They share another conspiratorial glance. “Are you to help us hide if Lizzie comes here looking for us?”
“No. One must attend to their education with an industrious attitude, or we disappoint those who care for us.”
Sarah sighed heavily and seemed as if she was about to turn around, but Anna gripped her fingers and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
“Not only does Nellie kick…very hard, but she also bucks, especially if you hold her udder wrong.”
Nonplussed, he stared at Anna, who smiled sweetly at him, while Sarah nodded her agreement most vigorously.
The little hellions.
“What are we bargaining for here?” he murmured, amused by their cunning.
“We will help milk Nellie…and you help us hide from Lizzie?” Sarah asked nervously.
They held their breath and awaited his response.
“I accept this bargain.”
Delighted, the girls hurried forward, the hems of their dresses muddied. If not for the difference in height, the girls could be twins with their dark, ringleted hair, blue eyes, and dimpled cheeks.
“Have you ever milked a cow, Mr. Stannis?” Sarah asked, smiling.
“I do not believe I’ve had the pleasure,” he said drolly.
“The teats must be clean,” Anna chirped, skipping to the cow and gently patting the side of her face. “We are borrowing some milk, Nellie, and later we will take you for a walk to eat some green grass and to drink water by the brook.”
The cow made a sound in her throat, and the girls took that as some sort of permission. He patiently listened as they gave instructions about ensuring the pail was clean, how to use the thumb and the forefinger to squeeze the milk from the udder, and not to be too harsh lest Nellie got hurt.
Daniel nodded, stooped, positioned the pail, and milked the cow. They cheered him on when he got it correct on the first try, and he chuckled at their eagerness. The girls stayed with him until he had completed that chore. They beamed at him as if he had given them some sort of prize when he handed over the pail with milk. “Take it inside to your sister. Do not run lest you spill the milk and waste our efforts.”
“Yes, sir,” Sarah said, and giggling, they hurried away.
Plucking the paper from his pocket, he analyzed what could be done for the day and set about working. Several hours later, Daniel’s muscles hurt like he had gone a few rounds with the devil himself. Blisters had formed on his hands, sweat poured down his body, and he was damn well irritable. With the assistance of Mrs. Woods, he had taken out several rugs and carpets and beaten them, a cloud of dust sending him into a paroxysm of coughing for endless minutes.
Why in God’s name they did not toss the damn rugs into a fire eluded him, but he had diligently attended the task before climbing the rickety ladder to take down all the curtains in the bedrooms, the drawing rooms, and the parlor. Apparently, they had not been washed in almost two years. Thankfully Mrs. Woods, Lizzie, and his wife attended to that chore.
Watching how hard they worked, sweating, singing, and laughing with each other had only pushed him to do more, wondering how the hell he would fix this damnable situation for them. Somehow, he could see his wife in a different setting, something more genteel, perhaps sitting in a drawing room taking tea with her sisters and talking about the latest scandal or a book that was all the rage about town. She was not meant to labor away daily to maintain a manor that was clearly crumbling and beyond their modest ability to maintain.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Daniel stared up at the barn that had been mucked and cleaned. Nellie at least seemed like she was happy with his efforts, even if his damn back ached. The sound of footsteps crunching over leaves had him turning around. It was his sister-in-law.
“Elizabeth,” he said in greeting.
“I brought you a repast, sir, since you missed luncheon. It is a beef sandwich. Very tasty.”
His stomach grumbled, and he reached for the sandwich, but she withdrew the tray. “Your hands!”
He looked down. “Bloody hell. What are the chances that this is not cow shite?”
A choking sound came from Elizabeth, and he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Forgive me, Miss Heyford, I forgot myself for a moment.”
Laughter pealed from her, and he realized he had wiped whatever the hell was on his hand on his face. His mouth curved in an unwilling smile. “I cannot help feeling as if I am in a special hell and wonder what I did, hmm?”
She stilled, staring at him with wide eyes. He bowed, then walked away to the small lake to the east of the manor. Daniel removed his boots and dove deep into the lake fully clothed. He swam for a bit, abusing his already aching muscles. When he surfaced, stilling in the water, he saw his wife walking toward him.
How prettily Georgianna appeared with the wind whipping her hair about her shoulders and back. She stopped at the edge of the lake and tossed something at him. Daniel deftly caught it, smiling when he saw it was a bar of lemon soap.
She held his regard for a bit, a soft smile shaping her mouth. “I will bring out a fresh set of clothes for you, perhaps to your office?”
