The Indebted Earl Erica Vetsch (iphone ebook reader txt) 📖

Penny, who sat beside her, took her hand, and leaned into her shoulder a bit. “We love you, Mamie. You’re like the grandmamma we never had. Gateshead has become our home too. Thanks to the captain and Sophie and you.”

Warmth spread through Sophie at the bond that had formed there. Though they hadn’t gotten to spend time at a seaside cottage, just Mamie and her, they’d been given something much better. A family. The family Sophie had thought they would never have after Rich died.

She stole a glance at Charles.

He’d come to mean so much to her. In spite of her intentions, she had come to love him. But before that path could be taken and she was free to give her heart, there was something she must do.

The carriage rolled through the village and headed out onto the peninsula, passing through the iron gates and winding around the swales and curls of the landscape until the manor house and the point came into view.

Pulling to a stop outside the front doors, Sophie noted that the fountain now splashed clean, clear water in bright spurts that caught the sunshine.

The new steward greeted them at the door.

“Welcome home, Lord Rothwell.” He bowed and trotted down the stairs to help the ladies from the carriage. “Alastair Lythgoe at your service.”

“Lythgoe. You have met Lady Rothwell?” Charles helped Sophie himself and kept hold of her hand.

“It is good to see you again. Are you responsible for the fountain?” Sophie reveled in the feel of Charles’s handclasp.

“Yes, milady. It seems a shame to have such a pretty piece and not have it in use.” He set Betsy carefully on the gravel and handled Mamie as if she were made of Venetian glass. Penny alighted and sized him up, evidently assuming he was too old at somewhere around thirty to be considered in the game of suitors, and moved toward the front door.

Thea stood in the carriage, hands braced on the doorjambs, looking up at the house. Without waiting for aide, she leapt to the ground, red hair bouncing, and clattered up the steps.

“I’m pleased you were released, milord. As per the admiral and duke’s wishes, I’ve not toured the estate, keeping mostly to the house. I’ve noticed a few things, though, by using your spyglass from the upper stories.” Something in Alastair’s tone lent the matter urgency, and Sophie squeezed Charles’s fingers.

“Go ahead. I’ve things to attend to as well.” She preceded them into the manor and headed toward the kitchen to search out Mrs. Chapman. Charles led his new steward upstairs to his study.

She found the housekeeper in the servants’ dining room polishing silver. “Oh, milady, welcome home. The girls pelted right inside to see me first thing. Wasn’t that nice?”

“It was. They think the world of you, Mrs. Chapman.” Sophie untied her bonnet ribbons and lifted her hat away. “You’ve become an anchor for them. They count on you being here, as do I. Where are they now?”

“Penny took Betsy upstairs, and Thea hit the back door with a couple of tea cakes in her hand and mayhem on her mind.” Mrs. Chapman smiled indulgently at her reflection in a serving tray as she buffed the metal. “That one is too restless to stay indoors on such a beautiful day.”

“We’ll have guests for dinner. My brother, and an admiral, and Mr. Lythgoe. Oh, and though I know it’s not the custom, since this is by way of a celebration, please set places for the girls too.”

Mrs. Chapman nodded throughout. “I’ll see to it. Do you have a menu preference? I’ve managed to fill several of the positions here at the house while you were gone—subject to your approval, of course—and the maids and laundresses are working well. I haven’t found a cook yet, but the scullery maid will assist me.” She set down the rag and picked up a red brick, scraping it with a knife to grind a bit more powder into the polishing dish. A dip of the cloth into a bowl of water and then into the dust, and she rubbed again at the hints of tarnish on the silver. “The dining room is clean and ready to use, and the parlor for after dinner as well.”

Sophie broke protocol entirely. She dropped her bonnet onto the table and embraced the shocked housekeeper. “You are a pearl of great price. I can’t tell you how much it put my mind at ease that you were here watching over the house while I was away. I don’t know where I would be without you.”

After a frozen moment, Mrs. Chapman returned the embrace and then stepped back, flustered and bustling about her work. “It’s my duty, and I’m glad to do it. I’m glad the captain was released. Load of codswallop those charges were.”

“I heartily agree. There are a few things I must tend to upstairs, and I would appreciate some privacy. If the girls come down, please keep them occupied. And Mamie too.” Sophie paused. “Where is Mamie?”

“She went with Penny and Betsy. Betsy asked Lady Richardson to read her a story. I believe both of them will nap for a bit before dinner.”

“They do tend to keep the same hours, don’t they?”

Sophie went upstairs, noting that the driver had deposited the bags inside the front door. Had Miles left their employ then? Perhaps it was for the best if he was embroiled in the smuggling. Though it made her sad. He was young enough to be reformed if he wanted to be. She would speak to Charles about it.

But first there was something she must do, and she’d put it off for far too long. She entered her bedchamber and closed the door, and for the first time, turned the key in the lock.

The chest sat just inside her dressing room, pushed back under the bench. Grabbing the leather handle, she tugged it out into the middle of the bedroom rug. She sank before it, placing her hands