I'm back! This chapter is short, but better late than never, I always say. Plans are developing for future updates, and I can promise that another update won't be too far in the future. Enjoy!
The ladies soon joined the men outside, sitting in the garden.
"Do you have any other houses?" Mary asked Elsie, sitting next to Charles and Tom.
"Yes, we do. There is a small castle in Northern Scotland, that's where we plan to spend the holidays this year. We also have a house in London, just down the street from you, in St. James Square. We will be down for the season this year. We also have a villa in the South of France, which we hope to get to next year."
"You have a place every where it seems," Robert said, a large smile on his face. Charles nodded, eyes wide.
"Yes, we do," He said, "And not nearly enough time to get to each place."
"What do you need to do here? Is there anything we can do to help?" Isobel asked, leaning forward in her chair, eager to help.
"I need to meet with the housekeeper and sort through the linen and storage. I have to meet with the cook and discuss meals. Tom and I have to meet with the estate agent while Charles' meets with our butler, Mr. Archer, teaching him. He's very young, and very willing to learn."
"Why do you keep him on if he doesn't know anything?" Violet asked, a confused look on her face.
"Because he shows motivation to do well and he picks up things easily. He was just hired and we didn't want to put him out of a job," Charles said.
"Tom and I meet with our tenant farmers every week and we're still getting to know the village. There is a lot happening. All the committees have invited us to join them so there is that as well."
"I'm surprised you had time to let us stay," Cora said, looking guilty. Elsie smiled at her, taking her hand.
"Of course we had time. You will always be welcome here and it was high time you came," She told her, helping Cora to feel less guilty. She turned to Mary. "We have horses, if you and Charles would like to go riding this week. There are plenty of trails and lots of ground to explore."
"That would be lovely, thank you," Mary said, smiling lightly. Elsie nodded, turning back to the group.
"We'll be hosting a dinner, later this week, with some of the nearby lords and ladies. Several of them have been writing, wondering when we would meet and I thought since you would all be here, we could do it this week."
"What a wonderful idea. Of course, we'd be delighted to help with the dinner in anyway possible. Just let us know what we can do," Cora said, reaching over to take Elsie's hand, smiling. Elsie smiled back, looking happily around at the group.
All was well, for the time being.