“May I show you to your room?” Jasper asked.
“Yes, and then we’ll have tea,” Josephine said to me. “Lizzie’s made sandwiches and cakes for us.”
I nodded but didn’t trust myself to speak further. Jasper took hold of my suitcase and headed toward a stairwell made of dark wood. I followed him up the stairs and down a hallway to a bedroom with two sets of bunk beds. “You’ll be here with the twins. The bathroom is just through that door.” I spotted a white claw-foot tub and floor made of white tiles. “Will you mind sharing the room?”
“Not at all.”
“Would you like me to put away your things?” He gestured toward my suitcase.
“No, I prefer to take care of it myself. But thank you.” I didn’t want anyone to see my meager belongings.
“As Miss Josephine indicated, the Barnes family has tea every day around four. Whoever is around takes part. This household is loud, Mr. Baker, and can be overwhelming, so please take respite here in your room if need be. No one will hold it against you. I hope you’ll let me know if you need anything at all. If you require a trip into town, I’ll have someone take you there in the sleigh. After the first snowfall, we put the motorcars away and use the horses. Safer that way. You’ve met Harley. His wife’s called Merry and she assists me in the running of the household. My wife’s called Lizzie and she mostly rules the kitchen, along with Mrs. Wu. We all have children now, and they’re in and out of the downstairs, but please let me know if they bother you at all.”
“I grew up in an orphanage. It’ll be like home.”
Jasper’s formal expression twitched into a smile. “I often joke with Lord Barnes that we’re like an orphanage. All told, including the grown Barnes children, we have a dozen young ones here. Although I don’t suppose I can consider the twins or Josephine children any longer. But when you’ve been with a family as long as I, it’s hard to think of them as anything but children.
“May I ask about attire for tea and dinner?”
“You’re expected to dress for dinner but for tea, what you have on will do nicely.” Jasper cleared his throat. “One thing I’d like to say—we’re all grateful for what you chaps did over there. I say that as an Englishman and American. It’s an honor to have you here.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
Jasper frowned. “It’s a frightfully long train ride from back east. If you’d like a bath before tea, take all the time you need. The Barnes family are not sticklers for formalities. They tend to meander in and out on their own timetables, so you may do the same without offense.”
“Much obliged.” I’d done nothing but say thank you since I’d arrived. “Also, would you mind giving this to Josephine for me?” I opened up my bag and pulled out the box of her letters to Walter. I’d kept her photograph in the pocket of my suit. I’d have to give that to her later. I wasn’t quite ready to part with the image that had anchored me to hope for so many months.
“Consider it done. Again, welcome to Emerson Pass.” Jasper walked away, the tapping of his heels as precise as his speech.
I went first to look at the bathroom. Electricity and running water? Luxury living. I didn’t belong here. I had no chance with a woman like Josephine. For the hundredth time that day, I questioned my sanity. What had made me think this was a good idea to come here?
Believe in yourself. No one else does. Men like us have to be scrappy to get what we want.
That had been advice from Walter.
A twinge of guilt rattled me further. Sure, Walter had been deceitful and conniving, but he’d been my friend. He’d seen us as the same. The type of men who weren’t invited to the club and had to worm our way in by nefarious means. However, I wasn’t that way. Despite my circumstances, or perhaps because of them, I held integrity and honesty above all else. Without them, who was I? A poor man who was also a liar? I had to claim something to be proud of. My character was all I had.
I tried to put my trepidations aside to enjoy a bath with the hot water and nice-smelling soap. Afterward, I shaved at the mirror. I didn’t look too bad considering the long train ride. My dark hair looked nice after a good wash. Dark smudges under my eyes had been there since I joined the army, so there was nothing to do about them. Nightmares plagued me and disturbed my sleep. Perhaps here in the quiet, I would sleep better.
Although I’d seen the same dark circles on Theo. Maybe the quiet didn’t help.
When I was done, I put on a fresh shirt and my light gray suit. At a few minutes to four, I headed back downstairs.
I can do this, I told myself as I walked into the sitting room. Dark paneling and brightly colored furniture gave the room a cheery feel, as did a roaring fire and the scent of cinnamon.
A tall, rather intimidating man stood by the fire. Sitting on the couch, a petite blonde woman had a book open on her lap. Two little girls played with dolls under a large desk.
“Hello there, you must be Phillip. I’m Lord Barnes, Josephine’s father.” He bounded across the room and pumped my hand, then slapped me on the shoulder. “We’re awfully glad you came.” His British accent made him seem even more posh to me.
The pretty woman on the couch had risen by this point and came forward, introducing herself as Quinn Barnes, Josephine’s mother. “Please call me Quinn. We’re not formal here.” She giggled. “Other than Jasper, that is.”
She didn’t look much older than Josephine. I knew from the letters that Quinn Barnes was her stepmother and quite a few years younger than Lord Barnes. However, I hadn’t been prepared for radiant beauty. The kind that came from the inside. “Thank you, Quinn.”
“Come sit,” Quinn said. “Are you famished? We have all this.” She gestured toward an impressive spread on the coffee table. “Sandwiches and little cakes. Lizzie was excited to welcome a new guest and made way too much.”
I sat in one of the chairs, eyeing the food as my stomach growled. Quinn handed me a small plate. She had this way about her that made me instantly at ease. “Help yourself to whatever you want. I can remember the first time I came here, having traveled such a long distance, all I could think of was food. I was practically starved back then.”
“She rationed out her food to one meal a day,” Lord Barnes said. “I’ve been fattening her up ever since.”
“Darling, you’re making me sound as if I’m a cow you’re preparing for market,” Quinn said, laughing.
“The attempt to fatten you clearly hasn’t worked,” I said. “You’re positively beautiful.” Why had I just said that? What an idiot I was.
“Why, thank you, Phillip. What a nice thing to say.”
“I agree,” Lord Barnes said as he knelt to kiss his wife’s cheek. He straightened to his full height. “The ladies are having tea, but I was thinking of a whiskey. Care to join me?”
“No, sir. I don’t drink whiskey.” This wasn’t entirely true, but I wanted to make a good impression.
“I’ll pour you a cup of tea,” Quinn said. “In this house, we have a lot of tea. I’m outnumbered with all the British folks.”
“A hot cup of tea is most welcome.” I filled a plate high with six small sandwiches cut into neat squares. From what I could tell, they were ham and cheese.