The Swan Maid

Chapter Four

Jem was up and about, going through his seemingly endless set of chores before the first mail coach was due to arrive. Lottie could hear his cheery voice as she made her way down the wooden stairs to the yard, where the ostlers were preparing the horses and the young stable boy was adding to the already festering muck heap in the corner of the stable yard.

‘Jem.’ Lottie had to raise her voice in order to be heard above the clatter of horses’ hoofs and the deep drone of men’s voices. ‘Jem, will you fetch her ladyship’s luggage?’

He leaned the besom against the wall and came towards her, wiping his hands on the seat of his breeches. ‘So it’s true. You really are leaving us?’

‘It’s a wonderful opportunity, Jem. I’ll get the chance to travel and see the world.’

‘You’ll see a lot of things you don’t want to see,’ he said grimly. ‘I ain’t been to war, but I’ve heard the soldiers talking, and it don’t appeal to me. I’d rather slave away for Filby than risk my neck on the battlefield.’

‘I’m a lady’s maid now. Lady Aurelia has been on numerous campaigns with her husband, and she’s come through without a scratch. I’ll be with her, so I’ll be safe, and I might be of service to some of the wounded soldiers.’

Jem’s habitual grin faded into a frown. ‘You’d best watch out for them soldiers, or who knows how you might end up?’

‘I’m not a fool,’ Lottie said angrily. ‘I know what I’m doing, and you might at least try to be happy for me. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working from dawn to dusk for a pittance.’

‘Maybe you’re right. I suppose joining the army would be a way out. It can’t be worse than this. Anyway, Trotter was telling me that the railways will put an end to mail coaches, and it’s already happening.’

‘You don’t have to be a soldier in order to get away from here. You could become an engine driver or a guard on the railway. You could do anything you set your mind to,’ Lottie said thoughtfully. ‘Anyway, you’d best fetch her ladyship’s things. Lieutenant Gillingham ordered the carriage for half-past six, so it should be here soon.’

Jem gave her a peck on the cheek. ‘Take care of yourself, Lottie. I’ll miss you, girl.’

‘I’ll miss you too.’ Lottie watched him as he loped off to take the outside stairs two at a time. She was sorry to leave Jem, who had been her true friend, but her spirit of adventure had been awakened and she was eager for new experiences. She waited, clutching the small valise that contained Lady Aurelia’s valuables, and it occurred to her suddenly that she ought to inform Uncle Sefton of her change in circumstances. It would be several months until she attained her majority, and he was still her guardian, even though she had not had any contact with him since starting work at The Swan. She was still thinking about it when Lady Aurelia appeared on the balcony, with Jem close behind staggering beneath the weight of her various valises and carpet- bags.

Lottie’s stomach churned with excitement as she heard the sound of approaching horses’ hoofs and the hired carriage was driven into the stable yard and came to a halt. Gillingham strolled out of the taproom and tossed a coin to Jem as he hefted the luggage into the growler.

‘Good grief,’ Aurelia said, laughing. ‘I thought I was travelling lighter than this. I’m afraid you’ll have to sit on the box with the driver, Farrell.’

He shook his head. ‘Don’t worry, my lady. I intend to ride and I’ve hired a hack for the purpose.’

‘I would prefer to ride also but, as you see, I am not dressed for it.’ Aurelia glanced down at her elegant travelling outfit. ‘At least when I’m abroad I can get away with conduct that would be considered unseemly at home.’ She turned to Lottie with a mischievous chuckle. ‘Are you sure you want to be connected to a woman who breaks all the rules?’

‘More than ever, my lady,’ Lottie said firmly. ‘I want to be just like you.’

‘D’you hear that, Farrell? I have a staunch ally at last. Poor Merriweather was forever telling me that my actions were not those of a lady, and now I have carte blanche to do exactly as I please.’

Farrell helped Jem to place the trunk on end beside the driver. ‘I doubt if the colonel will approve, my lady.’

