Candlelit Christmas Kisses

‘Your lordship is thinking of marrying?’

‘Perhaps …’ Robert was disinclined to reveal more of his personal plans. ‘For the moment Miss Searles and her family may remain in residence. If she will kindly have the west wing prepared for my arrival, I shall be obliged to her.’

‘Of course, my lord. I am certain she can have no objection to sharing the house with you. It is, of course, your house.’

‘I am glad you have remembered that fact,’ Robert replied with a hint of sarcasm. ‘Might I advise you to follow my instructions to the letter in future?’

‘Yes, my lord. I was wrong, but …’ Mr Breck quailed before his look, feeling chastened. ‘Of course. Just as you say.’

‘No need to look so crushed,’ Robert said, and laughed. ‘Just a friendly word of advice. Had you asked beforehand, I might well have granted your request. I had no thought of visiting the estate while my uncle lived—but it is clearly my duty, and I now understand why he wished me to take charge of it. If there is one thing I cannot tolerate, it is that an elderly man grieving for his lost loved ones should be cheated. If I discover there was more than the customary practice going on, heads will roll …’

‘You must not blame yourself, Mr Breck,’ Selina said, concerned to see how distressed the lawyer looked as he told her the news. ‘You have given us a breathing space—and if the new house is not too far away, any friends we make here will be near enough for us to visit.’

‘I fear the property is nothing like this, Miss Searles. I was so sure you would have this for at least a year or more, which might have given you time—’ He broke off, looking self-conscious. ‘Forgive me, I presume too much.’

‘Not at all, sir. It was my hope that I might see my sister make a good marriage. If she should be fortunate enough to do so, I could leave Millie to her care and take a position in the house of a lady for myself.’

‘You must not think of it, my dear Miss Searles. As a temporary arrangement, it is allowable, but you should be living as a lady—not serving one as a housekeeper or a companion.’

‘I think I may not have much choice. I am past the first flush of my youth, sir. I should have had my season three years ago, or sooner, but circumstances would not allow. Papa still had a little money then, and Mama, too. Now I have no prospects and very little as a dowry. Indeed, what I have may need to be spent to ensure Amy has her chance.’

‘Well, you must not act precipitately,’ he advised. ‘Now, you understand the situation? I am sure you can manage to live under the same roof as the earl for a few weeks.’

‘Yes, that should not prove too difficult,’ Selina said, managing to smile. ‘My offer stands, Mr Breck. If you would care to bring your wife to stay for the Christmas period, we should be glad to have you.’

‘Alas, Mrs Breck has made arrangements for her family to visit us. She is most disappointed, for she is of a romantic turn of mind and would have loved to see this place before … the earl may decide to pull it all down and build a new home for himself and his wife.’

‘He is newly married?’ Selina enquired.

‘Oh, no. I believe he may have it in mind, but I have heard nothing definite. Please do not tell him I mentioned the possibility, for it was merely a chance remark.’

‘I should not dream of it,’ Selina replied. ‘Were I to have continued here as the tenant, I should have asked your wife to visit later in the year, but I fear we must leave as soon as this other house becomes vacant.’

‘Then you will take it?’ Mr Breck looked relieved. ‘I promised your dear mama to do what I could for you, and if I have found a solution to your problems, I am happy.’

Selina refrained from telling him that Lady Searles would be less than pleased with the way things had gone for her beloved daughters. Mr Breck had done his best and they must just make the most of it. At least they would still be here for Christmas. Even if they did have to share the house with its rightful owner.

‘He is here,’ Millie said dramatically as she threw open the parlour door eight days later and entered, carrying a basket of eggs she had fetched from the farm nearest to the estate. ‘I saw his chaise arrive. He has brought a baggage coach weighed down with trunks, boxes and crates. Trent says he has collected some art treasures in Italy, but they are to be stored for the moment—until he builds his new house. So we shall not see what is inside them all.’

‘You must not think of intruding on the earl’s privacy,’ Selina told her sister. ‘Just because you can walk into the west wing unheeded, you must not take advantage. The earl is entitled to expect common courtesy from us—all of us. If we wish to speak with him, we shall either send a message by Trent, asking for the favour of an interview, or we shall go to the side door and ring the bell, just as if we were paying a visit to one of our neighbours.’

