Free Langdown Manor by Sue Reid

smell of horse and dung and hay. When I left I felt as if I’d left a part of me behind – there, in the stall with him and Starshine. Tomorrow, he’d said. Tomorrow.

D OWNSTAIRS

    â€˜How many more?’ Ivy grumbled, arms up to her elbows in soapsuds. She looked over at the pile of dirty pans heaped up beside the sink. ‘Every time I wash one someone brings me another. Cook must have used every pot in the kitchen to cook their dinner today.’
    â€˜Wait till there’s a house party,’ I said, turning on the tap to fill the kettle. ‘You’ll learn what hard work is then.’
    Ivy groaned. ‘Shall I kill myself now, or later?’
    I grinned. Sarah, Ellen and I had just finished upstairs – going from one bedroom to the next, closing curtains, picking up clothes, turning down the bedcovers and laying out nightclothes. Her duties over, Sarah had disappeared to find Fred. Ellen was in the servants’ hall, picking out a tune on the piano. My duties weren’t over yet. I still had Miss Penelope’s bottle to fill. Then there was the mending to do and her riding habit to brush. The skirt looked like she’d been rolling in mud.
    I’d been shocked to see Miss Penelope’s bruises – all down one side. But she had seemed cheerful in spite of her fall and had made me promise not to tell anyone. They’d only fuss, she’d said. I just hoped she wouldn’t fall again, and hurt herself badly, or I’d feel guilty that I’d kept her secret to myself.
    I took the kettle back to the kitchen and put it on the range to heat. Maddie was scrubbing the table. While I waited for the kettle to boil I pulled up a chair near her and stretched out my legs. By night time they were always aching. I seemed to be upstairs and down all day.
    Robert pushed open the door with a foot. ‘More dishes for young Ivy,’ he announced, putting down a tray.
    â€˜Take that tray away,’ said Maddie, her cheeks a bit pink. ‘Those dishes aren’t for Ivy and you know it.’
    â€˜Aw, don’t scold,’ said Robert. He put an arm round her and gave her a squeeze. He winked across her at me.
    â€˜Leave go,’ Maddie said, blushing.
    Robert lifted both hands up. ‘All right, all right.’ He sauntered down the passage, whistling. A moment later I heard Ivy laugh, then Robert’s voice. They suited each other, I thought, show-offs both.
    Maddie’s lips set in a thin line. ‘He’s everyone’s best friend, isn’t he?’
    â€˜He is,’ I said, lamely, not sure what else I could say. The kettle had begun to sing. I got up to fill the bottle.
    Sarah was in the maids’ sitting room when I came back downstairs, Miss Penelope’s riding habit in my hands. I was surprised to see her.
    â€˜You’re back early,’ I began, then immediately wished I could bite out my tongue. But Sarah just smiled.
    â€˜Fred had extra work to do this evening,’ she said, drawing up her knees under her. ‘It’s the Langdown Meet soon. There’s always a lot to do.’ She looked at the habit lying on my knee. ‘What’s that?’ she said, though I knew she knew very well what it was.
    â€˜It’s a riding habit,’ I said, sounding as casual as I could. ‘Miss Penelope got it dirty out riding today.’ I picked up the brush, praying that it would be an end to her questions. Sarah just nodded.
    I stretched out my legs to the fire. It had burned down, and there wasn’t much heat in it. But compared to our bedrooms, it was a furnace in there. I began to brush the habit, enjoying the companionable silence that had fallen between us. Sitting there together, I felt almost as I had before Miss Penelope and Ivy had come to disrupt our lives. I’d felt comfortable then – a lowly housemaid, but one with a real place in the world.
    It wasn’t peaceful for long. A barely stifled