Epilogue

No one was surprised, of course, when Cynthia announced she was pregnant. She and Louis had only been married two months, and the baby "they" created was born only five months later.

By then, of course, the peace and solitude that had been the rule for so many years in the halls of the manor had been completely destroyed by the bawling of babes. Soon that bawling would change to the pitter patter of little bare feet, leaving prints on the shiny floors, followed eventually by the nattering of toddlers, leading to the years of "why" said over and over, no matter what answer was given. In fact, Penelope's daughter, when she was at that stage of her life, was laughingly called "Her Whyness."

That brood came to us in fairly regular intervals. If the mistress' intention was to repopulate the estate, she succeeded beyond her wildest dreams.

Jenny and Nigel had five children through the years, two sons first, followed by three daughters. Nigel became the permanent coachman, and his sons eventually took over as footmen. I was ninety-two, and resting comfortably in a chair by the fire when Jenny came to me, saying her elder son Raford had been caught diddling Lord Montberry's eldest daughter while he escorted Jack on a horse-trading tour. She was at her wit's end, asking what I thought she should do to punish the young man. I simply reminded her that, when she was his age, she had herself had few, if any, morals. She glared at me, but then kissed my bald head and reminded me that she loved me, no matter how irascible I tried to be.

Sally and Hugh had eight children, one every two years, like clockwork. They came out boy, girl, boy, girl, etc. Three years after she gave birth to their youngest, she caught a fever that claimed her much too early in life. I never saw a man more devastated than Hugh was when he lost her, but then, we were all devastated with him. Of course there were parents aplenty to help Hugh raise the children, Her Ladyship included. All the girls came onto the staff in one capacity or another. Hugh, being our estate blacksmith, had proved his worth countless times. It took him some years, but eventually the sadness wasn't in his eyes the entire day.

Marie and Frank were likewise prolific in their production of people to live and work on the estate. Cook's heart gave out. According to the doctor, it was her weight that did it, though that sounded outlandish to me. How could good, solid flesh cause a heart to complain? Mistress Penelope retired her in the manor, where she didn't have to go as far to get what was needed, and one of the maids could keep an eye on her. Marie, having watched and helped with the cooking for years, simply stepped into Cook's shoes. Her five daughters grew into kitchen maids. Two of her sons worked with the horses, and the third went out into the fields to become a shepherd, eventually supervising some half dozen boys from the village.

Suzette and Stephan were devoted to one another in a way that reminded me of granite, immovable and solid in ways that you just knew time could not affect. She had four sons, all of whom were the spitting image of Stephan. I cannot speak to whether their sire passed along to them his prodigious proportions in the nether region.

I grew old, and my joints came to complain so much that I could no longer sneak down that passageway where I spent so many happy moments. I do not know how she knew, but the mistress had some method of determining when I was there. I cannot remember the number of times she would look at my peep hole and wink, or smile, or blow me a kiss, while some man was doing his level best to get her thoroughly pregnant again. She also sensed when I stopped going, and came to see me. My protestations were brushed aside, and she bored in until I admitted why I had ceased my vigil. She offered to have a comfortable chair set in the corner of her rooms, so I could relax while I watched, and have a glass of wine. Of course I refused. It wouldn't have been proper. But I did sit and listen as a string of women came to me for advice, describing what this or that lover had done to them, and asking how they should frame their instructions on how to please them more thoroughly.

Of course, having no experience in such things, I could not advise them. Somehow, that never seemed to disappoint them. Like Jenny had, they usually kissed me on my bald pate and reminded me how much I was loved.

Jane and Charley had six children. As soon as one of Sally's girls was old enough to be trained as a house maid, Jane did so, and then spent her time caring for their children, while she and Charley made more. With Jack doing the business end of things equestrian, Charley did take his father's place as stable master. He had six stout lads to help him, eventually, some of them his own issue. Jane became our expert at hand breeding, which involved handling the stallion's penis to ensure that the mare was not injured during the mating process. When Jane came to me for advice, it invariably involved talking about Jack or Hugh. It was Jane who eventually soothed Hugh's pain by lying with him, but it didn't happen until almost ten years after Sally left us.

