5. Chapter 5
T he next morning, I stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the dreary landscape surrounding Pickering Castle.
Here, in my bedchamber, I had a magnificent view of the moors.
They were brooding from the storm that continued to swirl overhead, just like my mood.
A mist hung over the hills, but despite the drabness of the day, they were alive with color.
I could also see the crumbling wall around the castle.
It spoke of a different time when this had been a fortress and had served to protect the people within.
Behind me, on the other side of the castle, was the North Sea.
Rain trailed down the wavy-glass windows in rivulets as Molly stoked the fire back to life in my fireplace, but the heat didn’t penetrate the chilly room. Even though it was early June, it was cold inside the castle.
A knock at the door surprised me and brought my attention back into the room.
Molly rose from the fireplace to open it.
Ames stood outside my bedchamber door, a platter of food in his hands.
“For you and Her Grace,” he said, handing it to Molly.
She took the platter with a slight curtsey and brought it to the table near me. There were several sausage links, bread and jam, and tea.
Without a word, Molly left my bedchamber and entered the nursery. My things had been delivered and needed to be sorted and organized in the dressing room, which adjoined the nursery. She would have hours of work ahead of her after we ate.
Thankfully, I was dressed, but in the light of day, standing in my bedchamber with Ames, I felt exposed and vulnerable. No man had ever entered my private rooms before I’d moved to Pickering Castle.
“Thank you for the food,” I said to him.
“It isn’t much.” He stood just inside the room and clasped his hands behind his back.
His clothing surprised me, though it shouldn’t, given his strong desire to return to his estate to oversee his work.
He was wearing a pair of dark wool trousers with a white cotton shirt, tucked in, and rolled at the sleeves, revealing tanned forearms, corded with muscles, telling me much about the work he did.
A pair of suspenders wrapped over his broad shoulders and worn work boots covered his feet.
There was fresh mud on them, suggesting he’d already been outside today.
But it was his dark hair, tousled from the wind and rain, that drew my attention and made my pulse speed. He was handsome, dangerously so. If I wasn’t careful, I might lose my heart to my husband, and that was something I could never do. Not at the risk of embarrassing myself.
This was a business arrangement, for all intents and purposes, and I needed to look at it that way.
It would have been easier to remember if he still looked like the unapproachable, brooding duke from Lady Sheffield’s ballroom.
“Several people have come from Ravenscar and surrounding villages in answer to the advertisement I placed,” he said to me, getting right to the point.
“I’ve already employed an overseer to start work on the castle repairs.
But there are at least a dozen people waiting to speak to you.
They are in an antechamber of the Cedar drawing room.
Freemont will show them into the drawing room, one at a time, for interviews when you’re ready. ”
Perhaps the castle rumors weren’t as alarming to people in Ravenscar as they were for those who lived in London. Or the draw of an American duchess was too strong for them to stay away. “How will I find the Cedar drawing room?”
A part of me hoped he’d offer to take me, but instead, he said, “It’s the first room just beyond the Great Hall.”
“I'll go there momentarily.”
He was about to leave, but he paused, glancing over my gown and then at the room.
He looked like he might inquire after my health or well-being—but then he pressed his lips together and gave me a curt nod.
“I look forward to having this household run properly again. Please let Freemont know if you need anything else.”
With those final words, he left my bedchamber.
I stared at the closed door for a moment, feeling a pang of disappointment that surprised me. Had I thought he’d spend the day with me? Show me the castle? Want to get to know me?
If this was to be a business partnership, then I should expect nothing less than what he had just given me.
I decided I would not let my mood be altered by Ames Welby, for good or bad.
But despite this resolve, I had lost my appetite.
When Molly reentered the room, I told her where I was going and advised her to eat the breakfast before it got cold.
As I entered the upper hall, I found it wasn’t much brighter than it had been the night before.
Small windows at the end of the corridor offered scant light to illuminate the portraits lining the walls.
I stood for a moment, studying the painting of a woman whose gown suggested she was the most recent Duchess of Severton.
Ames’s mother. She was a beautiful woman with a commanding presence.
