Page 3 of The Spinster's Resolve

A fter a long while, Grace wiped her tears and took a steadying breath.

I will not let this defeat me.

Straightening her shoulders, as she always did when refusing to be beaten down, she opened the study door and stepped out to deliver Charles’s decree to Heather, Mrs Merriweather, and Johnson.

Johnson, the butler, was a grumpy northerner with an outwardly strict demeanour. Grace had often wondered why her parents had hired him.

But after her mother’s passing, she had come to understand.

Beneath his gruff exterior was a soft heart, and his unwavering loyalty to the Skye family had shone through those dark times. He had stood by them, helping her through the grief of losing her beloved mother.

If anyone dared speak ill of Miss Skye or Miss Heather, Johnson was infamous for his heavy-handed disapproval.

Grace had heard many complaints from new grooms and footmen over the years—but she trusted Johnson’s judgment implicitly.

Now, she felt it only right to include him and Mrs Merriweather, two of their longest-serving household members, in this difficult conversation.

In the Morning Room, the ladies sat, while Johnson remained standing near the fireplace, a stickler for proper decorum.

Grace broke the news as gently as she could, but the panic on her sister’s face told her she had failed miserably.

Heather’s eyes welled with tears. ‘What will become of us?’ she sobbed. ‘Will we have to go into service? How will we cope? Where will we live?’

Her words tumbled out frantically, before her distress turned to fury. ‘How could that little weasel leave us to fend for ourselves? Why, if I saw him now, I would land him a facer!’

She punched the nearest cushion with such vigour that fluff flew from the seams. This was followed by some particularly colourful language about what she thought of Charles.

Mrs Merriweather, who was usually quick to voice her opinions, remained shockingly silent—an unmistakable sign of her distress.

Johnson, ever the stoic figure, said nothing.

But his grim expression spoke volumes.

Grace placed a reassuring hand over her sister’s.

‘Squirrel, we will be alright. And no, we will not have to go into service.’

This seemed to revive Mrs Merriweather. ‘But, Miss Grace,’ she protested, ‘we only have two weeks! How will we manage? Where will we go?’

Grace was touched by Mrs Merriweather’s assumption that she would go with them.

Clearing the lump in her throat, she replied, ‘Mrs M, Johnson—you and the staff are expected to remain here. I have not been told otherwise. The Manor still needs to be looked after. After all, we are no longer able to afford the wages you are accustomed to.’

Mrs Merriweather shook her head so vehemently that her mobcap nearly tumbled off. ‘Oh! To hell with Mr Charles and his sodding wages! I will go wherever you go, and I know Johnson feels the same. I am frankly appalled you would suggest otherwise!’

Johnson, usually a man of few words, delivered what was perhaps the longest speech Grace had ever heard from him. ‘Miss Skye, I have been in your family’s service since you were a little girl. I cannot leave you both now, so I will go with you. Do not trouble yourself about the wages—we will manage. I made a promise to your father that I would stand by you, and I’ll not be one to break a promise.’

With a curt nod, he returned to his dignified silence, making it clear that no further arguments would be entertained.

For once, Grace was speechless.

Heather, however, brought them back to reality. ‘Yes, yes, of course, they will come with us. That’s settled. But where on earth will we go? We can’t very well pitch a tent in the middle of a field, can we?’ she said, rather irritably.

Grace’s lips curved into one of her impish smiles. ‘Well... I have a plan.’

Mrs Merriweather quivered in her seat. ‘Now, Miss, you have that look again. It always gives me palpitations.’

Even Heather looked uneasy. ‘Gracy... it’s not as outrageous as your last plan, is it?’

Grace laughed.

‘No, my dear squirrel, it’s much better.’

At Heather’s prompting, Grace began, ‘Remember when, not six months after Mama passed, Papa had that fit?’

They all nodded.

‘The doctors feared another stroke was imminent.’

