Page 30 of The Undaunted
Caroline gave herself a little shake as Bemmy made the last arrangement to her hair—a lovely, enameled comb of sea green placed artfully among her curls. This evening was Lord Alvanley’s dinner and she was determined to enjoy it. She was a little irritated with herself that she found herself wishing Lord Bertridge was to attend.
“Well,” Bemmy said, stepping back to admire her work, “if this get-up don’t slay the fellows, I don’t know what will.”
“I am not setting out to slay anybody,” Caroline said.
“Right, right,” Bemmy said. “Cause you ain’t looking to get married. What was you planning? You weren’t set on being a governess?”
“No, I am set on no such thing,” Caroline said. “I will, of course, marry. When I meet the right gentleman.”
Bemmy sighed. “The right one is under your nose and in this very house. As my ma says, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”
“Indeed,” Caroline said, always finding Bemmy too amusing to scold her over her sauciness. “And who isyourbird in hand, I wonder?”
“Ah, that be Jimmy Smithson. His pa has got a small farm and he’ll take it over someday. All last summer we were walking out and come fall, I said, Jimmy, I’ll have ya if you like. He said, alright Bemmy. It’s all settled, we’ll marry once his pa gets an extra room built on the house so we can live all comfortable-like.”
“The whole procedure sounds very…efficient,” Caroline said, delighted with the story.
“No muss and no fuss,” Bemmy said. “A habit you fancy types might want to examine.”
Though Caroline could only appreciate Bemmy’s way of going on in the world, she could not quite imagine marching up to a gentleman at a ball and declaring,I’ll have ya if you like.
“Now, I reckon Lady E has had some of the farm’s cheese stocked in the larder, as everybody knows it’s quality—a blue but not too pungent as some are. I won’t mind having a wheel of that in my house for everyday and Jimmy says I’m to learn all about cheesemaking.”
Caroline giggled and said, “Perhaps Jimmy ought to consult with Lord Bertridge. On the night I arrived, he told me no end about his cheeses.”
“Blast! There’s a burned biscuit, look at the clock!” Bemmy cried. “You got about half a minute to be downstairs. Even if Lady E ain’t goin’ nowhere, she’ll be put out if somebody who is goin’ sets out late. She don’t like late.”
“No, she does not,” Caroline said, hopping up from her chair.
Chapter Eight
Bramley had goton as best he could in this wretched abode they found themselves in. Everything felt topsy-turvy, despite the comforting ticking of Lady Easton’s clocks.
For one, the staff were not at all used to arranging bracing cold baths and now suddenly Lord Bertridge required one every day. Naturally, there would not be anything convenient like an icehouse on the grounds to cool the tepid water of summer, so he’d been forced to make inquiries throughout the town. He’d had encounters with no end of alarming people! They were all so familiar, as if they and he were on the same rung of the social ladder. He was butler of a great house, where was the respect and awe?
Lord Bertridge’s boxing had seemed to have led to the bizarre habit of sitting in cold water. While Bramley must always look upon the sport as something noble, he could not approve of all these baths!
For another, Lord Easton had seemed to have lost his wits. They had gone on so regular for years and now suddenly he had become an entirely new individual. Why was he so jolly all the time? Why was he always coming and going and thinking everything a joke?
And especially why had he suddenly no regard for how they liked to go on? Just this very morning, Bramley had asked the lord if he preferred coffee or tea, knowing full well he would say coffee as he always did. The only reason Bramley had asked at all was that it was a courtesy—no self-respecting butler fell into the habit of presuming.
He asked, putting his hand on the coffee pot handle, and then Lord Easton had said, “Surprise me.”
Surprise him. Indeed. Augustus Bramley had never surprised anyone in his life. Surprise was antithesis to his very core of being. Lord Easton was served coffee and, whilehemay have been surprised by it, his butler was not.
Bramley had heard that some men reached a certain age and revolted against fleeting youth, temporarily returning to their wild younger days. Bramley himself had never had any wild younger days so could not empathize with the sensation. He could only pray that Lord Easton’s transformationwastemporary. Mrs. Wooton claimed it was a pleasure to see the lord so jolly these days. Mrs. Wooton had grown suspiciously jolly herself and claimed the sea air was good for her aches and pains. Was jolly really a wished-for state in an elevated house? Was not quiet dignity and seriousness of purpose more the thing?
Then of course there was Miss Upton to contend with. She was not at all what he and Lady Easton had wished for. She was very…something. Perhaps she was just too everything—too direct, too adventurous, too careless, and entirely too friendly with Lord Bertridge’s wretched dog.
The dog, though his master thought him good in all things, spent half his day leaving fur on furniture, chewing table legs, barking at a window, or slinking into the kitchen to harass the cook. They had already lost a mince pie to the creature.
As if all of this were not enough to contend with, there was the new lady’s maid. Some two persons reputed to be her parents had named her Bemmy, of all things. Lady Easton was so approving of her, but he could not understand why. The girl said the most outrageous things at the servants’ table. How many disreputable stories about disreputable people did she know?
And now, here was Lord Easton and Miss Upton prepared to set off to a dinner that, as far as he could gather, was entirely unsuitable. Lady Easton had made her opinion known about this Alvanley character and her opinion was not favorable.
Lord Bertridge and Lady Easton had come into the great hall to see them off, though neither of them looked particularly approving.
“Now Caroline,” Lady Easton said, “you do look ever so charming and of course I wish you to enjoy yourself. I only caution you and put you on your guard. Be mindful of defending your right to be treated always as a lady. Men like Alvanley and his set can overstep on occasion.”
