The Lady's Maid (23 page)

‘I have every right, miss. You will do as I say now, and you will not run to your father every time you disagree with me, for I assure you he will take my side and not yours.’

Molly had been riddling the cinders in the range, but she leapt to her feet and ran to Kate’s side. ‘You can’t talk to Kate like that.’

Honoria raised her hand and slapped Molly’s face so hard that the sound reverberated round the room. ‘Don’t be insolent. Get on with your work or I’ll find another little drudge to take your place.’

Kate hooked her arm around Molly’s shoulders. ‘That was very wrong of you, Honoria. There was no need for that.’

Molly wept silently, holding her hand to her cheek.

‘Stop blubbering and get on with your work, girl.’ Honoria dragged her away from Kate’s protective arm and pushed her down on her knees in front of the range. She spun round to face Kate with her eyes flashing. ‘You will be the next one to receive a slap, or worse. I’ll speak to Robert about you, and he’ll put
a
stop to that surly manner you adopt with me. Now give me the keys and the account books and then you can get on with your work in the dairy. I don’t want to see your face until noon when you come in for your meal.’

‘I’ll have breakfast first,’ Kate said, taking the keys from her belt and handing them over. ‘Sam will be here as soon as he’s taken the cows to the milking parlour and we will eat with Pa, as usual. No one can work on an empty stomach.’

Honoria glared at her as if she were about to argue, but at that moment Robert breezed into the kitchen looking very pleased with himself. His smile faded as he looked from one to the other. Molly was snivelling quietly as she raked the embers of the fire into life and Kate stood with her hands clenched at her sides. She was about to tell Pa what had just happened, but Honoria rushed over to him and flung her arms around his neck. ‘Robert, I want you to speak to your girl. She resents my presence and will not do as I say.’

‘Well, now. Harrumph.’ Robert cleared his throat noisily. ‘Come, come, ladies, this is no way to start the day.’

Honoria clung to him, pressing his hand to her ample breasts as she gazed up into his face. ‘Please, dear. You know I have your best interests at heart. I want to be a good wife to you and learn to run the household, but I cannot do it if I meet with resistance at every turn.’

‘That’s not true, Pa,’ Kate said angrily. ‘Honoria is being unfair and she slapped Molly.’

‘Well, I – er – perhaps she deserved it.’ Robert loosened the stock at his neck. ‘You must just get used to living together, my dears. I’ve enough to worry about with the old master dead and gone. I can’t have a war going on in my own home.’

Honoria stood on tiptoe to nibble his earlobe. ‘I am prepared to be generous, Robert, dear. But your girl has made it plain from the outset that she doesn’t like me, and that creature is just as bad.’ She jerked her head in Molly’s direction. ‘I think you should put her to work on the farm and I will have a maidservant of my own choosing.’

A flicker of impatience crossed Robert’s florid features, and he gently disentangled her arms from round his neck. ‘Suit yourself, Honoria. I’m sure there’s plenty of work for young Molly outside. She can help Kate with the chickens and in the dairy.’ He turned to Kate, frowning. ‘As to you, daughter, I know it’s hard having another woman take your mother’s place even if my poor Bertha did depart from this earth many years ago, but I want you to try to get on with Honoria. I don’t want to hear a lot of tittle-tattle about who said what and who’s to blame for this and that. All I want is peace in my house and food on the table at the right time. Speaking of which, why don’t I smell bacon frying and bread baking? What is the world coming to?’

‘Yes, get to work, you lazy slattern,’ Honoria said, scowling at Molly. ‘Didn’t I tell you to have breakfast ready on time?’

‘I thought you said we were not to have anything
to
eat until midday,’ Kate muttered through clenched teeth. She was aching to tell Pa exactly what Honoria had said and done, but it could wait.

‘How’s this, wife?’ Robert sat down at the table. ‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day on the farm. Can’t get a good day’s work out of hungry folk.’

Honoria cast a withering glance at Kate, but she turned to Robert with a smile. ‘I am sorry, my love. I am so new at being a wife with all that entails.’ She ran her fingers through his hair, making it stand up like a cock’s comb. She bent down and whispered something in his ear, making him chuckle. He patted her hand as it lay on his shoulder. ‘Well, well, no harm done. I daresay young Molly can fry up some bacon and eggs. Kate will show you how to make bread when she’s seen to the milking.’

