Chapter 2
“Lady Violet, I presume?”
The man waiting in the doorway was older, perhaps in his sixties, with spectacles perched on his nose and neatly combed silver hair. Violet knew by his clothing that he was a servant, but it was a pleasure to see one who took such care in his appearance.
The whole of Westlake was the same way, really.
It wasn’t the biggest estate Violet had ever seen—in fact, she might have used the word cozy.
But it was clean and well-tended. The light shone in brightly through the clean windows.
The floors and the walls were polished so they gleamed, and the shine on the banister, which she saw as she entered the house, was such that she felt a temptation she hadn’t had since childhood—to slide down it.
She nodded to the man. “I’m Lady Violet, yes.”
“Your arrival has been highly anticipated,” he told her. “My name is Williams. I’m the butler here.”
“I didn’t realize there would be staff waiting for me at this house,” she admitted. “I’ve brought my own lady’s maid along—I hope that won’t mean displacing anyone.”
“Not at all,” he assured her. “We haven’t had a lady of the house in some time, and your late aunt’s lady’s maid has gone to work in the kitchen—where, I assure you, she is very happy. So you can certainly install your own maid. The household budget should be more than enough to cover her.”
So she was to have a budget for the household as well.
Perhaps that was something Violet ought to have known—but then, when would she have learned?
She had never managed her own household before.
“Thank you, Williams,” she said. “I’d like to look at the ledgers later, if you would be so kind as to help me with that. ”
“Certainly.” He nodded. “But right now, perhaps you would like to be shown to your room?”
“Very much,” she agreed. “I’ve had a long journey.
” Not to mention the last few days in her father’s house, which had exhausted her emotions.
She had always known, of course, that he didn’t really want her there, but before now it had never been quite so overt.
Suddenly, there was no ignoring the fact that all he really wanted was to be rid of her.
Well, I’m sure you’re happy now, Father.
I’m out of your life for good. The thought of collapsing into a bed and sleeping for a very long time sounded absolutely wonderful.
It would probably be the best sleep she’d had in years, she mused, because she wouldn’t have to worry that she wasn’t really wanted.
There was nobody in this house who didn’t want her here. This house was all hers.
For the first time since all this had begun, she felt a flurry of excitement. Her father had not intended to give her a gift, but he had done so just the same.
Her life here was going to be good. Peaceful and good.
No sooner had the thought taken shape in her mind, though, than a young boy came sprinting into the room. Violet couldn’t even process what she was seeing at first. The child skidded to a halt in front of her, folded his arms across his chest, and scowled up at her.
“What is she doing here?” he demanded.
Williams sighed. “Master Noah, you know the answer to this. You were told that Lady Violet would be coming.”
“And I told you that I don’t want her here,” the boy snapped. “Make her go away!”
Before anyone could react, he had reached out and shoved Violet with all his might—which wasn’t that much, all things considered.
He couldn’t have been more than ten years of age, and he was small and slight.
Violet staggered back a step, more out of surprise than anything else—he hadn’t hurt her.
He turned and ran off in the direction he had come.
She and Williams both watched him go. “I’m mighty sorry about that,” Williams murmured.
“Who was he? The son of a member of the staff?”
“No…” Williams sighed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “He was your aunt’s ward.”
Violet frowned. “Aunt Margaret had a ward?”
“She did. She took him in a couple of years ago. Gave him a home after his mother abandoned him—the poor thing was living on the street before he came here. It was in her will that he should go on living here at the estate after she died, and that the staff was to care for him. We wouldn’t have put him out anyway.
None of us have the heart. But…he stays with the house.
” He gave Violet an appraising look. “The law states that he can’t be turned out. ”
“I wouldn’t have tried to do so,” Violet assured him. She was far too sensitive to the subject of being turned out of one’s home to do it to anyone else, especially a child who hadn’t done anything wrong. “He really doesn’t seem to want me here, though.”
“Perhaps not, but he has no more choice in the matter than you do,” Williams said. “The house is yours, and you are entitled to live here. I fear the two of you may be stuck with one another.”
Violet squared her shoulders. “That’s all right,” she said firmly.
“We can manage that. Of course it’s disruptive to him to have a new person living in his house.
I wouldn’t expect anything different. But he’ll get used to me, and we’ll find a way to get along together.
” She sighed. “I think I had better go find him and talk with him. He must be shocked by everything that’s happening. ”
“I think he’s still heartbroken, Lady Violet,” Williams told her.
