A Loving Family Read Online Free

she closed her ears to Cook’s angry tirade. Poor Annie was an orphan taken from the foundling hospital and expected to be grateful for living a life of drudgery and servitude with little hope of bettering herself. Stella knew only too well the pain of losing a much-loved parent. She could still remember the day when the news came that her father’s ship had gone down with all hands off the Cape of Good Hope. Ma had cried for weeks, refusing to be comforted, and the life had gone out of Granny even before she succumbed to a fatal chill a few months later.
    Stella reached out to give Annie’s hand an encouraging squeeze, but withdrew it hastily when Cook fixed her with a hard stare.
    â€˜Have you got something to say, Stella Barry?’
    Stella shook her head and averted her gaze. It was best not to look Mrs Hawthorne in the eye. Annie said she could turn you to stone if she got into a real rage and judging by the expression on Cook’s face this was imminent. ‘I should hope not.’ Mrs Hawthorne flipped the cakes out of their tins onto a cooling tray. ‘That’s done. Make yourselves useful and scour these pans until I can see my face in them, and make sure you dry them properly or they’ll be eaten away with rust.’
    Annie leapt forward and scooped the hot tins into her apron. ‘Yes, Cook.’
    â€˜That’s not the way to do it, you stupid girl,’ Mrs Hawthorne said, scowling. ‘I don’t want to see you in a soiled apron. You’ll miss supper and spend the evening in the laundry if you make it dirty. Lord have mercy on me. I’m surrounded by idiots. Where are Tess and Edna? Why do the kitchen maids disappear the moment they’re needed?’
    Annie was silent and Stella felt bound to answer. ‘You sent them to the meat larder to pluck the geese for dinner tonight, Cook.’
    â€˜That’s enough cheek from you, miss.’ Cook snatched up a wooden spoon and pointed it at Stella. ‘Speak when you’re spoken to. Now get on with those pans and don’t let me see you again until they’re shining like new.’ She broke off as the kitchen door opened and Lady Langhorne wafted into the kitchen, seeming to glide across the floor like a beautiful swan on a moonlit lake.
    Stella bobbed a curtsey, keeping her eyes downcast as she had been taught on her first day in service. She remembered the lesson well, repeating it in her head like a mantra. The scent of lilies and jasmine clung to her ladyship’s person in a fragrant cloud and her silk gown rustled as she moved. ‘I’m glad to see that you’ve made the cakes, Cook. They look quite delicious and I’m sure the girls’ mothers will be delighted to receive them.’
    â€˜Thank you, my lady.’ Cook acknowledged the compliment with a jerky movement which might have been a clumsy attempt at a curtsey, or else one of her feet had gone to sleep and she was suffering from pins and needles. Stella gave her a sideways glance and then looked away quickly. She did not want to be turned to stone before she had had a chance to visit her mother, whom she had not seen for nearly a year, although it seemed much longer. She had sent her wages home each quarter, keeping only a small amount to pay for a new pair of boots when her old ones were outgrown and down at heel. Mrs Dunkley, the housekeeper, had taken her to Brentwood to purchase a new pair, but as these had proved costly Stella had opted for a good second-hand pair from a dolly shop. Mrs Dunkley had tut-tutted and frowned, but there had been no alternative and the fact that the boots were a size too large was a point in their favour as they would take longer to outgrow. Stella jumped as Annie poked her in the ribs.
    â€˜The mistress asked you a question, you ninny.’
    Stella raised her head slowly. ‘I’m sorry, my lady.’
    Lady Langhorne bent down so that her face was close to Stella’s