A Village Scandal Read online

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Daisy said, frowning, ‘but how would moving to the manor house help? Wouldn’t your daughters be moving in similar circles?’

  ‘Not quite.’ Marjorie’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. ‘I’ll make sure that my guest lists are very comprehensive, and that is why I want the manor house. Just imagine the parties and assemblies we could have there.’

  ‘We?’ Daisy eyed her warily. She sensed that there was a sting in the tail of this seemingly heaven-sent offer.

  ‘Yes, of course. I’m not throwing you out on the street, but I would expect you to work for your board and lodging. If there isn’t enough room in the servants’ quarters, bearing in mind that I’m taking my staff with me, then perhaps there’s a dower house or a keeper’s cottage that would suit you and your mother-in-law. And there’s that rather strange woman who lost her leg, and I believe she has children – of course I couldn’t have them living in the house. But I’m sure you’ve already thought of that, Daisy.’

  ‘What exactly would my position in the household be? Am I to be a servant?’

  Marjorie threw back her head and laughed. ‘No, of course not. You’ll be there more as a paid companion with a few other duties thrown in. I haven’t thought that out yet, but you would be like one of the family. What do you say?’

  Daisy opened her mouth to refuse. She could see herself being reduced to the status of an underling in her own house – and Mary would be back below stairs, where she had started – but the truth was pressing down on her like a lead weight. She had little choice: she must either accept Marjorie Harker’s terms or face bankruptcy.

  Daisy left Four Winds, having shaken hands on an agreement that would free her, at least temporarily, from the burden of running the manor house. She had a generous amount of cash with which to pay immediate bills, and an iron-clad determination to see that the changes went seamlessly. She set off for home, taking a detour to Guppy’s cottage. There was another matter that simply could not be ignored: the Lazy Jane must be put to good use. Maybe in future Jay’s ship would provide her with a decent living.

  She found Clem alone in the cottage, his fearsome mother having gone to the village to buy some groceries. Clem ushered her into the kitchen.

  ‘Take a seat, missis.’ He pulled up a chair for her. ‘What can I do for you?’

  ‘I’m seriously thinking of going into business, Clem. The Lazy Jane is mine, to all intents and purposes, and I don’t want the Dorning gang to get their hands on her again. Besides which, she’s a stout vessel and should be put to good use.’

  He stared at her as if she were speaking a foreign language. ‘You want to take up free trading, missis?’

  ‘No, I was thinking of a more legitimate business. There must be work out there for a ship that size.’

  ‘Even if I got the crew together we’ve no captain.’

  ‘I put you in charge yesterday, and now I’m making you captain.’

  ‘I’ve no experience, missis. I take orders.’

  ‘Then there’s no finer way to gain the necessary qualifications, Clem. I’m convinced that you could do it, and I’m putting my trust in you. If I find the cargoes, would you be prepared to take up the challenge?’

  ‘Begging your pardon, but it’s a man’s trade. I don’t know of any women involved.’

  ‘There has to be a first. At one time I was desperate to become a doctor, but I settled for training as a nurse. This is different and I’m not prepared to step back simply because I was born female.’ Daisy rose to her feet, leaning her hands on the table as she fixed Clem with a penetrating stare. ‘Are you prepared to work with me?’

  He grinned sheepishly. ‘Don’t seem like I have much choice, missis.’

  ‘That’s right.’ She stifled a sigh of relief. ‘I leave it to you to choose your crew and get the ship ready to sail.’

  ‘I’ll need money for provisions.’

  ‘Of course.’ Daisy took a leather pouch from her reticule and laid it on the table in front of him. ‘That should be enough for a start.’

  ‘What cargo will we be shipping, missis?’

  ‘I’ll let you know when it’s settled.’

  Guppy leaped to his feet and saluted. ‘Aye, aye, Captain.’

  She smiled. ‘I’m merely the owner. You’re the captain, Guppy.’

  Daisy left the tiny cottage, mounted her horse and rode homeward, taking the longest route in the hope of finding an empty cottage on Creek Manor land that was large enough to take herself, Mary, Hilda and the children. There was no dower house, as Marjorie had suggested, and the tied cottages were all occupied, except for one on the edge of the estate.