“When your aunt died, it was particularly difficult on him. She was all he had in the world, the only person who had ever shown him love or kindness. We’ve tried to take care of him since then, but he has no trust in any of us.
He wants nothing to do with us. He runs wild, and I don’t think anyone knows quite what to do to help him or bring him to heel.
” He shook his head. “Maybe you’ll have the magic touch.
I don’t know. Maybe you’ll be the one who is able to change that boy’s life for the better.
All I know is that he needs someone to make the attempt. ”
“Well, I’ll do my best,” Violet said firmly.
“Do you think, Williams, that you could arrange for someone to take my things up to my room, so they’ll be there for me later?
I really do want to speak to the boy right now.
He should understand that the two of us finding a way to get along is a priority for me. ”
Williams nodded. “Of course,” he said. “We’ll see that all your things are brought up. And when you’re done speaking to the child, you can come and find me, or any other member of the staff, and we’ll take you up to your room as well.”
“Thank you,” Violet said with a smile.
“I’m sorry things have been so hectic on your very first day,” Williams said. “I know this isn’t what you were expecting when you came here.”
“But in truth, I had no idea what to expect,” Violet told him.
“It was always a question. I was always unsure of what it would be like to be here, to be the lady of a house I haven’t seen in years.
This is just one more unexpected thing, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.
In fact, I rather like having something I can work on, because at least I know what needs to be done.
At least I know that I need to make the boy comfortable with my presence here. ”
Williams smiled at her. “You are going to be a wonderful addition to this house,” he told her. “I think you’ll find Master Noah out in the garden.” He pointed. “Thats where he usually goes when he runs off like this.”
“Thank you, Williams.” Violet squared her shoulders and walked out to the garden, ready to confront Noah.
Later, she would be forced to admit to herself that she hadn’t been watching where she was going.
She had been so fixated on the garden ahead of her, looking for a sign of Noah, that she hadn’t looked left or right to see who might be approaching.
So what came next was as much her fault as anybody else’s, and possibly more so.
But in the moment, that was a difficult fact to acknowledge.
And when the man coming around the corner of the hedge collided with her and nearly sent her sprawling to the ground—he would have done so if he hadn’t caught her by the arm and pulled her back upright—she met him with a ferocious glare.
“My goodness, watch where you’re going!”
“Excuse me?” The man raised his eyebrows at her.
She pulled her arm free of his grip and dusted herself off.
This must be the gardener, she decided, but didn’t he ever pay attention to what was going on around him?
What kind of gardener was he? “If you want to keep your position here,” she told him, “you’re going to have to mind your step a bit more carefully.
” It was much harsher than she would ordinarily have been with someone who worked for her, and she did feel a pang of guilt for speaking to him that way.
She would apologize later, but right now, she had to prioritize finding Noah.
She had to get away from this interaction.
He was staring at her, a deep frown etched on his face. His eyes were dark and piercing. He towered over her. “If I want to keep my position?” he repeated. “What do you think is happening here? Who do you think you are?”
She straightened up. “I am Lady Violet Hartwell. I’m the lady of the house.”
“I don’t think so.” He shook his head.
“It doesn’t matter what you think. That’s the truth.
You don’t recognize me because I’ve just come into my inheritance, but this is my home, and I expect you to respect that or find somewhere else to work.
Don’t get the idea that I’m not able to hire another gardener,” she added.
“There are plenty of people who would be willing to take your job.”
He snorted. “I’m no gardener, Lady Violet.”
“Then who are you?” A thrill of fear shot through her—had she been wrong to suppose that he worked here? Maybe he was a trespasser, or a burglar! She should have had Williams come outside with her…
“My name is Jonathan Ellington,” he said. “I’m the Duke of Alderwick.”
He lifted his chin as he said it, as though that was supposed to mean something in particular to her.
It didn’t; not really. Of course, it was odd to think that there was a duke walking about on her property, but she had never heard of the Duke of Alderwick.
“What are you doing on my land?” she asked him, withholding the honorific he was due.
There was no reason to show respect to a man trespassing on her property.
“I might ask you the same question,” he shot back at her.
“I have no idea what you mean by that.”
“This isn’t your land,” he said. “Westlake Estate belongs to me.”
“I beg your pardon?” She shook her head. “You’re mistaken. Westlake was my Aunt Margaret’s home.”
“The Dowager Viscountess and I had an agreement,” the duke said.
“She was in the process of selling the estate to me. Westlake is my property, Lady Violet, and you are the one who is in a place you ought not to be. I’ll thank you to remove yourself from my home at once, and if you refuse to do so, I’ll have to summon the authorities. ”