Chapter 4 #2
Taken aback, Susanna had no idea who this woman was. Adam did not readily come to her aid but seemed somewhat surprised himself that she did not know the woman’s name.
“Ertha,” he finally murmured, after an awkward silence.
Susanna flushed warmly, embarrassed that she’d forgotten all about Camille’s childhood nurse.
Camille had always spoken of Ertha fondly—the woman had been like a mother to her, Constance Cary having died when Camille was barely one year old—but she had never really given Susanna any clear description of her.
Camille had been so young when Captain Keyes had escorted her to England that her recollections of the woman were uncertain at best. Camille had simply remembered Ertha for her warm, constant presence; her soft, crooning voice singing her to sleep with lullabies.
Hoping to compensate for her blunder, Susanna turned back to the woman, who looked crestfallen, and took her hands, squeezing them gently.
“Of course. Forgive me, Ertha. I don’t know what came over me. It’s been so long…”
“Don’t trouble yourself, child,” Ertha said graciously, although some of the light had left her eyes. “It was a long time ago. I shouldn’t have expected that you might remember me.”
Again silence fell between them, broken when Adam interjected, “Ertha has been Briarwood’s head housekeeper for fifteen years now. She has a gift for making everything run smoothly and a firm but gentle knack for keeping the others in line. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with her work.”
“I know I will,” Susanna replied, wishing there was some way she could make up for her unintended slight. Releasing the woman’s hands, she looked up at Adam, hoping she appeared convincingly fatigued.
In truth, she did feel drained. Her new position in life was so overwhelming and her responsibilities so great that her well-meaning masquerade suddenly weighed very heavily upon her.
She needed some time alone to gather herself together.
“If you don’t mind, Mr. Thornton, I would like to see my room now.
I could use a short rest before dinner.”
His deep brown eyes were concerned, but she also sensed his agitation. “You’re not ill…”
“No, simply tired.” Then, feeling the need to reassure everyone present when she saw some nervous sidelong glances, she added, “The physician gave me a clean bill of health before I left the ship. You mustn’t worry about me.”
Yet when Adam still appeared unconvinced, irritation tweaked at her. What was he so concerned about? “You seem troubled, Mr. Thornton,” she said a bit too curtly, forgetting herself. “Perhaps you think I should not set foot in my house until you’re certain that I’m free of disease?”
“I wasn’t thinking that at all,” he replied, his expression one of curious surprise. Then he smiled slightly, as if amused. “By all means, go in. Ertha’s had the household staff working for days to have everything ready for you.”
Silently cursing her heedless tongue and telling herself she must be more careful so as not to arouse suspicion, Susanna softened her tone, although she remained annoyed.
“If you’ll kindly excuse me, then.” Without waiting for him, she walked up the stairs to the door.
She certainly didn’t need him to escort her everywhere, especially not into her new home.
“I’ll see you at dinner, Miss Cary. Enjoy your rest.”
Susanna glanced over her shoulder to find Adam striding back toward the carriage, and for the first time, she noticed that he walked with a slight limp.
Yet his bearing was straight and strong, his pace powerful; it was obvious that his disability did not hamper him as he untethered the spirited chestnut stallion and led the animal away.
Had he suffered some injury? she wondered, stepping into the spacious hall.
And what did he mean by saying that he’d join her at dinner?
Since when did the hired help sit at the table with their employers?
She had never eaten one meal in Lady Redmayne’s elegant dining room, but had always dined with the other domestic servants in the kitchen.
“If you’ll follow me, Miss Camille, I’ll show you upstairs to your room,” Ertha said, gesturing to Elias to unload the trunks as she followed Susanna into the hall. With another wave of her hand, the other servants scattered, returning to their assigned tasks. “Miss Camille?” she repeated.
Susanna heard the housekeeper, but she felt as if her feet were rooted to the floor as she gazed in rapt awe about her.
From what she could see while standing in the hall, the interior of the house was not in the least stuffy or somber, as Lady Redmayne’s country manor had been.
Golden sunlight pouring from open doorways reflected upon the fine furnishings and polished parquet floor, the hospitable scene easing Susanna’s fatigue.
She heard a soft chuckle and turned to find Ertha smiling at her, the housekeeper’s good nature clearly restored after the earlier awkwardness between them.