Millie’s mouth set in a mutinous line. ‘The library is between the two wings. I do hope he will not ban us from using it. I shall simply die if I cannot read more of those wonderful books.’

‘When he has had time to settle in, he may—’ Selina had been going to say he might pay a courtesy call, but at that moment Trent entered the parlour, looking a little flustered.

‘Forgive me, ma’am,’ he said. ‘The earl has just arrived, and he asks that you attend him in the library.’

‘There you are,’ Millie wailed. ‘I knew he would say it was his. It will be just like Cousin Joshua all over again.’

‘It is not the same at all,’ Selina replied, sounding calmer than she felt. She smoothed her skirts, then patted her hair, tucking a wisp behind her ear. She had dragged it back into a tight knot at her nape, hoping it made her look older. ‘I shall come at once, Trent.’

She left her sisters whispering together and walked in a measured pace toward the library. Because Millie loved it so much, she had allowed her sister to have some comfortable chairs installed, rather than the hard sofas which had been there previously, and a fire would have been lit that morning, as it was every day. Reaching the door, she knocked and then entered.

Two men were standing before the fire. As they turned to face her, her heart caught with sudden pain. She knew one of them immediately, and the shock held her as if she had turned to stone. He had changed, but she recognised him for the dashing captain who’d kissed her on the eve of his departure for Spain. How could it be? She had thought never to see him again, but here he was—yet who was he, exactly? Could he be the Earl Banford?

‘Good morning, gentlemen,’ she said, and dipped in a slight curtsey. Her heart was racing wildly, and she felt as if she might faint, but she held her raging emotions on a tight rein. ‘I am Miss Searles—Miss Selina Searles. My sisters are Miss Amy and Miss Millicent.’

‘Miss Searles.’ The man with a scarred cheek inclined his head. ‘Henry Norton at your service. I am secretary to Earl Banford—or, as he prefers to be called, Captain Moorcroft.’

‘And also my friend,’ the slightly taller of the two said, with a wry look at his companion. ‘Nor and I saw service together. He takes care of all the tedious business for me and I tolerate his company. I have not yet seen much of the house, but I must congratulate you on the difference you’ve made to this room, Miss Searles.’

Selina caught her breath. As soon as he spoke, all the memories came rushing back, threatening to overcome her. His smile was just the same, but the years had aged him, taking that bright youth and enthusiasm from his face. His eyes were different, shadowed, as if he had seen too much sorrow and pain—as of course he must have, for she’d heard tales of the harshness of war, though she could have no idea of what these two men had suffered. Mr Norton’s face bore a terrible scar from his left eye to his chin, and she noticed that he walked with a limp, and his left hand was covered with a glove. She guessed that it had sustained an injury that he did not wish to reveal to the world.

‘I am glad you have no objection to my changes, my lord,’ Selina said, keeping her cool smile in place. ‘My youngest sister is a great reader and loves to spend much of her time here. I realise that you may wish to make the library your own, but perhaps she may continue to borrow the books?’

The earl hesitated, then inclined his head stiffly. ‘I, too, enjoy reading. I daresay we may come to some arrangement—providing she is quiet when I’m working on estate matters.’

‘I assure you she will be as quiet as a mouse. Once she has her nose in a book, it takes a Herculean effort to get her out of it.’

‘A true reader,’ Henry Norton said with a smile. ‘I shall look forward to meeting the young lady. Now I shall leave you, Robert. I daresay you wish to be private with Miss Searles. I know you have things to discuss.’

‘You do not have to leave,’ the earl said, but his friend merely smiled at Selina and went out.

The earl stared at her in brooding silence for a moment or two, then, ‘I am sorry if my arrival has made things awkward for you, Miss Searles. I had no intention of coming down yet, but Mr Breck seems to think you have uncovered evidence of my uncle being cheated?’

‘Yes, that is so,’ Selina agreed. ‘I am sure it was the case. The agent who was almost certainly behind most of it has left, but I think there may be more serious offences than I have yet had time to uncover. I have not delved too far, because I was not certain how you would feel about a woman prying into your affairs.’

