by Dilly Court
Alice continued to brush her mother’s hair. ‘Go on,’ she said gently. ‘What else did Smithson say?’
‘Just that Viola’s lover had deserted her and she had been left in straitened circumstances. Your father was very upset and Robert was heartbroken. He adored Viola.’ Beth turned her head to look Alice in the eye. ‘I was afraid that history was repeating itself and that some man had persuaded you to run away with him.’
Alice recoiled, staring at her mother in surprise. ‘Where did you get that idea, Mama? I’ve more sense than to do something so foolish.’
‘I could see that you were very taken with that young man you met at the Dearborns’ establishment.’
‘If you mean Rory Dearborn, then yes, I like him very much, and he was good to me, but that’s as far as it went. He’s been away in Ireland and I haven’t seen him for weeks.’
‘I’m so relieved, my love. One tragedy in the family is quite enough to bear.’
‘Don’t think about it, Mama. I’m sorry about Aunt Viola, but it all happened a long time ago and today you should be happy and think of the future. I’ll finish putting up your hair and then you’ll be ready. Horace is a very lucky man.’
Jane was waiting for them in the entrance hall when Beth and Alice finally arrived downstairs.
‘You took your time,’ she said icily. ‘Hurry up or we’ll be late arriving at the church.’
Cook and Clara stood at a respectful distance, waiting to see the bride. Mrs Jugg clutched her hands to her generous bosom and her eyes misted. ‘Oh, ma’am, you look a picture, you really do.’
‘Yes, indeed.’ Clara clapped her hands, but subsided when she realised that Jane was glaring at her.
‘Get back to work,’ Jane snapped. ‘You’ve seen what you wanted to see. I expect luncheon to be on the table when we return.’
Mrs Jugg scuttled off in the direction of the servants’ staircase, dragging Clara by the hand.
‘Give them an inch and they’ll take advantage of it,’ Jane said grimly. She opened the front door. ‘We’re walking. It’s not far to the church and it’s not raining so I saw no point in taking a cab.’
‘Let me help you with your cape.’ Alice slipped the cloak around her mother’s shoulders with a feeling of pride. Her mother might be in her late thirties but she had the figure of a young girl and her pretty face was surprisingly unlined.
Jane appeared to be unimpressed by the wedding dress, which was daringly low cut, fitted to the waist and the skirts draped at the front, ending in a small bustle and a hint of a train. ‘It’s barely decent,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘But you always were a flirt, Beth Dearborn. I just hope that you’re still able to bear a child, or this marriage will be a sham.’
Beth’s cheeks flushed bright pink. ‘You are entitled to your opinion, Jane, but I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself. Horace loves me and I intend to make him a good wife.’
Jane’s mouth opened and then closed like a trap door. Alice tucked her mother’s hand through the crook of her arm. ‘Well said,’ she whispered, adding loudly. ‘Lead on, Aunt Jane. We don’t want to keep the groom waiting in the cold. You know how delicate he is.’
‘Less of your cheek, young lady.’ Jane descended the steps and marched on ahead of them.
‘Take no notice of her,’ Alice said softly. ‘She’s just jealous, Mama.’
‘I don’t care.’ Beth tossed her head and the white ostrich feathers in her perky little hat waved in the breeze. ‘This is my last day in Queen Square. I shan’t be sad to leave.’
They walked arm in arm to the church and found Horace was waiting there with the vicar at his side. He had dispensed with the formality of a best man, and as Beth had no one to give her away she walked up the aisle on her own. Alice sat in the front pew next to Jane and watched with mixed feelings as her mother and Horace intoned their vows. They signed the register, witnessed by Jane and the verger, and the happy couple walked down the aisle without the accompaniment of the organist. Alice suspected that this was one of Jane’s economies, but Beth and Horace were beaming at each other and she could not begrudge them their moment of happiness.
A fitful sun had edged its way between the clouds as the small procession emerged from the church. There were a few curious onlookers but one in particular caught Alice’s eye and she came to sudden halt. Her heart was beating a tattoo against her ribs and she was finding it hard to draw breath.
