“Achoo!” Bella fished a handkerchief out of her sleeve and dabbed her nose, grimacing. She dropped the sheet she was holding unceremoniously onto the floor. Another cloud of dust kicked about the drawing room and she sneezed again.

Arabella propped her hands on her hips and eyed her. “If you were a little more careful, it would be less dusty.”

Merry fought to hold back a sneeze of her own. They had hardly done any work as yet and the room looked worse than ever. Dust swirled about in the afternoon sun that highlighted the mottled windows and streaks of dirt that lingered on everything. She had opted to clear one drawing room and one bedroom today, pointedly ignoring the one that was filled with things and a good deal of ceiling. If they could just get this room inhabitable, she would feel so much better about the idea.

Sophia kicked aside the pile of sheets and eyed the chairs they had uncovered. “Well, they could be worse...” She gave a shrug and glanced Merry’s way.

Merry understood the look well enough. The chairs were threadbare and utterly out of fashion. Of course, she could not have expected them to be high-fashion given they had been hidden away for so long, but she had half-hoped for something elegant and timeless. These gaudy furnishings were another matter, however.

“Perhaps there are some good ones in storage,” Arabella said brightly.

“I cannot imagine the best ones are hidden away,” said Bella who received a jab in the ribs by Sophia’s elbow.

Merry waved away the remark with a hand. “She is right.”

“Do not lose hope.” Coming to Merry’s side, Arabella put a hand to her arm. “Perhaps there are some nice furnishings at the big house you can use.”

Forcing a smile, Merry nodded. “Yes, I am sure there must be.”

There were likely some unused chairs and other pieces tucked away in the cellars or attics of Whitely Grange. The problem was she would have to arrange someone to move them all over here. A cart would be needed and several people’s time. Her staff—no her brother’s staff—had enough to worry about at present. Juggling the running of the house and the estate along with trying to sort the dower house had kept Merry busier than she’d hoped. It had meant relying very much on all the servants and estate staff.

“Well, this house is not going to clean itself,” Bella declared. “Let us open the windows and let some of the dust disperse while we take a look at that bedroom.”

Merry’s smile expanded. “Good idea.”

At least she could rely on her friends to help. They had supported her through many things in her life, namely the awful balls and social events that left her feeling exhausted and awkward. Without them, she did not know how she would have managed her time in Society. She supposed once Daniel took the title, there might be expectations upon her once more but there was no chance Daniel would force her into anything.

“Thank you for helping,” she said. “You can have little idea how much I appreciate it. I am desperately trying to keep the estate running efficiently and I will confess I am no expert.”

Sophia nodded. “It must be quite a daunting task. With any luck, the weather shall be kind to Daniel and provide a quick crossing.”

“I just hope he does not return home to an utter mess.” Merry twined her hands together. “I can run a household well enough but the estate...” She sighed. “That’s a different matter. My father nor Daniel allowed me any insight into it.”

“You are the cleverest woman we know, Merry,” Arabella told her. The others nodded. “I am sure you will be doing an excellent job and Daniel shall be so proud when he returns. Not only have you had to deal with your father’s passing alone but you have had to take over a role you were never trained for.”

“Why do you not just ask Harcourt for help?” Bella prompted. “He did offer it after all.”

Sophia shot Bella a stern look. “Because we do not accept help from men, remember? Merry was quite firm about it.”

Bella huffed. “You know I would rather have nothing to do with any man, especially with the amount of men I deal with on a daily basis.” She rolled her eyes. “Just this morning my brothers were creating enough chaos to drive even the sanest woman mad. But Harcourt is a good man, is he not? And a fine friend to you.”

“He might be a good man, but he is still a man.” Besides, she could not quite bring herself to be in his company again so soon. Memories of being flat against him, feeling his muscles undulate under her fingertips were remarkably raw. She could hardly confess she had been reliving that moment again and again when alone after insisting on their vows. Her friends were relying on her to stay strong.

“He is a handsome man though,” Arabella admitted softly.

“And he is a rake,” Merry pointed out, even though the word sent a little pang of hurt to her chest.