Cynthia and Louis were different than the others in many ways. For one thing, Louis became the assistant forest warden, instead of a shepherd. He and his father-in-law went out for long stretches together at first, while Harry taught him what was needed to know, and he got some experience at reading signs left by man and beast alike. Eventually, though, they started trading patrols. A patrol lasted two weeks, generally, during which Cynthia kept house for whoever was not on duty. She did not stray from her cottage very often. The only times I can remember her doing so were for the quarterly "parties" held in Her Ladyship's bedchamber. Even then, she only went if her belly was already bulging. She made no bones about wanting her children to come from only two sources. She had six, three boys and three girls, though other than her first born boy, I cannot remember in what order they came into the world. What I do know is that the later two boys had thick, black hair, like her father did, and the first one had brown hair and slim features that matched those of Louis. The girls were the spitting image of their mother, light framed and slim, something that Harry Bickerstaff had none of in him. Harry's two sons worked in the forest as well, but as wood cutters and at the lumber mill that was set up in the pasture behind the barn. Her daughters took up spinning and weaving, and clearly had talent for it. That talent led to the expansion of that portion of the estate's business and the eventual employment of some two dozen women from the village as well. As for Cynthia's firstborn son, he was named Timothy, and he was given to me to train to do a butler's duties. When he was ready, I retired, though I felt bad about burdening my Mistress with a seventeen year old butler.

Mrs. Hennesey lay with Ralph once too many times, because she became pregnant at the advanced age of thirty-eight. It was hard on her and, like cook, she was taken care of at the manor until she gave birth. She had the most beautiful little baby girl. She did not, however, wish to spend her remaining years at the manor, and preferred to raise her daughter in the village in Ralph's home. They received gifts of meat, cheese and vegetables regularly. It took her three years to get her strength back after birthing that baby, but then she lived a long and happy life.

As for Her Ladyship, I saved her for last, or almost last, because her story is much more complicated.

Lord Malcom lived long enough to see his heir born, a bouncing baby boy who was undeniably Jack's, based on his appearance. I think even Malcom saw that, though he never complained. Not in public, or to me, at least. In any case, he named the boy after himself. After she had that baby, she spent two more years making her husband happy, and having another of "his" sons, before the drink killed him. He actually rallied, somewhat, that last year and they both hosted parties at Farnsworth Manor, and attended them at others. Whether or not he knew the real source of what kept her belly swollen or not, he seemed to delight in displaying her in that condition. Her first daughter was born two months after he passed, and was named Aelwen, because Lord Malcolm had intended to name her after his mother, should she be a girl.

Whether it was good or bad, Aelwen's name was the last real influence Lord Malcolm had on the estate. His death made not one whit's difference in the running of the manor and the enterprises associated with it. The people who had made decisions for years now simply kept making them. Jack was not a noble, but he knew horses in general, and he knew Farnsworth horses specifically. One or two lords tried to cheat him when he showed up without Lord Malcom at his side. He simply ceased doing any business with them and told them why he was doing so. He did it respectfully, but he was firm. Those lords could not bring themselves to make apology to a "mere common groom," but when a new lord was in place, they begged his favor, saying there had been some kind of misunderstanding. More to that later.

Within three weeks of putting Lord Malcom in the ground, one Lord Robert Chillingham, uncle to the Dowager Countess of Haversham, arrived on a horse I would have sworn had originated in our stables. It was a beautiful animal, well fitted with tooled leather and silver tack. Lord Robert moved into a room that had been ready for him for more than a year. Penelope later told me he decided not to come until His Lordship the Earl had passed on, because he didn't want to cause any problem.

Within ten minutes of his arrival, while his horse was still being seen to, Penny came to me with flushed cheeks.