‘Dashwood adores me, as you very well know. He supports me in all that I do.’ Aurelia allowed Jem to hand her into the carriage. ‘Come along, Lottie. We’ve thirty or forty miles to go before we’re in Chatham, and by the looks of that clear sky it’s going to be another hot day.’ She settled herself in the corner. ‘You may sit beside me. I don’t expect you to perch on the roof or run behind.’

Lottie climbed in and made herself as small as possible, not wanting to cramp her mistress or to crease the voluminous skirts of Aurelia’s pale green poplin de laine gown. ‘I learn quickly, my lady, but this is all very new to me.’

‘Of course it is,’ Aurelia agreed, smiling. ‘You have had an extraordinary life for one so young, and I promise you it will be anything less than ordinary from now on.’ Aurelia closed her eyes. ‘I am going to have a nap. Wake me when we stop to change horses.’ Her perky straw hat slipped over one eye as she leaned back against the squabs.

It was late afternoon by the time they arrived outside the house in Chatham. Set in a large garden, surrounded by trees, with well-kept lawns and neat flowerbeds, the three-storey building looked comfortable and solid. The white stucco gleamed in the afternoon sunshine and pink roses clambered over the stone portico. A maidservant rushed out, followed by a man wearing a leather apron, who hefted the trunk from the driver’s seat as if it were filled with feathers instead of the weighty contents of Lady Aurelia’s clothes press.

Farrell had ridden alongside them for most of the way, but had gone on ahead when they neared their destination, and was waiting to hand Aurelia from the carriage. Lottie was the first to alight and she stood on the path feeling shy and apprehensive. It was too late to change her mind, but she felt shabby and out of place in her new surroundings. The housemaid fixed her with a curious stare, but neither of them spoke.

Aurelia sailed into the house, leaving Lottie little alternative but to follow in her wake.

The interior was spacious, and cool air wafted in through open windows, adding the scent of roses to that of lavender and beeswax polish. The stark whiteness of the walls was relieved by large oil paintings, mostly scenes of victorious military battles, and a cocked hat had been left on a pier table as if to emphasise the fact that this was a soldier’s residence. Aurelia took off her straw bonnet and tossed it in the air so that it landed on a marble bust of the Iron Duke.

Her merry laughter seemed to bring the silent house to life. ‘A direct hit, every time.’ She turned to Gillingham. ‘I’ll wager you couldn’t do as well, Farrell.’

He tucked his shako under his arm. ‘I’m sure you’re right, my lady.’

‘Don’t be a spoilsport.’ Aurelia snatched the hat from the duke, where it had hung over his sightless eyes at a rakish angle, and she placed it on Gillingham’s head. ‘Give me a smile, Farrell.’ She seized his shako and put it on. ‘How do I look?’

‘Dashing, as always, my lady.’

‘Lottie, remind me to order a shako from my milliner.’ Aurelia peered at her reflection in one of the many gilt-framed mirrors. ‘It is rather fetching.’

Lottie stood beside the housemaid, watching this piece of theatre wide-eyed. She had not imagined that titled ladies behaved with such frivolity, and there seemed to be little difference between Ruth’s flirtatious behaviour and that of the colonel’s wife. She glanced at the maid, expecting to see her looking shocked or at least a bit surprised by her mistress’s antics, but she appeared to be unmoved and was staring straight ahead.

‘Is it always like this?’ Lottie whispered.

‘This is nothing. Wait until they have a party, then you’ll see some goings-on.’ The maid jumped to attention at the sound of her name.

‘Tilda.’ Aurelia snapped her fingers. ‘Stop gossiping and bring tea and cake to the drawing room. By the way,’ she added casually, ‘Merriweather is unwell and will be staying in Bath for the foreseeable future. Miss Lane is my new maid.’

Tilda bobbed a curtsey. ‘Yes, my lady.’

‘Is the master at home?’ Aurelia demanded im-periously. ‘He should have been here to greet me.’

‘I believe he’s with Lady Petunia, my lady.’ Tilda curtseyed again before hurrying off.

