For the rest of the week, I only managed to read one more journal entry.

With the family due back, it was all hands on deck for the remainder of the spring cleaning and by the time we were able to retire, I was too exhausted to read anything else. I had, however, found the time to move the journal from under my mattress to behind the dresser for safekeeping. The dresser never moved and so it would never be found if one of the other servants decided to go poking around our room.

By the time we had finished the cleaning, the Richardson family had returned from their home up North and order was restored to the house. I spent my days sweeping floors, changing bed sheets, relighting fires, and making sure things were tidy. There was little, if any, chance for respite and for me to find out more about what Walter might have seen in the orchard that day.

If he had seen anything, he would never have said anything to either Mrs Channing or Mr Serif about it. Unless we discovered something troubling or potentially harmful, we knew to say little about the families adventures or what we may discover upon cleaning their room or completing our chores. Still, even if he hadn't said anything, it was still possible he witnessed who Lady Catherine had met that day.

When Sunday rolled around, I welcomed the afternoon off that came with it. It was the only day of the week where we could find some peace for ourselves and our serving roles consisted of nothing more than stoking the fire and seeing to supper. We all welcomed our Sunday afternoons.

That Sunday, myself, Mary, Ann — one of the kitchen maids — Jasper, Walter, and one of the other gardeners, Luke, headed into the village after church. With the afternoon ahead of us, Miss Ryan had prepared a picnic for us to enjoy in the spring sun that came with a surprising amount of warmth. We found a small spot under some trees in a nearby park to unfold the blanket and eat the sandwiches and small cakes that Miss Ryan had made to help us welcome in the spring.

"I'm so glad spring-cleaning is over," Walter said, leaning on the palms of his hands. "There are so many weeds I can pull up before I go mad."

"At least you were tending to the weeds. I had to put manure on the flowerbeds and I can still smell it," Luke said.

"We had it easier compared to you, then. Well, everyone other than Jane who got lumbered with the attic."

"I made some spider friends so at least something good came from cleaning the attic." I looked at Mary who smiled slightly.

Jasper wiped his hands on the blanket. "I always thought the attic was full of secrets, the Richardson's hidden treasures so to speak. I'm a little disappointed it's nothing but spiders."

"I doubt the Richardson's have many secrets. Other than wandering around the orchard which is a pretty common pastime."

I looked at Walter, fighting back a smile. Without meaning to, he had given me the segway I needed to ask him about Lady Catherine and her visit to the orchard with her mysterious suitor. Whether he saw anything might help me in discovering just who the man was, although Walter had already been ruled out as a potential option since Lady Catherine had bumped into him after meeting with her suitor.

"Who have you seen wandering around the orchard? I thought it was just Lord Richardson who went out there," I said.

"He does, but I've caught Lady Abigail out there once or twice when she was trying to avoid her nursery-maid or school teacher. I discovered Lady Catherine out there too, although it was just the once."

"It must be nice for them to have so much free time that they can just wander into the orchard at their leisure." Jasper shook his head. "Oh, to have more than an afternoon of free time."

"Speaking of, I bought some of my wages with me to see about getting a bolt of cloth for a new Sunday dress. Jane, you want to have a look?"

I nodded. "I have some money with me too, not enough for cloth, but maybe a little something else."

Mary nodded and stood up, holding her hands for me to take. I grabbed them and she pulled me to my feet, the two of us leaving the picnic and heading back into the village in search of some goods. Usually, we tried to save a little of our wages each week so we had a small nest egg for when we left service, but every once in a while we would take a small amount of our wages to buy new cloth or something for ourselves.

We walked into the village with Mary immediately heading to the haberdashery which sold a few bolts of cloth to cater to the village. The village wasn't big enough to house more than a few shops and so the haberdashery was the only place to get any sort of cloth or clothing necessities. Anything else would have to be ordered in from the city and would cost extra to do so.

With very few options, Mary opted for a couple of metres of pale blue muslin which she intended to fashion into a Sunday dress as hers had become a little worse for wear. After the haberdashery, the two of us wandered through the village, peering through windows as we went. We came to a small, stationary shop with journals and pens propped up inside the window. One of them looked oddly familiar.

I nudged Mary in the side. "Doesn't that journal look familiar?"

"It looks like the one you found. If it were a birthday present, I would have thought Lord Richardson would have bought it in the city."

"Come on."

I motioned my head to the shop and the two of us climbed the steps and entered the shop, a small bell dinging above the door. The shop was full of wall-to-wall stationery. Journals lined the walls, each with a differing design from the last. Some were plain leather, others included chequered patterns, different coloured swirls, and polka-dot patterns. There was an assortment of different pens and ink, different pencils, and even a selection of paints.

"Excuse me," I said to the greying man behind the counter.

"How can I help you young ladies?" the man said.

"I wanted to inquire about a journal in the window. The brown leather one?"

"Ah, one of our more basic designs. Not a very popular journal choice."

"Have you sold many?"

"A few over the years."

"What about two years ago?"

"My mind isn't what it used to be, but I think so. A young man." The man scratched the whiskers on his chin. "Are you interested in purchasing one?"

"Yes, please."

"Very well."

The man nodded his head and crossed to the window where he reached over the display and grabbed the journal. He walked back to the counter and placed it down whilst I reached into my pocket and counted out the money. After handing it over, I grabbed the journal and the two of us left the shop. I stopped outside and examined the journal, a thousand different thoughts running through my head.

Lord Richardson had enough money to order a special journal from the city to give to Lady Catherine, and yet she had received an inexpensive one with a rather basic design. Not only that, but the man in the shop had said that a young man had purchased one around the time of Lady Catherine's sixteenth birthday. Lord Richardson was nearing fifty and with no sons, there was only one person who could have given Lady Catherine the journal.

Her secret suitor.

~~~

First Published - February 10th, 2022