Back in Service (6 page)

Leo went out early that morning and returned just after noon, after pawning the watch and using the money to buy food. He told Hetty he had also been looking for work, but there was none to be had. On his way in, the concierge handed him a letter from England, which he opened in front of his wife. His expression was grave, but she knew better than to enquire after its contents; he would tell her in his own good time. Meanwhile, there was bread and cheese to devour and wine to drink. They feasted together, and after lunch he seemed to be in a better mood.

‘I could go and see if there is any washing to be done,’ she suggested. ‘Maria says she will put in a good word for me.’

‘No, you stay indoors today.’

‘But Leo—’

‘No
buts
. In any case, something has cropped up that may save both our skins. The letter was from my mother. She has taken my advice, sensible woman that she is, and hired a nurse for father. But the estate is still proving troublesome. She has been unable to find a competent manager and now she is inclined to meet my conditions.’

‘What conditions?’

‘The conditions I set her for our return to Longton.’

She gasped. This was totally unexpected. They had left the place under a cloud, with Sir Victor swearing he would disinherit his only son. On their last visit, both Leo and his father seemed adamantly set against any kind of reconciliation. Lady Alice pleaded with her son, but without the promise of a regular allowance Leo told her he could not consider returning to his family home. Now, however, it seemed things had changed. He brought out the letter and read it to her. Lady Alice said her husband had agreed to pay his son a salary for managing the estate. It was his way of saving face, no doubt, by turning his son into a hired hand.

‘I believe this is an offer we cannot afford to refuse,’ Leo said soberly. ‘No matter how much I loathe my father, I must consider mamma’s interests, and yours, too, my dear. It is my fault you sank so low last night. I should have been able to provide for you. This way, I shall be able to keep you in a comfortable and secure home.’

Tears sprang into Hetty’s eyes in response to her husband’s kindly tone. Wondering if he had truly forgiven her, she knelt at his side and kissed his hand. Yet there was a heavy feeling in her heart caused by the thought of returning to Longton Hall, the scene of her humiliation at the hands of Sir Victor. Even in his invalid state she did not trust him, and the thought of having to set eyes upon him again made her feel ill.

‘I shall make sure you have as little as possible to do with my father, Hetty,’ Leo promised, as if reading her thoughts. ‘You will not have to return to your post as my mother’s maid, either. She has already engaged another young woman. If… no,
when
,
for my mind is made up…
when
we return to Longton, you shall live like a lady. After all, if I remain there and inherit, you will be Lady Carstairs, mistress of the household some day.’

‘But Leo, the very thought of returning there—’

‘I know, I know.’ He stroked her hair gently. ‘But it will not be like before, I promise you. And I fear we have no other option now. There is no decent life for us here in Paris. I will not have you reduced to selling your body and thieving, and I am sick and tired of trying to sell my drawings to decadent men who secretly despise me for catering to their dubious tastes. It will be better for both of us if we return to England, and Longton.’

Hetty was glad she and Leo were friends again and could see a way out of their difficulties, but the thought of returning to Sir Victor’s domain still upset her intensely. She hoped there would not be too high a price to be paid for this reconciliation between father and son…

Longton Hall was just as Hetty remembered it, in her worst nightmares. It loomed out of the mist, its gothic towers and crenulations suggesting dark corners and obscure passages within. She shuddered and drew her cloak more tightly round her as the carriage wound its way through the lanes, now giving a glimpse of the ‘old pile’ as Leo disrespectfully called it, and now allowing a few moments’ grace when, with the house out of sight, she could imagine they were simply going for a ride on an English country road.

All too soon they were drawing up before the front doors, where the members of the household were assembled to welcome them. As they descended from the carriage she caught a fleeting glimpse of Lady Alice standing before some female servants, but her gaze was soon riveted on the wheelchair-bound figure of Sir Victor. His face wore a twisted smile intended to be welcoming, but she could not see that grimace without imagining him, whip in hand, indulging his base appetite for cruel flagellation.