I could see a bit of Ames in her, though she had blue eyes and fairer skin.
A drop of water hit my face as it had done the night before and I glanced up, noticing several places where the ceiling was stained and water entered the castle.
A shiver overtook me and I ran my hands up and down my arms, overwhelmed with what I had agreed to do.
Did I even have enough money to restore this castle?
What if we ran out? I couldn’t imagine living as a pauper in a rundown castle.
I would just need to make sure that it didn’t happen.
Squaring my shoulders and lifting my chin, I found the stairwell. I’d learned the only way to conquer fear was with action. I would not focus on all the what-ifs. I would give my attention to the tasks at hand and find a way to overcome the obstacles before me.
The narrow stairwell led me to the main floor.
It was much brighter in the dining room today, with large windows letting in the light.
The worn and dated furnishings, the cracks in the walls, and the dust on all the furniture, told me the task at hand was even greater than I had anticipated.
And when I walked into the Great Hall, I had to agree with Brant. It looked better in the dark.
Several doors and passageways led out of the Great Hall, so I crossed the length of it and walked down a hallway, taking a left into a large drawing room.
It was decorated in a more modern style, and the furnishings were in better condition, though the whole room could use a good scrubbing.
Dark paneling covered the walls, the upholstery and draperies were red, and there was a large family crest above the main door.
A fire had been laid in the hearth with a bit of smoke hanging in the air. Within moments of me entering, Freemont appeared, his cane in hand. He offered a shaky bow. “Good morning, Your Grace.”
“Good morning, Freemont. His Grace told me there were applicants here to interview for positions within the household staff.”
“There are,” he said, “but you also have a visitor. His Grace’s aunt, the Dowager Countess of Torrington, would like an audience with you, if you are receiving.”
My eyebrows lifted in surprise. I hadn’t anticipated that Ames had relatives nearby, besides his brothers. He’d never mentioned anyone else.
“Yes, of course. Please show her in.”
He nodded and then slowly backed out of the drawing room.
I was suddenly nervous, unsure what to expect.
I’d been trained to be the mistress of my own home, to hire and oversee a staff, and conduct the affairs of my family, but American women and English women had two very different approaches to those tasks.
Would the dowager countess be kind and gracious to me, or would she be rigid and harsh?
When the door opened again, I held my breath. An older woman stepped into the room, a kind smile on her pretty face.
I exhaled.
“You must be Lily. I’m Eliza Stafford—Ames’s aunt and godmother.
And the only woman who can get him to behave—now and then.
” She crossed the room to join me by the fireplace, her brown eyes—so much like Ames’s—crinkled at the edges from her smile.
She was easily in her fifties, but she looked healthy and energetic.
“How do you do, Lady Torrington?”
“Please call me Eliza—or Aunt Eliza, as the boys do.” She assessed me with a curious and easy manner. “We are family, are we not? I had hoped to get to the wedding, but—I wasn’t invited.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. Ames is—well, Ames. I didn’t learn of the marriage until this morning, from my cook, and I knew I needed to come as soon as possible.
Ames and his brothers would have no idea what to do with a lady in the house.
” She tilted her head toward the door. “Are you interviewing staff? So soon after your arrival?”
Her question held no censure, just curiosity.
“Ames advertised for them before we arrived. They’ve been waiting all morning.”
“Good heavens.” She let out a sigh. “You aren’t even acquainted with the castle.
Why would he expect you to know how to hire and direct the staff?
You probably haven’t had enough time to tour the drafty old place, let alone know what needs to be done here.
” She patted my hand. “I know you are quite capable, my dear, but would you like the help of an old woman who grew up in this monstrosity of a home?”
“Would you?” Relief softened my posture.
“Of course. That’s why I’ve come. I knew you would be at a loss this morning and Ames would be no help. I will undoubtedly know many of the people applying for the positions. I don’t mind lending my experience to the cause.”
“Thank you.” I hadn’t realized how nervous I was to interview the applicants until now. “I will be in your debt.”
“Nonsense. We’re family. If you don’t mind me intruding, I am happy to help.”
“It’s no intrusion.”