Honoria folded her arms across her expanding stomach. ‘I don’t think so, my dear. I was a much respected housekeeper to the squire, not his cook. I will not bake bread, nor will I soil my hands in the kitchen, but I will keep the household and farm accounts, and I will supervise the servants. I will raise you to the status of gentleman farmer before I am done, and I’ll start by inviting the parson’s wife to tea and perhaps the mayor’s lady as well. We will take our rightful place in society, you and I, Robert.’

His cheeks flushed wine-red above his white shirt collar. ‘I’m a plain man, Honoria. I never pretended to be anything else. I’ve come up all I want to in the world, from groom to tenant farmer, and the sooner you get that into your head the better.’

Kate had to turn away to hide a smile. She could have kissed Pa for putting Honoria in her place, but she knew better than to say anything at this precise moment. She went over to Molly, who had stopped crying and had at last managed to coax the fire into life. ‘You fetch the bacon and eggs from the larder, Molly. I’ll make the tea.’

‘I can see you’re all against me,’ Honoria said, sniffing. ‘Robert, am I your wife and mistress of this house, or not?’

‘Of course you are, my dove. You’ll soon get used to our ways, won’t she, Kate?’

She nodded, unable to withstand the pleading look in his eyes. ‘Yes, Pa. I’m sure we will all do very well once we get to know each other properly.’

‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ Molly muttered as she scuttled into the larder.

‘What did she say?’ Honoria demanded, bristling. ‘I won’t stand for insolence from servants, Robert.’

He rose to his feet, thumping his hand down on the table. ‘I’ve had enough of this. Can’t a man get any peace in his own house? I’m going outside but I want my breakfast ready in ten minutes, or I’ll need to know the reason why.’ He strode out of the kitchen into the farmyard, slamming the door behind him.

‘Don’t cross me, Kate,’ Honoria hissed. ‘I come first in your father’s affections now, and I will have my own way. You can send the girl to light a fire in the parlour and I will have my breakfast in there. Ladies do not eat in the kitchen with the servants. You may
bring
me tea and toast, and I will have the account books too. Molly is not the only one who will have to learn her place.’ She turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.

When Sam came in for breakfast, and before Kate could stop her, Molly blurted out everything. White-lipped with anger, and despite Kate’s protests, he stormed out of the kitchen heading for the parlour. She followed him, begging him to stop, but he shook off her restraining hand. ‘No, Kate. I won’t have it. From what Molly told me, that woman was just as bad to you. I’m not letting her get away with such behaviour.’

‘Pa won’t like it, Sam. You’ll only get yourself into trouble.’

‘The gaffer is a fair man, and he’s always listened to reason in the past.’ Sam pushed the parlour door open and strode inside with Kate close on his heels.

Honoria jumped to her feet. ‘How dare you burst in here without knocking?’

Sam dragged off his hat. ‘I’ve been a part of this household a lot longer than you, Mrs Coggins. My sister and me was brought up like family by the old gaffer and his good lady, God rest her soul. Now, I don’t know what you’ve been used to at the Grange, but I won’t have you put my little sister out to work like a farm labourer. She ain’t strong, missis, and a winter out working in the cold could prove fatal.’

‘You impertinent dog.’ Honoria raised her hand as if to slap his face, but Sam caught her by the wrist.

‘No, missis. You may get away with slapping little
girls
, but I’m a man and I don’t stand for such treatment.’

‘Get out of here!’ Honoria screeched. ‘Kate, fetch Mr Coggins. Fetch him now. I won’t be spoken to this way in my own home.’

Kate stood her ground. ‘No, Honoria. Listen to Sam, I beg you. I know we must all try to get along together, but he’s right about Molly’s health. She has a weak chest and is often taken poorly in the winter. You can’t condemn her to work out of doors; it might well be the death of her. She’s a good girl and will try hard to please you.’

Honoria sank down in her chair. ‘I feel faint. I won’t be spoken to in this way. Just wait until Mr Coggins hears about this, Loveday. I’ll have you and your sister thrown out. Let’s see how a winter living on the streets affects her delicate constitution.’

Sam took a step towards her, but Kate grabbed him by the arm. ‘Don’t, Sam. We’ll speak to my father. You’re only making matters worse.’

