‘So why don’t you take the house for yourself then and leave her to get on with things?’ Maggie had been longing to say that for some time, but now the words had slipped out before she could stop them. ‘I – I think Ruby takes advantage of your good nature,’ she blustered on as colour flooded into her cheeks. ‘And I really don’t know why you stay with her, the way she treats you!’
She expected Miss Fox to shout at her but instead the older woman smiled sadly as she rested her knuckles on the table. ‘I don’t know why I stay either if I’m honest,’ she confessed. ‘I suppose it’s because we’ve been together for a long time and I know she needs looking after.’
A silence settled between them then until the kettle began to sing on the hob and Maggie bustled away to make the tea. Once it was all ready and the tray was laid, she carried it off without another word. The way she saw it, she had said far too much already.
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear, and as Kitty stared excitedly from the bedroom window she saw that it looked set to be a beautiful day.
‘Just think, in a few hours’ time I shall be Mrs Fitzherbert,’ she giggled as Maggie pressed her onto a chair and placed a tray of tea and toast across her lap. And then suddenly she was up and running towards the bathroom with her hand clamped to her mouth. It was the same every morning and Maggie wondered how much longer this sickness was going to last. She also worried about how Kitty would fare at the birth. She was so tiny, but all she could do was hope that when the time came, all would go well.
Eventually, Kitty did manage to nibble at the toast and take a few sips of tea, and then it was time to start getting ready. Maggie slipped away to get into her own new finery then came back to help Kitty with her toilette and her hair. She was almost ready when a tap came at the door and Miss Fox appeared.
‘The florist just delivered these,’ she told them and they smiled as they saw the beautiful teardrop bouquet for Kitty and the smaller posy for Maggie. There were also four very pretty corsages fashioned in the same flowers as the bouquets. One for Kitty, one for Maggie, one for Miss Fox and one for Ruby.
Maggie fastened hers to her new dress immediately and as Miss Fox fixed Kitty’s to her dress for her, she told her tentatively, ‘I’m afraid that Ruby isn’t well enough to attend the service, my dear. But never fear, she’ll be here when we get back for the wedding breakfast.’
Tears welled in Kitty’s eyes. ‘At this rate, there’ll be no one there,’ she said sadly. ‘Richard’s father can’t come either because he’s still poorly and I don’t even know who Richard has chosen for his best man!’
‘Just so long as the groom arrives on time,’ Miss Fox told her with a twinkle in her eye. Along with Maggie she didn’t much like Richard but he was Kitty’s choice, so as long as he made her happy she could live with it.
Kitty rose then and when Miss Fox had passed her the bouquet the older woman had to wipe a tear from her eye.
‘Why, I swear you’re easily the most beautiful bride I’ve ever set eyes on,’ she said throatily and she meant it. Kitty’s face was glowing with happiness and Miss Fox just wished that Ruby could have taken the trouble to get up and see just how radiant her daughter was. But then there was no more time to lose. The car had been ordered and would be outside waiting to take the bride-to-be to the wedding venue now.
‘Come along now, girls!’ Miss Fox clapped her hands then, making both girls smile. ‘It wouldn’t do for the bride to keep the groom waiting. Well, not for too long anyway.’ She then ushered them down the stairs like a mother hen and just as she had thought they found the car waiting outside.
The elderly driver jumped out and helped the ladies to get in, and soon they were on their way. Maggie had expected Kitty to be nervous, she herself certainly was, but Kitty appeared to be almost serene, in fact.
When they arrived at the steps of the registry office they saw a young woman and a soldier looking very smart in his uniform posing on the steps for photographs. A large crowd of family and friends all throwing rice and rose petals surrounded them, and just for a second Kitty felt a stab of pain as she thought of Sunday and Tom and wished that they could have been there. But they were part of her past now and within the next few minutes she would start to build a new family with Richard.
Calm again, and skirting the newlyweds, she and the others made their way inside. At once her eyes began to search for Richard but he was nowhere to be seen.
‘Perhaps he’s already gone in?’ Miss Fox suggested, striding towards the room where the marriages took place. They found the room quite empty and a surprised registrar looked up at them from his desk.
‘Good morning, ladies. May I help you?’
