A Christmas Betrothal Read online

  A Christmas Betrothal

  By

  Fenella J Miller

  Chapter One

  Lord Ralph Didsbury was slumped in an alcoholic stupor across the squabs oblivious to the banging on the roof of his carriage. It lurched to a halt and then rocked violently. He was eventually roused when the door was flung open and a sheet of rain blew in and soaked him.

  'Hell and damnation! What the devil’s going on?'

  'My lord, the weather is worsening. We cannot continue. The road is flooded ahead. We must find shelter immediately.'

  Being doused in cold water had cleared Ralph's head somewhat. He pushed himself upright and wished he had not drunk so much the previous night.

  'Is there any habitation close by?'

  'There is a drive just ahead. I cannot see what sort of establishment lies at the other end, but if we do not wish to lose the team…'

  'Take it. Whoever lives there can hardly turn us away in this appalling storm.' He resumed his place and the coachman slammed the door. The rain was torrential, icy, but at least it wasn't snowing. He should have stayed in Town but his aunt was failing and his sister, Amelia, had begged him to come back to say his farewells. Milly had married the local squire, a love match, and he had not had the heart to refuse his consent. She resided near his own ancestral pile and was the only reason he spent time at home.

  The fact that the Lord's name day was rapidly approaching was another reason to leave his town house. There was nothing he disliked more than garlands and decorations, false gaiety and festive celebrations. If he had remained he would have had no option but to attend a variety of parties and refusing invitations because he was leaving London to visit a sick parent could offend no one.

  The carriage swayed alarmingly as it took the full force of the gale as it turned. He gripped the leather strap but still half-slid from the squabs. He turned the air blue as he heaved himself back into position. He was unpleasantly wet and becoming colder by the minute. The interior of the vehicle was as cold as outside – God knows how the unfortunate coachmen were dealing with the inclement conditions.

  A full quarter of an hour later they arrived. He didn't wait for the door to be opened or for the steps to be let down, but opened the door himself and jumped out. He was almost lifted from his feet by a gust of wind.

  'Take the horses to the stables and take care of them, and yourselves. I shall make myself known.' His shout was carried away by the wind but they must have heard as his carriage moved forward again.

  The shutters on the inside of the windows were closed and there was not a glimmer of light shining through any of them. This was not a good sign. He hammered on the door and waited, dripping, for a response. Nothing. He banged again and this time he shouted too.

  'I am Lord Didsbury. I am seeking shelter from the storm.'

  This time someone answered his demand. 'I dare not let you in, my lord, the master would skin me alive if I opened this door.'

  'I am likely to die from congestion of the lungs if I am kept out here much longer. I shall put matters right with your master, do not fear on that score.'

  There was silence and for a horrible moment he thought the servant had abandoned him to the elements. Then he heard the scraping of bolts being drawn back and the large door moved a fraction. It was enough for him to ram his boot into the gap and prevent it from being closed again. He applied his considerable weight to the door and it flew back. There was a squeal and a thump from behind it.

  He stepped in and was about to close it behind him when a flash of light from the driveway caught his attention. Good God! Another coach was approaching, presumably they too were seeking shelter as the road was now impassable.

  The unfortunate servant girl was sitting on her backside staring at him as if he were an apparition. He was used to being the centre of attention – the combination of his unusual height and startlingly bright red hair was hard to miss.

  He leaned down and offered his hand, the girl shrank back against the wall. 'I shall not harm you, child. I apologise if I knocked you over. Can you find your feet without my assistance?'

  She nodded and scrambled up to vanish down a dark passageway. There was only one wall sconce lit in the cavernous entrance hall and the flickering light from this was not enough to illuminate the area. Most of the space was invisible in the darkness.

  Ralph decided to wait where he was so he could open the door to the next arrivals as he was certain no one else would do so. He had yet to discover who was the owner of the property and why he was so averse to visitors. Despite the lack of lighting which might indicate the house was neglected, he could smell freshly polished boards and this was an indication that there was a housekeeper and a full complement of staff.

  A house this size would require at least a dozen inside servants – a butler or at least a footman to open the door. He then realised the hall was warm so there must be a fire lit somewhere close by. There was no time to investigate this conundrum as he was required as doorman for the new arrivals.

  He positioned himself so he could see out through the slit he had left open and watched with interest as the occupants of the old-fashioned carriage descended to the turning circle. He could only see them because their carriage had lanterns swaying wildly from every corner.

  It was impossible to discern the age of the three people who got out, but they were obviously female, that much he could tell. As they walked towards the house their cloaks flew out around them reminding him of a trio of witches flying in – all they needed were broomsticks and pointed hats.

  'Good afternoon, ladies, I am Lord Didsbury, a fellow traveller who has sought sanctuary here.' He stood back holding the door with difficulty and was relieved to be able to close it behind them.

  'My word, young man, why have you not lit a few more candles. I am like to break my neck trying to walk about in the darkness.' The speaker was the shortest of the three, obviously a matron of considerable maturity.

