She hurried into the parlour and sure enough, a folded and sealed note lay waiting on her plate. With a brief smile at Jeremy as he held her chair, she sat and pulled the paper open, away from the seal.
It was indeed from Judith.
Dear Lady Adalyn,
Thank you for your recent expressions of kindness and sympathy - they were most welcome and appreciated. I have now recovered sufficiently to take advantage of your generous offer of tea, and would enjoy visiting at a time convenient to you? I would indeed find myself much improved were I able to discuss various topics with you, since I have nobody here at Fivetrees with whom I can speak of important matters.
I look forward to your response,
Sincerely yrs,
Judith Fairhurst.
“Oh, poor thing.” Adalyn sipped her tea.
“Miss Judith?” asked Jeremy. “The note was from her?”
“Indeed, yes. And she is in dire need of counsel, I would guess. Whether I can help or not remains to be seen, but I’d certainly feel better if we at least talked.”
“I can understand that,” he responded.
Giles walked in at that moment and caught the end of the conversation. “It was from Miss Fairhurst, then?”
“Yes, Giles. And you know, I think I’d like your wisdom and advice on whatever it is she needs to talk about. Would you mind joining us?”
“If Miss Fairhurst has no objections, then of course,” he approved.
“Excellent.” She turned to Jeremy. “I’ll write her a note after breakfast. Perhaps she can come this afternoon. Will you let Evan know?”
“I will,” he answered. “Both he and Daniel are checking the horses at the moment. Evan prepared your breakfast early so that they could take care of this task.”
She bit her lip. “Drat. I had meant to talk to Daniel about hiring someone on a more permanent basis.”
“After breakfast, my Lady,” smiled Jeremy. “I’ll remind you.”
True to his word, he did mention it once she was done, and she obeyed his nudge to meet with Daniel.
Walking into the Rose room, there he was, tall, handsome, looking windblown and completely wonderful to her appreciative eyes. Although her welcoming smile was met with one of equal warmth, and although that warmth found its way down to nestle between her legs, Adalyn managed a measure of control.
“Good morning, Daniel.”
He bowed, his eyes twinkling. “My Lady.” His grin was wicked and delightful. “I trust you passed a pleasant night.”
She gave him back look for look. “I did indeed. Most pleasant. One might say I had the best night’s rest I’ve enjoyed in quite some time.”
She knew her cheeks were flushed, but she held steady, standing behind her desk with just the right amount of steel in her spine.
“I would discuss the matter of stable hands, if you please,” she began. “I meant to raise it earlier, since I don’t want any of you to add such duties to those you already have.”
He nodded, all business now as she motioned him to his seat.
Within the hour they’d settled on a plan to formally hire two temporary stablehands with the aim of making one position permanent upon Trick’s return. The lad who already helped out would of course be first and Daniel was certain they could find another without difficulty.
“The work isn’t complicated, just physical, Adalyn,” he said. “So lads who cannot work elsewhere for whatever reason, can easily put in a couple of hours in the morning and evening, leaving time to take care of whatever other family matters arise.”
Knowing this would help some families in dire need, Adalyn agreed immediately. “I will rely on you to find another good candidate, Daniel. We must be useful to our people in any way we can.”
He glanced outside at the rain which had begun an hour or so earlier. “If this rain eases up, that will help too.”
