Читать книгу Her Dark and Dangerous Lord - Anne Herries, Anne Herries - Страница 9

Anne found it easy enough to find work once she began to look. Opening the linen chests, which were stored in one of the upstairs rooms, she discovered that much of it was in need of some care. Most was in good condition, but sheets and cloths had lain unused for years and had turned yellow. Gathering an armful, she took it downstairs and asked a startled Sulina where the washhouse was to be found.

‘Such work is not for you, lady,’ Sulina told her. ‘The village women wash the linen, but where did you find so much?’

‘These have lain unused for years,’ Anne said. ‘Linen should be used in rotation so that the wear is even, and the chests should be checked every year so that anything that needs it can be washed and aired.’

‘But they will not be used,’ Sulina said. ‘These are the best linens and they are kept only for the guest rooms. The servants have their own and I do not use them, nor does Hassan or Lord de Montfort.’

‘But how do they sleep?’

‘I have a mattress on the floor and use only a blanket,’ Sulina said. ‘It is what I have been used to all my life. I could not sleep in a bed as you do. Hassan and my master have their couches. I do not think they use sheets or blankets—perhaps a cloak if the night is cold. It is the way they have become accustomed to sleeping.’

‘Well, this linen should be washed or it will soon become unfit for use,’ Anne said. ‘Perhaps if the bed were made up in Lord de Montfort’s room he would use it. He is a gentleman and must have slept that way once.’

‘The washhouse is this way,’ Sulina said. ‘But I do not think my master intended that you should do such work.’

‘You can help me,’ Anne replied. ‘Together we shall make light work of it. However, it will be best to leave the linen to soak for a few hours, because the yellow stains will not come out if we simply wash them.’

‘Give them to me,’ Sulina said with a sulky look. ‘I shall put them to soak in the tubs. It is a lot of work for nothing, for as I told you they will not be used.’

‘We shall see,’ Anne said. ‘If Lord de Montfort has guests, they may be needed.’

‘He never has guests, except you,’ Sulina said. ‘Give me the cloth you have in your hand if you want them all put to soak.’

‘This is torn. I shall use it for lavender bags. When the sheets are stored once more, the lavender will keep them fresh and sweet. I have found a sewing box; if you insist on taking the linen yourself, I may as well begin at once.’

Sulina went off with the linen, still muttering to herself. Anne smiled as she took the torn cloth into a small parlour she had discovered at the back of the house. The windows here were larger and the view was of the garden where she had picked lavender and roses. She had used some of her harvest for bowls of potpourri, and the scent was already drifting through the house. She sat down on a wooden bench with a high, smooth back and took the sewing box she had found stored in the linen room. She was smiling, humming to herself as she began her work.

Stefan saw the Arab girl as she was hanging some linen out to dry on bushes in the kitchen gardens. It was an unusual sight for most of the washing was sent to women in the village, and he had not seen quite so much since they first came here.