Beauty or Brains Read online

  “It be very sad, very sad for his Lordship and sad too for us.”

  “What is sad?” Iona asked curiously.

  “Well, if you don’t know and you stays here long enough, everyone’ll soon tell you. It be a tragedy and no mistake. It seems to me there be no way of preventin’ us all from sufferin’ as his Lordship be sufferin’.”

  “Who is his Lordship?” Iona asked, feeling perhaps that she might have heard of him.

  “He be the Earl of Woodbridge. And, although he loses his temper, he has every reason to do so.”

  He spoke in a way that made Iona very curious and then she said,

  “Do tell me why. It all seems very strange to me.”

  “It seems very strange to us too and we has to put up with it.”

  “Put up with what?” Iona questioned impatiently.

  She was now even more intrigued and it seemed odd that the shopkeeper should speak in this way.

  The fury of the woman who had given in her notice was different from anything she had ever seen before.

  “Well, his Lordship’s uncle was strange enough in his ways,” the shopkeeper said, “and I suppose it upset him a great deal when he inherited the title to find the money he should have had was hidden and could not be found.”

  Iona was now completely fascinated.

  “What do you mean it was hidden and could not be found?” she asked.

  “What I said, miss. The old gentleman was very old, nearly ninety when he died and he were a miser. He never spent a penny if he could help it.”

  The shopkeeper shook his head.

  “His fortune, that I hears was quite a big one, was hidden by him so that no one could steal it. I can assure you it was somethin’ none of us in the village would have done anyway, even though he were such a miser.”

  Iona was finding this compelling. It was the sort of mystery she always enjoyed.

  Sitting down in a chair by the counter, she begged,

  “Please tell me more. It sounds like a Fairytale and I can hardly believe it’s true.”

  “It be true enough to us, miss, because we suffered from him. We all thought it’d be different when the young Lord took his place.”

  “Surely he is not a miser too?” Iona asked.

  “No, because he has nothin’ to hide. When he goes to look at what his uncle had left him, he finds it had all been hidden somewhere in the house or in the grounds or even in the lake and no one has set eyes on a penny of it.”

  Iona stared at him.

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “If he had money, even though he was afraid it might be stolen, why should he hide it anywhere but in a bank or a safe?”

  “That be just what we has asked ourselves, miss. We thinks, as his Lordship did when he arrived, that all he had to do was to look around the house, put the key in the lock and Hey Presto there it’d be.”

  The way the shopkeeper spoke made Iona laugh.

  “But it was not there?” she quizzed.

  “Not a sign of it. It were then he began to lose his temper. He cross-examined everyone in the village who be old enough to talk. ‘Someone must have some idea where the money is,’ he said, not once but ten thousand times.”

  “I don’t believe it. It’s the most fantastic story I have ever heard. Do you really mean that the old Lord has hidden the fortune?”

  “A very big fortune from what I hears of it, miss. Thousands and thousands of pounds, he just kept a bit of it to feed himself and to pay the wages of them who served him. Very mean he were too, givin’ them hardly enough to keep body and soul together.”

  “So he was a real miser,” Iona said. “I call that fascinating. I have never met one and have often wondered why they become misers in the first place.”

  “If you ask me it’s because they hate others to such an extent they wants it all for themselves. I can remember his old Lordship scowlin’ at me when I takes him a bill. He’d scrutinise it as if he expected I’d deceived him and then grumbled as he always thought it were too much.”

  “What makes you think he had a fortune to hide?”

  “Well, for one thing it was in the newspapers when his father died that the Earls of Woodbridge were rich and his Lordship’s mother had been an heiress.

  “The money cannot have disappeared!” Iona cried.

  “But it has, miss. We knows for sure before the old gentleman died that he were hidin’ away any extra pounds or shillings he had at the end of a week.”

  “You mean he hid it in the house and the grounds?”

  “Sometimes they’d see him diggin’ away at night or in the early mornin’ before anyone went to work and when they tells the new Lord what they had seen, he digs up the place quick enough, but finds nothin’.”

  “You mean someone had stolen it?”

  “No, he found a better hidin’ place, you can be sure of that, but I’ve no idea where it could be.”

  “It’s just the most riveting story I have ever heard,” Iona said. “Do you really think that there are thousands of pounds hidden in the house or in the grounds?”

  “When the old Earl first came here, he were a real nice chap with a kind word for everyone. He helped those who were ill or who needed help. Then we knows that he visits the bank in town and they tells him the money’s been paid to his Lordship every week and then it disappeared.”

  “You mean every week he hid it somewhere?”

  “We knows he did that as he draws out of the bank more than he needs and then he puts the rest in some secret place that no one can find.”

  “I can hardly believe it!” Iona exclaimed. “So how long has the new Lord been looking for the money?”

  “For over three years and it’s changed him from what seemed to us all when we first saw him, a nice young man, into a creature who frightens everyone who works for him and has them runnin’ away in a fury like Mrs. Jones.”

  “She was certainly upset,” Iona said, “and one can understand it. Equally I feel very sorry for the poor man who cannot find the hidden treasure.”