‘Get out of here.’ Honoria picked up the nearest object, which happened to be a china teapot, and she flung it at Sam, narrowly missing him. It shattered against the wall and cold tea trickled down between the black beams, staining the whitewash.

Reluctantly, Sam allowed Kate to lead him from the room. She closed the door but Honoria’s hysterical cries could still be heard. ‘That was not a good idea, Sam. She’ll tell Pa anything to get him on her side.’

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I don’t care what she says. I’m going to find the gaffer and have it out with
him
man to man. I won’t allow Molly to be bullied by the likes of her, and I don’t like the way she treats you either, Kate.’ He strode off along the narrow passage and she heard his boots clattering on the flagstone floor of the kitchen; a door slammed and then it was quiet. Kate sighed. Once this was a happy home, but Honoria had changed all that. She made her way to the kitchen and found Molly hovering by the scullery door, wringing her hands.

‘What shall I do, Kate? Sam was so angry.’

‘He’s gone to find Pa. Let the men sort it out, Molly. It will be all right, don’t you worry.’

But everything was far from all right, as Kate realised when her father burst into the kitchen minutes later. His high colour and his beetling brows were not an encouraging sign. He flung his hat on the kitchen table, knocking over the milk jug. ‘Can’t I leave you women for a few minutes without you fighting and scratching each other’s eyes out like wildcats?’

‘It wasn’t like that, Pa.’

‘No? That’s not the way I heard it from Sam. It seems to me that you two are ganging up against my poor Honoria. Well, I won’t have it, do you hear me?’

‘I hear you, Pa. But it really wasn’t our fault. Honoria is set on making Molly work in the fields. Sam was angry, and it’s only natural—’

‘Natural, my eye. Now you listen to me, Kate. Whether you likes it or not, Honoria is my wife, and she is the mistress here now. She’s got a lot to learn, I’ll grant you, but I need you to help her and not go
against
her every which way; especially at a time like this.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Kate said slowly. ‘At a time like what?’

Robert’s cheeks flushed a darker shade of red and he ran his finger round the inside of his collar. ‘You must expect her to be a bit high-strung these days. Honoria is in the family way, so to speak.’

‘You mean …?’ Kate stared at him in disbelief. She had thought that Honoria was long past childbearing, and this news had come as a total shock. It was true that Honoria seemed to be putting on weight by the day, but she had put that down to simple greed and idleness. ‘She can’t be, Pa.’

‘A baby.’ Molly leaned against Kate for support. ‘Heavens above.’

Robert cleared his throat loudly. ‘It happens amongst married folks. You ought to be pleased for us, not looking at me like a pair of silly dumbledores.’

‘I – er – it’s a surprise, Pa. I mean, at her age. I didn’t think …’ Kate’s voice trailed off as she struggled to find the right words.

‘Honoria is only thirty-seven,’ Robert said with an aggrieved look on his face. ‘Not young, I’ll grant you, but not old neither. I want you to do everything you can to keep her calm and content.’

‘Like a cow in the field,’ Molly whispered, grinning.

‘I don’t want none of that talk, young Molly.’ Robert frowned at her. ‘And if I hears as how you’ve been upsetting her, then you will be severely chastised for it. As for you working in the fields, that won’t happen.
You
can help Kate in the dairy and the hen house. You can do the cleaning indoors so long as you keeps out of Honoria’s way, and I’ll hire a maid to wait on her while she’s in a delicate condition. You, Kate, can do the cooking. You’ve done it well enough all these years and I don’t fancy being poisoned by some wretch from the village. Do you both understand me?’

‘Yes, Pa,’ Kate murmured. She nudged Molly.

‘Yes, master.’

‘Good. Now I’ll go and speak to Honoria and you girls set out the breakfast. I’m famished.’

As the door closed on him, Molly began to giggle. ‘That were quick work, considering they’ve only been married such a short while. I didn’t know the master had it in him.’

‘That’s enough of that talk,’ Kate said severely, but she was shocked nonetheless. So what Sam had said about her pa and Honoria going off together after the last skimmity ride must have been true. Although it was a long time since her mother had died, she had never thought of her father as being a man with physical needs. He was just her dear pa, kindly when sober, hard-working and growing old, more likely to end up a grandfather than father to another child. Having a baby in the house would change things even more.

Molly nudged her in the ribs. ‘Don’t look so worried, Kate. I won’t breathe a word of it in the village.’