‘I would normally resent anyone prying,’ he said, with a mocking lift of his eyebrow. ‘However, in this case I can only thank you for the service you have rendered me. I shall ask you to show me the evidence another day—perhaps tomorrow morning if you are not too busy? After that you may leave the estate accounts to me.’

‘Certainly, my lord,’ Selina said, her head up as she met his hard gaze. ‘I was merely trying to save Mr Breck too many trips down here—and to pay for my accommodation.’

‘I think you may consider your rent paid,’ the earl replied, still with that faintly sardonic smile on his lips. ‘As I said, I may not have seen much of the house yet, but what I have seen is a credit to you. Trent told me that you and your own servants are responsible for most of it?’

‘I have hired two maids to clean and serve in your wing, my lord. Also a former footman asked to return when he heard you were intending to take up residence. I told him he must come to you, and I believe he intends to wait on you tomorrow. I did not wish to presume too much, my lord.’

‘For goodness’ sake, call me Moorcroft—or sir,’ the earl said a trifle impatiently. ‘Until recently I was Captain Moorcroft of the Fifth Cavalry, and to be honest, I preferred it that way.’

‘As you wish, my … sir.’ Selina felt the heat in her cheeks. Just for a moment she’d glimpsed the man who had stolen her young heart, but he had disappeared again almost at once. ‘I daresay you did not wish for the bother of an estate like this. My father always said that large houses like this were more trouble than they were worth—but of course his estate was nothing like this must once have been.’

‘My uncle was in mourning for a long time. He let everything slide, and some of the land was lost to bad debt—and perhaps malpractice, as you have already seen.’

‘Yes, I imagine it must have been that way.’ Selina lifted her eyes to his. ‘If you would care to inspect our wing later this evening, I shall be delighted to show you.’

‘I shall visit if you invite me, but it isn’t a case of inspecting. Your wing is your home until you are ready to move, Miss Searles.’

‘You are very generous.’ Selina blinked back the stupid tears that hovered behind her eyes. She might have known he would not remember her. Just as he had changed, so had she. They had both been young and eager that night, but life had taken its toll, and they were now very different people. ‘I have warned Millie she must not intrude on you. I fear she has been in the habit of going wherever she pleases. My sisters are both delighted with the house, sir. They adore the minstrels’ gallery and the priest holes.’

‘Yes, I remember seeing them for the first time as a young boy—before things changed.’ His mouth drew into a thin line. ‘I believe my uncle suffered more tragedy than any man should in losing his wife and sons to the same malady. At the time I did not understand why his house was like a mausoleum, but I have since learned what it is to lose those you love.’

‘Yes, I believe it must have been terrible at times out there during the war. We heard tales, of course, but it is difficult to imagine what went on.’

‘You should not try, Miss Searles. Believe me, you do not wish to know.’

For a moment there was such horror and grief in his eyes that she was shocked. She felt cold all over and her spine prickled. What could have happened to him to make him look like that?

‘I believe I have nothing more to say for the moment,’ he said. ‘I should like to rest. Trent has offered me refreshment—but I understand the cook is employed by you?’

‘Yes, she came with me—together with my mother’s maids and my groom. The other servants are, of course, in your employ. However, since they all work together, I believe we may share their services. You do not have a dining parlour in your wing, so perhaps you will dine with us this evening?’

‘Yes, that may be for the best. I shall have to make other arrangements after you leave or perhaps before. Excuse me now, Miss Searles. I have work to do.’

Selina felt herself dismissed. He had treated her politely, but she knew that he considered her to be just one step above a paid housekeeper—perhaps equal to a poor relation he had given a temporary home.

Fighting her chagrin, and a stupid feeling of disappointment that he had not immediately remembered her as the girl he had kissed on that magical summer evening, she left him to brood alone in the library or whatever he chose to do. She had warned her sisters they were to stay away from his wing of the house, and she must do the same—unless requested to present herself, as she had been today.

She was so stupid to care! It had been but a fleeting moment—something she ought to have forgotten long ago, as he clearly had. They had both learned to feel pain and to live with the loss of loved ones, but he had moved on with his life while she … No, she was not that foolish girl. She was Miss Searles, and if requested to walk in moonlit gardens with an officer she did not know, she would have more sense than to agree.

