by Dilly Court
'You can stay here for as long as you like, ducks,' Gertie said. 'But that Pike fellow might still be searching for you, and he knows you were here.'
Eloise glanced at Joss and Beth, who were on the floor playing with a stray kitten that had wandered into the cottage. She sighed. 'I don't think the Cribbs will give up easily. In some ways I think it might be best if I went up to Yorkshire and had it out with them once and for all. Perhaps I have been too selfish in denying Joss the education and upbringing that the Cribbs could give him so easily.'
Peg threw up her hands in horror. 'But you can't be thinking of giving him over to them, not after what you've told us about Mrs Cribb and her horrible sister.'
Eloise shook her head. 'What alternative do I have now, Peg? You'll soon be a mother and then you'll understand that you would do anything for your children – anything at all. But I would insist on staying at Cribb's Hall so that I could be with them every day, even if it meant being treated like a servant. I won't be parted from my babies. I'd die first.'
Gertie refilled their teacups from the old brown china teapot with half the handle missing. She frowned. 'Are you sure about this, Ellie? Don't you think you ought to give your fellah a chance to speak for hisself? If he loves you, he'll understand why you done what you done.'
'If I thought that I wouldn't have run away. No, Barton is a fine man, but he'll never get over the way his wife tricked him into marrying her when she was expecting another man's child.'
'But it's not the same with you, Ellie,' Peg protested hotly. 'You was forced into acting the way you did.'
'It's true, I never meant to deceive him, but I doubt if he will see it that way. And if I should remarry, I would have to be certain that the man could love my children as well as he loved me. Poor little mites, they have suffered enough on my account. I must do what I think is best for them.'
'But that may not be best for you, Ellie,' Peg said gently. 'Stay here for a few days at least and think things over before you do anything silly.'
'Yes, ducks,' Gertie agreed, nodding her head. 'Peg's right. You're worn out with worry and you need time to think. We missed you and the nippers when you took off like that. Stay here with us until you're sure that you're doing the right thing.'
'And if that Pike bloke comes sniffing round just let him watch out.' Peg jumped to her feet and fisted her hands, dancing about like a prize fighter. 'My Mick and the boys will sort him out good and proper. We know how to look after our own in Magpie Alley. Let Pike come here and he'll find hisself buried at the bottom of a dust heap.'
Joss and Beth leapt to their feet and began dancing around with Peg while the kitten flew up the curtains and hung there, its fur sticking out all over its tiny body as it hissed with fright.
Eloise couldn't help laughing. 'I will stay for a day or two, and thank you with all my heart for your kindness.'
'Oh, tosh!' Gertie said, getting up from the table and reaching for her dusty jacket and bonnet. 'You're one of us, ducks. I'm off to work and you stay put, or I'll have something to say about it.'
Despite the cramped living conditions, Eloise did stay put for the best part of a week. She did not go back to work in the dust yard, but she kept the house clean, did the shopping and cooked meals for the whole family in an effort to repay the Tranters for their hospitality. Keeping busy prevented her from brooding too much about what she had lost, but every night Barton Caine invaded her dreams, which inevitably turned into nightmares as he learned the truth about her, and when she awakened she found her pillow was wet with tears.
As the days went by Eloise became more and more convinced that she must take the children back to Yorkshire. It was not a decision to be taken lightly, but with her parents thousands of miles away, and nowhere else to go, she knew she had little option but to throw herself on the mercy of the Cribbs. After all, Harcourt was a kindly soul, even if he was under petticoat rule, and Hilda must have a heart buried somewhere beneath that massive bosom. Eloise tried to convince herself and failed miserably, but she also knew that she could not impose on the Tranters for very much longer, and it was only a matter of time before Pike discovered their whereabouts.
On a particularly wet and dismal Friday morning, Eloise had finally and most reluctantly made up her mind to return to Yorkshire. She would break the news to the family when they returned from work that evening. She was standing at the kitchen table, kneading bread dough, when someone tapped on the cottage door. 'My hands are covered in flour. Can you reach the latch, Joss darling?'
Joss toddled over to the door and stood on tiptoe to push up the latch.
'Hello,' he said cheerfully.
Eloise had her back to the door and she was wiping the sticky dough from her fingers. 'Who is it, darling?' She turned her head just in time to see Joss swept up in the arms of a lady whose face was hidden beneath the wide brim of a fur trimmed bonnet.
Chapter Twenty-two
'Mama?' Eloise said faintly. Although it was morning, it was dark outside and torrential rain was lashing down, but she would have recognised the figure silhouetted in the doorway anywhere. For a second, Eloise thought that she was dreaming, but when Grace raised her tearstained face she was smiling with joy.
'Oh, Ellie, darling. I thought I'd never find you.'
'Mama!' Eloise ran to her, wrapping her arms around her mother and hugging her with Joss sandwiched in between them until he protested. Eloise loosened her grasp just enough to let Joss down safely, but she held on to her mother's hand, gripping it tightly for fear that she might suddenly disappear again, and this would all prove to be a dream. 'Mama, I can't believe it. You're really here. How – I don't understand . . .'
