Rags-to-Riches Bride

‘Everyone expected him to give up the business and live the life of an aristocrat, but he chose to continue building it up,’ Stephen had told her soon after her arrival. He had overcome his initial shock at her being employed and had assiduously obeyed his great-grandmother’s injunction to help her all he could. ‘I am told it caused no end of gossip, but he was never one to listen to tattle and he was encouraged by my great-grandmother who was, and is, a very unusual woman. Now we have a thriving import-and-export business and several shops besides this one. Great-Grandfather died some years ago and my grandfather took the title. He left the business then to concentrate on the estate where he breeds and trains race horses. My father took over here. One day, the warehouse and shops will be in my hands. Richard, of course, will eventually inherit the title and the estate in Berkshire.’

‘Richard is your brother?’

‘Yes. He is older than me by three years, but he disdains working in the business. He and Papa fell out over it years ago. He was in the army for a time, but now he says he is writing a book, though what it is about I do not know.’

‘Is he married?’

‘No. I do not think he is the marrying kind.’ And then he had abruptly changed the subject, talking about the estate and his grandfather’s love of horses and his great-grandmother, who would be ninety the following month.

That same almost ninety-year-old was even now being helped into the building by a young man Diana supposed was Mr Richard Harecroft. She hurried along the corridor and knocked on her employer’s door. ‘Mr Harecroft,’ she said, when he bade her enter. ‘The Dowager Lady Harecroft has just entered the building. I saw her from my window.’

‘Good Lord!’ he exclaimed, looking up from the paperwork on his desk. ‘How did she get here?’

‘By carriage, sir. There is a young man with her.’

‘Richard, I’ll be bound. Go down and make sure she is comfortable in the staff dining room. We cannot have her wandering all over the shop. Do not let her attempt to climb the stairs; the last time she did that, it nearly finished her. I will be down directly.’

Diana turned to go downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a full-length mirror and she paused long enough to check her appearance. Her grey dress was plain except for a few tucks down the bodice. It had tight sleeves and a high neck as her ladyship had dictated. Her hair had been drawn back under a white cap. She smiled at herself; she had obeyed Lady Harecroft’s instruction to cover her head, but it made her look almost matronly. What she did not realise was that her flawless complexion and neat figure gave the lie to that and her wide intelligent grey eyes made everyone, young and old, want to smile at her in a kind of conspiratorial way as if they knew she was playing a part.

‘Peaches and cream,’ her father had said, when he was in one of his more affable moods. ‘Just like your mother.’ Her mother had been slightly taller and her hair had been dark, but Diana was like her in other ways, intelligent, doggedly determined not to be beaten and sympathetic to other people’s problems without being soft. She had fitted into Harecroft’s well and though her male colleagues had been wary at first, most had come to accept her and sometimes brought their troubles to her sympathetic ear. Even Mr Stephen Harecroft.

She could not make up her mind about him. It had not taken her long to realise that Stephen idolised his father and would do anything to please him. At first he had talked to her about her work, but then they had gone on to speak of other things: what was happening in the world outside the business; the coming coronation of Queen Victoria, which had the whole country in a ferment of excitement; the recent publication of a People’s Charter, which had the nation split down the middle; the great technological advances being made; music, literature, the things they liked and disliked. Their little talks led to strolls in the park on a Saturday afternoon after work had finished for the day, and the occasional visit to a concert or a lecture. Only the day before he had asked her to accompany him to a Grand Ball to be held at Almack’s the evening following the coronation.

Was he just being kind or was he seriously courting her? Flattered as she was, she could not think of marriage while her father needed her. He had been much better of late and she was hopeful he was over the worst, but she was still careful not to give him any cause to relapse. One day she hoped they might move out of the shabby rooms they now occupied into something better; in the meantime, her address and her father’s affliction were secrets she guarded carefully. If Mr Harecroft were to learn about either, she was quite sure his attitude towards her would change; he might even find the excuse he needed to dismiss her. She must find a way to discourage young Mr Harecroft, meanwhile, there was his great-grandmother to deal with.