  She was thinking as she spoke that lack of money did strange things to people.

  In fact it had made John ready to marry her even though he loved Mary with all his heart.

  There was silence and then the shopkeeper gave a deep sigh.

  “I expects in the mornin’ his Lordship’ll want me to find him a new cook and I doubt if anyone else in the village will go up to Woodbridge Court. They’ve all left sayin’ they’ll stand no more of it and the way Mrs. Jones was speakin’ of what had happened will be no help.”

  Iona drew in her breath.

  Then she asked in a very quiet voice,

  “Was Mrs. Jones the cook?”

  “She were and a good cook she be too. She’s won many a prize in the village when they has a competition as to who makes the best cakes. I’ve always heard that her soups be delicious too.”

  Iona was silent for a moment and then she said,

  “I can see that you are in rather a fix and have no one to take Mrs. Jones’s place. I am considered a good cook and I would be very glad to stay at the house and it would give my ponies a good rest too.”

  The shopkeeper stared at her.

  “Well, if that ain’t Manna from Heaven, I’ll eat my hat. Do you really mean it, miss, that you could cook a proper dinner for his Lordship. Three courses I believe he has and he pays for the best food, I’ll say that for him.”

  “I am sure I can satisfy his Lordship for tonight if not for longer,” Iona said. “As I have already told you, my horses must have a rest before they go much further.”

  The shopkeeper flung up his hands.

  “It’s a miracle, it really is!” he exclaimed. “I was just thinkin’ I would have to send the Missus up to get his Lordship’s dinner and her says the last time her went it’d be the last and she wouldn’t go again even if the Queen herself were askin’ her to do so.”

  “Is it as bad as that?” Iona quizzed him.
/>   “I don’t want to put you off,” he went on, “but he has a bad temper when he don’t find what he’s seekin’ and they all hide when they hears him comin’ back from where he were diggin’ empty-handed.”

  “Well, if I only stay for a night,” Iona said, “you will understand. But I promise you that the dinner will be excellent as long as I have the right ingredients.”

  “I knows his Lordship’s likes and dislikes only too well,” the shopkeeper said. “If you’d help me over findin’ him someone now Mrs. Jones’s walked out, I’ll thank you from the very bottom of my heart and that be the truth.”

  “I will be delighted to help you,” Iona replied, “and if I only stay a day or so at least you will have time to look round for someone else.”

  “It’ll not be easy, miss. His Lordship’s tantrums be known all over this part of the County and he must have had twenty cooks by now.”

  “As I will be number twenty-one, perhaps I will be able to stay until you find someone who will be number twenty-two without any difficulties,” Iona smiled.

  “You’re the kindest lady I’ve ever met. Now I’ll take you up myself to show you the kitchen and we’ll take with us what food I think his Lordship will require.”

  “If he is not stingy about the food, that is at least something in his favour,” Iona commented.

  The shopkeeper laughed.

  “He be only too glad to have a great deal more than he has, but the reason for his temper be that he’s run out of his own money and it’s not much from all that I’ve heard.”

  Iona was quiet for a moment and then she said,

  “I am rather vague about these things, but surely, if there was such a large fortune, then there must be money coming either to him or to the bank every month.”

  “Now that be a good question to ask, miss, and one that most people would not be intelligent enough to ask.”

  “What is the answer?” Iona enquired.

  “You’ll hardly believe this, but the old Earl draws out all he has in the bank and borrows a great deal as well.”

  The shopkeeper shook his head.

  “He tells them that he’s improvin’ the estate which were completely untrue and they lends him the money,” he continued, “which means that now he’s dead they’re payin’ back themselves from what does come in and the new Earl therefore has to live on what he can sell. That’s one thing that makes him angrier than anything else.”

  “Oh, now I understand,” Iona said. “He is selling treasures from the house.”

  “One goes every month or so, just to keep his head above water, as they be heirlooms handed down through the centuries, his Lordship minds very much partin’ with them. I can’t help thinkin’ that’s the real reason for his temper.”

  “I cannot blame him for that. It must be infuriating when he knows that the money is somewhere in the house or on the estate, but he cannot find it.”

  “He’s certainly tried and no one can say he ain’t. But so far he’s not turned up one penny piece.”

  “Yet he is quite certain it is really here?”

  The shopkeeper nodded.

  “Yes, he’s very sure. He’s had a full account from the bank of the money they lends his uncle and the money they pays him, but not sight nor sound of it anywhere.”

  Iona was even more intrigued and it really was the most extraordinary story she had ever heard.

  She could not help feeling sorry for the new Earl and whatever she had to do, it would be exciting to stay there for the night.

  It was certainly not the sort of place where any of her family were likely to look for her.

  It was then that the shopkeeper came from behind his counter and started to put sausages and bread from the far end of the shop into a large basket.

  As he realised that she was watching him, he said,

  “His Lordship won’t be at all pleased with the bill for these. But he’ll not see it until you’ve fed him tonight and perhaps tomorrow – ”

  He paused a little before he said the last word and looked at Iona enquiringly.

  She grinned.

  “To please you I will stay as long as I can. As I have already said, I want my horses to have a good rest.”