  'Grandmama, his lordship can hardly do that as he is also an unwanted guest.' The young lady who had reprimanded her elderly relative dipped in a curtsy. 'I am Miss Winterton. This is my younger sister, and this my grandmother, Lady Winterton.'

  He nodded politely. 'I am delighted to meet you all. I can tell you that we are not welcome here, it took an age for the servant girl to respond to my request to enter. I more or less barged my way in and the unfortunate girl promptly ran away once I was inside.'

  Miss Winterton had removed her cloak and was shaking it out. 'I rather think, sir, the fact that you are the size of a small giant is what has upset her.' The girl had moved across to the one light and from that he could see she was tall, slender, had nondescript features and mouse-brown hair.

  *

  Persephone, better known to her family and friends as Seph, carefully untied the ribbon holding her grandmother's cloak in place. She was finding the presence of this red-headed gentleman a trifle alarming. Where on earth were the servants, the housekeeper, butler? Indeed, why were they standing about without assistance in the semi-darkness?

  'Grandmama, if you will wait a moment I shall attempt to light some of the other sconces so we can at least see the place we have come to.' Her eyes had become accustomed to the gloom and she could see a faint glow from a fire at the far side of the hall. She handed the wet cloaks to her sister and ran across to investigate. There was an enormous basket of logs and a slightly smaller scuttle filled with sea coal.

  Quickly she tore away a piece of bark and was about to hurry back to push it into the sconce when the sliver of wood was flicked from her fingers.

  'Allow me, Miss Winterton, as you so kindly pointed out I am tall enough to reach without the necessity of bringing over a chair.'

  'Thank you, my lord, if we can see things it will be so much easier. Do you have your man with you?'

  He spoke with his back to her as he was igniting the first of the sconces. 'I do not have a valet, I dislike being fussed over. You do not have a maid with you.'

  She frowned. This was not a question but a statement – it was perfectly possible they had a plethora of maidservants who had remained inside the carriage. In fact, he was perfectly correct, they were travelling unaccompanied by servants apart from the two coachmen.

  'You are correct, sir, my sister and I take care of our grandmother and have no need of assistance to take care of ourselves.' The fact that they could not afford to employ anyone even if they wished to was none of his business.

  As light began to flood the space she could see that her elderly relative was looking decidedly poorly. Grandmama suffered from a weak heart and too much excitement could prove fatal to her.

  'My lord, Lady Winterton is very unwell. Could I ask you to catch her before she falls? She needs to be warm and dry and resting.'

  To give him his due he did not cavil at her request. He scooped up her grandmama as if she weighed no more than a bag of feathers. 'We shall have to go in search of bedchambers for ourselves. We cannot venture upstairs without candles.'

  Aphrodite, known as Dits, joined in the conversation. 'See, Seph, there are two on the mantelshelf. I shall light them for you.'

  'Here, take my cloak as well and drape them all over the backs of those chairs. They should dry in here.'

  With her skirts in one hand and a candlestick in the other she led the way up the imposing, carved oak stairway. There was no carpet on the treads but they were gleaming, had been polished recently. There was a substantial gallery which overl
ooked the hall and three passageways led from it. One straight ahead, one to the right and the other to the left.

  'We shall go left, my lord, I think it more likely the central corridor will be the rooms for the family and the ones on either side for guests.'

  'I shall follow you, Miss Winterton.' His remark ended on a gasp.

  She knew at once what had transpired. 'Grandmama, do not stick your hatpin into his lordship. If you do it again I shall tell him he has my permission to drop you on the floor.'

  'Too much shilly-shallying, my girl. Get a move on and find me a bedchamber.'

  The first door opened into a pretty sitting room, the furniture was under holland covers, but there was no smell of damp and disuse. Once the fire was lit it would be perfect. She raced across and opened the door at the far end and as she'd hoped it led into a substantial bedchamber. The bed was already made up with fresh linen.

  'If you would be so kind as to put Lady Winterton on the chaise longue, my lord, she will do well enough there whilst we light the fire and so on.'

  He did as she instructed but instead of striding away he shrugged off his saturated topcoat and dropped to his knees to push a lighted candle into the already laid fire. 'I shall do the same in the sitting room, Miss Winterton. Then I shall go in search of our luggage. I expect both your men and mine are languishing outside, unable to affect an entry.'

  'Granddaughter, he is a very large man with difficult hair. He will not do for you, so do not get your heart set on him.'

  Her cheeks were hot and her embarrassment was not helped by the fact that she heard him laughing in the next room.

  There was little point in remonstrating with her relative as it did no good at all. She and her sister loved Grandmama despite her many faults and these unfortunate outbursts. When her parents had perished in a carriage accident papa's mother had taken them in, given them a good education and taught them how to behave in society.

  Unfortunately, poor investments by both her father and grandfather had left the family with very little to live on. Therefore, whenever the opportunity arose they accepted invitations to house parties with alacrity. Travelling so near to Christmas was not something she had wished to do, but if they had remained at home their meals would have been frugal and the house unpleasantly cold. The invitation to spend several weeks at the home of a maternal cousin had been a godsend.

