Page 4 of A Wallflower's Christmas Wreath
The shutters rattled, and the house made an eerie whistling sound, accompanied by squeaks and groans as it tempered the storm.
This high up on the hill, overlooking the sea and the gully where their small village sat, the house was often buffeted by inclement weather. Heidi could only hope that it survived the night since she would be a guest here.
"Miss Lewis, it is lovely to see you again," the housekeeper, Mrs. Feathers said from the door. "Do let me know if you need anything, a cup of tea or a bath. I'm more than happy to have either brought up to you."
"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Feathers, that is very kind." She thought about the housekeeper's words a moment and decided she would take her up on the offer. Why not use Lord Levinstone for all she could? And it would save her from having to bathe tomorrow evening for the town ball. Should it go ahead, of course.
"I would adore a bath if possible. The walk up here was trying, and I feel a little windswept. Are you certain it will be appropriate?" she asked, knowing the housekeeper would not deny her anything, having always liked her.
“It is no trouble at all. We always keep water on the boil for his lordship. I shall have it brought up directly," she said, leaving her alone to organize.
Within a quarter of an hour, she stood beside a bath before the fire in her room. A maid had placed a drying cloth and lavender-scented soap on a chair before the tub and left her alone.
Heidi slipped from her gown, the mud starting to dry about the hem. She glanced upon the dress the housekeeper had lent her for the evening, one of Lady Grandison's, the viscount's elder sister, she assumed. Never had she worn silk in her life and a little part of her thrilled at the idea.
Heidi stepped into the bath, sinking under the water and sighing at the delight of being warm and in clean, scented hot water. How delightful and how easy the lives of the rich were. If only the people in the village had such luxuries, their hard living would not be so very trying.
She soaked in the bath for some time before a maid returned to her room and started setting pins and a brush on the dressing table.
"What is that for?" Heidi asked as she stood and reached for the towel.
"Mrs. Feathers said I'm to help you dress and do up your hair for this evening's meal. I'm very capable, Miss Lewis. I do Lady Grandison's hair when she does not travel with a maid," she explained.
The thought of being pampered was too much for her to resist, and she nodded, pulling on the clean shift and undergarments before the maid helped her with the gown.
The dress was of the softest silk, a deep shade of blue. Not that she was supposed to wear such shades being an unmarried maid, but at his lordship's home, in the wilds of Cornwall, she supposed one night would not hurt too much.
The maid took very little time in taming her long, brown locks, and for several minutes Heidi stared at herself in the mirror, unsure she recognized the woman looking back at her.
Gone were the strains of having to work to survive, the inability to bathe as much as she wanted, and forgo pretty gowns as the one she now wore. Instead, a woman of means, of luxury, stared back. A life she would glimpse for the night before returning to her reality.
The words from Lady Emma floated through her mind, reminding her how a woman of her low birth and connections was no longer welcome under this very roof.
Heidi turned and clasped the maid's hands. "Thank you for helping me this evening. You are very talented, for anyone who can make me look half-respectable is a marvel," she teased, smiling.
The maid's smile cheered Heidi up even more. "You are most welcome, Miss Lewis, and if I may say so while I'm here with you, I'm hoping to attend the village ball tomorrow evening. Much better fun than the one being held here," she said, leaving the chamber.
Heidi laughed, and couldn't agree more.
"Oh, Miss Lewis," the maid said, popping her head back through the door. "Dinner will be in twenty minutes. I understand you are familiar with the house, so please make your way downstairs to dine with Lord Levinstone when you're ready." She shut the door quietly.
Heidi nodded, wishing she could refuse his lordship's invitation, but then, she had more things to say to the pompous fool.
Perhaps I shall make him wait until his dinner is cold ...
No, she could not do that either, not when Mrs. Feathers had gone to so much trouble to make her evening comfortable and equal to his lordship’s, who no doubt would be preened and pressed to within an inch of his life for the dinner.
As children, the housekeeper had brought cakes, biscuits, and glasses of chilled lemonade down by the seashore when she and Lord Levinstone were friends. A kinder woman there never was. No, she could not refuse the invitation now or ruin the dinner by being tardy.
So many years ago now since those carefree, happy days. So many hurtful words had been said between them that she had long reconciled herself to never being friends again.
That time had passed, and his snobbery, his allowing his betrothed to talk down to one of his oldest friends, had put paid to that fellowship.
She ground her teeth. What an arse he had been that day.
As if the house agreed with her, a gust of wind rattled shutters and windows alike, and she frowned in thought, hoping they had a stronger constitution at remaining steadfast than his lordship had when it came to his friends.
Heidi checked the clock on the mantel, and she had one minute to arrive for dinner. Taking a fortifying breath and steeling her nerves, she left the safety of her room and started downstairs.