‘If I didn’t know better I would be jealous of Lady Petunia.’ Aurelia posed in front of the mirror, making a moue at her reflection as she tilted the shako at various angles.

Gillingham crossed the floor to stand behind her. ‘You know, you do look splendid. In my hat.’ He tweaked it off her head. ‘But it’s a trifle too large for you, my lady.’

‘Spoilsport.’ She turned to face him. ‘Come and have some tea, Farrell, and stop calling me “my lady”. Lottie is one of us now. She won’t gossip if you call me Aurelia.’ She shot a sideways glance at Lottie. ‘You won’t, will you? I’m sure I can trust you to be discreet.’

‘Yes, my lady.’ Lottie followed Tilda’s example and curtseyed. ‘I mean, no. I won’t gossip. I saw things you wouldn’t credit when I was at The Swan.’

‘I’m sure you did.’ Aurelia beckoned to the manservant who was standing by the entrance with the pile of baggage. ‘Hansford, take my things to my room and show Lottie to her quarters. She will have Merriweather’s room.’

Hansford bowed. ‘Yes, my lady.’

‘When you’ve done that I want you to find the colonel and inform him of my arrival.’ She slipped her hand through the crook of Gillingham’s arm. ‘Dashwood simply adores Lady Petunia. I am definitely second best.’

‘Never,’ Gillingham said gallantly. ‘You have never come second to anything or anyone in your whole life, Aurelia.’

She laughed and pinched his cheek as they strolled off, arm in arm.

Lottie turned to Hansford. She had thought him surly at first, but now she could see that a long scar on the right side of his face was the cause of his permanent scowl. She simply had to satisfy her curiosity. ‘Who is Lady Petunia?’

‘Ask no questions and you’ll be told no lies.’ He picked up as much of the luggage as he could carry. ‘What happened to Merriweather? Why are you here instead of the old girl?’

‘I don’t know exactly. I think she was taken ill. That’s what her ladyship told me.’

‘Where did she find you?’ Hansford demanded as he limped off, burdened by his heavy load. ‘You smell like a taproom.’

Lottie sniffed her sleeve and her heart sank. He was right. Her clothes were impregnated with the smell of beer and tobacco smoke, but she had never noticed it until now. She followed him towards the back stairs. ‘I worked in a London coaching inn.’

He said nothing, concentrating all his energy on mounting the narrow staircase. He came to a halt on the landing and dumped the baggage on the floor, flexing his fingers. ‘I’d keep out of the servants’ quarters if I was you; at least until you’ve got rid of that stink. Mrs Manners, the housekeeper, don’t approve of public houses. If she thinks you’ve got loose morals you’ll be out on the street afore you can say knife.’

‘I am very respectable,’ Lottie said stiffly. ‘And Lady Aurelia hired me, so if Mrs Manners doesn’t like it she knows what she can do.’

‘Ho, like that is it? You’re going to be trouble, I can see that. What’s your name, girl?’

‘It’s Trouble with a capital T.’ Lottie picked up one of the heavier carpetbags. ‘But you may call me Lottie. Now, where do I take this?’

‘Follow me, and less of the cheek. You’d best mind your manners in the servants’ hall. You’ll find it a bit different from working in a hostelry.’ Hansford picked up the bags and led the way along a wide corridor, coming to a halt at the top of the main staircase. ‘This is her ladyship’s room. Open the door for me, there’s a good girl.’

Despite his condescending tone, Lottie did as he asked without any argument. She could hold her own with ostlers, coachmen and male travellers who thought that inn servants were easy game, but for now she would bide her time. She opened the door and stepped inside to the room of her dreams. Furnished in the French style with ornate gilded furniture upholstered in blue toile de jouy fabric, the room was light and sunny. Aubusson rugs placed in appropriate places made pools of delicate colour on the highly polished oak floorboards, and the scent of flowers vied with the lingering fragrance of Aurelia’s perfume. It was a heady mix and to Lottie it seemed a boudoir fit for a princess, let alone the wife of an army colonel.

