came immediately over to Lily and caught hold of her hand. ‘I’ll show you,’ he said importantly.
‘We both will!’ Alex said.
‘Let’s all do it,’ Theo placated, tilting a smile down at Lily, and for the next twenty minutes she was given a guided tour.
A beautiful dining room was dominated by a huge mahogany table—obviously used for entertaining, Lily thought instinctively—and there was another smaller, television room with a conservatory attached. There was a study area and, best of all in Lily’s opinion, the kitchen, where Bea was putting the tea things away. The room seemed to disappear into the far distance, with cupboards and fitments and cooking facilities at one end, and at the other a long refectory table and benches, with two or three easy chairs alongside. One wall was taken up with shelves that held books and toys, haphazardly placed.
Lily took a deep breath. This wasn’t only the engine room of the house, she thought, it was comfortable and homely and where the family obviously liked spending time. It was where she would like to be, too, she decided. Quite apart from the gleaming Aga there was a double oven, and her professional eye had taken in all the details—a marble slab perfect for rolling pastry, huge wooden chopping boards, and what looked like acres of space to put things down. She wasn’t going to mind preparing the children’s teas here. It was a kitchen to die for.
Upstairs, she was shown Theo’s master bedroom, with private study attached. Each of the boys had a room, and there was a spare room as well.
‘Freya’s room is up on the next floor, where there’s another guest room,’ Theo said. ‘She prefers to be by herself, apparently.’ He paused. ‘It’s the untidy one, I’m afraid. The boys are far better at putting their things away.’
‘Thanks for that, Dad,’ a voice from behind said suddenly, and they all turned to look at the speaker. Freya had arrived, unnoticed, dressed in tennis whites, and she moved to push past them. She was tall and slight, her long hair hanging untidily around her shoulders.
‘Freya—this is Lily, who I’ve told you about,’ Theo said firmly, barring her way. The child stopped just long enough to say, off-handedly, ‘Hi—Lily,’ before running upstairs to her room.
She hadn’t attempted to make eye contact, Lily noticed, but had managed to be just polite enough for her father to do no more than raise his eyebrows helplessly as he glanced at Lily. Lily smiled up at him. Why should the girl show any interest in yet another carer who’d be gone in no time, to be replaced by some other stranger?
‘You missed Bea’s super tea, Freya,’ Theo called up.
‘I had tea at the club,’ the girl replied.
‘I thought you were going to come home for tea today?’
Freya’s face appeared over the banisters above them. ‘Well, everyone else was staying, so I thought I would as well,’ she said.
No more was said, but the dark expression on Theo’s face didn’t go unnoticed by Lily. Suddenly she remembered something, and, slipping her pretty holdall from her shoulder, she opened it, taking out a large paper bag.
‘Are you allowed chocolates and sweets?’ she asked the boys, and before she could go on Tom had come to her side to peer at what she was holding.
‘Yes—but I don’t like chocolate. I only like jellies,’ he said.
‘Well, what a good thing I brought some, then.’ Lily smiled, taking out a packet and handing it over.
‘I love chocolate!’ Alex said, and as Lily gave him a large bar his eyes lit up. ‘This is my favourite! How did you know that, Lily?’
‘Ah, that’s a secret,’ Lily said. ‘I know a fairy who tells me things sometimes.’ She suddenly felt a surge of pleasure run through her. She was being accepted—even if it was because of the sweets she’d brought with her.
They all went back downstairs then, and Alex said, ‘When are you coming to look after us, Lily? Is it soon?’
‘Lily will be here again on Monday morning,’ Theo said, answering for her. ‘But I’m sure she wants to go home now, because she’s probably going out somewhere with her friends tonight. We mustn’t keep her to ourselves.’
‘Oh, I’m not going anywhere,’ Lily said quickly—then wished she hadn’t. Didn’t every young, single woman go out on Saturday nights? She’d made herself sound pathetic!
‘Well, if you’re not going out, you can stay and help Daddy put us to bed,’ Alex announced hopefully. ‘Can she, Daddy?’
‘I’m sure Lily has better things to do…’ Theo said. ‘Even if she isn’t going out.’
‘Of course I’ll stay—if I can be of any use,’ Lily said simply.
The fact was, she already loved being here—enjoyed the atmosphere of this lovely home.
Theo shrugged. ‘You’ve won, then, Alex. Lily can do the honours.’ He turned to look down at her. ‘Thanks,’ he said briefly.
The next hour passed rapidly as Lily took control of a bathing session. There was a lot of splashing, and mucking about with toys, but Lily let them get on with it, not caring too much that she was getting soaked as well.
She spotted their toothbrushes on the shelf, and handed them down to the children. ‘Scrub until I’ve finished counting up to one hundred and twenty,’ she said firmly.
Finally, she decided that enough was enough. ‘Time’s up, boys,’ she said, taking one of the big white fluffy towels and holding it up. ‘Come on—you first, Tom-Tom.’ She lifted him out and held him to her, wrapping the towel around him snugly.
‘I can dry myself,’ Alex said, jumping out as well, and Lily thought what sturdy little bodies they had, and what lucky children they were—to be born into a family like this one—even if their mother had died. How could anyone go wrong, literally enveloped in all the luxury and love that was evident here?
They scampered out of the bathroom ahead of her, and once they’d put on their pyjamas were ready to be tucked in for the night. Going into Tom’s room, Alex said cheerfully, ‘Tom-Tom and me have been sleeping in here together since Mummy went.’ He jumped into one of the single beds, and pulled the duvet up around him. ‘Because it helps him to go to sleep,’ he added. ‘And we always have milk to drink before we go to sleep.’
Lily sat down on one of the low chairs beside the bed.
‘I have mine cold, and Tom-Tom has his warm,’ Alex went on helpfully.
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