At least she’d been saved the embarrassment of his thinking she was presuming on their encounter that night. He’d had her story from Mr Breck and been generous enough to allow her to stay—and that was the end of it.

She must concentrate on making this a better Christmas for her sisters than the previous one, when they’d been grieving for their father and their mama had been lying prone on her bed.

This year they would have goose with all the trimmings, presents and greenery throughout their part of the house. Since the great hall was in Lord Moorcroft’s wing, they would not be able to bring in the Yule log, but she would make their wing as festive as she could.

What Lord Moorcroft chose to do was entirely his affair. Cook would provide sufficient food for all of them—he could join in or brood alone with his kind but terribly scarred friend …

CHAPTER FOUR

‘I THINK he looks like a pirate,’ Millie said, though since she’d never seen one, other than in drawings in her book of tales of the sea, she could hardly be called an expert. ‘He is very bold and handsome—and his eyes laugh at one.’

‘And where did you see Mr Norton?’ Amy challenged as she looked up from her embroidery the morning after the earl’s arrival. ‘I hope you didn’t go marching into the earl’s wing?’

‘Selina said I might continue to use the library, but I was to leave if the earl asked me to. I knocked at the door and Mr Norton was there. He invited me in and he was nice.’

‘Yes, he is nice,’ Amy agreed. ‘I think he must have been as handsome as the earl before he was so horribly wounded.’

‘I like him as he is now,’ Millie avowed. ‘He told me he intends to catalogue the library and set it to rights. I asked if I could help, because I know where a lot of the books are, and he said if I was very careful and used gloves to handle the older, more valuable books, I could. He made me promise not to take a book away without noting it in his ledger, and I promised.’

‘It sounds as if he likes you, Millie. If you’d been four years older, he might have married you. You could have lived here as his wife then.’

‘He has an estate of his own in Devon. When the earl marries, he will go home and marry himself.’

‘How do you know that?’ Amy gasped.

‘Because I heard them talking last night.’

‘What do you mean?’ Amy stared at her. ‘You didn’t go into their wing—Oh, Millie. Selina warned you not to. The earl might have been so angry.’

‘Well, I left something in the minstrels’ gallery. I had to fetch it or—or they might have thought it belonged to them, and it doesn’t.’

‘Millie …’ Amy looked at her in sudden suspicion. ‘What have you done? If you’ve stolen something of the earl’s, you must give it back at once and apologise.’

‘I haven’t stolen anything … not from the earl.’ Millie glanced guiltily over her shoulder. ‘Please do not tell Selina, but I brought the Book of Hours with me in my trunk. I know she said I shouldn’t, but Papa gave it to me—truly he did, Amy. I’m not lying.’

‘I know he told you you could have it,’ Amy said. ‘But in truth he had no right, Millie. Selina is correct when she says it belongs to the estate. If Cousin Joshua discovers it is missing, he will come here and ask Selina where it went. He is within his rights to demand that you return it. It is medieval and so precious, my love.’

‘It would be precious to me if it wasn’t worth any money,’ Millie said, but hung her head. ‘I know I shouldn’t have done it, Amy—but I did, and there’s nothing we can do now, is there?’

‘We shall have to see what happens,’ Amy said. ‘Hush, now, Selina is coming. I think she has been going over the accounts with the earl.’

‘I do hope she isn’t upset. She looked as if she might cry when she came back from seeing him last night.’

‘Well, here you are,’ Selina said as she entered the parlour. ‘I was thinking we might take a walk to the village this afternoon. I wanted to call on the vicar and ask if he and his wife would like to dine with us tomorrow. I am planning a party the week after next, and he will know who we should ask to our first dinner.’

‘A dinner party?’ Millie said. ‘It’s my birthday that week. Is it for my birthday, Selina? If so, I should like to invite Mr Norton.’

‘I expect we shall invite both the earl and Mr Norton. Lord Moorcroft intends to bring a chef from London in time for Christmas, and he is bringing down one of the large oak trestle tables from the attics. I think he will use the great hall as a dining parlour when he entertains, and his smaller parlour when he and Mr Norton wish to dine alone.’

