come back an’ prepare fer them.’
‘Oh!’ Martha could not stop the note of disappointment that crept into her voice. She had at least expected a small celebration with the Tolleys to mark the day. Hal Tolley was to accompany them to the church to act as best man to Bertie, but it appeared that it was not going to happen. Some wedding day this was turning out to be, she thought to herself.
‘Why don’t you go an’ get ready an’ all,’ Granny now suggested, taking the flowers from Martha’s hands. ‘I can finish up in here an’ I’m sure Grace will be grateful of a hand wi’ her hair.’
Feeling somewhat deflated, Martha slipped out into the courtyard and headed for the stable block. She would check that everything was right in the rooms above it for Grace to return to as a bride before going to help her sister get dressed.
Bertie was there already, washed and dressed in his Sunday best suit when Martha tapped on the door and entered. He looked very nervous and very handsome as Martha grinned at him.
‘By, you look posh,’ she laughed. ‘Happen our Grace will fall in love with yer all over again when she sees yer lookin’ like that.’
Bertie’s hand rose self-consciously to pat his hair, which at the moment was flattened to his head with Maccassar oil.
Martha then took a quick look around the rooms and sighed with satisfaction. They had all been working tirelessly to transfer the old furniture from the attics that the Master had told them they might have, and now the small rooms looked quite homely. There was a table with two sturdy wooden chairs at either side of it in the living area and an ancient couch that Granny had re-upholstered for them from a length of cloth they had found in one of the numerous trunks in the attic. Granny had also made them some pretty curtains to hang at the window. One corner of the room was partitioned off by a faded velvet curtain, another reject from the attic, and behind it was a sink and a small stove that would serve as their kitchen quarters. Bertie had hung a shelf there too which was full of mismatched plates and mugs, but Martha saw that everything was sparkling.
The last room to check was the bedroom. She knew how untidy Bertie could be and wanted everything to be just right for when he brought Grace back there as his wife. But she need not have worried. A quick glance assured her that Bertie had put everything away in the old wardrobe and the chest of drawers that stood to one side of the large brass bed. The same pretty flowered cotton curtains that hung in the living room graced the bedroom window, and Granny’s wedding present to the young couple, a beautifully sewn patchwork quilt made from scraps of material all the colours of the rainbow, was spread across the bed. It felt strange to think that Grace would be sleeping here with Bertie from now on rather than in the servants’ quarters with her, but Martha hoped that the couple would be happy. And once they had put Grace’s bed into the storage room, she would have much more space, which would be nice.
‘Well, everything seems to be in order here so I’ll go and give Grace a hand in getting ready now,’ she told Bertie brightly.
He nodded as he tugged at his tie and Martha giggled. ‘At least try and look happy,’ she teased. ‘You look more like a chap that’s about to go to the gallows than one that’s about to be wed.’
‘I’m happy enough. But now be gone wi’ yer an’ help Grace, eh? We’ve less than an hour to get to church an’ I can’t see the parson bein’ none too happy if we keep him waitin’.’
Lifting her skirts, Martha carefully descended the stairs before skipping across the cobblestones and back into the kitchen. There was no sign of Granny, and Martha guessed that she had probably gone to get ready too.
On entering Grace’s room she became still as she saw her sister lifting the blue satin gown over her head. It seemed to accentuate the colour of her eyes
‘Oh!’ Martha could not stop the note of disappointment that crept into her voice. She had at least expected a small celebration with the Tolleys to mark the day. Hal Tolley was to accompany them to the church to act as best man to Bertie, but it appeared that it was not going to happen. Some wedding day this was turning out to be, she thought to herself.
‘Why don’t you go an’ get ready an’ all,’ Granny now suggested, taking the flowers from Martha’s hands. ‘I can finish up in here an’ I’m sure Grace will be grateful of a hand wi’ her hair.’
Feeling somewhat deflated, Martha slipped out into the courtyard and headed for the stable block. She would check that everything was right in the rooms above it for Grace to return to as a bride before going to help her sister get dressed.
Bertie was there already, washed and dressed in his Sunday best suit when Martha tapped on the door and entered. He looked very nervous and very handsome as Martha grinned at him.
‘By, you look posh,’ she laughed. ‘Happen our Grace will fall in love with yer all over again when she sees yer lookin’ like that.’
Bertie’s hand rose self-consciously to pat his hair, which at the moment was flattened to his head with Maccassar oil.
Martha then took a quick look around the rooms and sighed with satisfaction. They had all been working tirelessly to transfer the old furniture from the attics that the Master had told them they might have, and now the small rooms looked quite homely. There was a table with two sturdy wooden chairs at either side of it in the living area and an ancient couch that Granny had re-upholstered for them from a length of cloth they had found in one of the numerous trunks in the attic. Granny had also made them some pretty curtains to hang at the window. One corner of the room was partitioned off by a faded velvet curtain, another reject from the attic, and behind it was a sink and a small stove that would serve as their kitchen quarters. Bertie had hung a shelf there too which was full of mismatched plates and mugs, but Martha saw that everything was sparkling.
The last room to check was the bedroom. She knew how untidy Bertie could be and wanted everything to be just right for when he brought Grace back there as his wife. But she need not have worried. A quick glance assured her that Bertie had put everything away in the old wardrobe and the chest of drawers that stood to one side of the large brass bed. The same pretty flowered cotton curtains that hung in the living room graced the bedroom window, and Granny’s wedding present to the young couple, a beautifully sewn patchwork quilt made from scraps of material all the colours of the rainbow, was spread across the bed. It felt strange to think that Grace would be sleeping here with Bertie from now on rather than in the servants’ quarters with her, but Martha hoped that the couple would be happy. And once they had put Grace’s bed into the storage room, she would have much more space, which would be nice.
‘Well, everything seems to be in order here so I’ll go and give Grace a hand in getting ready now,’ she told Bertie brightly.
He nodded as he tugged at his tie and Martha giggled. ‘At least try and look happy,’ she teased. ‘You look more like a chap that’s about to go to the gallows than one that’s about to be wed.’
‘I’m happy enough. But now be gone wi’ yer an’ help Grace, eh? We’ve less than an hour to get to church an’ I can’t see the parson bein’ none too happy if we keep him waitin’.’
Lifting her skirts, Martha carefully descended the stairs before skipping across the cobblestones and back into the kitchen. There was no sign of Granny, and Martha guessed that she had probably gone to get ready too.
On entering Grace’s room she became still as she saw her sister lifting the blue satin gown over her head. It seemed to accentuate the colour of her eyes
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