He set down his plate. “Shall we get back to work?”
CHAPTER
13
JULIA SAW THE MORAN FAMILY as soon as she entered King’s Cross Station. Nearly everyone had come—Nate’s mother, his sister Mary, his brother Patrick, and Patrick’s wife, Hannah, all stood together, reviewing the board that listed the platform numbers for arriving trains. Well, they were mostly standing together. Hannah kept getting pulled from the group by Tommy, her energetic toddler. He would have raced off to look at everything in the station if she hadn’t kept a firm grip on his little hand.
“Julia!” cried Mary, hurrying to meet her. Tugging her toward the rest of the family, she exclaimed, “I’m so glad to see you again. It’s been ages!”
Mary was eighteen, and although she helped with the family business of taking in washing for wealthy households, she had plans to find what she called “proper employment” in an office or perhaps as a shop girl at one of the larger department stores.
“How is the job search going?” Julia asked as they made their way over to the others.
“Still working on it,” Mary whispered in response.
“There’s our stranger,” Mrs. Moran said in her distinct Irish accent, giving Julia a hug as she and Mary reached the group. “We haven’t seen you since Christmas!” The reproach in her voice was unmistakable. “Have you been eating properly?” She held Julia at arm’s length and scrutinized her. “They’re not working you too hard, are they?”
“It’s a school, Ma, not an iron mine,” Mary chided in a manner that, whether she intended it or not, hilariously echoed her mother.
“School has kept me so busy,” Julia murmured, although she didn’t really feel the need to defend herself. Mrs. Moran was a loving woman, but she had some old-fashioned notions. Her disapproval of Julia’s missionary plans sometimes made their interactions uncomfortable. Before coming to London, Julia had planned to share a room with Rosalyn at the Morans’ home while she completed her schooling. But then Rosalyn and Nate had gotten married, and Julia thought it better to stay in lodgings next to Queen’s College. Her sister relished being part of this big, boisterous family—something they’d never had growing up. But Julia savored her independence more.
They all had the same goal today, however. They’d come to welcome Rosalyn and Nate back to London. The couple had been touring the East Midlands with a production of H.M.S. Pinafore, but now they were on hiatus since the theatres closed during Easter week. Nate’s sister Martha was the only member of the family not here. The others explained that she’d not been able to get away from the seamstress’s shop. With so many orders to complete before Easter Sunday, they were overloaded with work.
“The train arrives at platform three,” Mary informed Julia. “We’re on our way there now!”
Patrick scooped up his wayward son and placed him on his shoulders as they trekked toward the platforms.
Julia said, “I’ve heard there’s a new show starting soon.”
Patrick worked on the lighting crew at the Opera Comique, where The Pirates of Penzance had just ended its run. He nodded enthusiastically, causing his son, who had tight hold of his hair, to giggle. “We’ve been incredibly busy with setup and rehearsals. The new show is called Patience, and I’m sure it will be a great success. It’s very funny—but then, we couldn’t expect less from Mr. Gilbert, could we?”
“What’s it about?”
Patrick pointed toward the platform, where the train was just arriving. “I’ll tell you later.”
Julia was glad to see her sister again, even though she’d likely have to endure Rosalyn’s continued attempts to persuade Julia to change her mind about becoming a missionary. Rosalyn was fully in support of Julia becoming a doctor; it was the aspect of going overseas that troubled her. Rosalyn was terrified of losing a sister to the deep, just as they’d lost their father. Julia didn’t know how to convince her not to worry—she could only pray that when the time came to leave, her sisters would have come to terms with it and be at peace.
The line Michael had quoted to her at their last lesson came to mind: To thine own self be true.
She’d thought about it a lot since then. In fact, many things about their last lesson together remained on her mind. She felt strangely out of her depth. They’d had nearly six weeks of lessons, and with each one, Julia’s anticipation had heightened. His family history, sad as it was, moved her greatly. Not only for the struggle he and Corinna had endured, but for the way he was so dedicated to his sister in return. Julia didn’t think anything would persuade her to give up her dreams—not even if her sisters asked her to do so. Was Michael giving up something for his sister? Or were they pursuing the same goals together? It was something Julia could not entirely discern.