Chapter Nineteen
‘Rory.’ His name escaped her lips on a sigh and she moved towards him, but he was not smiling. ‘Rory?’ she repeated his name in a nervous whisper. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Where is Flora?’ he demanded angrily. ‘I want you to tell me exactly what happened yesterday.’
Alice glanced anxiously at her mother and Horace, but they had already walked on with Jane as usual in the lead. ‘This isn’t a good time,’ Alice said hastily. ‘It’s my mother’s wedding day.’
‘This is far more important. A child’s life depends on your account of events.’
‘I told your brother everything.’ Hurt and defensive, Alice was about to walk away when he caught her by the wrist.
‘This can’t wait. I must hear it from you.’
‘The police took a statement from me. I can’t tell you any more than that.’
He gave her a searching look and she was quick to note the dark smudges under his eyes and the indentations of a frown on his forehead. Anger tugged at the corners of his generous lips and she felt his pain, which was even greater than her own. ‘Please,’ he said, lowering his voice. ‘I need to talk to you now. I love that child and I want her found before they destroy her.’
‘I love her too, and I was trying to save her from that dreadful place.’
‘Tell me what happened yesterday.’
‘Not here. Come with me to my aunt’s house. I can’t leave without wishing my mother and her husband well. We’ll stay only as long as necessary and then I’ll give you as much time as you need, but I doubt if there’s any more I can add to what I’ve already said.’
Rory tucked her hand in the crook of his arm. ‘Very well. Have it your way.’ He stared straight ahead as they walked briskly towards Queen Square. ‘The groom looks familiar,’ he said as Horace assisted his bride up the steps and over the threshold. Rory came to a sudden halt. ‘Isn’t that the fellow you were going to marry?’
‘My mother sacrificed herself on the altar of matrimony instead of me,’ Alice said drily. ‘If you’re coming in with me please say nothing, just go along with everything and I promise I’ll get away as soon as possible. I want to find Flora just as much as you do.’
Rory nodded. ‘All right, I’ll play along with this charade, but for heaven’s sake make it quick. Every minute that Flora is with that woman puts her in even greater danger.’ He followed Alice into the house, receiving an open-mouthed stare from Clara.
‘Who is this?’ Jane demanded, looking Rory up and down. ‘You weren’t invited, sir. Kindly leave.’
Beth hurried towards them, holding her hand out to Rory. ‘You must be Mr Dearborn. I’ve heard so much about you.’
Rory shot a sideways glance at Alice, who shrugged. ‘I am indeed, ma’am.’ He raised her hand to his lips. ‘May I be one of the first to offer my felicitations to the happy couple?’
‘How charming,’ Beth breathed, smiling happily. ‘Alice has always spoken most highly of you, Mr Dearborn.’
Horace moved swiftly to her side, grabbing her hand as if he were afraid that Rory might make off with his bride. ‘Won’t you introduce us, Alice?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Alice went through the motions as if she were acting a part in a play, but Rory behaved impeccably and even Jane unbent a little.
‘You will join us for the wedding breakfast?’ Jane said in a tone that was more a command than a request.
Rory acknowledged her invitation with a nod of his head. ‘You’re very kind.’
‘Snippet, ser
ve luncheon now.’ Jane strode into the cheerless dining room, leaving everyone to follow and find their place at table.
Rory sat next to Alice, providing the polite small talk, and Beth did her best to respond but the atmosphere was strained and Alice said little. Horace ate his food glowering at the interloper, and Jane sat in her usual place at the head of the table with a pained expression on her face, as if she wished that the whole uncomfortable business would come to a speedy conclusion. The only person who seemed to be enjoying herself was Clara, who bounded about clearing the table in between courses, eavesdropping shamelessly on the stilted conversation. Alice could only guess at the chitchat below stairs when Clara collected the next course, but at least the food was edible and the portions reasonably generous. Jane’s expression hardened as she watched her guests consume the feast she had provided.
There was no wine to drink to the health and future happiness of the bride and groom, but Rory took it upon himself to propose the toast. Taking her cue, Alice rose to her feet. ‘Mama and Horace,’ she said, raising her glass of water.