  Daisy dismounted and tethered the horse to a stunted tree. She approached tentatively just in case there were some itinerant workers who had come across the empty dwelling and decided to make it their own. The front door was badly damaged and hanging from one hinge. She peeped inside but the only occupants seemed to be the huge spiders hanging from ornate webs, although, judging by the scuffling behind the skirting boards there were also rodents in residence. The windows were broken and the range was rusty, its grate spilling over with ashes, birds’ feathers and bits of moss. The accommodation appeared to be one reasonably large room downstairs, and Daisy had to pluck up courage to take the narrow staircase to find out what she could expect from the bedrooms. She fought her way through a mesh of cobwebs and cockroaches scuttled in all directions at the sound of her approach. The smell they left made her reach for her hanky and she held it to her nose, but once she reached the tiny landing she discovered two bedrooms, each containing an iron bedstead and piles of leaves blown in during the winter storms. The good news was that the roof seemed to be sound; there was no sign of a leak anyway. A quick look out of the window revealed a small back garden complete with a well and an overgrown vegetable bed. A wooden henhouse had seen better days, but could possibly be rebuilt, although there was no sign of a privy.

  Daisy made her way downstairs and out into the bright sunshine. She dusted off her riding habit and untied her horse, mounting with the aid of a tree stump, and she set off for home.

  She dismounted at the foot of the manor-house steps, and handed the reins to Jack, who had come running from the stables where he had chosen to train under the aegis of Faulkner, the head groom.

  ‘Is it true, Daisy? Is Jay lost at sea?’

  She gave him a hug. ‘I’m sure I’d know if he was, Jack. The truth is we don’t know what happened to him, but Guppy and the others were picked up by another vessel. We can only hope that Jay might have been as lucky.’

  Jack wiped his eyes on his sleeve. ‘They told me he was drowned.’

  ‘We don’t believe that, do we?’

  He shook his head. ‘No, we don’t.’

  ‘That’s a good chap. Take Cinders to the stables for me, please. You’ll be the first to know if I get any news.’

  He nodded and walked off, leading the horse. Daisy stood for a moment, gazing up at the timbered building that had been her home for a few short months, although it felt like much longer. She had grown fond of the old house, with its narrow corridors and beamed ceilings, but Creek Manor was about to enter a new phase in its four-hundred-year history. A new, if temporary, lady of the manor would be greeting her guests and presiding over dinner parties in an attempt to further her husband’s career, as well as finding husbands for her two daughters. Daisy suspected that she herself would be expected to carry out a great many more duties than Marjorie Harker had suggested, and her position in the household would be something akin to that when she was governess to the Carringtons’ younger son. She would no longer be mistress of the household and that would be hard to take, but she braced her shoulders and mounted the steps to the front door. First of all she had to convince Mary and Hilda to go along with Marjorie Harker’s wishes. It was not going to be easy.

  Having spent an hour or two using all her powers of persuasion on those closest to her, Daisy was exhausted, and she kne
w that the hardest was yet to come. Mary had been adamant that they would have to move out of the manor house, which was self-evident, and Hilda had then been riddled with guilt for allowing Daisy to support her and her children after the accident. She talked about the workhouse as if it was the only way out and it took a supreme effort from Daisy to convince Hilda that she needed her support as well as her friendship. In an effort to convince both Hilda and Mary, Daisy took them to look at the cottage, but that only made matters worse. Mary was now talking about moving back into her old cottage in the village, because it was more familiar and in only a slightly worse condition. It was only when Daisy promised to have all the available ground staff working to renovate the little house that Mary and Hilda finally agreed to consider a move.

  That night Daisy fell into bed exhausted and slept until dawn.

  She awakened next morning ready to face the inevitable. She had been putting off a visit to her aunt and uncle, knowing that they would try to dissuade her from moving out of her home, but it was important to get to them before the gossips had broadcast the news.

  Eleanora listened patiently enough, although judging by her prune-like pursed lips and raised eyebrows, Daisy had a feeling that her aunt had already got wind of her change of circumstances.