‘Yes, we are here for the Fitzherbert wedding at eleven o’clock,’ Miss Fox informed him.
The man reached for his diary and began to scan the page.
‘I’m terribly sorry but I have nothing about that in here. My next marriage isn’t until one thirty this afternoon. Are you sure that you’ve come to the right place?’
‘Of course we have!’ Miss Fox was indignant. What did he think they were – a load of idiots? ‘Here, give that to me, my man, you must be mistaken,’ she said hoarsely as she snatched the diary from his hands. And then after running her finger down the page she visibly paled. ‘I … I’m afraid he’s right, Kitty,’ she said. ‘There’s nothing about this wedding in here.’
Kitty clutched at the back of a chair as the room started to spin. What could this mean? She knew that she was in the right place. Richard had written the address and time down for her. And where was he anyway? Wasn’t it usual for the groom and his party to arrive before the bride?
‘I … I don’t understand,’ she breathed as the registrar lowered his eyes, clearly embarrassed.
‘Perhaps you should go and see your fiancé?’ It was the only thing he could think of to say.
Kitty nodded numbly as Miss Fox and Maggie each took one of her arms and led her from the room. She felt sick at heart and very confused.
It wasn’t until they were all standing outside on the steps again, which were deserted by now, that Miss Fox steeled herself to say, ‘I’m afraid it’s beginning to look like you’ve been stood up, Kitty.’
Kitty’s eyes flashed. ‘Richard would never do that to me!’ she said vehemently. ‘He loves me – I know he does!’
‘Then let’s get around to his house to sort this out straight away.’
Miss Fox was already risking life and limb after running into the road to wave her arms frantically at any cab that was passing, while Maggie was chewing on her lip, looking as pale as lint. What had started out as such a happy day was fast turning into a nightmare – but surely Richard would not be so cruel? There must be a logical explanation for what had happened, and the sooner they got to the bottom of it the better.
When the cab pulled up outside Richard’s smart townhouse they were all surprised to see a large van outside and men trailing in and out of the house carrying furniture. Kitty tossed her bouquet onto the seat and before anyone could stop her she hopped out of the cab and sprinted breathlessly up the steps and into the hallway.
Richard’s little maid was there but dressed in her own clothes rather than her uniform and she looked shocked to see her.
‘What’s going on?’ Kitty gabbled and the girl looked acutely embarrassed.
‘All the furniture is goin’ to the auction house, miss,’ she said quietly. ‘This is the men from there collectin’ it now.’
‘And where is Mr Fitzherbert?’ Kitty demanded.
Millie squirmed as she tried to avoid Kitty’s eyes. ‘He, err … he ain’t here, miss.’
‘So where is he then?’ Kitty’s eyes were flashing now and the young maid took a deep breath.
‘The master left two days ago. He’s gone to live abroad, miss. His ship sailed on the tide last night.’ Millie could have added, ‘With that Melissa Hawkins, as you’d know if you’d kept your eyes open,’ but couldn’t bring
herself to be so cruel.
Kitty recoiled. ‘B-but there must be some mistake. We were supposed to be getting married this morning. Has he left a forwarding address?’
‘Not with me, miss, I’m so sorry. He’s paid me up to date, and when the men have finished here I’m to lock up and hand the keys in to the landlord.’
‘The landlord? But I thought Richard owned this house.’
‘No, miss, Mr Watson only rented it.’
‘Mr Watson? Don’t you mean Mr Fitzherbert? His family have a mansion in the country, don’t they?’
The little maid sighed. ‘That’s what the master liked everyone to think, but in fact he came from the slums of the Whitechapel Road. It just suited him to build up an image so he could attract wealthy clients, see? I’m so sorry. It seems like you’ve been sucked in good and proper. But if it’s any consolation, you ain’t the first. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must get on.’
Kitty stood for some seconds as she tried to digest what she had just been told then very gracefully she sank to the floor in a dead faint as all her dreams shrivelled and died.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Well-known London Photographer Exposed as Fraud proclaimed the headlines on the front page of the Daily Mirror the following week. Maggie saw a copy on the newspaper-stand and, for a second, her heart stood still with shock. Hurrying into the shop, she quickly bought a copy and once outside again, she read the article there and then.
