smiled and shook his head. ‘You have more faith in mankind than I have, Daisy. Let’s enjoy our meal and then I’ll show you the rest of the house. It looks slightly less shabby by lamplight.’
Dove brought the dessert, and after a generous helping of jam roly-poly smothered in creamy custard, Daisy was ready for the promised tour of the house. But Mrs Bee hurried into the morning parlour with the news that it was snowing again, and the road might soon become impassable.
‘You’d better take the young lady home, Doctor,’ Mrs Bee said in a tone that did not invite discussion.
‘You’re right, of course.’ Nick rose from the table. ‘I’ll fetch the trap and bring it round to the front door. You will see the rest of the house one day, Daisy. I promise.’
Mrs Bee followed him from the room, returning moments later with an umbrella and a travelling rug, which she handed to Daisy. ‘You’ll need these, miss.’
‘Thank you, Mrs Bee. And thank you for a wonderful meal.’
‘You’re welcome, miss. It’s good to see the doctor so cheerful. I’ve known him since he was a little boy and he took his pa’s death very much to heart.’
‘You’ll miss him if he decides to go away again.’
‘If that happens it will be the end of Creek Hall. He’d almost certainly have to sell it and who knows what would happen then? I wouldn’t want it to get into the hands of Squire Tattersall.’
‘You’re the second person who’s led me to think that the squire isn’t a good man.’
‘I can only repeat what I’ve heard, but apparently he’s ruthless in business and shows no mercy as a magistrate. His poor wife died young, and they say that he drove her to an early death, but I wouldn’t know about that. All I do know is that he’s a bad landlord and his tenants live in fear of him.’
‘Well, I don’t think I want to meet the squire. I’ll take care to avoid him.’
‘Very wise, miss.’ Mrs Bee walked over to the window and peered out into the darkness. ‘I thought I heard the rumble of wheels. The doctor is waiting for you. Best hurry, miss. The snow seems to be falling faster.’
Nick was waiting to help her on to the driver’s seat and he wrapped the rug round her knees. ‘I’m sorry we’ve had to cut the evening short, but we’ll do this again when the weather improves.’
Daisy unfurled the umbrella and held it over him while he climbed up to sit beside her. ‘I look forward to it. I think I’m falling under Creek Hall’s spell even now.’
‘Walk on.’ He tapped the horse gently with the tip of the whip. ‘The old house does that to people. I can remember visitors coming when I was a child, and some of them stayed on for days, if not weeks. There were people around all the time and the place was alive. Now it feels as though it’s sleeping, but I don’t want it to slip away from me.’
‘You talk about the hall as if it were a living entity.’
‘Do I? I didn’t realise I was so fanciful. I suppose everyone feels like that about their childhood home, especially when it was a happy one. What about you, Daisy? What made you leave London and come to live in the wilds of Essex?’
‘A broken engagement.’ She had not meant to tell anyone outside the family, but Nick was different and he invited confidences.
‘I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?’
‘Not really. Julian is the elder son of the Carrington family and I was employed as governess to his younger brother. I don’t know how it happened, but Julian and I fell in love. He asked me to marry him, but he wanted to keep our engagement a secret until his twenty-first birthday.’
‘His parents might have objected?’
‘Yes, they would, although it didn’t come to that. Julian wrote to me from Oxford, telling me that he’d been offered a job in the diplomatic service in Paris, and was leaving immediately.’
‘I don’t see why that would matter. In fact, it would seem ideal for a young married couple to set up home far away from the disapproving family.’
‘Perhaps, but Julian obviously didn’t see it like that. Maybe he had second thoughts. I don’t know.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Daisy.’
‘I’m all right.’ Daisy shot him a sideways glance and smiled. ‘In fact, I’d forgotten about Julian for a while. I’ve had more important things to think about.’
‘Meaning the Fox family?’
‘I really would like to do something for them, Nick. But I wouldn’t know where to start.’
‘You are helping by giving Linnet a job, and you could call on Jack each day to see how he’s getting on. His mother and father are obviously too sick to look after him properly.’
Daisy stared ahead into the swirling snow. ‘I wonder if they would allow me to take him to Creek Cottage. He’s not ill, he just needs someone to make sure he gets proper food and rest until his arm heals. I could help him with his lessons, if the schoolmaster would allow such a thing.’
‘I think that’s an excellent idea. You’d have Linnet to help you, and I could put a word in with Lemuel, if you wish. Again, I’ve known him since I was a boy, and he trusts me.’
‘I’ll have to ask my aunt and uncle, but I’m sure they’d agree. There’s plenty of room in the cottage, and it would give me something to do. I’m not the sort of person who enjoys being idle.’ Daisy huddled beneath the travelling rug, holding the umbrella so that it shielded Nick as well as herself from the driving snow. They lapsed into silence as the horse plodded along the now familiar road with the wood on one side and the creek on the other. The water gleamed silkily in the cold light reflected off the snow, and the trees in the wood stood out dark and mysterious against a silvery background. The cold was intense and soon Daisy had lost all the feeling in her toes and fingertips.
It was a relief when the lights from Creek Cottage beamed at them like a welcoming smile. Nick climbed down to help her to the ground and they stood for a moment, so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her cheek.
‘Thank you for supper and for bringing me home.’ Daisy moved away as the front door opened and they were caught in a beam of light from the lantern Eleanora held in her hand.
‘Is that you, Daisy? I was beginning to worry.’
‘I brought her home safe, Mrs Marshall,’ Nick said cheerfully. ‘You must excuse me if I don’t linger, but I want to get back before the snow gets any deeper.’
‘I wish we’d never come to this godforsaken place.’ Eleanora reached out to grab Daisy by the hand. ‘Good night, Doctor.’
‘It isn’t always like this, Mrs Marshall.’ Nick tipped his hat, sending a shower of soft snow into the air. ‘Spring can’t be far off and it’s really beautiful here in the summer.’
‘I doubt if we’ll be here much longer if this dreadful snow persists.’ Eleanora