  ‘Have you been listening to village gossip, Aunt?’ Daisy tried not to sound impatient but she realised that she was getting nowhere. The atmosphere in the parlour was tense and Eleanora was clearly not going to be easily mollified.

  ‘It’s a sorry day when Mr Keyes in the village shop knows more about one’s family than oneself.’

  ‘It all happened very quickly,’ Daisy said hastily. ‘You don’t understand, Aunt.’

  Eleanora sniffed and turned away. ‘I might have understood had you deigned to tell me of your decision to move into a derelict cottage. Your uncle is very upset and so am I.’

  Daisy reached out to clutch her aunt’s hand. ‘Listen to me, Auntie. I find myself in a very difficult situation. Jay has disappeared, although I refuse to believe he’s dead, but he had made no financial provision for me to manage in such an emergency.’

  ‘You could have come to us, Daisy. Your uncle and I are not wealthy, but we would have helped out.’

  ‘I doubt if you could cover the sum needed to pay the servants’ quarterly wages and the bills from the tradesmen for the wedding breakfast. Inheriting somewhere like the manor house comes at a price, Aunt.’

  ‘But surely there must be money in the bank, my dear.’

  ‘Possibly, but I cannot draw on it. The Lazy Jane is the only asset over which I have any control, and I’m hoping to go into business, even if it’s in a small way at first.’

  ‘And what about Jay? Have you forgotten him already?’

  Daisy jumped to her feet. ‘That’s cruel. Of course I haven’t forgotten him, but there’s very little I can do, and I have people depending on me. I can’t just curl up and die, even if I feel like it sometimes.’

  Eleanora’s eyes opened wide. ‘Don’t say things like that, Daisy.’

  ‘I’m just trying to put your mind at rest, Auntie. The agreement with Mrs Harker is only for a year, and during that time I hope to be able to build up a business with the ship.’

  ‘What will your brother say? He won’t approve of you moving into that dreadful cottage.’

  ‘You haven’t seen it, Aunt. It’s a roof over our heads and there just isn’t room for us in the servants’ quarters.’

  ‘Servants’ quarters?’ Eleanora’s cheeks reddened and her eyes watered. ‘What have you come to, Daisy?’

  ‘It’s no worse than being governess to Timothy Carrington. At least I have the respect of the servants and they’ll understand that I’m doing this to save the manor house.’

  ‘Well, if you put it like that I suppose I’ll have to suffer the disgrace.’ Eleanora wiped her eyes and stuffed her lace-trimmed hanky up her sleeve. ‘Will you stay for luncheon, Daisy? Hattie will want to see you before you go.’

  ‘I’ll stay to eat with you, but then I have other errands to run, so I hope that Uncle Sidney decides to join us.’

  ‘He loves you, dear, but unless you develop fins and a tail I doubt if he’ll notice that you’re missing.’

  After an emotional time spent comforting Hattie, while attempting to impress upon her that leaving the manor house was only a temporary measure and not a total disaster, Daisy was relieved when Linnet returned from shopping in the village. Hattie was clearly put out to discover that Linnet had been told of the coming upheaval by her mother.

  ‘Why am I the last to know about this?’

  ‘Daisy and I are sisters-in-law, Hattie,’ Linnet said cheerfully. ‘Ma tells us everything.’

  Hattie tossed her head. ‘At least Creek Cottage is bought and paid for. No one is going to put us out on the street. You’d better be careful, young lady. Don’t get ideas above your station just because Daisy married your brother.’

  Linnet’s pale skin flushed scarlet. ‘You know I didn’t mean it like that, Hattie.’

  Daisy put her arm around Linnet’s thin shoulders. ‘I’m proud to have you and Dove as my in-laws, and young Jack, too, although we don’t see so much of him now that he’s working in the stables. He seems happy enough there and Mrs Harker is going to keep all the servants on.’

  ‘Jack always loved animals,’ Linnet said, smiling. ‘He’s a good boy, but he could have gone the other way if you and Mrs Marshall hadn’t taken him in hand, Hattie.’

  ‘Oh, well, we do what we have to do.’ Hattie puffed out her chest and ladled soup into a tureen. ‘Lay up the table in the dining room, if you please, Linnet. Daisy is staying for luncheon.’