‘Why can they not take all their meals with us?’ Millie asked. ‘I like Mr Norton and—and the earl doesn’t seem too bad if you ignore his scowls. He doesn’t always know he is scowling, you know. Mr Norton says his bark is worse than his bite.’

‘Millie!’ Selina shook her head but smiled at her sister. ‘You shouldn’t say such things, even if Mr Norton does. He has the privilege of friendship. I have offered the earl the service of Cook, should he wish to accept, but he says it is to be a temporary arrangement. However, since there is only one kitchen, the arrival of a London chef may cause some friction.’

‘I thought he meant to stay only a short time,’ Amy said with a frown. ‘That his intention was to bring an architect from London, make plans to pull the house down and have drawings made for a new one.’

‘I have not been informed of any changes in the earl’s plans,’ Selina said. ‘He did compliment me on how pleasant his wing is since I had the furniture rearranged, and he sent his regards to you, Amy. He thanks you for the flowers but says he will not trouble you in future.’

‘Oh …’ Amy sighed with disappointment. ‘I enjoyed doing them, but if he does not wish for flowers … I have plenty to do here.’

‘Exactly.’ Selina’s eyes glittered with pride. ‘The west wing is the earl’s home and this is ours. As long as we remember that, there will be no conflict of interest.’

‘Mr Norton says I can help him in the library, but I am to go away if the earl wants to work there,’ Millie said. ‘I wish he was the earl. We could all be together then, like a family.’

‘Just remember you are a guest in the earl’s house, Millie. We may think of entertaining a few friends at Christmas, but then we shall have to start packing our things ready to move again.’

‘Do we really have to?’ Millie made a face. ‘I should like to stay here for ever and ever.’

‘Well, you can’t,’ Amy told her. ‘I hate the idea of this house being pulled down, but we can’t stop it.’ She stood up. ‘I’ve decided I’m going to draw the outside of the house from various angles. I want a memory I can keep. And if you behave, I shall colour one for your birthday, Millie.’

‘Will you draw the minstrels’ gallery and the priest holes for me?’

‘I should have to do them from memory.’

‘Mr Norton would let you draw them if you asked.’

‘Yes, he might—but he would have to ask the earl for his permission,’ Selina said. ‘I think there can be no objection to your drawing the house, Amy. Even if the earl does not appreciate it, he might like to have one of your drawings to remind him of what it looked like one day.’

‘I think I shall make a start now—before nuncheon,’ Amy said. ‘Will the gentlemen be joining us in the breakfast parlour?’

‘I think the earl has asked to be served in his own parlour or the library. He has tea tables, which will do for such a meal, but no dining table—except the huge one that almost fills one end of the great hall.’

‘How silly of him to bother with all that when he could dine with us,’ Amy said. ‘Please excuse me, Selina. I must fetch my painting things.’

‘And I must …’ Selina looked about herself and felt suddenly at a loss. She had hardly had a moment to spare since they’d arrived, but the house was now in good order, and the earl had lifted the burden of the estate from her shoulders. ‘I think I shall do some embroidery until nuncheon. This afternoon I shall walk to the vicarage.’

Amy departed in search of her sketching things. Millie followed her, saying she had mislaid a book she wanted, and Selina was left to amuse herself. She picked up a piece of embroidery, put it down again, and wandered over to the window. It was too nice a day to stay indoors, and she was restless now that so much of her work had been taken over by the earl.

Her interview with the earl had gone well enough. He’d seemed impressed with her accounting and had agreed that his uncle had been systematically cheated by his agent, and perhaps by other servants who had since left his employ.

‘There is little I can do now,’ he’d said with a rueful look. ‘But I shall send a new lease to the tenant who has not paid his rent for some years, together with a bill for money owed. If he has receipts from my uncle’s agents, he must present them. I shall then have proof of theft and can prosecute.’

‘I agree you should pursue this matter,’ Selina had replied. ‘It was wicked of them to do such a thing—and unfair to the tenant if he believed he was paying rent to the earl.’

‘Unless he was in on the scam?’

‘Yes, I suppose he might have been, since he would soon have been able to claim the land.’

‘My uncle was at fault, but his grief made him ill. I think he knew he was being cheated—which was why, at the last, he asked me to help. After his last surviving son died, he had no one else to turn to.’