She found the old lady sitting in a gilded chair in the front of the shop, surrounded by fabrics, talking to Stephen. There was no sign of Richard. It appeared he had done as he had the year before: brought the old lady and left her.

‘Good afternoon, Lady Harecroft,’ Diana said.

The old lady turned to survey her, a wry smile lighting her features. ‘Good afternoon, young lady. Have you come to keep me in order?’

‘Oh, no, my lady. Mr Harecroft senior bade me greet you and make you comfortable in the staff dining room. He will join you directly.’

Her ladyship chuckled. ‘And I am to be prevented from wandering all over the shop, is that not so?’

‘My lady?’

‘Oh, you do not need to answer me. I know my grandson. But tell me, what do you think of this silk?’ She plucked at a length of the material to show Diana.

‘It is very fine.’

‘That may be so, but is it worth the exorbitant price I believe was paid for it?’

Diana was in a quandary. The desire to give an honest opinion did battle with her need to be diplomatic and she strove to find an answer that would satisfy both. ‘I think it might be a little overpriced, my lady, but in today’s market, with everyone vying to be seen to advantage for the coronation, it is selling well.’

‘Exactly what I said,’ Stephen put in.

The old lady smiled and pulled herself to her feet. ‘Escort me, Miss Bywater. We can have a little chat before my grandson joins us.’ She took Diana’s arm and together they made their way to a small room at the back of the ground floor that had been set aside for the staff to eat the mid-day meal they brought with them. It also had a fireplace and facilities for making tea. Once her ladyship had been seated, Diana set the kettle on the fire and stirred the embers to make it blaze.

‘How do you like working for Harecroft’s, Miss Bywater?’

‘Very much. I am grateful to you for affording me the opportunity to do something interesting.’

‘My grandson tells me you are quick to learn.’

‘I try to be.’

‘And Stephen sings your praises constantly.’

‘Does he?’ The kettle boiled and Diana used the distraction of making tea to cover her confusion. What had Stephen been saying? ‘My lady, I hope you do not think I have set out to…’ She stumbled over what she wanted to say.

‘No, of course not. Ah, here is John.’ She turned to her grandson. ‘John, you are paying far too much for your silk these days.’

‘It is the going rate, for the best quality, Grandmother. I cannot afford to drop standards. Besides, people are prepared to pay good money to appear in the latest fabrics for the festivities.’ He sat down next to her. ‘But you did not come here to talk about the price of silk, did you?’

‘No, I did not. I decided I had mouldered long enough in the country. I came to attend the coronation and to give you notice that I intend to have a house party.’

‘Oh?’ One bushy eyebrow lifted.

‘I am to reach the grand age of ninety next month, as you know…’

‘You won’t if you insist on racketing about town.’

His grandmother ignored him and continued as if he had not spoken. ‘And I wish to mark the occasion with a party.’ She accepted a cup of tea from Diana, who also put one in front of John and turned to leave them. ‘Stay,’ the old lady commanded, waving an ebony walking stick at her. ‘Pour a cup for yourself.’

‘Grandmother, what are you talking about?’ John asked, answering Diana’s questioning look with a nod. ‘You cannot possibly have a party. It will be too much for you.’

‘I decide what is too much for me. Besides, we have a houseful of servants at Borstead Hall, idle half the time—it won’t hurt them to stir themselves. Alicia will arrange it. I want all the family to stay the weekend. Friends and acquaintances will be invited for the Saturday only.’

‘Why?’ he asked, mystified.

‘Why? How often does a woman reach the age of ninety and still be in possession of all her faculties? I fully intend to be a hundred, but just in case I do not achieve it, I will have my celebration on Saturday, July the twenty-first.’

‘What does my father say about this?’

‘Nothing.’ She smiled mischievously. ‘He knows he will lead a much more peaceful life if he humours me. And William does like a peaceful life, looking after the estate and his beloved horses.’

‘And Aunt Alicia?’

‘Alicia too. I mean to have a really big day, with my family and friends around me, plenty to eat and drink and fireworks to round it off.’

‘It will kill you.’

‘Then I will die happy.’

Diana was beginning to feel uncomfortable; she did not want to be a witness to a family argument, and she did have work to do. She stood up to leave, just as Stephen joined them. ‘Good, there’s tea,’ he said.

