Page 40 of The Mistress of Ashmore Castle (Ashmore Castle #3)

‘Oh, you are a harsh mistress!’

Lady Manningtree, Giles’s Aunt Caroline, had taken an unaccountable liking to Mr Cowling, and always welcomed Nina warmly for his sake, as well as on her own account for being Giles’s wife’s friend.

And having been a debutante long ago, she could, with an effort, remember how nervous she had been at her presentation. ‘Of course, I was only seventeen and unmarried. But, still, it is quite a thing. I’m pleased for you, my dear.’

‘Mr Cowling knows the King quite well already,’ Nina said.

‘But it’s hard not to feel very small and mouselike.

They’ll all be much older than me and I won’t know any of them.

Well, there’s Lord and Lady Leven – not that I know them, but I went to their summer exhibition when Kitty and I were coming out. ’

‘Yes, dear, I remember.’

‘And Mr Cowling said Lord and Lady Wroughton will be there. It was at their ball that I first met him. But I’m sure they won’t remember me.’

‘It is rather an elderly company,’ Aunt Caroline mused. ‘I don’t suppose it will be lively. But the Levens are educated people – and I remember you like paintings and all that sort of thing, don’t you? You can’t go wrong talking about art to either of them.’

‘I won’t have to talk to the King, will I?’

‘He’s very nice, my dear, not at all an ogre.

And he likes pretty young women. You should work up an amusing story – not too long – about some little thing that has happened to you.

Practise it in your head beforehand, so you have it ready if the occasion arises.

That will save you the embarrassment of being silent and looking gauche. ’

‘That’s a good idea,’ Nina said. ‘Is that what you do?’

‘It’s what I used to do when I was a young girl.

I hardly ever meet strangers nowadays. But I expect the other guests will do all the talking anyway, dear, so you’ll only need to smile and nod.

And then you can save your story for another occasion,’ she concluded frugally. ‘I presume the Keppels are invited?’

‘I believe so.’

‘Well, she’ll keep everything going. She watches the King like a hawk, and as soon as she sees him grow bored, she intervenes. She’s a fascinating woman – always has something amusing to say on every topic.’

‘Perhaps she practises at home, too.’

‘I shouldn’t be surprised. It would be like her to be thorough.

Lady Vane says she’s like a Christmas tree with a present for everyone.

When one is in her company one quite forgets that she’s the King’s mistress – though, of course, that’s not like being a mistress in the general way.

One couldn’t as a rule condone . . . They live in Portman Square, you know, the Keppels, two doors down from the Pelham house.

I don’t think Maud realised when she took it.

But he ’s frightfully respectable, she can’t complain about that.

His father was the Earl of Albemarle, who was a direct descendant of Charles II – though I suppose Maud wouldn’t necessarily count that as respectable.

’ She felt she was tying herself in knots and changed the subject quickly. ‘What are you going to wear?’

‘Mr Cowling wants me to have a new gown.’

‘Very proper.’

‘But I don’t know how grand it ought to be. He likes things with a lot of decoration on them, but . . .’ She bit her lip, not wanting to seem to criticise him. ‘I have to look right ,’ she concluded.

Aunt Caroline went across to her writing desk, and scribbled a note.

‘You must go to Hortense, my dressmaker in Orchard Street. She will know exactly what you should wear, and she’ll make it up for you.

You can trust her entirely – she has never let me down.

This,’ she concluded, speaking as she wrote, ‘is a note of in-tro-duction to her, explain-ing the sit-u-ation. There!’ She signed and folded it and handed it to Nina.

‘Because she doesn’t often take on new customers. ’

‘Thank you very much,’ Nina said, curbing the urge to go and put her head in her mentor’s lap. ‘You are so kind. I wish you were my aunt,’ she added, on impulse.

Aunt Caroline looked pleased and said, ‘Bless you, child. And don’t worry. It will all go by in a flash, and then you’ll wish it wasn’t over.’

The gardener’s boy, Wilf, was surprised to be waylaid at the entrance to the kitchen yard by one of the grooms, George.

‘’Ello, mate,’ George said, in a friendly manner. ‘What you got there?’

‘Veggibles for the kitchen. What’s it to you?’ Wilf said suspiciously.

‘I’ll take ’em for you,’ George said. ‘Save you the journey.’

It was only a few more yards. Wilf hugged the basket tighter to his chest. ‘What’s your game?’

George came clean. ‘I want to talk to somebody in the ’ouse. Go on, let me take it.’

‘I got to take the basket back,’ Wilf objected.

‘You wait here and I’ll bring it to you. Be a pal. Do the same for you one day.’

Wilf grinned. ‘Girl, is it?’

‘Might be,’ George admitted.

