Free The Lady's Maid by Dilly Court Page B

certain, and the parson. Maybe Sir Hector and Lady Damerell will join in the celebration later.’
    ‘And maybe they won’t.’ Kate looked up at the darkening sky. The sun had set, leaving a trail of flame-tipped clouds floating on a turquoise sky, misting to purple at the horizon. ‘It’s going to be a lovely night, Pa.’
    The hay barn had been made ready for the harvest supper. Festoons of greenery were draped from the rafters and the fiddlers were tuning up their instruments ready to entertain the revellers. Trestle tables had been laid with white cloths and decorated with swags of ivy. The air was redolent with the mouth-watering fragrance of pork pies, fruit tarts and apple cakes. A silver punchbowl on loan from the big house was brimming with cider cup, and judging by the rising tide of laughter and the buzz of conversation, some of the early arrivals had already been sampling it. The twanging of the fiddle strings competed with the sound of the harmonium as the parson’s daughter, Emmeline, warmed up by practising scales.
    ‘Can I get you a cup of punch, Kate?’ Robert had to raise his voice to make himself heard.
    She nodded her head. ‘Thank you, Pa.’
    He left her side and strolled off towards the table where a crowd of men had gathered around the punchbowl. She was about to make her way over to speak to Parson Daleymount and his wife when she was accosted by the squire’s housekeeper, Miss Stamp, whose overly plump body was tightly corseted into a scarlet taffeta gown. ‘My dear Miss Coggins. How lovely you look.’
    ‘Thank you, ma’am.’ Kate glanced over Miss Stamp’s shoulder, wondering if the squire had arrived. She could see his two daughters, Amy and Letitia, but there was no sign of him.
    ‘If you’re looking for the squire, he will be along later.’ Miss Stamp gave her an arch look. ‘I believe that he has offered you a position in our household?’
    ‘I have no intention of leaving home, ma’am.’
    ‘But you will one day, my dear. You will marry and have a home of your own.’
    Before Kate could reply, Robert came up to them holding two punch cups. ‘Good evening, Miss Stamp.’
    ‘My, aren’t we formal this evening, Robert? It was Honoria when we last met.’
    Kate was quick to notice that Miss Stamp’s plump cheeks had flushed rose-red, which clashed rather badly with her gown, and she was fluttering her pale eyelashes at Pa in a quite ridiculous manner. It might have been attractive in a young woman, but Miss Stamp was a spinster well past the first flush of youth.
    Robert cleared his throat noisily, staring down at his hands as if trying to decide what to do with the glass cups. ‘Will you take a glass of punch, Honoria?’
    ‘Thank you, Robert. That would be delightful.’ She flashed him a coy smile as she accepted the drink.
    He offered the other cup to Kate, but she had had enough of watching Miss Honoria Stamp attempting to flirt with her father. She shook her head. ‘No, thank you, Pa. I really ought to circulate.’
    Honoria laid her gloved hand on Robert’s arm. ‘That leaves just you and me, Robert. Shall we sit together at supper?’
    Kate moved away, intending to greet Parson Daleymount and his mousy little wife, but there were so many people who claimed her attention that she was only halfway across the barn floor when Sam and Molly caught up with her. Molly held out the striped skirts of the dimity dress and she did a little dance. ‘See how it fits me, Kate. But I had to stuff some kerchiefs up here.’ She patted her chest.
    ‘That ain’t no way to talk,’ Sam said firmly. ‘If you don’t behave proper I’ll send you over to play with the youngsters.’ He pointed to the end of the barn where the younger children sat on bales of hay, swinging their legs and giggling as they waited for the signal to begin supper.
    Molly scowled up at him, pouting. ‘You are so mean to me, Sam.’
    ‘You look very pretty,’ Kate said hastily. ‘Look over there