Diana fetched another cup and saucer from the cupboard and poured tea for him.

‘Great-Grandmama, will you ask Miss Bywater to your party?’ he asked, making Diana gasp.

‘Of course. The young lady will be welcome.’

‘You knew about it?’ his father asked him.

‘Great-Grandmama told me when she arrived. I am looking forward to it.’

‘And who is going to look after the shop if we all dash off to Borstead Hall?’ John demanded. ‘Miss Bywater has to work on Saturdays and so do you.’

‘On this occasion, I expect you to make an exception.’ This from Lady Harecroft.

‘Oh, no,’ Diana put in. ‘You must not do that. It would set a bad example.’

‘Do not tell me what I must not do, girl,’ her ladyship snapped.

Diana blushed furiously. ‘I beg your pardon. I did not mean to be rude.’

‘Do you not care to come?’ Stephen asked, aggrieved. ‘I am sure you will enjoy it.’

‘I am sure I would, but I cannot leave my father while I go into the country.’

‘Bring him too,’ her ladyship said. ‘It is time we all met him.’

‘I am afraid he is not well enough, my lady.’ Diana was beginning to panic. Her father was not yet stable enough to pay calls, and a party where there was bound to be wine and punch might set him off again. Flattered as she was to be asked, and much as she would have liked a break from routine, to dress up, live in a little splendour and pretend that her life had never had that treacherous downhill slide, she could not risk it.

‘Miss Bywater’s father is an invalid,’ John said. ‘She explained about that when she first came to us.’

‘So she did. But no matter, we can arrange for him to be looked after for a day or two. Problems like that are not insurmountable.’

‘I am sure he would not agree,’ Diana said. The old lady’s family might defer to her, but on this matter she was going to find herself thwarted. She would not subject her father to the indignity of being looked after, as if he were a child packed off to the nursery when his presence became inconvenient. And she did not know why Stephen was so anxious she should be one of the party.

‘I think you must allow Miss Bywater to decline without bullying her, Grandmother,’ John said. ‘And you know, we are very busy and it is not altogether convenient for me to drop everything to take you home when you arrive unexpectedly.’

‘You don’t need to.’ Her voice held a note of asperity. ‘Richard brought me. He has gone to the House of Commons and then he is coming back for me.’

‘House of Commons?’ Mr Harecroft senior demanded. ‘Since when has he interested himself in politics?’

‘You must ask him that. I am not his keeper.’

Diana had been inching her way towards the door in order to escape and was reaching for its handle when it was opened and she found herself half-hidden behind it, sucking a little finger that had been caught in the handle.

The newcomer turned to shut the door and saw her. ‘I beg pardon, I did not see you hiding there.’

She met his blue-eyed gaze and something inside her turned a somersault. He was a much bigger version of Stephen; he was taller, his shoulders broader, the red-gold of his hair more pronounced—a characteristic she concluded all the family had to a greater or lesser degree—his eyes were bluer and his mouth fuller. She realised with a little stab of guilt that he made his brother look drab and colourless, particularly as in contrast to Stephen’s grey suit, he was wearing a brown frock coat, light brown trousers and a pale fawn cravat. It was not only his size and his clothes, his presence dominated the room. He exuded power and self-assurance. She could easily imagine him as a serving officer, in full command of his men. ‘I was not hiding, I was about to leave,’ she said, finding her voice at last.

‘Oh, please do not leave on my account.’ He stopped suddenly, unable to take his eyes from her face. She seemed so familiar he felt he ought to know her. She was plainly dressed and wore an unbecoming cap that hid most of her hair, but her complexion was flawless and her eyes reminded him of the plumage of a dove, a soft blue-grey. Her lips were pink and firm and at that moment were sucking a little finger; it was an incredibly sensuous act, made more so because she appeared totally unaware of the effect she was having. ‘Does it hurt?’

She took it from her mouth to answer him. ‘No, it is nothing.’

‘Richard, may I present Miss Diana Bywater,’ Stephen said, stepping between them. ‘Miss Bywater, my brother, Richard.’