The phrase from Shakespeare was intriguing. As she’d thought about it, however, Julia realized it was not entirely correct. Really, it was God to whom a person owed first allegiance. That was how to find one’s true self. She would relay this to Michael, but his spiritual hunger seemed minimal, and that was perhaps the most disappointing thing about him. There were times when she thought she could see it, but then it would just as quickly vanish.
The Moran family kept a lookout for Rosalyn and Nate among the passengers spilling out of the train. When the pair finally came into view, Julia thought her sister had never looked more beautiful. Over the past year, she’d seen Rosalyn only a handful of times, but each time she’d been impressed by her sister’s increasing boldness and self-confidence. A happy marriage and a satisfying career on the stage had made her less reticent and more outgoing. She was joyful, almost carefree, despite her half-serious moaning about their hectic and demanding touring schedule.
The whole family rushed forward to embrace the new arrivals, causing a general scuffle and much laughter as Nate and Rosalyn tried to return every hug.
Rosalyn held Julia for several extra seconds. “I’m so glad to see you. How well you look.”
“Tell that to Mrs. Moran,” Julia whispered. “She thinks I don’t eat enough.”
Nate detached himself from his mother’s fierce grip and held out his arm toward Julia. “My scar is healing well, as you can see, Dr. Bernay.”
It was a reference to the day they’d met, when Julia had been fascinated by the long scar that ran from his hand nearly up to his elbow, an army injury that, at that time, had not yet fully healed. Now Julia could see the scar had paled significantly, and Nate flexed his hand to demonstrate that the range of motion was returning. Julia couldn’t help but think of Michael again and how embarrassed he’d looked when he’d accidentally held his splinted hand forward to shake hers.
“Julia is not on medical duty today,” Patrick informed him.
Nate looked at his brother askance. “How do you know that?”
“Because she hasn’t asked me once about my broken leg.” He feigned a limp and gave a moaning, exaggerated grimace that made Tommy laugh.
Hannah poked her husband. “Perhaps she hasn’t asked because you’ve been healed for over a year now.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Nate said with a dramatic sigh of relief. “I thought maybe you’d managed to fall off that ladder again.”
“Nate has missed having Patrick to tease,” Rosalyn said.
“Patrick might have broken his leg and recovered in the time you’ve been gone,” Mrs. Moran put in, but her teasing held disapproval. She was unhappy when Nate and Rosalyn hadn’t been able to come home at Christmastime. They’d been touring up north, almost to Scotland. With Christmas being their only day off, there had not been enough time to travel to London.
“We’re here for the whole week now,” Nate reminded her. “Just as we promised.”
“Let’s not spend half of it at the station,” Patrick said. “I know for a fact that Liza is putting the finishing touches on a wonderful supper. Where’s your luggage?”
The brothers went to collect Nate and Rosalyn’s trunks out of the pile being off-loa
ded from the luggage carriage.
“A whole week without working,” Rosalyn said with a happy sigh as she wrapped her arm through Julia’s. “Much as I love the theatre, this will seem like heaven. I hope we can spend lots of time together. There is so much to catch up on. So much news.”
Julia had plenty of studying to do, even though Queen’s College was on break for Easter. With only two months before the university examination, she had to make the most of every day. Michael had given her a hefty Latin assignment to work on, too. But she would spend as much time with her sister as she could. There was indeed much to talk about. Julia needed to inform her about losing her benefactor and ask her opinion about moving in with the Morans. She had even halfway made up her mind to tell Rosalyn about her lessons with Michael, although since she’d promised to tell no one, she was warring with her conscience over doing so. She would wrestle with the problem again when the time came.
It struck Julia that Rosalyn had put an interesting emphasis on the word news. Rosalyn was beaming.
