‘Another ten minutes or so won’t make any difference, but first you must have some refreshment. It’s bitterly cold and you’ve obviously walked here.’ He turned to Dove. ‘We’ll have coffee in the dining room.’
‘Yes, Doctor.’ Dove hurried off.
‘Toby is just finishing his breakfast and there’s a fire in the dining room. I only use a couple of the downstairs rooms – the others are under covers all winter, although I’m afraid that does encourage damp.’ Nick eyed her, frowning. ‘Would you like to take off your cape, or would you prefer to keep it on?’
‘I’ll keep it on for the time being, if you don’t mind.’
‘Not at all. I’m wearing several layers myself. Come this way.’ Nick led her across the wainscoted hall, through a door at the far end and down a long corridor to the dining room, where Toby was seated at the table. He pushed his plate away and jumped to his feet.
‘Good Lord, Daisy. Are you checking up on me? I thought Aunt Eleanora was bad enough, but this takes the biscuit.’
‘Don’t be so touchy, Toby. I’ve already admitted that I was curious to see Creek Hall, and I’m not disappointed.’
‘You aren’t?’ Nick said. ‘It’s not exactly a grand house.’
‘It feels homely, unlike the Carringtons’ mansion in Queen Square. It was grand and expensively furnished but it wasn’t a home.’
‘If you equate homely with shabby, then you’ll love Creek Hall. I’ll show you round,’ Nick said cheerfully. ‘Although I’m afraid the rest of the house is even colder than it is in here.’ He turned to Toby, who was munching a slice of toast and marmalade. ‘Are you coming with us?’
Toby shook his head. ‘No, thank you. I’m not nosy like my sister. I’ll sit here and finish my breakfast in peace.’
Daisy chose to ignore her brother’s teasing and she followed Nick from the room. The floorboards creaked as they negotiated the narrow passageways, and there were patches where the plaster had crumbled away from the walls, leaving the laths exposed. But if there were whispers from the past in the old house, the memories were happy ones.
‘I’ll introduce you to my housekeeper, Mrs Boynton, or Mrs Bee as I call her,’ Nick said over his shoulder as they approached the kitchen at the back of the house. ‘Mrs Bee has been with the family ever since I can remember, and she’s a wonderful cook. I don’t know why she stays on but she looked after my father in his last days – she was devoted to him.’
Daisy gathered from his tone that Mrs Bee’s opinion mattered, and as they entered the kitchen she braced herself for the inevitable interrogation. But it was the size of the kitchen and the height of the beamed ceiling that took her by surprise. At the far end of the room there was a huge open fireplace as well as an ancient range. The heat from a blazing log fire contrasted sharply with the chill rising from the flagstone floor.
A thin elderly woman, dressed in black from head to foot apart from a spotless white apron, rose from a chair at the table where she had been writing something in a ledger. ‘Good morning, Master Nick.’
‘I’ve brought Miss Marshall to meet you, Mrs Bee. She’s Toby’s sister.’
Mrs Bee looked Daisy up and down and a slow smile softened the harsh lines on her face. ‘You’ll be the young lady who’s just moved into Creek Cottage.’
‘I’m staying with my aunt and uncle, although I might return to London. I haven’t quite decided.’
‘We need new blood in the village. I hope you’ll make your home in Little Creek, Miss Marshall.’
‘If anyone can persuade her I’m sure you can, Mrs Bee.’ Nick leaned over to brush the housekeeper’s thin cheek with a kiss. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’
‘You’re just like your late father: he could charm the birds from the trees if he so chose.’
‘He loved Creek Hall and so do I, but everything depends upon my visit to the solicitor today.’
‘It will be all right. There’s nobody going to take Creek Hall away from you. It’s been in the family for over two hundred years. You tell him that, Master Nick.’
‘I will, and if all else fails I’ll take you with me next time, Mrs Bee. We’ll leave you in peace, but I had to show Miss Marshall the beating heart of Creek Hall.’
‘Get away with you.’ Mrs Bee shook her head, but she was smiling as she sat down and picked up her pen. ‘Good day to you, Miss Marshall. I hope we’ll see more of you at Creek Hall.’
‘It was nice meeting you, Mrs Bee,’ Daisy said over her shoulder as she hurried after Nick, quickening her pace in an attempt to keep up with his long strides. ‘Do you really think you might lose Creek Hall?’
‘My father left considerable debts. He was a good doctor but a poor businessman, and he rarely charged any of his poorer patients. Unless I can find a way to pay all or even some of the money back to the creditors, it looks as though I’ll have to sell Creek Hall.’
‘That’s terrible. I can see how much it means to you.’
He came to a halt as they reached the entrance hall. ‘You don’t think I’m being overly sentimental?’
‘Heavens, no! Why would I think that? If I owned a property that had been in my family for so many years I’d do anything to hold on to it.’
A smile lit Nick’s hazel eyes. ‘I believe you would.’ He glanced at the grandfather clock as it chimed the hour. ‘I didn’t realise it was so late. I’m sorry but we’ll have to finish the tour another day. I have to leave for Maldon right away.’
‘I understand. Of course you must go, so don’t worry about me. I’ll go home with Toby.’
‘Explain to him for me, please.’
‘I will.’ She stood aside as he made a grab for his hat and riding crop. ‘Good luck.’
He smiled. ‘Thanks. I’ll need it. Tell Toby I’ll call round this evening and let him know how I got on.’
Daisy nodded but he was already out of the door and she found herself alone in the hallway surrounded by echoes of the past. She could imagine the Neville ancestors pleading softly for someone to save their old home. If this house belonged to her family she would fight to the last to keep it.
‘The coffee is getting cold,’ Toby said crossly when she returned to the dining room. ‘What kept you so long?’
‘I met the redoubtable Mrs Bee.’ Daisy picked up the coffee pot and filled a cup, adding a dash of cream. She sat down beside her brother. ‘Nick had to leave, but he said he’d call round this evening and let you know how his meeting with the solicitor went. I do feel sorry for him.’
Toby shrugged and took another bite of toast. ‘He could sell this old pile of bricks and move on. That’s what I’d do if I were in his position.’
‘But this is the family home, Toby. One of Nick’s ancestors built it.’
‘It’s old and it’s crumbling. Besides which, who in their right mind would want to live in the wilds of Essex? It would be impossible to make a decent living round here.’
‘But the people need a doctor. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’
‘Then they should move to the nearest town. I intend to do my stint at the London, and then I’m heading for Harley Street where I can make a fortune and retire early so that I can enjoy the fruits of my labours.’
She shook her head. ‘You have no soul, Toby Marshall.’
‘And you are all heart, Daisy.’