Chapter 30
30
ELOISE
Eloise was consumed by anger. Her first thought had been to dismiss the maid without references and see the duplicitous girl suffer for her betrayal. But logic and reason won out. She wanted to know the truth of the matter; how had the romance developed and to what extent had Rose encouraged the man she had so clearly marked out for herself?
None of it made sense. Rose, a relatively quiet girl, had always been nervous of Daniel, someone she thought rude and intimidating. It was hard for Eloise to admit her own stupidity. There had been an arrogance in her assumptions that he couldn’t possibly be looking at her maid, when she was the wealthy, better-educated and more fragrant alternative. His very job depended on the goodwill of her father, for goodness’ sake. Did the silly man have no ambition? Because marrying a maid, even though Rose had been born to a higher social standing than her present circumstances suggested, would not further his career prospects, and insulting his employer’s daughter would put paid to any further benevolence on her own part.
Rose, she had to begrudgingly admit, had a pleasant face and a kindly demeanour. She was embarrassingly honest and rather too trusting. Eloise considered this for a moment. Perhaps her maid hadn’t actually encouraged the young Mr Thornbury and had no idea about his romantic aspirations? Eloise should at least ascertain the truth before she considered revenge.
Unsure how to broach the subject, she was surprised when it was Rose who spoke of it the very next day.
‘Oh, miss. The most dreadful and unexpected thing has happened.’
Eloise looked up from her toilette and caught sight of her maid in the dressing table mirror. The girl’s face was streaked with tears and she was repeatedly wringing her hands together in front of her cotton apron. Rose took a few steps towards her mistress and then fell to the floor, like a penitent sinner.
‘Oh?’ Eloise slowed her movements down, carefully replacing her small jar of cold cream onto the green glass tray, interested to hear what the girl had to say for herself. She slid it forward a quarter of an inch to align it perfectly with her hairbrush.
‘Daniel Thornbury says he loves me. Oh, miss, I swear I did nothing to encourage him. I had absolutely no idea he felt this way. You kept asking me to spend all this time with him, and all I did was talk about you, I promise. Pressing your case and extolling your virtues…’
This was why he had been visiting the house so frequently, Eloise realised. Always downstairs talking to the servants before calling on her father. He had entered through the kitchens so that he could contrive reasons to see Rose. What was it about this girl that had the men so hypnotised? Even that Billy Price was still hanging about like an eager tomcat.
And yet the stupid girl wittered on. Eloise removed a tortoiseshell hairclip and squeezed it so hard in her anger than she nearly snapped it in two .
‘…I did nothing to encourage his feelings, nor did I ever reveal that I felt the same…’
Gabbling in her desperation, the truth of the situation had slipped out. Eloise turned her head slowly, her flared nostrils the only outward indication of the rage that was bubbling up inside her.
‘You feel the same?’
Rose’s mouth fell open and her cheeks coloured up the instant she realised what she’d inadvertently admitted. ‘Well, yes, but there has been no encouragement on my part. I knew you were in love with him and I had no designs on him whatsoever. I didn’t even like him at first. I told you I didn’t particularly want to talk to him, but I couldn’t help but admire how he came to our rescue in the river, and be touched by his concern when Ginny accidentally poisoned the cat.’
Eloise’s eyes narrowed briefly. Was this snivelling girl trying to place the blame for this deceitful attachment back on her? She took a calming breath and glanced at her own reflection, checking that her rising anger was not apparent on her face. She allowed her brow to relax, knowing rage would not serve her well in that moment.
‘He said he’d been biding his time, not sure whether his affections were reciprocated. Honestly, I have no idea what I did to make him think this was the case. Oh, miss, what shall we do?’
The girl nervously toyed with the coral pendant Eloise had given her after the incident at the river. She was of a mind to tear it from Rose’s neck, but restrained herself. It was worth very little and, besides, she wanted the maid to think of her as a friend for as long as possible.
‘He has proposed,’ Eloise said. It was not a question.
‘And I said no. This whole thing is upside down. I thought he was going to ask for your hand. We both did. ’
Did she take her mistress for a fool? They would both pay for this: Rose and Daniel. She stood from the low stool and walked past the distraught maid, stroking her head as she passed, and cupping the girl’s chin to tilt her head upwards.
‘Don’t worry. I do not blame you. You did right to refuse him. Say nothing of this to anyone and let’s see if we can’t sort this dreadful mess out.’
And she stepped into the hallway, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails were digging into the palms of her hands, as she kicked at the balustrades and then calmly descended the stairs.
As spring continued to scamper along the tangly hedgerows and through the purple carpet of bluebells in the woodlands of Lowbridge, Eloise bided her time.
Rose was repentant and remained entirely trustworthy. She said nothing of the situation to anyone else, hoping her mistress would find a way to resolve the misunderstandings. Daniel Thornbury, according to Eloise’s mother, who had overheard village gossip after church, was heartbroken after being spurned by some local girl – although the woman at the centre of this intrigue was unknown. Even her father, who was an honourable man, would not reveal the identity of Daniel’s proposed, much to the frustration of her mother. He would do anything for his wife, but not betray another man’s confidences, it appeared. Eloise was tempted to share the revelation herself, if only to see the reaction on her mother’s face, but instinctively felt to do so might not be to her advantage, so remained silent.
‘I told you that young Mr Thornbury was not worthy of your attentions,’ her father said. ‘He’s handed in his notice because of this romantic disappointment, and after all the trouble you went to securing the position. The man is a damn fool. I had great plans for him.’
So did I, she thought forlornly.
Despite her protestations of innocence, Eloise had now decided that Rose had clearly been encouraging Daniel. No one buys a wedding ring unless they truly believe that the object of their affections will say yes. She must have been making eyes at him and playing her for a patsy. They would both be humiliated for their betrayal.
Her mind began to race with ideas for revenge. To sack the maid and send her away would be far too quick and simple. She wanted to make the punishment last. Perhaps she could spread some unsavoury rumours about Daniel. She considered accusing him of ungentlemanly behaviour, but couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t twist it all against her. She had to be subtler, cleverer. Make sure any actions could not be traced back to her.
And then she had a simply splendid idea; she would do something that injured both parties. Exact revenge on Daniel but point the finger at Rose. She clapped her dainty hands together in delight.
And she knew just what she was going to do…