“Is something changing? I thought your tour ran through August.”
Rosalyn slid a sideways glance at Mrs. Moran and Mary, whose interest was also piqued by Julia’s question. “Oh yes, the tour is going on as scheduled. I just meant that I look forward to hearing all about your studies. And that accident on the Underground! You didn’t provide nearly enough details in your letter.”
Despite her words, Julia was pretty sure she’d been talking of something else.
Seeing Nate and Patrick’s jovial chatter as they approached with the trunks, Julia suddenly had a vivid mental picture of Michael walking beside them, joining in their lighthearted banter. He would like these two, she felt sure. But the brothers inhabited a very different world from his. Those two worlds were not likely ever to meet.
Julia was generally better at giving advice than receiving it, but now she craved Rosalyn’s guidance. She knew many things about the physical body and that organ in the chest that pumped blood, but she knew so little about affairs of the heart.
Later, after a lively dinner at the Morans’ home, Julia and Rosalyn finally had a few minutes alone. When she’d heard how Julia’s best dress had been ruined in the accident, Rosalyn had insisted on giving Julia one of hers. She’d pointed out that she owned more than she could use right now anyway, since she had to keep her baggage to a minimum while on tour.
“Here’s one that Jessie gave me last year,” Rosalyn said, pulling out a dark green gown from the large oak wardrobe in her bedroom. “I think this color will suit you.”
Julia held up the dress, trying to gauge its effect as she looked at herself in the tall mirror next to the vanity table. It did look very nice. “It seems almost too elegant, though,” she said doubtfully.
“Nonsense. It will be perfect for the Easter service. You can also wear it to the theatre.”
“I have neither the time nor money for that, I’m sorry to say.”
“I hope you’ll make the time. Nate and I have secured four tickets to Patience, and I’d like you to have one. Please don’t tell anyone else, though. It’s a surprise. We’re going to present it to Martha for her birthday tomorrow. She’s wanted to go to the opera for ages.”
“It sounds wonderful!” Julia exclaimed. “I only wish we were going to see you singing in it.”
“It would be lovely to perform in London,” Rosalyn admitted. “It may yet happen. These touring shows have given me invaluable training, and my singing has reached a quality I would never have thought possible just a few years ago. But in the meantime . . .” She pointed to the gown Julia held. “Try that on. We’ll see if it needs alteration.”
As she was changing into the gown, Julia said, “Getting the tickets—is that the news you were hinting at earlier?”
Rosalyn stepped behind Julia to button up the back. “Partly. There is more, although Nate doesn’t want to tell his family until everything is settled.”
Julia caught a glimpse of Rosalyn’s face in the mirror and saw that her eyes were sparkling with excitement. “I won’t tell anyone,” Julia promised, turning to face her. “What is it?”
“Nate is going to ask for a job at the Savoy.”
This was interesting news, for it had many ramifications. Patrick had told them over dinner that Patience would be moving in October from the Opera Comique to the Savoy, a brand-new theatre being built specifically for Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Sullivan’s operas. It would have only the most modern furnishings and equipment, even electric lights—a first for any theatre—although Patrick told them they would still use limelights to illuminate the principal singers. Lighting was Patrick’s specialty, and one that Nate loved as well. Julia could see why he’d want to work there.
“Does that mean you’d be at the Savoy, too?” That would be thrilling news.
Rosalyn smiled but gave a tiny shrug. “It’s doubtful. Getting a spot on the stage is a lot harder to manage. Of course, I could always go back to work as a dresser. Speaking of which . . .” She stepped back to study Julia. “This is lovely on you. Just perfect.”
She began to fuss with the gown, placing a few pins in the bodice where she said it would look better if taken in. Julia wasn’t sure that was necessary, but she trusted Rosalyn’s judgment on such things. She was just thankful to have something so nice to wear.
“You wouldn’t really go back to being a dresser, though, would you?” she asked after Rosalyn had helped her back into her other clothes.