Behind him towered a giant of a woman Hetty had not seen before, but there was no welcoming smile on her face, only the grim look of stoically borne duty. She heard a surprised gasp from her husband, and when she turned towards him, it was obvious Leo was staring at the same woman, his expression one of barely concealed horror.

Lady Alice stepped forward, smiling nervously at her son. ‘My dears, you are here at last.’ She stated the obvious in a tone which made an effort to be genial, but which rang painfully false. ‘Let me introduce you to the new members of our household.’ She bestowed a slightly warmer smile on Hetty. ‘Here is Jane, my personal maid and your replacement.’

A pretty young woman moved forward and gave a brief curtsey. Hetty liked the look of her at once. There was a complete absence of guile in her lovely face, which was lit up by a smile that made her blue eyes shine like sapphires. She immediately hoped they might become friends.

‘Now, Leo, I see you are most surprised to see whom I have engaged as your father’s nurse,’ his mother finally acknowledged his expression. ‘It is many years since you saw Nanny Baines, is it not?’

Hetty realised Leo was still in a state of shock when he merely mumbled a greeting to the formidable nurse. She was puzzled by his reaction, but when her turn came to be introduced to the woman, all she received was a formal nod.

The long serving members of the household greeted the young couple more warmly. Sir Victor’s effete valet had left his employ, presumably because Nanny Baines now performed all his former functions, but Mrs Saddler was still the cook and had kept her faithful kitchen staff with her.

Hetty was glad to get inside and take off her damp cloak. She was then invited to take tea with Lady Alice and Jane in the drawing room. Sir Victor was not going to be present, and with luck she might be able to avoid him entirely during her daily life at Longton.

‘So, my dear, how do you feel being back here again?’ her former mistress enquired as she poured fragrant
lapsang souchong
into a porcelain cup.

‘It is… rather strange,’ Hetty admitted. ‘I left as a servant and now I am returning as Leo’s wife.’

‘That is so, but remember I am still first lady here.’ The firm response was only somewhat softened by an ironic smile.

‘Yes, of course,’ she hastened to reassure her hostess. ‘I would not wish to usurp your position, Lady Alice. Yet I do wonder what
my
position here will be, since I feel I belong neither upstairs nor downstairs, but somewhere betwixt and between.’

‘I am sure you will be of great help to your husband, my dear. He will
need
help now he is to be running the estate by himself. You always struck me as a level-headed girl, Hetty, and that is what is needed here now to get things back on an even keel.’ She sighed abruptly. ‘I am afraid things have been allowed to run to seed.’

‘But am I to have no proper status in the household?’ she persisted.

‘I am afraid we cannot afford to provide a lady’s maid for you. Still, I am sure you are used to making do, and you always manage to look well turned out. I am sure we can devise some duties for you if you wish to keep yourself occupied. These days, I am often indisposed and would be glad of someone to discuss menus with the cook in my place, or occasionally to play hostess when Sir Victor entertains his friends.’

This last remark struck terror into Hetty’s heart. She knew exactly what kind of entertainment the debauched squire liked to offer his guests. Lady Alice always withdrew after dinner and played no part in the lewd proceedings that followed, but Hetty doubted she would be allowed the same leeway.

Lady Alice leaned forward and patted her hand. ‘I am sure you will be happy here despite all that has occurred in the past. Leo and my husband are reconciled, and Nanny Baines takes good care of Victor. She was my son’s nanny, you know, until he left for boarding school when he was nine years old. Now she is looking after his poor father. A case of “from cradle to grave” most likely.’ She laughed breathlessly, and suddenly her hand flew to her forehead. ‘Oh dear… sudden laughter plays havoc with my headache. I think I shall retire now, but you need not come with me, Jane. Have a little chat, the two of you. I am sure you will enjoy comparing notes about this house and its occupants.’

