slipped it into the bodice of her dress while out in the privy, but it crackled a little when she moved and she knew she must put it in a better place for safe keeping.
She knew she had to be careful. Rose was extremely nosy and Ruth had always warned Hope never to have anything in her room that she didn’t want seen because Rose poked into everyone’s belongings. Rose couldn’t read, so she wouldn’t know who the letter was for or from, but she was crafty enough to take it down to Baines, making out she’d found it on the stairs. That also meant it wouldn’t be a good idea to hide it somewhere in Lady Harvey’s bedroom for no doubt Rose went through that with a fine toothcomb while cleaning it.
The gatehouse seemed the safest place. She could slide it under the mattress of her old bed, for Albert would have no reason even to go into that room, let alone disturb the bed. She had intended to go down there that afternoon to clean up anyway.
Hope was back in the kitchen later on in the morning, when Sir William came in. She knew immediately why he’d come, but Martha and Baines looked astounded to see him as he seldom visited the kitchen.
As always when she saw her master, Hope was struck by his similarity to Rufus. He was in his mid-forties now, but he looked much younger; even the heavy drinking hadn’t spoiled his clear skin or dulled his beautiful blue eyes. The slackness of his full lips and the absence of a strong chin hinted at his weak character, but as he was wearing a bright blue waistcoat embroidered with small roses, made by Lady Harvey, and his blond curly hair was tousled, the overall picture was of a rakishly handsome young man.
‘I received a letter from Lady Harvey this morning,’ he said. ‘Sadly her father died in his sleep three days ago. I shall leave early tomorrow morning to be with her for the funeral. I am sure I can leave Briargate in your capable hands.’
Baines offered his condolences, then asked how Sir William would be travelling and what he would like packed.
‘Albert will take me into Bath in the trap, and I’ll catch the train from there,’ Sir William replied. ‘I won’t need to take much with me as I’ll only be gone a few days.’
Albert came into the kitchen for dinner at around twelve, and as always Martha fussed around him, this time because his coat was wet through. Hope was in the scullery cleaning some silver, and she smiled at the cook’s efforts to make him talk to her. The woman ought to have realized by now that Albert was a lost cause.
He informed Martha that he’d spent the morning sawing up the fallen oak, remarked that the river Chew was rising dangerously high again, and that it was his prediction the heavy rain would last another couple of days.
‘You mustn’t stay out in it again this afternoon,’ Martha exclaimed. ‘You might be a big strong man but that won’t stop you catching a chill!’
Albert said he’d hauled some of the big logs into the woodshed and he’d be working in there cutting them into smaller pieces so he’d be in the dry.
Hope thought he sounded less brusque than usual, almost as if he was warming to Martha. She annoyed both Hope and Baines with her constant prattle about nothing, but she did have a kind heart and she loved to feed people.
She had told Hope that when she was a young kitchen-maid, she had been walking out with a footman and they wanted to get married. Their mistress reacted in the same way as most gentry did about servants marrying, and refused permission.
Martha was over forty now, with nothing but swollen ankles, call used hands and the title of Cook to show for a lifetime of hard work. Hope was absolutely determined her life wasn’t going to be the same.
At half past three that afternoon, Martha was dozing in a chair in the servants’ hall, and Rose had just put some flat irons on the stove to press some shirts for Sir William, when Hope slipped out of the back door. It was tipping down with rain, but she thought she should go down to the gatehouse today to tidy it, for once Sir William left for Sussex she felt it was quite likely Albert would go home in the afternoons.
She hadn’t asked Baines for permission to go because she knew he would probably ask her to wait until tomorrow, and she didn’t want to admit she was afraid of running into Albert. He was pleasant enough up at the big house, but down in the gatehouse he reverted to behaving the way she remembered when she used to live there. He ordered her about as if she were his slave, and criticized everything she did.