  ‘I’ll give you a hand, Linnet.’ Daisy followed her to the dining room. ‘I’m going to see Nick after luncheon.’

  After a rather tense meal with her aunt, who kept reverting to the subject of Daisy being forced out of her home, Daisy was glad to escape and ride the short distance to Creek Hall. She went straight to the kitchen where she hoped she would find Mrs Boynton, Nick’s housekeeper, and sure enough she was there, seated at the deal table, drinking a cup of tea. She put the cup down and rose to her feet.

  ‘Mrs Tattersall, this is a lovely surprise.’

  ‘I’m still Daisy to you, Mrs Bee. How are you?’

  ‘I’m fine, dear.’ Mrs Bee sank down again, eyeing Daisy warily. ‘But how are you? I heard what happened.’

  Daisy pulled up a chair and sat opposite her. ‘I’m coping as best I can, Mrs Bee, but it’s not easy.’

  ‘I know it must be hard, but it’s only temporary. You won’t be living in the cottage for ever, and of course I was sorry to hear that Jay might have – well, you know what I’m saying, dear.’

  Daisy smiled and shrugged. ‘All I can do is to hope for the best, and we’ll manage somehow. Anyway, is the doctor at home? I was hoping to catch him in between his rounds and surgery.’

  ‘Yes, he is. We’ve only got two in-patients and he’s seeing to their needs.’

  ‘Is Dove here?’

  ‘I used to hope that you and Master Nick would get together. You seemed so well suited.’ Mrs Bee sighed, shaking her head. ‘Then those Fox girls came onto the scene and it seems that they can’t decide which man they want. I can’t keep up with them and their airy-fairy ways.’

  ‘So Dove is staying on here?’

  ‘Well, so it seems. I don’t think Master Nick knows quite what’s happening, although to be fair I think Dove is far more suited to be a country doctor’s wife than her flighty sister.’

  ‘I must speak to Nick.’

  ‘I’m losing patience with them all. We didn’t behave like that in my day.’

  ‘I don’t know what’s got into young people nowadays,’ Daisy said, chuckling.

  ‘You may laugh, Daisy, but this will all end in tears – mark my words.’

  Leaving Mrs Bee to finish her tea and brood over the failings of the younger generation, Daisy made her way thro
ugh the familiar passageways of the old house where she had once thought she might become mistress. She went upstairs and met Nick as he left one of the rooms set aside for in-patients.

  ‘Daisy, this is a pleasant surprise.’

  ‘Nick, I have something to tell you.’

  Chapter Five

  ‘Are you sure this is the right thing for you?’ Nick ushered Daisy into the small bedroom that had been turned into an office. ‘You’re still in a state of shock after losing your husband.’

  ‘He has a name, Nick. I know you didn’t approve of my marriage to Jay, but I love him and I refuse to believe that he’s dead.’

  Nick pulled up a chair for her and he went to sit behind his desk. ‘It’s all round the village that the Dorning gang were involved in his disappearance. Don’t you think you’d have heard from him by now if he had been rescued?’

  ‘Not necessarily. He might have been picked up by another vessel and taken to a foreign port. I’d know in my heart if anything dreadful had happened to him.’

  Nick shook his head. ‘But giving up your home for a year isn’t going to solve anything.’

  ‘What do you suggest? I can’t touch the money in Jay’s bank account and I can’t run the estate on air. I’ve got tradesmen dunning me at the gates and the only asset I have is the Lazy Jane.’

  ‘But you don’t seriously think you can make your fortune as a ship owner, do you? You have no business experience, and no one to help and guide you.’

  ‘By letting out the manor house I can pay off my creditors and keep the staff employed. If I don’t take control of the Lazy Jane the Dornings will almost certainly use her for their own purposes. I can’t afford to pay the crew to idle about doing nothing.’

  ‘Yes, I see that, but do you have to move into that tumbledown cottage? I know the one you mean because the shepherd who once lived there was one of my father’s patients.’

  ‘There isn’t room for us at the manor house and it would be difficult living there with Marjorie Harker as mistress instead of myself. I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’m sure this is the only way forward, Nick.’