still growing, are you?”
“I hope not. I’m taller than some of my dancing partners,” I said. “But I do love a good stew.”
They exchanged a look of satisfaction.
“So what are things like up in the Smoke?” Granddad asked.
“Smoky. We’ve had horrible fogs. I’ve hardly been out.”
“Same down here. That’s what done in Albert’s chest,” Mrs. Huggins said.
“So what can we do for you, love?” Granddad asked, looking at me fondly.
I took a deep breath. “I’m looking for a maid, in rather a hurry, I’m afraid.”
Granddad burst out laughing. “I didn’t mind pretending to be yer butler, love, but I ain’t wearing a cap and apron and being a maid for you.”
I laughed. “I wasn’t expecting you to. I was wondering if you knew anyone who had experience in service and who was out of work.”
“I reckon we can come up with half a dozen girls who’d jump at the job, don’t you, ’ettie?” Granddad turned to her and she nodded.
“A maid for you, yer ladyship? Your own personal maid, like?”
“Precisely.”
“I shouldn’t think the position would be hard to fill. You’d have girls lining up to work for a toff like you. Why don’t you just put an advertisement in the newspapers?”
“There are some complications,” I said, realizing as he said it that an advertisement might be a jolly good idea. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? “Firstly, it’s only a temporary position. I want a girl to accompany me to a royal wedding in Europe.”
“In Europe?”
“Romania, to be exact.”
“Blimey” was all Granddad could find to say to that.
“And I can’t pay her much. I’m hoping I’ll be able to pay her something when I return.”
Granddad shook his head, making tut-tutting sounds. “You are in a bit of a pickle, aren’t you? What about your brother and his snooty wife, can’t they spare you a servant?”
“Nobody at Castle Rannoch wants to travel to London, let alone abroad. I’m looking for an adventurous girl, but I can’t afford to pay her much.”
“Seems to me,” Granddad said slowly, “that a girl might want to take up this position so that she could use you as a reference. Former maid to royalty. That might be worth a darned sight more than money.”
“You know, you’re right, Granddad. You’re brilliant.”
He beamed.
“My niece Doreen’s girl is looking for work, as it happens,” Mrs. Huggins said quickly. It was clear that her brain had been ticking as he made that suggestion. “Nice quiet little thing. Not the brightest, but it might help her land a good position if she had a reference from a toff like you. Why don’t I speak to her about it and send her up to you if she’s willing to give it a try.”
“Brilliant,” I said. “I knew I was doing the right thing coming to you two. You always have an answer for me.”
“So you’re going to a royal wedding, are you, your ladyship?” Mrs. Huggins asked.
“Yes. I’m going to be in the bridal party, but I have to leave next week, so that doesn’t give me much time to hire a maid to travel with me. This girl you mentioned—she has had some domestic service training, has she?”
“Oh, yes. She’s had several jobs. Not anything like as grand as your house, of course. This will be a step up in the world for her. But like I said, she’s a quiet, willing little thing. And you wouldn’t have to worry about her having an eye for the boys. She don’t have an ounce of what they refer to these days as sex appeal. Face like the back end of a bus, poor little thing. But you’d find her keen enough to learn.”
My grandfather chuckled. “If she was in the theater, I wouldn’t hire you as her manager, ’ettie.”
“Well, I have to tell it straight for her ladyship, don’t I?”
“I won’t be judging her on her looks, and at the moment I feel it really is a case of beggars not being choosers.”
“So I’ll tell her she can call on you at yer house, shall I?”
“By all means. I look forward to meeting her.” I finished my stew and started to stand up. “I really should be getting back to London, although I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. I have my brother and sister-in-law at the house.”
“You’re welcome to the spare bedroom,” Granddad said. “It’s a nasty night out there.”
I was tempted. The safety and security of Granddad’s little house versus the doubly frigid atmosphere of Rannoch House occupied