“No, I was only teasing. Still, after traveling this past year and a half, I’ll be happy to be in one place for a while, no matter what I do. And the truth is, well, Nate and I want to start a family.”
Julia’s gaze went immediately to Rosalyn’s stomach. “Are you—?”
“No! That is, I’m not sure. There have been a few signs. But if I am, I’m only a month or two along, I think. There will be time to finish up our tour.”
“But if you have children, does that mean you’d give up singing? You’ve come so far, and you just said you want to sing on a London stage.”
“We don’t know all the details yet. We don’t even know whether there will be an opening at the Savoy for Nate. We just feel that returning to London is the right decision.”
“That’s a big decision to make without a clear plan.”
“Perhaps. But when you’re doing what you know is right, the next steps become evident as you need them.” She took hold of Julia’s hands. “Surely this is something we’ve learned together over the years? Our exact path may not always be clear, but with God, the way is always certain nonetheless.”
“You’re right.” Feeling unusually sentimental, Julia pulled Rosalyn into a heartfelt embrace.
There was a knock on the door. “It’s me,” Nate called. “Ma wants to hear me play, and I realized the fiddle was brought upstairs with our other things.”
“Don’t come in just yet,” Rosalyn called back in return. “We’ll be there in a moment.” Turning to Julia, she said in a softer voice, “Don’t forget, our thoughts about returning to London are secret for now.”
Julia nodded, and Rosalyn opened the door for Nate. She decided not to broach the subject of coming to live here. Rosalyn would be overjoyed to have them all living together under one roof, but Julia wasn’t yet convinced it was the right answer. She didn’t want to raise her sister’s hopes. She had money for the next few months, so there was time. As Rosalyn had pointed out, the best way forward would reveal itself in time.
Julia took comfort in that thought for other reasons as well. She’d been unsettled by her growing attachment to Michael Stephenson. Spending so much time with him only made the way more murky rather than clear. This conversation had been a good reminder not to be anxious, and perhaps that was all she needed. Besides, how could she talk directly to Rosalyn about it without breaking her promise to Michael? In addition, her sister was so blissfully happy that Julia suspected she’d be more likely to try to convince Julia to stay in Eng
land, seeing romantic possibilities in her relationship with Michael that could never come to pass.
As they made their way downstairs, Julia’s gaze kept straying to the way Nate’s hand rested on the small of Rosalyn’s back. A protective, loving gesture. A thought tried to slip into Julia’s mind—could there be a husband for the type of life she planned to lead? A fellow missionary, perhaps?
No. Somehow Julia was sure that was the wrong answer. She was destined to remain single, and she’d always been satisfied with this fate.
She just wished the pangs of happiness she felt for her sister didn’t have this disturbing hint of longing as well.
All Saints Church was impressive decked out in its finest Easter array, from the gold vessels on the altar to the profusion of lilies in stands along the walls. In truth, All Saints was impressive every day, with its elaborate frescoes, marble decorations, and polished granite columns topped with carved alabaster capitals. It was known for attracting the better classes, and yet, over the past few years, Michael had seen an influx of respectable working-class people here as well. The seating was open; there were no reserved pews. This eclectic mix was precisely why David preferred to come here. The elegant surroundings and high-church service satisfied Corinna, so she and her husband found this church mutually agreeable.
The congregation was dressed in their finest clothes today. Michael didn’t normally pay attention to these things, but he noticed Corinna’s hat was especially becoming. She had likely chosen it to draw attention away from her less fashionable gown, which was loosely fitted to allow for her burgeoning stomach. She was about six months along now, and her growing middle was unmistakable.
This year Corinna might have lobbied to attend the Easter service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, with the hopes of rubbing elbows with Miss Maynard and her brother, the Viscount Delaford. But as Laura and the viscount were spending Easter week at their ancestral estate in the countryside, Corinna was content to follow David’s wishes and come here.
The Heart's Appeal Page 14
