“This first house belongs to Thom and Bessie Stillwell,” Helen said. “They lease a small plot of land where they grow oats and barley. Mrs. Stillwell also takes in mending for a few extra coins.”

“Stillwell,” Ellie said to herself as she jotted the name down in a small notebook. “Oats. Barley. Mending.” She looked up. “Any children?”

“Two, I think. Oh, wait, it's three now. They had a little girl a few months ago.”

Ellie knocked on the door, and they were greeted by a woman of perhaps two and a half decades. “Oh, Mrs. Pallister, how do you do?” she said to Helen, looking rather apologetic. “I wasn't expecting you. May I offer you some tea? I'm afraid I haven't any biscuits.”

“No worry, Mrs. Stillwell,” Helen replied. “We didn't tell you we were coming, so we certainly cannot expect you to entertain us.”

“No, no, of course not,” Bessie replied, looking unconvinced. Her gaze shifted to Ellie, and she began to look even more nervous. Clearly she had heard that the earl had married, and was correctly guessing that Ellie was the new countess. Ellie decided that she must immediately put the woman at ease.

“How do you do, Mrs. Stillwell,” she said. “I am the new Countess of Billington, and I am very pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Bessie dropped a quick curtsy and mumbled her greetings. Ellie wondered what sorts of experiences the tenants had had with the aristocracy for them to be so nervous around her. She smiled her warmest smile and said, “You are the first tenant I have visited. I shall have to rely on you for advice. I am certain you will know the best route for me to take today if I am to meet everyone.”

Bessie warmed to the suggestion that she actually could advise a countess, and the rest of the interview proceeded just as nicely as Ellie could have hoped. She learned that the Stillwell children were called Thom Junior, Billy, and Katey, that they were thinking of buying a new pig, and that there was a small leak in their roof, which Ellie promised to have fixed as soon as possible.

“Oh, but Thom can see to it. He's quite handy,” Bessie said. Then she looked down. “We just haven't had the supplies.”

Ellie sensed that times had been hard for the Stillwell family this past year. She knew that in Bellfield crops hadn't been as plentiful as usual, and she imagined that farmers had felt the same poor harvest here near Wycombe Abbey. “Then I shall make certain we send the proper supplies over,” she said. “It is the very least we can do. No one should have to live with a leaky roof.”

Bessie thanked her profusely, and by the end of the day Ellie had had such success with the rest of the tenants that Helen was saying, rather frequently, “I don't know how you do it. You have just met the tenants today, and already I think they would all lay down in front of a speeding carriage for you.”