‘I’m your stepfather now,’ Horace said stiffly. ‘It’s improper to call me by my Christian name.’
Alice put her glass down with a thud. ‘I was prepared to be civil to you for Mama’s sake, and I thought we might even be friends. I see now that I was mistaken.’
‘Alice, please,’ Beth whispered. ‘Not now.’
‘You have married a pompous fool, Mama. I would as soon call the milkman’s horse papa. My father is dead and buried.’ Alice swept out of the room with angry tears coursing down her cheeks.
She turned with a start as Rory laid his hand on her shoulder. He produced a clean hanky from his breast pocket. ‘You certainly know how to make an exit.’ His lips twitched and his eyes twinkled. ‘Sarah Siddons would have been proud of you.’
‘I wasn’t acting,’ Alice said, blowing her nose in the softness of a fine cotton handkerchief with a lingering aroma of laundry dried in frosty air and the individual scent that was Rory’s own. She would have recognised it anywhere and it made her smile. ‘Thank you.’
‘That’s quite all right.’ He held up his hand, shaking his head as she offered to return his hanky. ‘Keep it. I’ve plenty more. Lydia gives me a dozen every Christmas and another twelve on my birthday.’
‘We can’t talk here,’ Alice said as Clara walked slowly past them, and it was obvious that she was listening to every word they said.
‘Come with me. We’ll find somewhere more private.’ Rory beckoned to Clara. ‘We’re leaving now. Would you be kind enough to fetch our outdoor garments?’
‘Yes, sir. Certainly, sir.’ Clara smiled up at him, blushing furiously as she scampered off to do his bidding.
‘You’ve made a conquest there.’ Alice tucked the hanky into her reticule. ‘Did you steal hearts in Ireland too?’ She had not meant to blurt out her innermost thoughts and she could have bitten off her tongue. Rory’s good opinion was important to her but such childish remarks were unlikely to endear her to him. She shot him a sideways glance and realised that his smile had widened into a look of amusement.
‘Of course,’ he said lightly. ‘On a clear day the sound of weeping can be heard from Dublin to Liverpool.’
‘Then it’s lucky that I’m not one of them.’ Alice took her mantle and bonnet from Clara. ‘Thank you.’
‘You will return, won’t you, miss? You’ll come back and see us every now and then?’
Alice patted her on the shoulder. ‘Of course. Take care of yourself, Clara, and thank Mrs Jugg for a lovely meal.’
‘I will, miss.’
Clara was still watching them from the top step when Alice turned her head to wave. ‘The poor child has a miserable time in that household,’ she said softly. ‘If I had my own home I’d take her in and see that she was properly trained. As it is she’ll be stuck with my aunt until that miserable woman gets tired of her.’
‘I’m more worried about Flora at this moment in time.’ Rory proffered his arm. ‘We’ll go to Russell Square.’
‘No, that’s not a good idea. I’m not welcome there.’
‘Lydia is visiting friends and Freddie is at the office. We won’t be disturbed and I’m not going to sit on a bench in the square in this weather. It’s going to rain at any moment.’
Hoskins blinked like a startled owl when Rory ushered Alice into the entrance hall. ‘Really, sir. I was given orders—’
‘And I’m countermanding them,’ Rory said without giving him time to finish the sentence. ‘We’ll be in the drawing room, Hoskins. See that we’re not disturbed.’
‘Very good, sir.’ Hoskins’ face was a study in self-control, betrayed only by a muscle twitching at the side of his mouth and the stiffness of his movements as he closed the front door.
‘Come, Alice.’ Rory walked on ahead and she followed him up the stairs to the drawing room, which held so many memories, most of them discomforting.
Alice hesitated in the doorway. ‘Do you think this is a good idea? Your brother and his wife made it abundantly clear that I wasn’t to come here again. They blame me entirely.’
Rory motioned her to take a seat. ‘You shouldn’t have acted alone. Freddie chose the school and he was satisfied that Flora would have settled down eventually. She was sent there for her own safety, but you had to interfere.’