It should not. It was something of which she’d been aware for a long time. It was widely acknowledged Harry had spent plenty of time with ladies in Society, thoroughly enjoying himself. Merry might not take a great interest in the gossip of the ton but there was no avoiding it sometimes.

“I heard that he has quit London for good.” Bella grinned. “Perhaps he has found someone of interest here.”

Merry held her breath. Surely they could not think...just because...no, it was all silly. Even if Harry truly was interested in her, it would be a strange sort of passing fancy. One she would be a fool for letting herself get involved in.

But none of that mattered! Her friends were relying on her to remain level-headed and support them in their vows. Particularly Arabella. Sophia and Bella did not seem to be quite so scarred by their experiences with men. The fact that Arabella had held onto her love for that rotten man for so long did not help. In the name of solidarity, she could not accept help from Harry.

“It does not matter what is keeping him here.” Merry strode over to one of the windows and flicked the latches. “We do not need his help. We are four...” She tried to slide the window up. “Strong...” Pushing again with a grunt, she felt it shift a little. “Resourceful...” The window finally gave way, sliding up in one swift movement and sending her toppling backward. Arabella caught her, preventing her from falling to the floor. “Women,” Merry finished, blowing a curl from her face and straightening. “Let us see what we can do upstairs.”

Her friends dutifully marched upstairs, pausing to eye some of the rooms with gasps of horror. Merry led them into one of the master bedrooms. A four-poster bed dominated the room and what was likely a washstand sat under a cover. She had flung open the shutters on her last visit here, but the dark red color of the room made it appear smaller and more depressing than it should be. A large dresser had been abandoned in front of the bed for some reason and would need to be moved but apart from that, all they would have to do was give it a little clean.

“Well, this is...um...” Arabella bit down on her lip. “That is, I’m sure it shall be quite cozy once you have a fire in the grate.”

Bella bent and peered into the fireplace. “You’ll need a chimney sweep. If you light a fire in here, the whole house will go up.” She straightened. “That might be a blessing.”

Sophia shot her a look. “That was unkind.”

Bella shrugged and giggled. “Well, at least all the dust would be gone.”

Merry could not take offense at Bella’s words. The work that needed to be done was overwhelming. She had never anticipated it being left in such poor condition. She’d considered that she’d have to move a few pieces of furniture around and lift off a couple of sheets originally. The option to get one or two of the maids to give the house a clean was still there but it would take several weeks of cleaning and none of them had that much time to spare. Merry did not even dare hire someone else, not when the estate was still in flux while waiting for her brother’s return. All the money with the exception of her allowance and dowry was Daniel’s and not hers to do with as she saw fit.

“Let us move this dresser, then we can take off the sheets and give everything a good dust down. I am certain it shall look just perfect once that is done.” Merry managed to keep her tone bright but Bella still lifted a brow.

Sophia strode over to the dresser and grabbed one end. She grimaced. “It’s heavy. Where shall we move it to?”

“I need it downstairs really. There is enough clutter in the bedrooms.” Merry moved to the other end and gave it an experimental lift.

“We can probably manage that between us. It is not too large. Maybe if we remove the drawers, it shall be easier,” Arabella suggested.

“Oh good idea.” Bella tugged out a drawer and squealed, dropping it to the floor and barely missing Sophia’s foot.

“Careful!” Sophia scolded, then glanced at the contents of the drawer. “Oh goodness.”

Merry lifted one of the little boxes and peered at it. It was some kind of beetle mounted and pinned then put into a glass box. She shook her head and eyed the rest of the pile. There had been talk that her great-grandfather had been quite a collector and most certainly a hoarder. She had assumed that most of his collections had been dispersed upon his death but apparently not.

“I will never understand why men like collecting insects.” Bella shuddered. “Horrible creatures.”

“I imagine there are more in here. Perhaps we should leave the drawers where they are for the moment.” Eyeing the dresser, Merry gave it another lift. “I think we can manage. There are four of us after all.”

Bella wiped her hands down her gown as though the beetle had been crawling all over her. “The sooner we get that thing out of here, the better.” She came to the side of the dresser and gripped it. Between the three of them, they were able to lift it easily.

Arabella hastened over to the door and held it open. “I should probably direct.”

