Chapter Three: Ellie

When I told Mrs. Haynes about the activity at the manor, the housekeeper didn't pay much attention and asked no questions. This shouldn't have been a surprise. Mrs. Haynes was never one to be overly interested in what the neighbors were doing. I kept my encounter with the handsome Mr. Turner to myself.

Because Mrs. Haynes would absolutely not approve.

But since it was unlikely I would spend any time with the steward of Berdwell Manor, there was no point in worrying her over a brief meeting.

Refusing to think too much about why, I checked my best dress for any stains or tears in need of mending. With the help of Mrs. Haynes last winter, I had used an old dress from a trunk in the attic to make it. The green color of the fabric had faded with age, and the lace yellowed from age. Still, it was better than my everyday dress, even if it was not by much.

We sat down for our evening meal in the kitchen. I'd barely taken a bite of bread when there was knocking from the front door. Mrs. Haynes dropped her fork. "Who could that possibly be?" she wondered, pushing her chair back. "I hope there's not been any trouble. Though who would come here if something has happened?"

Again, there was banging on the door. "Well, whoever it is seems to be in a hurry," I said, folding my napkin as Miss Sharpe had shown me. "I'll go see who it is and what they need from us."

It took barely two minutes to get from the kitchen to the front door, but the loud pounding continued the whole time. I reached it in time to hear someone on the outside say, "Why is this door locked? Why is no one coming?"

Even muffled, there was something familiar about the voice. Where had I heard it before? I turned the lock as someone banged on the oak. "Yes? Can I help you?" I asked, once I had the door open.

There were two figures standing there. Even though the sun had already begun to go down, it wasn't hard to miss the fine cut of their dresses. The closest woman to the door recoiled with a sharp gasp.

"Mrs. Burke," I said, a pit of dread forming in my stomach.

"Finally," the second, younger woman said, her tone impatient. She pushed past the first woman and put her hand​ ​on the door. "You will be the first to be dismissed for making us wait. Now let us in already."

"Who are you?" I asked, holding on to the door. "What do you want?"

The young woman narrowed her eyes. "Such rudeness! Let us in our house, you stupid creature! My mother is the mistress here!"

Behind me, I heard Mrs Haynes call out, "Who is it, Ellie?"

"So you are Elinor," the older woman on the doorstep said, her tone ice cold. Though we were the same height, somehow the woman managed to look down her nose at me. "Well, move out of the way, girl. My daughter and I have had a long journey and we have been left standing her long enough."

"This is Elinor?" the second woman—Harriet, I now realized— said incredulously. She let out a laugh. "This is my stepsister? She looks no better than a kitchen maid! What a joke this is! I cannot wait to tell my friends."

Letting go of the door, I backed up. "It is my stepmother, Mrs. Haynes," I said over my shoulder. "And her daughter."

Mrs. Angela Burke and her daughter crossed the threshold. "Have our luggage brought to our rooms," Mrs. Burke ordered as Mrs. Haynes rushed into the room. "The driver is impatient to be on his way. Though where he thinks he will go at this time of night, I do not know. It isn't as though he is going to make it back to London tonight."

Flustered, poor Mrs. Haynes made a hasty curtsy. "Ma'am," she said. She glanced uncertainly at me, her eyes wide. "Perhaps the driver could bring your trunks in? With only Miss Ellie and myself, we might be able to manage but I don't want..." Her voice trailed off.

"Call for the groom." Mrs. Burke waved her hand at the door before untying the ribbons of her bonnet. "Or the gardener. Either one will do. Just bring in our trunks."

What groom did she think there was? "There is no groom or gardener at Meadowbrooke," I said bluntly. Years of frustration impelled me to speak honestly. "You would not pay their wages and they left several years ago. It is only Mrs. Haynes and myself here now."

"Oh, fine then," Mrs. Burke said with an exaggerated sigh. "Call the driver. No doubt he'll demand extra for the task but there is nothing else to be done about it. Just be quick about the matter. I am in no mood to be kept waiting any longer."

"Yes, ma'am," Mrs. Haynes said, her tone subdued. She hurried past the front to the front door, but not before giving me a warning look.

No doubt she thought it best if I minded what I said.

"Well, Elinor," Mrs. Burke said, getting my attention She shook her head and removed her gloves. "Good heavens, child, what are you wearing? Harriet is right. You look little better than a servant."

Any resolve to be circumspect abandoned me then and I raised my chin. "I'm sorry my appearance offends you. I have done the best I could with what is here. You never sent funds to improve my wardrobe. Do you not remember? I wrote many letters asking for assistance."

My stepmother ignored the question and implied accusation. "I really think you might have done a bit better. What would your father think of you looking like this?" She waved a careless hand at me. "Disgraceful. I would be ashamed if my own daughter were to present herself in so careless a manner."

"I would never do so, Mama," Harriet exclaimed. "Ellie, are you just going to stand there? Summon the maid to take our gloves and bonnets."

