Dorothy Eden by Lady of Mallow Page A

green taffeta from which she had reluctantly removed the expensive lace trimming. She had to look like a governess, not a fashionable young lady. Her turn would come.
    A gauche eager country girl called Eliza Matthews had been employed to help in the nursery. She had just come to work at the Hall and was very nervous. As a source of information she would be useless, but her nervousness proved a good thing for Titus. It gave him confidence. For the first time Sarah heard him laugh.
    ‘Miss Mildmay, Eliza doesn’t know how to do anything. She’s funny.’
    Eliza blushed and hung her head. She was a plump healthy creature with bright cheeks and chilblains on her fingers. Her mental age was probably not greatly in advance of Titus’s, but she was obviously good-natured and eager to learn.
    ‘Have you any brothers and sisters, Eliza?’
    ‘Yes’m. Seven.’
    ‘Then Titus is a child just like diem, so don’t be afraid.’
    ‘It’s the old lady, ma’am,’ Eliza confessed in a rush. ‘I’m frit of her.’
    ‘That’s Grandmamma,’ Titus explained. ‘But she’s only playing games, isn’t she, Miss Mildmay? Eliza doesn’t need to be afraid.’
    Already they were allies, the thin little boy and the awkward country girl. Titus seemed to have grown up several years already. For him, at least, Mallow Hall was going to be good.
    Later when Lady Malvina came sweeping in to play her favourite game of grizzly bears it was Eliza who crouched in a corner, all eyes, while Titus shouted hysterically and allowed himself to be hugged to Lady Malvina’s vast bosom, and grumbled and growled at.
    ‘Look at that, Miss Mildmay! No tears tonight. He’s growing tough already. It’s the sea air. He’ll soon be strong and bold like his father used to be. What’s that girl goggling at?’
    ‘That’s Eliza, Grandmamma,’ Titus explained. ‘She’s frightened of you.’
    Lady Malvina gave her alarming stare. She must have put on more petticoats against the cold, for she looked enormous. Jewels flashed on her fingers. Her grey hair had been done in an alarming erection of curls that nodded beneath her cap.
    ‘They’re all frightened of me. Silly creatures. But you’ll have to put up with me, my girl, because I’ll be in and out of the nursery a great deal with my grandson. He has to get used to vigorous games. Well, Miss Mildmay, which room have they put you in? May I see it?’
    ‘By all means. It’s just next door.’
    Sarah took Lady Malvina into her room, and the old lady poked about inquisitively observing everything.
    ‘You haven’t got a lot of things, have you? But there’s good material in that gown. That didn’t cost sixpence. I thought governesses were poor.’
    ‘It was given to me, Lady Malvina.’
    ‘No! By your last employer? Well, I’m afraid you won’t be getting presents like that here. Not from the new Lady Mallow.’
    Lady Malvina gave a short laugh and went on, ‘What do you think of Mallow?’
    ‘It’s a beautiful house.’
    ‘Falling to bits. Everything needs repairs, the roof, the drains, the chimneys, the floors. After all, it’s a hundred years old, and even if they built well in those days, there’s still damp and woodworm. But my daughter-in-law intends to ignore the dull necessities and spend a fortune on furnishings. Carpets, curtains, pictures. All outward show. She’ll find the house falls down about her treasures.’
    ‘Does your son agree to this, Lady Malvina?’
    ‘Of course he doesn’t. He’s thinking quite rightly of Titus’s inheritance. There’s money, but not that much. His silly wife will ruin him.’ Lady Malvina fiddled with the rings on her fingers. ‘And she forgets about me. I have requirements also. It’s preposterous how little jewellery I have for a woman in my position. Amalie forgets, or chooses to forget, how I had to sacrifice most of it. Well, Miss Mildmay, you’ll be dining with us tonight and you’ll be treated to an edifying conversation on