Hope - Lesley Pearse [236]
‘Not a bit of it, my dear,’ he chuckled, and patted her hand. ‘But maybe I’ll take my revenge when Bennett comes home!’
It wasn’t until the evening of the following day, when Hope and Nell were finally alone at Willow End, that calm settled. They had stayed overnight at a coaching inn, and as they had to share a bed, which Nell was convinced was full of bugs, they had talked nearly all night.
Hope had dozed off for the last few miles of the journey and it was a surprise to have Nell wake her and tell her they were there.
The sun was setting, turning the grey stone walls of the cottage pink as they walked to the front door. Hope brushed against the lavender bushes, and the sweet, pungent smell took her straight back to her childhood, when she used to pick lavender from the garden and tie it into bunches for her mother to hang from the cottage beams.
It was something of a surprise to find Angus lived so simply. The picture she’d had of Willow End in her head while out in the Crimea was of something grander. Yet she was pleased rather than disappointed, for it was yet more evidence that Angus had a soul.
She loved the low-beamed ceilings and the comfortable, slightly battered old furniture. It was a real home, and she could see Nell’s hand everywhere, from the smell of polish and the sparkling windows to a large vase of Michaelmas daisies on the hall table.
‘I often think that a woman who had the Captain’s love and this house to live in would be the happiest woman in the world,’ Nell said as Hope darted around, inspecting everything with exclamations of glee.
Hope looked at her sharply, suspecting her sister of wishing for his love. But Nell laughed at her expression. ‘You misunderstand me. I only meant that this is what most women hope for. I count my blessings every day, Hope. I have his respect, and this house to live in. And now you back too! That’s more than enough for me.’
As Nell got cold meat, pickles and bread from the pantry for their supper she explained that she had a maid who came in each day. ‘I really couldn’t imagine what I’d give her to do each day when the Captain first said I must have help,’ she said. ‘But Dora is a good girl, and I’m glad of her company and the hard work she does. She is looking forward to meeting you tomorrowbecause I’ve told her so much about you.’
After supper, they sat in the two chairs by the stove and it was only then that Hope asked what news there was of Albert.
‘None,’ Nell said, and a flicker of anxiety crossed her face. ‘I’m sure he’ll return to Briargate one day, but Matt says I’m foolish to think such things.’
Hope privately thought that neither of them would have complete peace of mind until he was caught and tried for his crimes. But she didn’t voice this and asked about Lady Harvey and Rufus instead.
‘Rufus is doing well with the farm, he had a real good harvest this year,’ Nell said with some pride. ‘But Lady Harvey!’
Nell had mentioned her several times in the last two days, but always with a kind of exclamation mark, as people did when mentioning a wayward child.
‘She hasn’t settled at the gatehouse then?’
‘I don’t think she’ll ever settle anywhere,’ Nell sighed. ‘And she’s so full of regrets.’
‘I suppose she would be bitter at losing her home,’ Hope said, a little surprised that Nell seemed so impatient with the woman she’d once adored.
‘She’s not bitter,’ Nell frowned. ‘Oh, but you must go and see it for yourself. I can’t explain. But both she and Rufus were so happy to hear you were coming home and so impressed by that piece about you in The Times. Did I tell you that Matt said Reverend Gosling read it out in church?’
Hope suppressed a giggle, for Nell had not only told her this several times already, but carried the newspaper cutting around with her. It was mainly about her getting shot at while rescuing Robbie, but also about her work at the hospital in Balaclava. The crumpled state of the cutting suggested