The mistress of the house rose and left the drawing room wearing an odd little smirk on her face, and for a few moments there was an awkward silence between the two young women, broken only by the light clatter of cups on saucers as they finished their tea.

Finally, Hetty decided to take the initiative. ‘How long have you been here, Jane?’ she asked politely.

‘Just six months, miss. There was another girl before, but she proved… unsatisfactory.’

‘And how do you find it here?’

Jane’s beautiful eyes darkened slightly. ‘Very good, thank you, miss.’

Hetty knew she was being given a stock reply, the answer the girl thought she wanted to hear. ‘Jane, you need not pretend to me.’ She drew her chair closer to hers. ‘I have been in your position, too, as you know. And please call me Hetty when we are alone. There is no need to be so formal.’

‘Thank you… Hetty. Well, I must say, I found it all very strange at first. I came from a house that was more… well, more ordinary.’

‘There have been strange goings-on within these walls, Jane, make no mistake,’ she said grimly. ‘And I have been both privy and party to them. But let me hear your impressions of the staff and family, beginning with Lady Alice.’

‘Well, Miss Hetty, she is quite kind most days and only once really lost her temper with me. That was when I told tales on Sir Victor.’

‘Why? What had he done?

‘He made so bold as to pinch my bottom as I was passing by his chair. I thought I had better report it to my lady, but she told me I must be lying because he was the perfect gentleman and an invalid besides. That was when she said a scolding was not enough.’

‘And how did she punish you, Jane?’

A delicate flush spread over her features. ‘She… she spanked me with her hairbrush.’

‘In private?’ Hetty queried relentlessly.

‘Yes, in her bedroom. She made me lay facedown on her big bed while she pulled down my drawers and gave me what for. It stung so bad I never dared say nothing about Sir Victor to her again.’

‘And would you have had cause to tell her anything more, Jane?’

Tears brimmed in her eyes. ‘Oh yes, Miss Hetty, I am afraid so.’

She did not wish to push the girl too far, so she enquired about Nanny Baines.

‘Oh she is a tyrant, that one! She rules everyone with a rod of iron, including Sir Victor. She is a real tartar, and no mistake.’

Now Hetty thought she understood her husband’s trepidation when he first caught sight of the woman. As his old nanny, she must have ruled
him
with a rod of iron, too. ‘Has she disciplined you, Jane?’

‘Only with harsh words and a slap on the cheek. That was the day Sir Victor wheeled himself into the stillroom.’

‘Ah…’ Hetty remembered the stillroom well. Its location – at the end of a dark passageway and far from the main body of the house – made it the ideal spot for a clandestine encounter.

‘He started to make free with me,’ Jane continued, ‘as I stood at the bench. I was shocked, but not altogether surprised since he had already pinched my bottom.’

‘What did he do this time?’ Hetty surprised herself with the note of eagerness in her voice. She did not understand why she should feel so keen to know the details, but somehow it made her feel better. Perhaps it was the knowledge she was not the only one to have suffered at Sir Victor’s wandering hands.

‘He…’ Jane swallowed the memory of her emotions in order to continue speaking calmly. ‘He lifted my skirt and stroked my bottom quite intimately. I begged him to stop, but he would not, and all the while he was saying… things.’

‘What kind of things?’ she enquired gently. ‘Remember, Jane, I have also suffered at that man’s hands. You will not shock me. Feel free to speak plain.’

‘But I have not spoken of it to anyone,’ she looked thoroughly miserable, ‘not after Lady Alice would not believe me.’

Hetty’s heart went out to the girl. She squeezed her hand in sympathy, and waited.

‘He said I had a nice round bottom, and that he would love to see it laid bare before him. I told him that was rude talk, and he said he knew it was but could not help himself. He made me feel it was my fault, as if I somehow encouraged him.’

‘It is
not
your fault, Jane.’ She was angry now. ‘That man is a lecher and a rake. I had hoped after his accident he would be a reformed character, but it is obvious he is just the same as when I left.’