‘How do you do?’ he said, wondering why Stephen found it necessary to introduce someone who was so obviously a servant. It did not bother him, but his family were sticklers for form.

She bowed her head. ‘Mr Harecroft.’

He nodded towards the table where the teapot and the used cups and saucers were evidence of the refreshment they had been enjoying before he arrived. ‘Are you going to pour me a cup of tea?’

‘I am afraid it must be cold by now. I will make a fresh pot if you like.’

‘Miss Bywater, you have those accounts to complete before the end of the working day,’ John reminded her.

‘Accounts?’ Richard queried. ‘Oh, you must be the young lady who had the temerity to apply for a man’s job. I heard all about it from Great-Grandmother.’

She smiled. ‘Yes, though why it should be called a man’s job I do not know. It is mental work and does not require strength. I do exactly the same work as the gentlemen clerks without concessions to my gender. Now, please excuse me, I must return to it. Good afternoon, Lady Harecroft.’ She turned to go and Stephen sprang to open the door for her.

She thanked him and escaped to the sanctuary of her own room. Arriving breathless, she shut the door behind her and stood leaning against it. The encounter with the elder of the two brothers had shaken her. She did not know what she had expected, but she felt she had been buffeted by a whirlwind, and all in the space of a few fleeting minutes.

She crossed to the window just in time to see her ladyship being handed into her carriage by Richard. He was taking enormous trouble to make sure she was comfortable before getting in himself. She watched as the carriage made its way down the busy street and disappeared round the corner, before returning to the ledger she had left an hour before.

It was difficult to concentrate. Quite apart from that strange encounter with Mr Richard Harecroft, the invitation to the party, the assumption that she would foist the care of her father on to someone else in order to enjoy herself with a group of people who were materially and socially way above her, vexed her. She cared too much for her father to do that to him. She would have to be firm, but would that cost her her job? She could not afford to lose it, for where else could she find something so congenial and so well paid? Without her wages, she and her father would sink even lower in the social scale.

Stephen came into the room and sat on the corner of the table at which she worked. ‘Do not let my brother upset you, Miss Bywater.’

‘He did not upset me, whatever gave you that idea?’

‘Good. Every family is supposed to have a black sheep and I suppose he is ours.’

‘He did not look like a sheep to me.’

‘No, perhaps I should have said wolf.’

‘Not that either,’ she said, though when she remembered those blue eyes almost devouring her, she did wonder. ‘More like a lion with that mane of golden hair.’

‘Hmm.’ He seemed to consider this and then dismissed the idea. ‘Whichever it is, we do not need to see much of him at Borstead Hall. He lives in the dower house.’

‘He lives with your great-grandmother?’

‘No, Great-Grandmama lives with my grandfather in the big house. He says she is too old to live by herself and he needs to keep an eye on her, so she told Richard he could use the dower house. He shares it with a couple of penniless artists and his mi—’ He stopped suddenly, his voice so twisted with bitterness, she looked at him sharply, but he quickly recovered himself. ‘I do not suppose we shall see anything of them.’

She wondered what he had been about to let slip; it sounded as if he were going to say mistress, but surely his brother would not live with such a one so close to the family home? ‘What does your great-grandmother think of his friends?’

‘Oh, she does not mind them. She has a soft spot for Richard.’

‘He seems very fond of her.’

‘Yes, she is the only one who can get Richard to do what she wants.’

She realised suddenly that he was jealous of his brother, even though he enjoyed more of his father’s favour. It was all to do with the old lady. ‘I wish you had not asked her ladyship to invite me to her party,’ she said.

‘Why not? We will have a splendid time.’

‘We will not, because I cannot accept the invitation.’

‘Why not?’

‘I have to work. And I cannot leave my father.’

‘He is an invalid, isn’t he? I did not know that until you mentioned it today. Are you always so secretive?’

‘I am not secretive,’ she said, feeling the colour rising in her face. ‘Your father and great-grandmother knew and there has been no reason why I should make a point of telling you. It did not come out in the course of conversation, that’s all.’

‘What is the matter with him?’