She remained standing, clutching her gloved hands in front of her. ‘Flora sent me a letter begging me to take her away from that place. I was there for over a fortnight and I can tell you that it was little better than a prison. The children were beaten or locked in the cellar for the slightest misdemeanour. They had only to make the smallest error and they were caned on the hands or forced to wear a dunce’s cap and stand in the corner for hours on end. They were underfed and humiliated by the teachers, and as far as I could see their education was minimal.’
His shoulders drooped and he shook his head. ‘You make it sound grim indeed.’
‘I went there with the best of intentions. I would have persuaded Flora to stay had I thought that she would benefit from being there, but that wasn’t the case. When Molly and her rough turned up I had no choice but to flee with the girls.’
‘I suppose by that you mean Flora and Mary. What were you thinking of? You could be arrested for kidnapping young Mary.’
‘I have the address of her aunt who lives in Chislehurst, and the lady’s solicitor. I intended to contact them and tell them how the poor little soul was being treated. Besides which, Flora refused to leave without her small friend. What would you have done in similar circumstances?’
A reluctant smile flitted across Rory’s stern features. ‘I’m hardly likely to find myself in such a position.’
‘But you do understand what I’m saying?’
‘Yes, I do. I don’t agree with what you’ve done, but the main thing now is to find Flora and bring her home.’
‘I couldn’t agree more, but I don’t know where to start.’
‘I’m going to Blossom Street,’ Rory said firmly. ‘I doubt if Molly would be fool enough to return there, but maybe one of the creatures in the cellar might be able to give me a clue as to where she’s gone.’
‘I’m coming with you.’
‘It’s not safe; beside which you have your work.’
‘Your brother dismissed me. You must know that.’
‘And I want you reinstated. I’ve seen your designs, Alice. They’re brilliant and beautiful. We’d be fools to lose such a talent.’
She eyed him doubtfully. ‘The others in the office resent working with a woman. Martin and Rawlins have made that very clear. The only people who tolerate me are Beasley and George. In fact, I wouldn’t have a roof over my head if it weren’t for George. His family were kind enough to take me in even though their house is overcrowded.’
‘George is just a boy,’ Rory said dismissively. ‘He’s little more than an apprentice, but the others will do as I—’ Rory broke off as the door burs
t open and Frederick marched into the room.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he demanded angrily. ‘Hoskins told me that you’d brought that woman into my home. I thought I made it plain that she wasn’t to come anywhere near here in future.’
‘Just a minute, Freddie. If you give the matter your due consideration you’ll realise that the real culprit is Molly Bishop. Alice was doing what she thought was best for Flora.’
‘I’d better go.’ Alice made a move towards the door but she hesitated, turning to Frederick. ‘You can’t make me feel worse than I do already, and I know that an apology is useless, but I am terribly sorry. I would do anything to help find Flora and bring her safely home.’
‘You’ll leave at once. I can’t bear to look at you.’
‘Freddie, have a heart,’ Rory protested. ‘You can see that she’s sincere. Alice is as devoted to Flora as you or I. We should all be working together to find the child.’
Frederick sat down suddenly, bowing his head. ‘This is a nightmare. I keep thinking I’ll wake up and see that impish little face grinning up at me, and then I realise that she’s gone. I daren’t even try to imagine what must have befallen her.’
‘I’m going to find her, Freddie. What’s more, I’ve told Alice that she has her job back.’
‘You can’t do that.’ Frederick looked up, his face drained of colour and expression. ‘I don’t want her working for me.’
‘I’m part of the business too, and I say she stays.’
Alice held up her hands. ‘Stop it,’ she cried angrily. ‘I don’t need your job. I can find work elsewhere and I won’t stay somewhere I’m not wanted.’ She hurried from the room, fighting back tears of frustration as she descended the stairs and crossed the wide entrance hall. Hoskins opened the door for her.
‘You did your best for Miss Flora,’ he said in a low voice. ‘We all know it below stairs.’
Alice paused, looking up into his lined face. ‘Thank you, Hoskins. I just wish I could help.’