“How about a quick tour of the house, Miss Camille? I’d be pleased to show it to you. Since you were so little when you were here last, it will be like seeing it for the first time.”
Susanna nodded, and eagerly followed Ertha from one sumptuously decorated room into the next: the dining room, dominated by a huge mahogany table that could seat twenty; the library, filled from floor to ceiling with richly embossed, leather-bound books; a game room with a large billiard table and tables for playing cards; a splendid forty-foot long ballroom with mirrored walls and crystal chandeliers; a small music room in which she planned to spend little time at all, especially since she could not play the harpsichord; and a drawing room graced by elegant yet comfortable furnishings, its papered walls hung with family portraits.
She paused before the largest painting, a charming family scene, and with a sharp pang realized that the pretty blonde toddler seated atop her mother’s lap was Camille while the two boys, perhaps six and eight, were her brothers who had died so young.
Behind them, proud and straight, stood a bewigged and handsome James Cary, his hand placed lovingly upon his wife’s shoulder.
“Those were happy, happy times,” Ertha murmured, then she turned and gazed directly at Susanna. “Now that you’re home, Miss Camille, we’ll know those times again. I’m just sure of it.”
Susanna’s throat constricted with emotion. Her lips curved into the most confident smile she could muster, though she knew it also held sadness. With a last glance at the painting, she moved toward the door, feeling as if all Cary eyes were upon her, especially Camille’s.
“I hope you don’t mind me saying so,” Ertha continued as they walked together into the hall, “but what this house needs is little children again, their laughter filling the rooms and the sound of their feet running up and down the stairs. It’s been too quiet here for too long.
I hope you find a husband soon, Miss Camille. ”
Susanna met the housekeeper’s eyes. “That is my plan, Ertha,” she said honestly.
“It’s what my father wanted and what I want.
A husband and lots of children.” Glancing at the sweeping black walnut stairway that led to the second floor, she added softly, “We’re going to have a welcome ball here on Saturday, for the Grymes family and some of the other neighbors. Would you see to the preparations?”
How strange, Susanna thought, as Ertha’s wrinkled face split into a surprised yet radiant smile.
That was her first request as the mistress of the house, and it hadn’t been difficult to give at all.
In fact, it had seemed quite natural. Maybe from watching Lady Redmayne give orders to servants so many times, she had actually learned something.
“Why, of course I will!” the housekeeper enthused.
“It’s been too long since we had a house party at Briarwood, and if Mr. Robert Grymes is coming, I imagine he’ll tell everyone within shouting distance about it.
That man has a real fondness for revelry, and so does his oldest son, Matthew.
You can be sure that there will be plenty of young men here on Saturday eager to make your acquaintance.
You’ll have that fine husband of yours in no time at all! ”
Ertha’s pleased laughter ended abruptly, her eyes growing wide. “Oh, my, I’ve so much to do. Believe me, I’ve a feeling this ball will be the Tidewater’s social event of the summer. I have to talk to Prue at once. We’ve got to plan the menu, and—
“Why don’t you go and speak to her right now, then,” Susanna interrupted kindly, sensing the woman’s eagerness to be about her work. “I can see my way upstairs. Just tell me which room is mine.”
“Are you sure, Miss Camille? It doesn’t seem right, me not showing you to your room, what with you just arriving and all.”
“I’ll be fine. Really.”
“Very well, if you say so. You’ll find your room at the very end of the hall, facing the rear of the house.
It’s the same one that used to belong to your parents.
I’m sure Elias has already taken your trunks upstairs.
I’ll send Corliss to wake you in an hour or so, and she’ll help you dress for dinner. ”
With that, the housekeeper hurried away, talking excitedly under her breath.
Susanna, smiling, climbed the stairs, looking forward to being alone for a while.
Yet at the top of the stairway, her curiosity was aroused again by the sight of four closed bedroom doors in addition to hers down the carpeted hallway.
As long as she was taking a tour of the house, she might as well see these rooms, too, she reasoned. If they were even half as lovely as those downstairs…
She was not disappointed. The first guest bedroom was spacious and well-appointed, with white walls, blue brocade draperies at the tall windows, and a matching spread upon the double bed. She crossed the hall to the opposite room and, turning the silver-plated knob, stepped inside.