I resisted the urge to say I was glad not to be Mrs. Burke's daughter. "As I have already said, there is only myself and Mrs. Haynes here."

"No maid? I knew this place would be primitive, but this is ridiculous!" Harriet tossed her bonnet at me. "Well, if you insist on looking like a maid, make yourself useful."

Though I managed to catch the hat by it's ribbons, Harriet's gloves fell short. I wasn't about to make a fool of myself by lunging for them. "Are you planning to stay long?" I asked, hoping the answer would be negative.

"I have no idea," Mrs. Burke said, her tone irritated. "I wouldn't even be here but for that meddling earl. I don't understand why he can't just let things be. His father was reasonable."

"Earl?" She could only mean... "The earl of Berdwell?"

Mrs. Burke spun around. "What do you know of the matter?"

"N-nothing," I stammered, surprised by her sudden vehemence. "Just that the earl sent staff to open the manor this week. He is the only earl in the neighborhood, so I just assumed that was who you meant."

Her stepmother gave a huff and turned away. "Do you intend to have us stand here to explain ourselves, Elinor?"

The driver dragged in one trunk with Mrs. Haynes following a few steps behind. The housekeeper's face was lined with anxiety as she managed to get around the man. "This way," she said, moving to take the lead.

Grimacing, the man hefted the trunk up and carried it to the stairs. "Where am I supposed to sleep in this place?" Harriet asked, wrinkling her nose. "It's so small. How can anyone live in a place like this?"

"The bedrooms are upstairs." I set Harriet's bonnet on the small table and walked towards the stairs. "Two of them have been closed up since you were last here...ma'am. Do you want us to open them both?"

"Of course I do! The very idea of my daughter and I sharing a bedchamber!" Mrs. Burke said sharply. "You will have to make a second bedroom ready for her. And tonight!"

I didn't wait to see if they followed. The stair squeaked under my steps. What could have brought Mrs. Burke here when she'd said so many years ago that she hated the country? Had she changed her mind? And why bring Harriet with her? Why would Mrs. Burke have business with the earl?

When I reached the top of the stairs, I found Mrs. Haynes already carrying an armful of mended linens into the second bed chamber. The housekeeper had not lost her anxious, stressed expression.

"Miss," the driver said as he passed me. He nodded respectfully, but there was no mistaking the annoyance on his face. The poor man must not have had a pleasant journey.

"How many trunks did you bring with you?" I asked as the man went down the stairs.

"We brought everything we might need for our stay since we had to assume that there would be nothing here. It's a good thing we did, too," Harriet said, opening the door to what was my room. "Mama, may I have this room? It looks out over the garden."

"That's my room!" I exclaimed, moving to block her from entering.

"Oh?" Harriet let out a laugh, though her blue eyes were not amused. "I thought you might sleep in the attic like a maid would. Or in the kitchen since this place is so small. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you would have taken the best bedroom for yourself."

Anything I might have said to that was lost as Mrs Burke snapped out, "Mrs, Haynes, do you really expect me to sleep in this bedroom? Do you think I would ignore that?"

Fliching, I remembered the spot where the damp the previous winter had leaked into the ceiling. "The room is sound, Stepmother," I said, trying to be reassuring. If she didn't sleep there and she was adamant that she would not share with Harriet... "We traded with the thatcher to have it repaired this spring."

The thatcher had been kind and not charged what he might have to do the work. It had been a point of pride that I had thought of a way to get the work done without having to appeal again for help when Mrs. Burke would only ignore my letters.

"Well, neither Harriet or myself will be sleeping in there," Mrs. Burke said, backing away. "The other two bedrooms will have to suffice. Make up the beds in them and be quick! We have been kept waiting long enough to relax in solitude."

"But..." I tried to protest.

"Get your things out of the bedroom, Elinor," the woman said, cutting me off "With any luck, we will put this all behind us soon enough and you can have your little room back. Are you really so selfish you cannot do this one thing that I ask of you?"

For a moment, I wavered between fighting for the room that had been for me alone the past twelve years and submitting gracefully to keep the peace. Mrs. Haynes' worried eyes met mine. What kind of trouble might come down on the housekeeper's head if I were to refuse?

"I'll get my things," I said quietly. Ducking my head, I slipped into the bedroom. There were so many small things I had collected over the years: interesting stones, flowers she had pressed the previous summer. There wasn't time to gather them all up and I could only hope Harriet wouldn't do anything to harm them.

In a matter of minutes, I had collected my clothing and the novel Miss Sharpe had lent me.

"Mrs. Haynes, prepare a tray of something to eat," Mrs. Burke ordered. "Why wasn't it offered before this? My goodness, Ellie, you know nothing about hospitality."

~*~

Saturday dawned gray and cloudy, which suited my mood exactly. The morning was a difficult one. Mrs. Burke and her daughter had both rang for trays to be brought to them in bed. Mrs. Haynes had managed one tray, but returned with a pained expression. "My old knees aren't up for those steps like I used to be," she said as she moved to arrange the second tray. She paused to lean down and rub her left knee. "It's long past time I retired, I'm thinking."