"My uncle and I have much to catch up on. We are not to be disturbed for several hours. See to it, please."

To my disappointment, she caught up on old times with him in his room, which had no secret passage outside it, nor any peephole into it. When they finally emerged, both displayed signs of deep fatigue, and one of Her Ladyship's buttons had come undone somehow. I sighed, knowing I had missed an important chapter in the history of Her Ladyship, the Countess of Haversham. None the less, I did my duty and informed her of the button. She insisted that I secure it myself, which required that my fingers brush her breasts. Even sated, she loved to tease me. That is something I misunderstand, even to this day.

It was fine, though. I was getting a glass of warm milk prior to going to my bed that night, and heard a sound. It was Lord Robert sneaking to Penny's bedchamber. They spent the night in her bed. I spent half of it at my peep hole. He was quite a sturdy man for being in his forties. I have never seen a man beg to be allowed to deposit his seed in a woman's womb, but he did, every time he felt the urge. And she always urged him, with both her body and words, to do his best to get her with child.

It was less than a month before everybody in the place knew where Lord Robert was sleeping. Most of them expected it, I think, and nobody said a word. Unfortunately, that could not go on, at least not in terms of him achieving his goal (and hers) of getting her with child. She had no husband to explain that.

That problem was solved two more months later, when Lord Franklin Percival Whitecastle arrived with his retinue of menservants. I knew nothing of his arrival until his carriage rattled onto the cobblestone paving of the half circle that fronted the manor. He had two footmen, neither of which had arrived ahead of him to announce his arrival. His coach was driven by a man so decked out in frippery that I could scarcely see his features. The man wore more lace than all the women in the house put together.

I was about to open the door and inquire to his business, when a panting Penny rushed to my elbow and seized it. Her bodice was open to her navel, her generous breasts heaving and threatening to spill out for all the world (and me - hurrah!) to see.

"Wait!" she panted. "It's my cousin, come to wed me."

"What?" I gasped.

"Keep him waiting. I must make myself presentable."

"Milady!" I scowled.

"I'm sorry, Wadsworth. I forgot to tell you. I was informed of his acceptance of my offer in a letter, but did not think he would be eager to arrive. It appears I was wrong. Just keep him waiting. I'll return soon."

"What am I to say to delay him?" I asked. "If he is to be the new master, I cannot gainsay his demand to enter."

"Of course you can," she said. "I am The Countess Dowager Haversham. He is a lord, by his own right, but only by ancestry, and not by holding. He will always be a figurehead. Of course the staff will address him as Lord, and treat him so, but if there are differences of opinion, mine will hold sway. You will not be threatened, Wadsworth. Believe me, any man who threatens you threatens his own health." She frowned. "In any case, if my suspicions are correct, he will appreciate being addressed by a firm man, even if that man is a butler."

With that she was gone in a rustle of skirts, leaving me in a quandary over what her last comment could mean.

Lord Percy, as he introduced himself and demanded to be called, (was the entire nobility abandoning propriety?!) was a popinjay. I had thought the driver festooned with finery beyond measure. Lord Percy put him to shame. He had more plumes on his hat than would a full grown peacock. His cheeks and lips were rouged, and his wrists appeared to have been broken, because they fell limp whatever position his arms were in.

Being a good butler, I took My Lady at her word and instructed Lord Percy that, as he had arrived unannounced, Her Ladyship was not yet ready to receive him. I intentionally made my voice cold, hoping that she knew what she was talking about, lest I poison my relationship with this mysterious new lord from the start. He was practically servile in his response to me. Then in opposite demeanor, he turned to his men and ordered them brusquely to find the stables and see to the horses and his luggage. He had his highborn ways about him, no doubt, and yet, when faced with a stern butler, was practically obsequious in his response. It was a puzzle to me. In any case, I led him to the parlor, where Cynthia finally had someone to fuss over. He accepted her attention, but did not really look at her.