She nodded. “I’ll manage something, sir, though I’ll have to build the fire back up first.”
“No need to go to any trouble, Mrs. Ford. Whatever you have cold in the larder will do perfectly well. Are there two bedchambers made up?”
“Yes, sir. The rooms are ready. I got your letter saying you’d be bringing a guest, and his luggage arrived yesterday. ”
“Oh, good!” Theo glanced over at where George still stood with the horses. “You’ll be pleased to hear your trunks are here.”
George grinned. “Thank God. I can’t wait to put on something clean and laundered.”
Theo laughed. "Mrs. Ford, this is Mr. Asquith. He’s a friend of mine.”
Mrs. Ford bobbed a curtsey in George’s direction. “Pleased to meet you, sir.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Ford,” George said, gallantly, executing a friendly bow.
While Mrs. Ford returned to the kitchen to make them something to eat, Theo led George around the back of the house to a sizeable farmyard. There was a well in the far left corner, a set of stables, a barn, and a small granary set off the ground with steps leading up to a little door at the top. Everything looked a bit… unkempt.
“There’s no grain in there,” Theo said, seeing the direction of George’s gaze. “And the stable’s empty too. As is the house itself, mostly. It’s only Mrs. Ford living in these days—she was my uncle’s housekeeper when he was alive. Back then, there were a couple of maids, a boot boy and a stable lad too, but the other servants weren’t needed after my uncle passed away. There's a boy who comes most days to do any heavy work and errands, but that’s all.”
Theo wasn’t looking at George as he said this. George thought he seemed embarrassed.
“I’ll fetch water for the horses,” Theo said. “Could you make a start on unsaddling them?”
"Of course.” George led both animals into the stables, looking around curiously.
It wasn’t the best-kept stable he’d ever been in, but there was, at least, a decent pile of straw waiting to be used. George began unbuckling the horses’ tack while Theo went back and forth to the well, sloshing bucket after bucket of water into the trough so the animals could slake their thirst. While they drank, George lifted the heavy saddle first from his own horse’s back and then from Theo’s, setting them to one side. Theo was done fetching water by then, so they worked together, getting the horses settled, washing the mud from their legs and brushing them down as they ate their oats. By the time the horses were fed and watered and settled into their stalls, it was fully dark.
“You must be starving,” Theo said as they tidied away the tack for cleaning in the morning.
“I could eat a horse,” George admitted, slinging his saddlebags over one shoulder to take inside.
“Shh,” Theo said with a wink. "Don’t let them hear you.” George snorted at the silly joke.
"It might be best not to get your hopes up about supper,” Theo added. “It’s clear Mrs. Ford wasn’t expecting us to arrive so soon.”
“She did seem rather surprised.”
“I suppose we are a full day earlier than I said we’d be. Shall we go and see what she’s managed to rustle up for us?”
Instead of going back around to the front of the house, he led George towards the back door. This opened directly onto the kitchen, where Mrs. Ford stood at the hearth. She turned to look at them, a little pink-faced. “Oh, there are you, sir!”
“Sorry to intrude,” Theo said, setting his saddlebags down. "I thought it might be easier for you if we ate here in the kitchen. Save you carrying dishes back and forth.”
“Thank you, sir,” Mrs. Ford said. She seemed genuinely pleased. “The fire was banked right down, but I managed to get it going again. I thought you’d want something quick so I’ve made you and Mr. Asquith some baked eggs and toast. There’s seed cake too if you’re still hungry after.”
“Baked eggs sounds like heaven,” George said happily. He’d been expecting day old bread and cheese at best, given the late hour, so the prospect of something cooked was very welcome.
“Mr. Asquith loves to eat,” Theo said as they each took a seat at the heavy oak kitchen table. “He’ll be first to breakfast every morning.”
“Well,” Mrs. Ford said, “if you enjoy your food, Mr. Asquith, I’ll be very pleased to cook for you. I’ve not had anyone to cater for since Mr. Caldwell’s last visit.”
The baked eggs and toast she set down on the table a few minutes later boded well for those future meals. The eggs were delicious, fluffy and creamy, and the toast was warm and dripping with butter.
By the time he was halfway through his eggs, George had concluded that Theo’s uncle and Mrs. Ford had had a rather informal relationship. After her initial shock at their early arrival, the housekeeper had quickly rallied and seemed unruffled by having her master and his friend in her kitchen. Indeed, she chatted easily to them about this and that and seemed used to such company.
“Which bedchambers have been made up, Mrs. Ford?” Theo asked when they'd finished eating.
“The master bedchamber for you, sir, and the chamber next door to it for Mr. Asquith, since it has the next-best bed in the house. Mr Asquith’s luggage is already in there.”