Hansford dumped the baggage on the floor with a sigh of relief. ‘I dunno how one woman could need to bring so much with her, but it’s the same wherever we go, whether it’s on a campaign abroad or moving between Bath and Chatham.’

‘Do you always travel with them?’ Lottie asked curiously. She had noticed that Hansford walked with a limp. ‘Are you a soldier too?’

‘I was, until I was wounded in Afghanistan. I was the colonel’s batman in India when he was a captain seconded to the Bombay Sappers. He kept me on as his orderly, even when I was unfit for service.’

‘I see,’ Lottie said slowly. ‘He sounds like a good man.’

‘The best.’ Hansford wiped his hands on his apron. ‘You’ll be expected to unpack and put everything in its place, but I expect you know that.’

Lottie stared at the pile of luggage. ‘I’m used to working hard. This will seem easy by comparison.’

‘Better you than me, that’s all I can say.’ Hansford made a move towards the doorway. ‘Is there anything you want to know before I go?’

‘There’s just one thing,’ Lottie said hesitantly. ‘Who is Lady Petunia? Is she related to the colonel?’

Hansford’s twisted lips curved into a semblance of a smile. ‘You want to know who Lady Petunia is. You’d best follow me. I’m sure the unpacking can wait for five minutes.’

Lottie could not resist the opportunity to see more of the house and its grounds, and she was eager to discover who it was whose charms outdid those of the beautiful, spirited Lady Aurelia. She followed Hansford as he retraced his steps down the back stairs and through a maze of passages until they were outside in a large yard facing the stable block and coach house. He strode on, making surprising speed despite his uneven gait, and Lottie had to run in order to keep up with him. They passed through the kitchen garden where an aged gardener was tending to the rows of leafy vegetables, and at last they came to a low building surrounded by a brick wall. Lottie was used to the smell of horse dung, but the odour emanating from the pen was far worse. She covered her nose with her hand.

‘You’re having me on, Mr Hansford.’

He stopped with his hand on the gate. ‘It’s just Hansford, miss.’

‘All right, Hansford. Then it’s just Lottie from now on.’

He might have been grinning – it was hard to tell – but he unlatched the gate and ushered her into a straw-filled pen. ‘Permission to enter, Colonel?’

‘Permission granted, Hansford.’ A straw hat appeared from the depths of the sty, followed by a corpulent body, and then, as the colonel straightened up, a large black pig emerged.

Hansford closed the gate. ‘Her ladyship has arrived, sir.’

‘By Jove! Is it that time already?’ Colonel Dashwood bent down to stroke the sow’s head. ‘Sorry, old girl. I’ll have to leave you now.’ He looked up and frowned. ‘Who’s this, Hansford? Lady Petunia doesn’t usually like visitors, but she doesn’t seem to mind this young person.’

Hansford pushed Lottie forward. ‘This is Lady Aurelia’s new maid, sir.’

‘What happened to Merriweather? The old girl hasn’t turned up her toes, has she?’

‘I believe not, Colonel. Apparently she is unwell and has remained in Bath.’

‘Sorry to hear that.’ Colonel Dashwood looked Lottie up and down. ‘Pretty girl. Best keep her away from the barracks, Hansford. What’s her name?’

Lottie stepped forward. ‘My name is Lottie Lane, sir.’ She tickled the pig behind the ears.

‘Well, well, Lady Petunia approves. You’ve got a way with animals, Lottie Lane.’

Lottie stared at the pig in wonder. So this was Lady Aurelia’s rival. ‘I worked in a coaching inn until yesterday, Colonel,’ she said, controlling her desire to laugh with difficulty. ‘I’m more used to horses, but she seems like a nice pig.’

‘Lady Petunia is a Black Berkshire. She’s more intelligent than a dog, and most people, if it comes to that.’ Colonel Dashwood produced an apple from his jacket pocket and handed it to Lottie. ‘Give her this. She’s partial to an apple or two.’