Seeing her in pain was heartbreaking. "I will take it up for you," I volunteered, though I hated doing anything that would benefit my stepmother. "I have young legs. It won't trouble me."

The housekeeper hesitated. "I don't know," she said, her tone uncertain. "I heard the young lady's comments last night and I don't think we should encourage the idea that you are no better than a maid. You're just as much a lady as she is, for all you haven't been brought up right."

"Now that Mrs. Burke and her daughter are here, surely she intends to expand the staff." I reached over and picked up the tray. "She must have realized that you cannot see to her needs alone. This is for one morning. I'm sure no harm will come of it."

At least, that was my hope.

Mrs. Haynes shook her head but didn't try to argue the point. I carried the tray up to what had been my room. Harriet was half asleep and didn't have anything to say about who had delivered her tray.

As soon as I had finished the morning chores, I changed into her second best gown. It was tight under my arms and the hem inches above the ground, but Mrs. Rushman had chided me that last time I'd worn my brown every day dress.

When the door was knocked on at precisely eleven o'clock, I had just sat down at the window with her book. Mrs Burke had not come downstairs, and I hoped the woman's London habits would keep her upstairs until the vicar's wife had left.

"Good morning, Ellie," Mrs Rushman said as she entered ahead of Mrs. Haynes. "I didn't expect you to be inside on a beautiful day like this. Not so long ago, you were running the garden like a wild child."

It had been nearly three years since that description would have fit. There was too much to do for there to be time for running around the garden. "I would not forget your weekly visit, ma'am," I said, forcing a smile. I curtsied, trying to keep the run in my stocking from being visible. "Won't you sit down?"

"Now what is this I hear about a carriage coming here last night?" Mrs. Rushman asked as she sat across from me. "It's all I have heard on my visits today. Everyone is very curious. Had someone lost their way and needed directions? Or is there something more to the story?"

"No, ma'am." I cast a look at the door, but Mrs. Haynes was not in sight. "Mrs. Burke has come from London with her daughter."

"Have they? What news!" Mrs. Rushman's eyes shone with delight. She liked nothing better than to have the latest gossip before anyone else. "And you never warned us? For shame, dear girl! We would have seen that they were greeted properly, though i am sure you did the best you could."

I bit my lip to keep from saying something that was better left unsaid. It also gave me a moment to think of what to say. Just as I opened my mouth to explain that it had been an unexpected visit, a voice came from the doorway.

"A visitor? Ma'am, please accept my apologies for not being informed of your arrival." Mrs. Burke sailed into the room, dressed in a lovely rose colored gown. "Elinor, really. You should have told me straight away. How do you do, ma'am? Welcome to my home."

But Meadowbrooke wasn't her home. Why was she implying that it was? Why was she taking over as if she were the mistress?

Mrs. Rushman sprang up with the enthusiasm of a young child. "Not at all. Not at all. I am Mrs. Rushman, the vicar's wife," she said. "You are Mrs. Burke?"

"I am," Mrs. Burke said with a regalness that I had never seen before. "Thank you for waiting. Had I been informed you had arrived, I would have been down immediately. After such a long journey yesterday, I was slow to begin my day today."

Then, she glanced at me, if it could be called that. Her eyes were in my direction for more than a second. "Ellie, I'm sure you are not needed now. No doubt Mrs. Haynes will need your help in the kitchen. Tea for our guest. Hurry now."

Though close conversation with the vicar's wife was a tedious visit I disliked, I hesitated. "Mrs. Haynes will have it in hand, ma'am," I said. "Mrs Rushman has visited me each week since she and her husband came to us. I—"

"I am not in the habit of repeating myself, Elinor," Mrs. Burke interrupted, her tone becoming cool. "You may leave us. If you need something to do, there is a great deal to do upstairs."

Manners Miss Sharpe had drilled into me kept me from arguing. I curtsied and withdrew, only to pause outside the door.

"I hope you will forgive her," Mrs. Burke said. "She has always been a headstrong and impossible girl. But what can one expect from a girl with such pedigree, or lack there of. I'd hoped her time in the country would calm her, but I can see she needs to be taken into hand."

"My husband and I have often expressed our concern for her here, with no one but a servant, however loyal, to guide her," Mrs. Rushman responded, her tone betraying her curiosity. "It is hardly the usual situation."

"Her mother was not quite an equal with you and I, you understand," Mrs. Burke said ruthlessly. "I have done what I thought best for the girl, but I could hardly expect to have her intimate with my own daughter could I?" There was a pause. "Forgive me. You did not come here to hear my woes concerning my stepdaughter. Please. Sit down and we can become better acquainted. You have not been in the area long, I assume?"

How dare she? How dare Mrs. Burke imply that my mother hadn't been a lady? She had been, though her family had run an inn! And why had Mrs. Rushman been so eager to believe it?

Tears pricked my eyes, though whether it was from rage or frustration was difficult to tell. I shook my head. The week couldn't pass quickly enough for me!