"Elyse has become very attached to you the last few days, and I'll need someone to help me with her. I'm a bit old to be starting with a child," she admitted.
"Right ya are, mum." Katy nodded, completely unabashed. "But there is me mam and me sisters and brothers to consider!"
"You'll be well compensated. You'll live in London with us at the town house, and at the country house in York." Regina reached out, taking the girl's hand.
"You're gentle and caring, and the only other person I've met who knows about saffron and camphor. Please, say you'll come. You'll make more money in a month than in an entire year here at the tavern. And I would like someone such as yourself around my granddaughter. She's going to need a great deal of love and caring."
Katy's eyes widened as she considered Lady Regina's offer. Then she nodded and set her mouth in a firm line, her decision made. "I guess I'd be a fool to turn down an offer like that. Besides, who could refuse a position carin' for a pretty little thing like 'er." She shook Regina's hand very businesslike. "Ya got yerself a deal, ma'am." Then she blushed and dipped into a deep curtsy. "Sorry, yer ladyship. I gotta be honest with ya, I don't rightly know how I'm gonna fit in. Me mam says me manners are right fine for a tavern, but not rightly what you be findin' in a house in London."
Regina smiled. "You let me worry about that. It'll be refreshing to have someone with your honesty around. And I want to learn more of your mother's recipes, especially that broth you fixed the other evening. I think we both have a great deal to learn. I just hope I haven't forgotten how to raise a child."
Katy waved her off. "Ah, there ain't nothin' to it, ma'am. Ya just love 'em and squeeze 'em, and give 'em a swat or two on the bum just to let 'em know when they get a bit rowdy. That's what me mam always says. I best get home and tell her the good news. When are we leavin'?"
"First thing in the morning," Regina informed the girl.
Katy's eyes widened. "Boy, Harry is sure gonna have a fit when he hears this." She waved, curtsied, and waved again, not quite certain what to do with herself. Then she giggled and sped out the back of the inn.
Regina looked up as Mr. Quist came through the front door of the tavern, a large man in tow.
"Excuse me, ma'am." Mr. Quist took off his hat and nodded his head.
"Good morning, Mr. Quist. Will we be ready to leave in the morning?" Regina asked her driver.
"Aye, yer ladyship." He twisted the silk hat in his hands. "This here is Mr. Quimby. He's the one that found yer granddaughter."
Regina stood, immediately seizing the large man's hand. She hardly recognized him. His face was all but hidden behind a growth of whiskers, heavy jowls, and a moth-eaten muffler.
"Mr. Quimby, I'm forever in your debt. I hoped we might have a chance to speak before I left."
The man bobbed uncertainly and shuffled his feet, obviously uncomfortable. "She's a fine little girl, ma'am. I wish the best for her, and you."
"Thank you, Mr. Quimby. I'd like to do something for you in appreciation. Do you have a family here at Land's End?"
"Me?" Quimby's eyes widened in surprise. "Lord, no, ma'am. Beggin' yer pardon." He winced at his lack of manners. "It's not every day we have a fine lady like yerself so far from London."
Regina smiled. "It's quite all right. My late husband, the Earl of Larchmont, used to swear quite a lot." She gestured to his jacket. "That's a fine coat you have, Mr. Quimby." She eyed the shabby and torn fabric. "Perhaps you'd like another. When I return to London, I'll instruct my solicitor to open an account for you. The weather is severe here. Perhaps a new scarf too. She suggested carefully, not wanting to offend the man.
"I don't need such fancy trappings, ma'am. Not such as me." Quimby shuffled his large bulk. "It's enough just knowing the little lady is doin' well."
Mr. Quist intervened. "Quimby here is real handy. We had a loose coupling on the coach when I got back from London, and he fixed 'er right up. Folks say he can do almost anything with his hands."
Cedric coughed loudly to gain Regina's attention.
"Perhaps you should have some of Katy's broth," Regina suggested. "Are you feeling ill?" Then she smiled. "I do quite a bit of traveling back and forth from London to the country. I seem to remember having the coach repaired just last October. Isn't that correct, Mr. Quist?"
"Quite right, ma'am." His eyes lit up.
"Then I think perhaps we should have someone who could take care of it on a regular basis. And, of course, there will be other responsibilities." Regina smiled.
She liked this big gruff man who found words so difficult. When all the others had given up searching for survivors from theVenturer, he'd stayed behind and continued. His unselfish gesture had meant the difference between life and death for Elyse.
"I hope you'll consider joining my household staff in London, Mr. Quimby."
The man was completely speechless. What little of his face was visible through beard and muffler quickly turned a bright shade of crimson.
"I'd like that real fine, ma'am, er, ah yer ladyship."
"We'll cover that later," Regina reassured him. Mr. Quist grabbed the big man by the arm, and quickly led him out of the tavern.