  'Seph, I have discovered a warming pan in the dressing room. I think there is sufficient hot coal in the fireplace to fill it.'

  'Good girl, be careful not to burn yourself or to set the house on fire.'

  'I am sharp-set, Persephone. You would do better finding the kitchen and fetching me something to eat than dithering about in here.'

  She bit her lip and took several deep breaths before answering. 'I shall go in search of a servant, Grandmama, but I draw the line at stealing sustenance for us. We were not invited into this household, we are unwanted intruders and could be evicted at any moment.'

  The old lady cackled. 'I should like to see them try, my girl, now we have that giant to take care of us.'

  'Dits, I can hear movement from behind the panelling. I believe it must be our luggage coming to us along the servants' passage. I must find where the entrance for this apartment is or they could be wandering up and down forever.'

  She took a candle and hurried into the dressing room. Her anxiety was misplaced. There was a door in there and someone knocked on it loudly as she approached. 'Please come in,' she called back.

  Instead of the coachman she had expected to bring their trunk it was the red-headed stranger. He dumped the enormous box on the floor with a thump.

  'Your men have found sanctuary with the grooms who work here. Might I be allowed to come through to your sitting room for we must talk?'

  'Thank you for fetching this. And I do apologise for…'

  He waved a hand the size of a dinner plate. 'Don't mention it. I am happy to oblige.'

  *

  Ralph couldn't prevent a wry smile at his words. The last thing he was usually, was happy to oblige anyone apart from himself. She gestured towards the bedchamber and he walked through as if he had every right to be there. The old lady actually smiled at him and he returned the gesture with a grin.

  The younger sister had nut-brown hair, a pretty elfin face and a figure rounded in all the correct places. She was the beauty of the family.

  'Well, my lord, what have you discovered below stairs? This appears a well-run establishment so where are all the servants today?'

  'The explanation is not as mysterious as one might think. The master of this house occupies an apartment on the ground floor. He has his own staff, a private kitchen and the rest of the house is under covers. Once a week women from the village come in and give the main house a thorough clean which is why everything is in good order.' He went to stand by the fire and warmed his hands. 'The girl who let us in had been sent to fetch something from the main kitchen and took the quickest route which led her through the hall.'

  'Then it is a miracle we were able to get in at all. How fortuitous she happened to be there when you knocked. I am not as a rule a believer in divine intervention, I think we are on this earth to do the best we can without the help of any God. However, I must own I might have to rethink that after tonight.'

  'I think you have not grasped the salient point, Miss Winterton. Unless either you or your sister are prepared to act as cook there will be no food tonight or at any other time.'

  Her smile made her look almost pretty. 'Fear not, Lord Didsbury, I am an excellent cook and as long as there is food in the larder I can prepare something palatable. I warn you it might well be cold as even if I am able to light the range it will not be hot enough to be of any use to us for an hour or two.'

  'Tarnation take it! I do not expect you to deal with the range. Remain here, in the warm, and I shall take care of it. You have your trunk restored to you so you can find yourself something dry to wear before you venture to the kitchens.'

  From her expression she did not take kindly to being told what to do. With hindsight, it probably was inappropriate for a gentleman, especially one that was a complete stranger to her, to discuss anything so personal as changing clothes.

  'I beg your pardon if I have offended you, Miss Winterton. I shall make myself scarce…'

  'My lord, as we are on the subject of garments might I suggest that you find yourself a chamber and do the same? Not only are you mud-streaked, you're also leaving wet footprints everywhere you go.'

  Chapter Two

  Ralph had yet to find himself a room and his box was waiting by the back door to be brought up. As there were no indoor servants he had no option but to do this himself. First he would select a bedchamber and light the fires – always assuming that these had been laid as they were in the apartment the Wintertons were using.

  The three of them could not possibly share one bed. Was there an adjoining room for the sisters? He could hardly go back and ask so it would be better to choose chambers as far away as possible from this one.

  There were four available bedrooms and all in a state of readiness. The one that overlooked the gardens would do him very well. Within half an hour he had changed his garments, hung his drenched clothes over the back of chairs to dry, and had fires burning brightly in both his bedchamber and his sitting room.

  His stomach rumbled loudly. It had been a devil of a long time since he had eaten. He would go to the kitchens and see about lighting the range. Cold food was all very well in the summer, but what he wanted was something hearty and hot. A jug of coffee would also be acceptable – but what would be even better were several glasses of brandy.

  He found his way to the servants' quarters. These, as expected, were unoccupied but equally free of dust and dirt. As he was about to enter the kitchen itself he realised the sconces had been lit and he was walking about without recourse to his candle.

  Miss Winterton was before him. He pushed open the door and was pleasantly surprised to find the large room was not freezing but almost warm. There was a large, scrubbed wooden table down the centre of the room and there were a dozen stools pushed under each side. There was no sign of the girl but he could hear movement coming from an open door at the far end of the room.