Hope by Lesley Pearse Read Free Book Online

born had never really gone away. It was as though it had robbed her of her girlhood, made her too cautious and fearful.
    She was twenty-two now, and nearly all the girls in the village she’d grown up with were married with children. Would that ever come to her?
    It was what she wanted more than anything. Most nights she fell asleep imagining her wedding, the cottage she’d live in and even naming her children. Yet maybe she was already past her prime?
    That frightened her for she didn’t want to end up like Bridie, an old woman who lived entirely for the family she served.
    Nell wasn’t without admirers. She knew Baines had a soft spot for her. But he was in his early fifties and he could never make her heart race. There was Seth O’Reilly too, who brought groceries from the shop in Pensford; he got so flustered whenever he saw her that he could hardly string a sentence together. But he seemed a bit weak, she couldn’t imagine him being able to chop wood or milk a cow, and besides, he walked with a limp. She wanted a man like her father, a happy, easygoing man who wouldn’t complain after a long day’s work out in the cold or wet. The kind of man who could turn his hand to anything, wasn’t feckless with money, didn’t drink too much, but also had some passion in his soul.
    Nell thought Albert Scott, the new gardener, might be that way. He’d come to work at Briargate back in March soon after Jacob, the old gardener who had been here since the house was built, died.
    Since Albert’s arrival Nell had spent far more time watching for him out of the windows than she should have. He was very handsome, over six feet tall, with black curly hair, a thick dark beard and strong very brown hands, and she believed him to be about twenty-five.
    Sadly, as Lady Harvey’s maid she didn’t get any opportunity to mix with gardeners or grooms as they had rooms over the stable and took their meals after the other servants. That was another reason for suggesting the children came back with her today, for if they asked to see the horses in the stables, she might get the opportunity to speak to Albert.
    The children ran ahead of her through the woods, the boys balancing on fallen trees like little mountain goats, shrieking loudly to each other as Hope picked bluebells for Cook. Nell watched them fondly, reminding herself how lucky she was to have her family so near to her. Cook had left her family when she was twelve, and she’d had no contact with any of them for over twenty years.
    The late-afternoon sun was still very warm as they came out of the woods and made their way across the paddock to the stile by the stables.
    ‘Will Cook like the bluebells?’ Hope asked excitedly. She looked as if she might burst because she was finally going to the house she’d heard so much about. ‘Will she put them in a jam jar?’
    ‘I’m sure she will,’ Nell said, amused at her excitement. ‘But you won’t be able to stay long because they’ll be preparing tonight’s dinner. And I have to go up and see to Lady Harvey’s bath; they’ve got guests tonight.’
    ‘Will James let us see Merlin?’ Henry asked.
    Merlin was the master’s new stallion and James talked about him all the time.
    ‘I’m sure he will,’ Nell said. ‘You can see Duchess and Buttercup, her foal, and there’s the carriage horses too.’
    Cook was delighted to see the children, for she’d heard as much about them as they had about her. She poured each of them a glass of her special lemonade and gave them a slice of apple tart.
    Ruth came into the kitchen, neat in her striped blue and white nursemaid’s uniform. She was nineteen now, and a slightly thinner and taller replica of Nell. She let out a cry of delight to see her brothers and sister, embarrassing the boys by hugging and kissing them in front of Cook.
    ‘I’ll be home tomorrow on my afternoon off,’ she told them. ‘But I’ve got to go now because it’s nearly time for Master Rufus’s tea. But