Free The Lady's Maid by Dilly Court Page A

have my word on it.’
    ‘And I promise not to tell Pa Coggins that you forgot to take the eggs to market.’ He handed her the leather pouch. ‘You’d best keep this. With a bit of luck the gaffer won’t notice that I’m not off ploughing the ten-acre field, which is where I was supposed to be this morning.’
    Kate linked her hand through his arm. ‘Then we’d best get home as quickly as possible.’ She glanced over her shoulder, just in case the squire should have followed her, but he was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she had misread his intentions after all.
    Kate’s bedroom was situated at the back of the house, overlooking the orchard. It was large and airy with a beamed ceiling, whitewashed walls and chintz curtains. In winter it was warm and cosy beneath the thatched roof. In spring the birds warbled from their nests beneath the eaves, and the scent of the apple blossom wafted in through the open window. In summer her room was deliciously cool, and now, in autumn, she could look out at the trees heavy with ripening fruit and the grass beneath them studded with rosy windfalls. She closed her window as the evening breeze freshened. Taking a last look in the mirror, she was more than pleased with the result of her labours. The deceptively simple blue silk gown fitted her slim figure perfectly; the addition of lace and ribbon had made it feel as though it was her own and not a hand-me-down from Josie. The low neckline, puffed sleeves, nipped-in waist and full skirt with a bustle at the back were the very latest fashion, or at least they were the latest fashion in this part of Dorset, which was probably two or even three years behind society in London, but Kate did not care – she felt like a princess. She went downstairs to the kitchen where Molly was busy sweeping the floor with a besom.
    ‘Why, Kate. You look beautiful.’ Molly’s eyes misted with tears and her lips trembled. ‘I ain’t never see’d a dress like that in all me born days.’
    Kate did a twirl, almost bumping into her father who had come downstairs behind her. ‘What do you think, Pa? Do you like my gown?’
    ‘You look good enough to eat, love.’ Robert raised his chin, tugging at his cravat. ‘Now if only I could tie this confounded thing, I’d be a happy man.’
    ‘You are so impatient, Pa.’ Kate pushed his hand away and deftly knotted the material, arranging its folds beneath the stiff points of her father’s shirt collar. He was very red in the face and perspiring heavily. She kissed him on the cheek. ‘There, now don’t you look handsome? We are going to be the envy of everyone there tonight.’
    ‘I wish I was coming too,’ Molly said, sighing heavily.
    Kate pulled on her lace mittens. ‘There’s no reason why you can’t. Is there, Pa? You don’t mind if Molly has a few hours off to join in the fun? Sam could take her.’
    Robert shrugged on his jacket. ‘I’ve no objection, so long as she don’t touch anything alcoholic and behaves herself . I won’t have us being shown up. So you bear that in mind, young Molly.’
    ‘Wash your hands and face,’ Kate said, shooing Molly out into the yard. ‘You can borrow my pink and white dimity, but don’t you dare spill anything down the front of it. And make sure Sam brings you home early. Pa and I are going to walk up to the big house now, and you can follow on when you’re ready.’
    As they walked arm in arm through the farmyard and down the narrow lane towards Damerell Manor, Robert patted her hand. ‘You look like a proper young lady all dressed up, Kate. You ought to be riding in a fine carriage and not walking with your old pa. You’ll like as not ruin those pretty dancing slippers.’
    She smiled up at him. ‘It’s only a harvest supper, Pa. We won’t be going into the big house, just one of the barns. It will all be done up nicely, of course, but we’re not exactly hobnobbing with the gentry.’
    ‘I wouldn’t say that. The squire will be there for