Merry nodded. “We will not be able to fit all four of us down the stairs like this anyway.”

With a few grunts and a curse from Bella that they all ignored, they maneuvered the piece of furniture out into the hallway and to the top of the stairs. Pausing to suck in a breath, Merry folded her arms and studied the dresser then glanced at the stairs. This would not be easy.

“Perhaps I should go down backwards,” suggested Sophia. “I am stronger than all of you.”

“Older does not equal stronger,” pointed out Bella.

Sophia straightened and lifted her chin. “Well, I am a good inch taller than you. And if the dresser falls, I have lived a long healthy, life.” She thrust out her tongue.

Arabella giggled. Merry pressed her lips together. “You are four and twenty, Sophia. That is hardly ancient. Besides, I would rather you did not have to cushion any kind of blow.” Merry tried to push the dresser to one side so that it did not block the stairs, but it was too large and angled oddly. “Perhaps we should just leave this somewhere...”

Bella shook her head. “No, we have come this far. We can manage, I’m certain. “You and I will hold onto the end while Sophia takes the weight. The two of us are strong enough to ensure it does not run over Sophia.”

Merry blew out a breath. They could not leave it abandoned here. “Very well. Let us go slowly, though.”

Between them, they inched it around. She and Bella took one end while Sophia positioned herself at the other, going backwards down the stairs.

“Be careful not to fall, Sophia,” Arabella warned.

They managed to tilt the dresser and take the weight of it. Sophia gave a grunt, bracing herself against the end. Step by step, they slid it down until they were about halfway from the bottom.

“We’re nearly there!” Bella exclaimed.

The weight of the dresser slipped a little. “Ugh, it’s crushing me,” Sophia complained.

Merry gripped it tighter to take the weight but it slipped again. “Something’s wrong.” It felt as though the dresser was being pulled down by something.

“I cannot hold it.” Bella grappled to keep hold of her corner. “Sophia, move!”

Sophia jumped to one side as the dresser slipped from their grasp. A ripping sound followed the thud of the piece of furniture and the carpet on the stairs tore out from underneath Merry and Bella’s feet.

“Oof!” Merry fell hard onto her bottom and Bella landed a step down from her. The dresser careened down the last few steps and Sophia let out a cry of pain as it swept past her. Merry suspected the furniture had run over her friend’s toes. The piece of furniture came to a crunching stop against the front door frame, splintering the wood surround and sending the drawers shooting out.

Arabella dashed down the stairs, careful to avoid the torn carpet. “Goodness, are you well?”

“A little bruised, but fine, I think.” Bella eased herself up and rubbed her bottom.

Merry stood and winced. She’d have a time sitting down for a while she suspected. “Sophia? Did you survive?”

Sophia plucked off a shoe. “I think so, but my shoe did not.” She waved the delicate slipper at them. “And I shall not be doing any long walks anytime soon.”

“I think we should get you sat down, Sophia,” Arabella said. “You might have a broken toe.”

“I think not.” Sophia put her slipper back on. “The same cannot be said for the dresser.”

“Or for my bottom!” declared Bella as she gingerly made her way down the stairs. “I think—” She snapped her mouth shut when two figures stepped into the open doorway.

Harry paused at the sight of all of them hobbling about and the broken dresser occupying the doorway. He took off his hat and a brow rose as he took in each of them.

Lord Thornford’s lips quirked. “Having fun, ladies?”

Merry straightened her skirts and took in the mess of clutter at their feet. The drawers had been filled with more insects and rocks and shells by the looks of it. They had succeeded in making more mess than there was before.

“We were just...” Merry waved a hand. “Well, we tried to...you see...” She let her shoulders sag. “We had a bit of an accident.”

Harry leaned against the doorframe. His lips were curved with amusement and creases surrounded his eyes. He was dressed to perfection, as usual, and she could not help notice how well he filled his waistcoat and remember how firm those arms were when wrapped about her. She forced her gaze down to the mess before he noticed.

“Do you think you might like some help after all, Merry?”

Behind her, she could tell her friends were nodding frantically without even looking at them. She pushed her shoulders back and with all the elegancy she could muster, she nodded. “Yes, I think that would be acceptable.”

Harry’s smile expanded.