Society photographer Richard Fitzherbert, who professed to be the son of a lord, has been exposed as a fraud. His real name is Harry Watson and he was born and raised in Whitechapel in the East End. Watson is being sought by the police for recently inveigling large sums of money from various wealthy women under the pretence of investing those funds to produce a huge profit. When no profit was forthcoming, several of his victims came forward to lodge a complaint with the police, but Watson has since disappeared. It has also come to light that he had run up heavy gambling debts and also owes money to many other traders and his landlord. He also evaded conscription and played no part in defending our great country in times of peril. The man is a scoundrel. A warrant for his arrest is in place but it is believed that he is with his lover, Miss Melissa Hawkins, and that they may have tried to escape abroad. The police are asking anyone who might know of his whereabouts to come forward to assist with their inquiries.
Maggie flinched. Kitty must never see this article as it might endanger the baby; she was in a bad enough state as it was. So after arriving back at Brunswick Villa, she left the newspaper in the kitchen for lighting the range. Unfortunately, a few days later, Kitty was getting the fire going – and there it was right in front of her. The poor girl was inconsolable as she realised what a fool she had been, and ever since that day she had sunk into a decline. Nothing Maggie did or suggested elicited any kind of response.
It was early in August and Kitty’s pregnancy was beginning to show. Maggie knew that she had no choice but to tell Miss Fox and her employer Ruby about it. It was only the fact that Kitty rarely got dressed nowadays that the two friends had managed to hide the situation for this long.
Cook had retired two weeks ago, and now Maggie and Miss Fox were keeping the house running between them. Many of the ornate gilt mirrors and pictures had disappeared to the pawnshop, along with some of the more expensive knick-knacks, for there was no money whatsoever coming in now. Sadly, the small house that Miss Fox had hoped to rent had been flattened by a Zeppelin bomb, and only the day before she had hinted that she was thinking of going to work in one of the armament factories. Maggie had strongly objected, pointing out that if anyone should go out to work it should be her. She was the youngest, after all, but Miss Fox wouldn’t hear of it. ‘You’ll have your hands full looking after Kitty and Ruby, and seeing to the running of the house,’ she had insisted.
Ruby was now very unwell and only the week before, Miss Fox had called the doctor in to see her. He had given the woman a thorough examination and then gravely informed Miss Fox that he feared that Miss Smith’s liver was failing: the amount of alcohol she had consumed over the years had done its worst and caused irretrievable damage. Miss Fox was devastated. Even so, she was determined to make sure that whatever time Ruby had left would be as comfortable as she could possibly make it. Maggie had been touched at her loyalty. Personally, she didn’t feel that her employer deserved such kindness although she didn’t say as much to Miss Fox. And now here she was about to add to her troubles – but what option did she have?
She found the older woman rolling pastry at the table for an apple and blackberry pie, and taking a seat beside her, Maggie took a deep breath before saying, ‘Foxy, I’m afraid I have to tell you something. It’s about Kitty. You see, she’s—’
‘Having a baby?’
The woman’s words shocked Maggie so much that her mouth gaped. And here she’d been thinking that they’d managed to keep it from her.
‘I guessed even before they set the date for the wedding,’ Miss Fox told her. Then leaning heavily on the table, she sighed, ‘I suppose I should tell Ruby now. She’ll not be best pleased – not that there’s much she can do about it. When is the baby due?’
‘To our reckoning, late December.’
‘Very well. Pour a glass of that ginger beer for Ruby, would you, pet, and dig out a couple of arrowroot biscuits to go with it, eh? I’ll have a chat to her when I take it through. No point in putting it off any longer, is there?’
As Maggie did as she was told, the woman lined a pie dish with pastry and added the bottled apples, and the blackberries they had picked in the orchard that morning, sprinkled some precious sugar on top, then added the lid and popped it in the hot oven. Removing her apron, Foxy picked up Ruby’s snack and muttered, ‘Wish me luck. I’m not at all sure how madam is going to take this latest blow.’
As usual, Ruby was reclining listlessly on the chaise longue in the drawing room. Placing the plate and tumbler on a table beside her, Miss Fox told her quietly, ‘I think you ought to know … you’re going to be a grandmother.’
