CHAPTER THREEAs soon as Helsa was free the next morning, she hurried back to the Vicarage.
She had left a note for her father to say that she was going to The Hall and thought that, as there were so many guests arriving and everyone was consequently in such a fluster, she should stay the night.
She was determined not to let him know the real reason why she was staying there.
As she walked towards the Vicarage, she wondered how she could convince him that she was still needed at The Hall.
She should not have worried – her father was very pleased to see her, but as usual he was extremely busy.
“I have a wedding today, my dear, in Upton, which you know is on the border of the estate, and a christening late in the afternoon in the other direction.”
“Oh, Papa, it is too much for you!”
He