Heather sighed, her voice tinged with sorrow as she reminisced. ‘After that, Papa would grow so frustrated when he forgot things. It made him angry.’

Grace nodded and reached for her sister’s hand. ‘I knew then that our lives would never be the same. I worried what would happen to us if Papa’s health worsened. I begged him to make provisions for us, but Charles—ingratiating little weasel that he is—convinced Papa he would take care of us. And Papa believed him. He was certain we would marry or that Charles would see to our welfare.’

Mrs Merriweather sighed. ‘Yes, I remember how upset he would get whenever you tried to convince him otherwise.’

Grace gave a small, sad smile. ‘Mama always told me, “Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.” So I budgeted the household accounts, saved every bit of pin money each month, and instead of spending it on clothes and fripperies, I put it all aside. Travers—God rest his soul—not only taught me about the management of the Estate, but he also helped me invest those savings.’

Heather interjected, ‘So that is why you always wore plain, unflattering gowns!’

Grace shot her a withering look. ‘Humph! Do not interrupt, you odious creature!’

Unfazed, Heather grinned unabashedly.

Grace pressed on. ‘Now, where was I? Ah, yes. When I turned five-and-twenty, I gained full access to my dowry. If you do not marry, Heather, yours will be released for you to use when you reach the same age. I invested that too.’

Mrs Merriweather and Johnson exchanged glances, clearly impressed by her foresight.

‘When Papa became almost bedridden, Travers and I took charge of the Estate, which allowed me to experiment with farming techniques. We managed to make the land far more profitable.’ Grace hesitated, then cleared her throat before continuing, looking slightly guilty. ‘At this point, I did something ... perhaps a little cunning.’

Heather frowned, trying to piece it together. ‘I never understood why you invited Charles over so often back then. It always felt like you were inflicting his company upon us on purpose.’

‘I know you both disliked it, but I have no regrets.’

Mrs Merriweather tutted. ‘That boy always became irritable when you mentioned your mother. His prejudice against her was disgraceful.’

Grace nodded solemnly. ‘And that was exactly what I needed him to expose. I had to make Papa see Charles’s true nature, and thankfully, he played the pompous buffoon perfectly during that visit. This time, Papa saw it for himself.

‘I worked hard to make the Estate more profitable, but once it was entailed away, we would never have seen the fruits of it. After that visit, Papa began to acknowledge my fears. He agreed to increase our allowance money. Perhaps the allowance was his way of making provisions for us without admitting he had changed his mind about Charles. Papa was just so proud ...’

Heather looked at her sister with surprise and a newfound sense of awe and respect. She raised her eyebrows and asked curiously, ‘How much did you manage to save over all these years?’

‘The profits from the investments should yield us five hundred pounds a year, which may not be what we are used to, but we will be comfortable.’

They all exclaimed, surprised by the amount Grace had managed to amass through years of scrimping.

Though overjoyed, Heather was also annoyed. ‘How come you never told me about all these plans?’ She folded her arms crossly.

‘You were so young. I did not want to worry you about our finances, squirrel,’ replied Grace, which seemed to soothe her ruffled feathers.

‘I must admit, I knew you were saving money, but I had no idea you had managed to save so much. Well done, Miss Grace,’ Mrs Merriweather said.

Grace quickly waved off their delight. ‘I did something else too.’ Again, looking a touch shifty, she admitted, ‘During Charles’s last visit ... I may have pushed him too far.’

Heather exclaimed in delight, slapping her thigh. ‘By Jove! I must admit, I did not think it would work as well as it did. It was rather amusing to see how he fled from the house like the hounds of hell were chasing him.’

Johnson chuckled from the corner. ‘He tripped and fell on his way to the carriage in his rush to get away.’

Mrs Merriweather chuckled reluctantly.

Grace continued, ‘Well, his parting look promised revenge. After that meeting, I felt uneasy and worried about what he would do. So, I reluctantly sold the jewellery Mama left me. Do not worry, squirrel, the jewellery she left you is safe.’