She took a deep breath. ‘He was invalided out of the navy five years ago when he lost his arm and then my mother died and his nerves have been badly affected.’ It was not really a lie, she told herself, just not the whole truth.

‘Father can hire a nurse in for him or arrange for him to go into a comfortable nursing home so that he is looked after. If he does, you will come, won’t you?’

‘I do not think so. I cannot put Mr Harecroft to the trouble and it upsets Papa if his normal routine is changed.’

‘You are just making excuses. You heard my great-grandmother say she expected us all to go and my father will not go against her. The Dowager Lady Harecroft angry is an awesome sight, I can tell you.’

‘I do not see why she should be angry with me. I am not family.’

‘I am hoping that in the fullness of time you will be.’

She looked up from the ledger on the desk and stared at him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I had intended to give you time to get to know me properly before proposing, but Great-Grandmama has precipitated it. But surely you guessed?’

‘No.’ She felt as though she was being carried along, tossed about like a leaf on the wind, as if she had no will of her own and it annoyed her.

He left the desk, walked round behind her and took the pen from her nerveless fingers, laid it down and clasped her hand in both his own. ‘Miss Bywater—Diana—would you consider a proposal of marriage from me?’

It was a very roundabout way of asking her, she thought, almost as if he were not altogether sure that was what he wanted. He had said nothing of his feelings towards her. Did he love her or was he simply looking for a helpmate in the business? Did she love him? He had not even asked that crucial question. If he had done so, she would not have been able to answer it. But it did not matter; she could not, would not, leave her father and she could not see the Harecroft family taking him to their collective bosom.

‘Mr Harecroft,’ she said, ‘I am an employee, I need my job and you are putting me in a difficult position.’

‘I do not see why. If you accept me, then you need work no longer, or only as long as you wish to. You have fitted into the business very well—in fact, I sometimes think you know more about it than I do—and fitting into Harecroft’s is more than half the battle.’

‘I do not want a battle, Mr Harecroft, I want to be left alone to do my job. And now, if you please, I must get on with it. I am lagging behind today.’

He let go of her hand and straightened up. ‘Very well, but I shall ask you again, perhaps at Great-Grandmother’s party. Yes, on reflection, that will be the ideal time. I will say no more until then.’

‘I have said I cannot go.’

‘Oh, you will,’ he said with infuriating confidence. ‘The Dowager Lady Harecroft will brook no refusal.’

Before she could reply, he was gone and she was left staring down at a column of figures that seemed to dance about on the page so that it took her three attempts to total them correctly.

Chapter Two

‘Well, what do you think of Miss Bywater?’ her ladyship asked Richard as their driver negotiated the traffic in Bond Street.

‘Should I be thinking of her?’ he asked mildly.

‘I am intrigued by her,’ the old lady went on. ‘Her situation is strange. She is educated, well spoken, deferential and neat in her appearance, but there is something secretive about her and I should like to know what it is.’

‘I cannot tell you.’

‘I wonder if it has anything to do with her father,’ she went on as if he had not spoken. ‘She says he is an invalid and is very protective of him. It is because of him she needs to work.’

‘But if she does her work well, is her private life any of our business?’

‘It is if Stephen wants to marry her.’

‘Good Lord! Does he?’

‘I think so. He asked me to invite her to my party.’

‘And did you?’

‘Yes.’

‘And what did she say?’

‘She protested she could not leave her father and when I said bring him too, she began to make all manner of excuses.’

‘Then perhaps you should leave well alone.’

‘I do not want to. I need to know more. You could help me. Find a way of meeting her father, talk to him, discover all you can about his antecedents. I want to know about his family and his childhood, where he spent it, where he was educated, what happened to his parents, his mother’s maiden name. If either had any siblings, if Miss Bywater has brothers and sisters.’

‘To what end? To find out if Miss Bywater is a suitable person to marry Stephen?’

‘If you like.’

‘Then ask Stephen to do it. He is the one who will have to decide.’

‘Stephen does not have your finesse, Richard. He might alienate the man and that is the last thing I want.’

‘And is Miss Bywater to know of this inquisition?’

‘I would rather she did not. Not yet.’

‘Great-Grandmama, I cannot approve.’