‘What!’ Ruby sat bolt upright in her chair, her face a mask of horror. ‘You mean Kitty is with child?’
‘Well, who else could it be?’ Miss Fox said peevishly.
Ruby glowered as she strummed her fingers on the arm of the chaise longue. And then she shocked Miss Fox when she snarled, ‘She will have to get rid of it! There’s a woman I know of round the corner in Fulham who will do it for five pounds.’ She knew this because she herself had visited her on more than one occasion, but she couldn’t reveal that.
Miss Fox’s chest swelled with rage. ‘Get rid of it?’ she spat. ‘But this is a baby we’re talking about – your own flesh and blood. And what about the risk to Kitty? I’ve read about what’s happened to some of the poor girls who go to backstreet abortionists. She’s your daughter, don’t you care?’
Ruby waved her hand airily. ‘It’s worth the risk. Think of the scandal if she tries to keep it, Foxy. Once the war is over she can return to her singing career, but not with a baby hanging around her neck. The public would shun her and say that she was a fallen woman.’
‘Even if she’d consider it, it’s too late now,’ the other woman said tersely. ‘She’s too far gone.’
‘So?’ Ruby’s eyes flashed. ‘It just means the procedure will be slightly more unpleasant, that’s all. Send the girl to me immediately and I’ll tell her where to go.’
Miss Fox stared at her incredulously. She had always known that Ruby was selfish and self-centred, but she had never dreamed that even she would sink to such depths.
‘I’ll do no such thing,’ she ground out. ‘Kitty will have this baby so you’d better get used to the idea.’
‘Then she and Maggie will have to leave,’ Ruby said heartlessly. ‘Neither of them are any good to me if they’re not bringing money in.’
‘You would turn your own daughter out onto the street?’ Miss Fox shook her head. ‘I’ve never said this before
but I’m ashamed of you.’ And with that she turned and quietly left the room. She hadn’t expected Ruby to be pleased at the news, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that the woman would be so callous.
After climbing the stairs, she entered Ruby’s bedroom and sank onto the side of the bed. As usual, it was just as Ruby had left it, with clothes and dirty glasses strewn all over the place. Even now that they had no servants she still expected to be waited on hand and foot. After a time, Miss Fox rose and wearily began to tidy things away, and it was as she was placing some handkerchiefs into a drawer that she noticed something tucked beneath them. She investigated, and withdrew a number of sealed envelopes addressed to Treetops Manor in Nuneaton. After opening the first one, she gasped. These must be the letters that Kitty had written to Sunday and Tom when she had first arrived at Brunswick Villa at the age of fifteen. No wonder Kitty had been so dismissive of them when they had gone to see her at Wilton’s Music Hall. The poor girl must have thought that they had been ignoring the letters she had written to them. But Ruby had deliberately never posted the letters so her family would have no forwarding address. And all this time the poor girl must have been thinking that they had abandoned her. This was the worst act of all and suddenly Foxy realised what she must do. She made her way to her own room and after some thought as to what she should write, she quickly jotted down a letter then hurried away to post it while she still had the courage.
A few days later as Sunday was sifting through the mail at Treetops, she came across a small packet with handwriting that she didn’t recognise. Carrying it through to the drawing room she settled into the window seat, smiling when she saw Ben playing with the evacuee children outside on the lawn. Despite her initial fears about how he would react to them, they had done him good and accepted him exactly as he was.
Ben had come a long way since his return home when he had refused to leave his bedroom. He had been so ashamed of the damage to his face that he couldn’t bear anyone to look at him. The livid scars on his arm could be hidden with a shirt, but the same couldn’t be said for those on his face – yet very slowly he was coming to terms with the fact that he was just going to have to live with them. In truth, they had healed a great deal in the time he had been home. The angry redness had faded, but one side of his face was permanently disfigured and he still wouldn’t leave the grounds of Treetops despite all their best attempts to persuade him to do so. Ben had resigned himself to a life alone. As he’d pointed out, who would want him now, looking like this? Someone who truly loves you, Sunday had gently told him but this was something he found impossible to believe.
The Little Angel Page 42
