Rejection Runs Deep (The Canleigh Series, book 1: A chilling psychological family drama), Carole Williams [ebook reader 8 inch .TXT] 📗

the man and was quite relieved when he decided to return to France a few months later, making no bones about the fact that he was bored rigid, having expected the Duchess to entertain far more than she did.

Betty Hardy had been Ruth’s saviour, recommending Prudence, who lived in Canleigh village.  She had been cook to an Earl and Countess for many years and left to nurse her elderly mother who had recently died.  Prudence wanted to return to cooking and welcomed the prospect of catering for the recently bereaved Duchess and her young son, the new Duke.  Her meals were perfect.  Nothing was too much trouble and Stephen was always begging to be allowed to visit the kitchen, much to Tina’s annoyance as invariably he would indulge in something sticky and his hands and face would have to be cleaned.

Ruth couldn’t imagine life without Tina.  Hiring her had been the best decision Ruth ever made.  She was marvellous with Stephen.  He, and all his little pals who came to play occasionally, absolutely adored her sweet, kind nature, although she could be firm enough when needed and would stand no nonsense from any of them if they played up.  That Tina loved her work was apparent and Ruth knew whatever happened, she would walk over coals to make sure Stephen was safe and happy.  Ruth often thought about what Tina would want to do when Stephen was old enough to go to school and didn’t require a nanny any longer.  Ruth didn’t want to lose her and wondered if she could make use of her talents in other ways.  She would have to think about it seriously, as time was ticking on and it wouldn’t be that long before Stephen commenced his school days.  Although he wouldn’t be going to boarding school at any time in the future.  Ruth was determined on that.  She would find a suitable school where he could be a day pupil.

So, Canleigh ticked on.  Prudence was in charge of the kitchen, the Hardy’s in charge of the house and Susan Armitage looked after the correspondence, and Ruth couldn’t imagine Canleigh without any of them.  Anderson, once his hands had healed from the fire Delia caused, had decided to move down to London to work.  As Ruth was fully aware the Hardy’s were not getting any younger, although they assured her that now there was only herself and the young Duke to look after, they wouldn’t be thinking of retiring anytime soon, she insisted they have some help.  An advertisement was placed in The Lady magazine for an under-butler and an assistant housekeeper, and interviews would take place in a couple of weeks.

With the house well catered for as regards to staff, that left the estate to worry about.  Louis, the Frenchman whom Charles had appointed when Dick Joyce retired, was giving Ruth cause for concern and the problem was becoming larger and more worrying as time went on.

Louis had fitted in well while Charles was alive and Ruth had often come across the two of them chattering non-stop in French as Charles appreciated the opportunity of keeping his language skills alive but since Ruth was left to run the estate on her own, she had found Louis to be too laid back for her liking.  Sometimes he was impossible to find for hours on end and when she did, as her French was diabolical and Louis’s English nearly as bad, communication was generally difficult and it was virtually impossible to receive a satisfactory answer to her questions.

The suspicion that all was not as it should be begun to take root.  So far, Ruth had kept her thoughts on the subject to herself but knew it was something that couldn’t be overlooked for long, especially as Louis also gave her the creeps.  He was a middle-aged man of medium height with brown hair, a long, sharp nose and a square face.  His hazel eyes seemed to find it difficult to focus on hers when they spoke and he appeared shifty and ill at ease.  She was also positive from the expressions on his face when he did speak to her that he was poking fun at her, or even being sarcastic and it made her feel most uncomfortable.  Yes.  She was going to have to do something about him.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask Philip for advice but she knew what he would say.  Get rid of him … and she should … but then she had to find somebody else.

As the Volvo turned into Canleigh, the parkland looked simply splendid in glorious summer colours.  The trees were all out, their branches full of beautiful green leaves fluttering in the breeze, the rhododendrons were over for now but their dark green leaves were shiny and glossy in the summer sunshine.  The vast lawns had recently been mown and the smell was heaven as it wafted through the open car windows but all this paled into insignificance as the Hall came into view.  Ruth’s heart stood still and her hands turned to ice at the sight of the red Ferrari parked ominously on the gravel.

“You’ve got a visitor,” remarked Philip, smiling down at Ruth, thinking how pretty she looked now her hair had been cut very short, almost in a crew cut.  The style flattered her slim face and made her look younger.

“I don’t know if I can deal with this,” Ruth muttered, not wanting Stephen to overhear.  He was trying to unfasten his child seat strap as the car drew to a halt, excited at the thought of a visitor and in a tearing hurry to get out of the car.

“Why?  You don’t know who it is,” laughed Phillip, wondering why she was so agitated.

“The number plate,” she whispered.  Her hands were trembling.  One second, she was freezing.  The next she was hot.  She felt sick.  She wanted to tell Philip