Wilf’s grin broadened, but he relinquished the basket.

George had wiry fair hair that stood straight up no matter how much oil he put on, and rather round, pale blue eyes that looked startling in his brown face.

‘Coo-er! Love’s young dream!’ he said. ‘Go on – but don’t hang about.

I’ll get me ear clipped if I’m not back with that ’ere basket. ’

George grabbed it with a muttered ‘Thank you,’ and walked through the yard up to the back door with what he supposed to be a nonchalant air.

Luckily, one of the younger kitchen maids, Debbie, appeared just then with a mat to shake, and opened her eyes wide at the sight of him. ‘What you doing here? Is that our veg? Give it me. Why you bringing it, anyway?’

She took hold of one side of the basket, but George hung on to the other. He lowered his voice conspiratorially. ‘Want to talk to somebody. Do us a favour, eh? Fetch Ada out here, will you?’

‘Why should I?’ Debbie said. ‘You’ll get me into trouble.’

‘Oh, go on! I just want to talk to her. Be a pal.’

Debbie sniffed. ‘I’ll see if I can find her. Stay out there – don’t go bringing your dirty boots in. I’m not cleaning up after you.’

George waited, shifting from foot to foot.

He suddenly had a thought, licked his hand and pressed his hair down with it, squinted into the dark glass of the pantry window to see if his face was clean.

And then Ada was there, dainty as a fairy, pale and golden as a princess, and was looking at him with an expression so blank she might have been a china doll.

But she always looked like that, so it didn’t put him off.

It was her absence in London for several weeks that had made him realise he had feelings for her.

‘’Ullo,’ he said, with an ingratiating smile.

‘’Ullo,’ Ada said. She’d been fancying George for months, and his sudden request to speak to her had set her heart thumping, but she’d never been a great talker. Her prettiness had always meant that other people made the running.

‘I’m glad you’re back,’ he said boldly. ‘Did you like London?’

‘It was all right.’

‘Didn’t decide to stay there, then? Big city? Bright lights and everything?’

She shook her head. Then, with a great effort, ‘I like it here.’

He was encouraged. ‘I like it when you’re here. Heard you had a bit of an adventure in London? Is that right, Mr Moss took you to the zoo? What’d he do that for?’

‘I dunno,’ she said.

‘What’s his game? Does he fancy you, then? He’s old enough to be your dad.’

She actually blushed. He was just being kind. ‘He told me all about g’raffes and things.’

‘What’s g’raffes?’ George asked suspiciously.

‘Animals, sort of. At the zoo. With long necks. And there was – camiles and things. And a lot of fish. But then he was took ill.’

‘Yeah, we heard about that. What happened?’

Ada frowned with the effort of composing a narrative. ‘We was going to have tea. Then he sort of – went all funny. And he sort of fainted. Only it wasn’t a faint, it was a heart tack, or something. They say.’

‘What did you do?’

‘I didn’t do nothing. A lady and gentleman was there that looked after Mr Moss. And somebody fetched a policeman and he sorted it all out. They took Mr Moss away and another policeman took me home.’

‘You must’ve been scared,’ George said warmly, stepping closer.

Brigid, the senior kitchen-maid, appeared and said, ‘What are you two up to? Ada, get back to your work. And you – you’re not supposed to be here.’

‘Waiting for the veg basket to take back.’

‘That’s not your job.’

‘Helpin’ out,’ he said boldly.

She gave him a hard, suspicious look, and said, ‘All right, I’ll get it. Then you can clear off. Don’t you know we’ve got a new butler, and he doesn’t like boys messing about?’

She went inside, and George, realising he had to be quick, actually caught hold of Ada’s hand.

She recoiled in surprise and looked at him with wide eyes, but he didn’t gather she minded too much.

‘I’m glad you’re back,’ he said. ‘I been thinking about you a lot since you went to London. Thinking I wouldn’t see you again. How about you and me walking out?’

‘Don’t mind,’ she said shyly, looking down.

‘When’s your afternoon off?’

‘Wensdy. When’s yours?’

‘I’ll make it be Wensdy, don’t you worry. I’ll meet you at the gate and we’ll go for a walk. All right?’

She nodded. Then, feeling some encouragement was called for, she added, ‘I didn’t want to go to the zoo with him.’ And then, bravely, ‘I’d sooner go out with you than him.’

Brigid returned with the basket, which she thrust into George’s arms. ‘There! Now hook it. And you, Ada, you’d better not let Mrs Webster catch you hanging around the kitchen. She’s in enough of a mood with Mr Moss gone and a new butler to cope with.’

Ada scuttled away, her heart singing. No more old Mr Moss learning her about elephants and Egypt and stuff, and George wanting to walk out with her! Everything in her garden was rosy.