This brought out a cry from Heather. ‘Oh no, Grace, how did you bring yourself to sell them? She brought them from India. They were all so beautiful ...’

‘It broke my heart, but I knew Charles would want retribution for how I embarrassed him in front of Lord Bainbridge. I had to do something, just in case. So, with the proceeds of the sale, I bought a small cottage not five miles from here. It is situated just outside the Skye Estate. Charlotte’s father was selling it, so we should still be able to live nearby and, hopefully, will not need to say goodbye to our friends and acquaintances.’

They were stunned.

‘I did not intend to move into it so soon. I was planning to retire there after your marriage, Heather. It is not in the best state and will need a lot of work, but I thought I still had time to put it in order. Now, it seems we will have to move there and make the repairs whilst we live in it. However, once it is up to scratch and, coupled with the quarterly profits I will receive from the investments, we may not live as we are used to—but we can live comfortably.’

Again, she was greeted with silence. She prompted them, ‘Well? What do you think?’

Heather and Mrs Merriweather exchanged glances and then both launched at Grace, wrapping her in a fierce embrace, relief and happiness etched on their faces. Over the tops of their heads, Grace saw Johnson beaming and giving her a nod of approval.

OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS , Grace remained hard at work, ensuring that all outstanding matters on the Estate were settled and informing the tenants of her circumstances. The news was met with great dismay, particularly among the longer-standing tenants, who inundated her with offers to assist with the move and the repairs to the cottage.

Her final tenant visit was with the Trent family.

‘Here, Melissa, I wish for you to keep First Impressions . I know how much you liked it,’ Grace said, handing her the book.

‘Thank you, Miss. I shall cherish it always,’ Melissa replied, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she took it. ‘I wish you did not have to go. We will miss you so much.’

‘I am not going too far; you are all welcome to visit once we are settled in.’ Grace tried to keep her voice bright, but it wavered despite her efforts.

Mary, Melissa’s mother, added warmly, ‘That we will, Miss. Skye, I’ll be bringing my pies too.’

Mary’s pies were a delight, and Grace sincerely hoped she would follow through on that promise. Yet, despite such assurances, Grace knew it was unlikely that the tenants would have the time or resources to visit often—farmers led a hardworking life.

Breaking the news to the Manor staff was even more difficult. They were deeply saddened but took some solace in knowing that she would be living nearby. Grace spent several hours consoling them and reorganising their duties in equal measure.

‘Taylor, I appoint you Head Butler, as Johnson will be coming with us. And Martha, you will take the position of Housekeeper. Please send in Betty...’

By the end of the day, Grace was utterly exhausted, but there was no time for rest—there were still many arrangements to make.

Betty, the ladies’ maid, would not have a position at the Manor and requested to move with them, to which Grace readily agreed. Another determined employee who refused to be left behind was Jimmy.

Grace had taken him in when he was left destitute after his father, a carpenter, had died, rescuing him from the workhouse. Since then, he had been working in the Skye stables under the head groom’s watchful eye. However, upon learning that Grace would no longer be his employer, he was adamant that he would follow her, and no amount of persuasion could shake his resolve. He trailed after her as she made preparations for the move.

‘I’ll earn my keep, Miss. Ye took me in when no one else would. I ain’t leaving yer side.’

He was so stubborn that he followed Grace around the Manor, pleading his case at every opportunity.

‘Silly boy, I have told you that you would be better off staying here and continuing your mentorship with the head groom. Why are you being so stubborn?’ Amused by his tenacity, Grace feigned annoyance to dissuade him—but to no avail.

‘I canna leave ye, Miss. I’m staying with ye. I’ll sleep outside if I have to.’

His scrawny chin jutted out in defiance. There was no arguing with his logic, it was absurd but unshakeable. By the end of the day, Grace, utterly worn down by his pestering, relented—but secretly, she was pleased to have him coming along.