“I will.”
“And next time wait for me.”
“Or Molly.”
“Oh very well. Were you going to ask me what I was doing yesterday?”
“Of course.”
He told her about visiting his tenants, and his plans for more cottages.
“That sounds wonderful, Robert!”
“But I missed having you with me.”
She ignored the serious tone of his voice. “And how would that have looked? Like you couldn’t be apart from your blind fiancée. I’d look helpless and you’d look weak.”
“You’re wrong but let us agree to disagree. So what can I do to help you today?”
“I’d like to read through the household ledgers, without Mr. Drayton looking over our shoulders. If you would do me the honor of reading aloud, I can hear the expenditures of the estate in detail. I need to make certain we can continue to sustain ourselves, because, as you know, I bring no money myself, and all that’s left is what little is held in trust.”
“So where do I find these ledgers?”
“They should be here in the study—somewhere. But there are a lot of books. I imagine they’re near the desk …”
She listened as he began to search. “They were quite large and leather-bound when I looked at them with Mr. Drayton.”
After a few minutes, he said, “I don’t see them. Could he have taken them home?”
“He keeps his own copies, which he brings every time to make sure they match. I guess he could have taken our copy accidentally. But the books are so heavy, how could he not have known he carried two?”
But they didn’t find the ledgers, nor were they with Mrs. Sanford’s kitchen account book. Was this just another attempt to fluster her? Audrey couldn’t help thinking.
Francis appeared in the kitchen and intoned, “You have a visitor, Mrs. Blake.”
Audrey perked up—her first visitor, if one didn’t count Robert. Perhaps the vicar’s wife was making an appearance already.
“It is your sister, Miss Blythe Collins, and her lady’s maid.”
Audrey came to a complete stop just as she was beginning to cross the kitchen, and Robert ran into her from behind, catching her arms in case she stumbled forward.
“Your sister?” Robert asked in surprise. “Isn’t she supposed to be in London?”
“She was. I have no idea what is going on. I hope nothing is wrong.”
13
As Robert followed Audrey into the entrance hall, he worried about how the arrival of her judgmental sister would affect her. In Rose Cottage, Audrey was the mistress, but her sister’s presence might bring back memories of the woman who was never even permitted to leave her home.
A young servant wearing a shawl and lace cap sat on a bench near the front door, and when she saw him, she blushed and looked at her fingers twined together.
“Shall Miss Collins’s maid go to the kitchen?” Robert asked Audrey.
Audrey paused and sent him a thankful smile over her shoulder. “Charlotte?”
The girl stood and bobbed a quick curtsy. “Aye, Mrs. Blake.”
“Lord Knightsbridge is correct. The housekeeper, Mrs. Sanford, will find you a room and show you about. The kitchen is back through this hall.”
