A Woman's Estate by Roberta Gellis Read Free Book Online Page B

herself for another round of
complaints and protests, fearing that Hilda had retained possession of the
master suite and would fight to keep it, but this time Abigail had guessed
wrong. She did not mind being wrong in the least. It was a relief to know that
Hilda had probably realized that Francis would not stand for it and had not
dared go that far. In fact, from the placidity with which Hilda listened to the
order, Abigail reassessed the situation and decided that Hilda probably
approved of the heir taking his rightful place.
    As Empson led them up the right-hand wing of the lovely
curving staircase that rose from the hall, Abigail gave the instructions about
dinner, including the fact that at least for this evening Victor and Daphne
would be eating with them. She also asked that a maid be sent up immediately so
that she and the children could do as much as possible to tidy themselves.
    When she examined the rooms of the master wing, Abigail was
even more delighted with the first spark of common sense she had seen in Hilda.
On opposite sides of the corridor, there were two bedchambers, handsomely
furnished for male and female, and two dressing rooms, with a servant’s room
off each. According to custom, poor Victor should have been isolated in the
male bedchamber with his valet, Daphne should have been lodged on another floor
in the nursery wing with her governess, and Abigail should have chosen a
bedchamber on the ground floor for herself.
    Actually, there was considerable sense in such an
arrangement for those accustomed to it, but not for two children who had been
uprooted from their home and transported to a new country and into a house
where they had been made to feel like interlopers. Eventually Abigail would
move, well before the time when Victor could be expected to bring home a bride
to occupy the mistress’s bedchamber, but until her children had found their
balance and were secure in their new lives, she herself would occupy the lady’s
bedchamber and have a bed set up for Daphne in her dressing room.
    While they had looked at the rooms, the maid had come up
with water for washing. Since the coach carrying their baggage had not yet
arrived, there could be no question of changing for dinner. Abigail simply sent
the children off with the maid, telling them to wash their hands and faces in
Victor’s dressing room and uttering her usual dire warnings of what she would
do if all the dirt was found on the towels instead of in the basins. When they
were finished, the maid was to come back with more water for her. Then she
removed her hat and sat down in one of the luxurious chairs to catch her breath
and think over the scene in the drawing room below.
    At least Abigail now felt she understood why Francis might
have tried to forget the existence of his stepmother. And, of course, if he
would not speak of Hilda, he could not mention Eustace and Griselda. There did
not seem to be anything sinister in the omission. Abigail could easily imagine
how much Francis, the most graceful and charming of men, had been offended by
Hilda’s manner.
    From Alexander Baring’s exposition on Hilda’s financial
position as a widow, Abigail guessed that Francis’ father had married her for
her money. About half of Hilda’s property, which of course became her husband’s
to use as he pleased when they married, had been swallowed up by the Lydden
estates. Nonetheless, Hilda had what Abigail considered a more than adequate
income from her jointure, which was to be divided between Eustace and Griselda
on her death.
    Understanding was not much help, though. It was going to be
hell to live with Hilda, and there was nothing Abigail could do about it.
Abigail could only be grateful that she was much less nice than Francis had been.
Serving in a shop accustoms one to dealing with all kinds of people. Some
customers had been abrasive, a few actively unpleasant. Abigail feared she
would need all the self-control she had learned, for she could