  “You’ll give me one, too,” the shopkeeper smiled. “I has a headache every time I thinks of findin’ someone else for his Lordship, but then they had their pride and they won’t put up with his temper.”

  As he finished speaking, he took off his apron and put on his coat.

  “You be my best customer who’s ever walked into this shop today or any day,” he said. “I be more grateful to you than I can say.”

  He laughed as he went on,

  “I only hopes you’ll last long enough for me to get my breath back, so to speak. It’s what I loses when the cook at The Court says ‘goodbye’ and in the same way as Mrs. Jones expressed her desire to leave.”

  “I will try not to be so noisy or so positive about it. Actually it’s a challenge to see if I can succeed where they have failed,” Iona replied.

  “I’ll be prayin’ you do,” the shopkeeper said.

  He opened the door as he spoke.

  Then as if he suddenly remembered he shut it again and ran across the shop and through another door which opened in the opposite direction.

  He left it ajar and Iona heard him shouting,

  “Ma! Ma!”

  There was silence and she looked round the shop.

  Then she said to herself,

  ‘This is certainly an adventure I did not expect. At least it means that we will be safe tonight.’

  She was certain of one thing.

  If the Earl was intent on finding his hidden treasure, he would not be pursuing her in the same way as the man at the inn had pursued her last night.

  She gave a little shudder as she remembered how frightened she had been.

  She told herself that in a gentleman’s house, strange though he might be and with a reportedly bad temper, she was not likely to attract his attention unless he was cursing her for producing a badly cooked meal which he had found intolerable in Mrs. Jones and his other cooks.

  When she thought of the delicious food she had had at The Hall because her father had always employed the very best chefs possible, she could not help smiling at the idea of doing the cooking for a man who was notorious for his bad temper and in a house that she had never seen or heard of before.

  But at least it meant safety for tonight and, unless she was mistaken, good accommodation for her horses.

  Next the shopkeeper came back through the door into the shop.

  “I’m ready now,” he said, “and I’ll take you up to the Big House so that I can show you the kitchen before his Lordship finds out that Mrs. Jones has left.”

  He paused to smile at her.

  “When he does,” he continued, “he’ll tell me to find him someone else and I don’t mind sayin’ it’ll be really hard as the village has had enough of him now to last them a lifetime.”

  “I can see it’s very difficult for you,” Iona replied.

  By this time they had walked outside and the boys were still holding the ponies as she had told them to do.

  She gave them each a two shilling piece and they stared at it with delight.

  Then the shopkeeper said sharply,

  “Come along boys! What do you say to the lady? I’m sure you’ve got manners as your mother always taught you to have.”

  “Thank you! Thank you!” the boys chorused.

  Then, as Iona climbed into the driving seat and the shopkeeper sat down beside her, the boys said cheekily,

  “’Urry up and get back ’ere, Mr. Hopkins, ’cos we wants to buy some of your sweets.”

  “I’ll not be long,” the shopkeeper replied.

  As he spoke, Iona started off the ponies and they sped down the road she had driven down earlier.

  As she had seen no grand gates before she reached the shop, she was certain that they must be further ahea
d and she was not mistaken.

  They had only driven a little way before the gates came into sight and were as impressive as she had expected them to be with two lodges.

  As she saw the long drive with oak trees on either side, she felt that she had been luckier than she expected.

  At least tonight she would be in a building that was not unlike her own home.

  ‘This is such an adventure,’ she told herself. ‘A real adventure and, in bringing me here, God has been kind and tonight, at any rate, I will not need Bill to protect me.’

  They travelled on a little further down the drive and there was a stately bridge crossing what appeared to be a lake with a stream running into it.

  Then there was a large courtyard in front of what Iona realised was a magnificent house.

  It must have been built originally in the reign of Queen Anne and Iona thought that it was a perfect example of the good taste which was prevalent in that reign.

  The front door and the steps up to it had a carved stone lion on either side.

  She only had a quick glance at the house before the shopkeeper indicated with his hand that there was a large entrance on one side that Iona guessed led to the stables.

  She drove the horses up to it and then, as she drew them to a standstill, an elderly groom came out through the stable doors.

  “Evenin’, Mr. Hopkins,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see you ’ere.”

  “I’ve brought you a new cook,” he replied.

  The groom threw up his hands.

  “I’d ’eard there’d been trouble, ’as ’er gorn?”

  “Yes, she be gone, but I’ve brought you another, although she might not stay any longer.”

  The groom chuckled.

  “That be too much to ask. But if it keeps ’is Nibs ’appy for tonight we can sleep in peace.”

  “I hope so,” Mr. Hopkins replied. “Her horses need food and drink just as you do.”

  “They’ll not go ’ungry, I promise you that.”

  The groom turned towards Iona.

  “It be nice to see you, miss,” he told her. “I only ’opes you be comfortable ’ere.”

  “Thank you,” Iona replied. “I am very grateful to Mr. Hopkins for bringing me here.”

  “’E’ll bring you with pleasure,” the groom laughed, “but it be takin’ you away that makes ’im cry. Ain’t that true, Jim?”