Archie was late home last night and was very late to breakfast this morning. Fortunately, Mrs Rose, our cook, expected him to be tired and kept everything hot for him. He didn't eat much, though.
After he'd gone upstairs to supervise Elsie unpacking his luggage, Mimi cried herself into a puddle." I just don't know how I'm going to look after everything," she sobbed.
Our estate isn't huge compared to some others - just the gardens, the parkland and lakes, the woods, two farms and some cottages, and some couple of larger houses - but there is still much to do, and Papa knew about it all.
"When Papa went to France, he said you should leave everything to the staff," I reminded Mimi. "They know what they're doing."
Even so, there are always decisions to be made, and normally Mimi would write to Papa for advice. She's a bit like me about decisions - I can't even decide what to have for breakfast.
Oh dear.
When Archie reappeared, he found me staring out of the window, twiddling the curtain.
"Are you all right,Daffers, old thing?" he asked quietly.
"Not really," I said, and told him about Mimi's concerns over the estate.
"When I've finished my education, I shall look after the estate," he said firmly. "In the meantime, I suppose we can always get someone to manage it for us. I'll talk to Uncle Cecil at the weekend."
Why didn't I think of that?
YOU ARE READING
Road To War
AcakIt's 1917 and the Great War rages in Europe.When Daffy Rowntree's brother goes missing in action she refuses to sit safely in England,and determines to do something to help win the war.Soon she finds herself in the mud and horror of the battlefields...