'Don't cry, Mama,' Joss said in a very grownup manner. 'It's my nana.'
'He remembers me. I thought he would have forgotten his nana.' Grace smiled through her tears. She reached into her reticule and pulled out two lace-edged handkerchiefs. She gave one to Eloise. 'I came prepared, my love. I knew you wouldn't have one of your own.'
Halfway between tears and laughter, Eloise clutched the scrap of lace and cotton to her face and inhaled the familiar scent of lavender. 'Oh, Mama! This is too good to be true. Is Papa with you? How did you find me? Why aren't you in Africa? Oh, I'm so happy to see you.' Still clutching her mother's hand, Eloise led her to a chair by the fire. 'Let me take your cape and bonnet, they're soaking wet. Sit down, darling Mama. Tell me everything.'
Grace wiped flour and remnants of bread dough from her hand. 'All in good time, my love.' She took off her bonnet and cape and passed them to Eloise. 'Let me look at you, Ellie. Are you well, darling? You look so pale and thin.'
'I'm fine, Mama.' A shaft of fear clutched Eloise's heart. Her mother's lovely face was thinner and there were fine lines radiating from the corners of her eyes. 'You're not ill, are you? Is that why you came home so unexpectedly?'
Grace sank down on the chair and lifted Beth off the floor, sitting her on her knee. She glanced up at Eloise with a reassuring smile. 'No, I'm not ill. By some miracle I escaped the disease that laid your father and Janet so low.' She chuckled as Beth made a grab for her earrings and she covered her granddaughter's face with kisses. 'My little darling, how you've grown. You were just a baby when we left England, and now look at you.'
'Me too,' Joss said, climbing onto her lap. 'I'm a big boy, Nana.'
'You are a very big boy, Joss. Just wait until your grandpa sees you. He will get a surprise.'
Eloise drew up a stool and sat at her mother's side. She had to touch her again, just to make certain she was real. 'I can hardly believe this, Mama. I've missed you so much.'
'You couldn't have missed me any more than I have missed you, my darling,' Grace said tenderly. 'You were in my thoughts night and day.'
'And now you've come home. But why, Mama? Why have you come back to London so soon and how did you find us?'
'I'll explain everything; just give me a few moments to enjoy cuddling my grandchildren.' Grace was still smilin
g, but there was concern in her pansy-brown eyes as they scanned Eloise's face. 'I can see that you have had a hard time, Ellie.'
'I'm fine now that you're here, but I still can't quite take it in.' Eloise stood up and reached for the kettle. She could never keep anything secret from her mother for long, but she was not yet ready to tell all. 'I'll make us some tea while you tell me what miracle brought you to Magpie Alley.'
'Kitten, Nana,' Joss cried, leaping off her lap and making a grab for the unfortunate kitten, which had just woken up and was stretching and yawning, exposing a pink tongue and pointed white teeth. It dangled helplessly from Joss's grasp as he thrust it in front of his grandmother's face, and Beth struggled to get off her lap, holding her hands out in a vain attempt to snatch the unhappy animal.
'It's a lovely kitten,' Grace said, setting Beth back on the floor. 'Why don't you play with him while I talk to your mama?'
Eloise set the tea to brew and she returned to her seat. 'Well, Mama?'
'It took so long for your letters to reach me, Ellie. And when I read them I knew something was wrong. Oddly enough it was Hilda who alerted me to your plight. I don't think she meant to do you any favours, but she wrote a long and garbled letter about your ingratitude, and how you had run away from Cribb's Hall, abducting Joan's daughter who later died whilst in your care. She said that you had gone back to the fleshpots of London and that you were a disgrace to the name of Cribb. Of course I knew that it was a farrago of lies, and I also knew that you must be in dire straits, especially when she added that she had sent a private detective to seek you out.'
'And so you came home, Mama?'
'It was not easy to persuade your papa, but I stood my ground, Ellie. I told him that you and the children were more important to me than the entire population of Africa. Anyway, he had been terribly ill with malaria, and suffered recurrent bouts of fever so that sometimes I feared for his life. I sent a messenger to the senior missionary in Mombasa, and when he saw how ill your father was he agreed with me that we should get him back to England as soon as possible.'
'And he is here in London too?'
'He had to stay on for a while to settle in the new man, but Janet is with him and they will travel to England as soon as your papa can book a passage.'
'And you travelled all that way on your own?'
Grace smiled and clasped Eloise's hands. 'Darling, when I knew you were in trouble nothing could have made me stay in Africa. I would have walked home if necessary.'
Eloise raised her mother's hand to her cheek. 'Oh, Mama, I've missed you so.'
'And I you, dearest girl. I thought of you and the children constantly, and your father had to agree that he was mistaken in sending you to stay with the Cribbs. Can you imagine your papa actually admitting that he was in the wrong?'
'No, Mama. Never.'
'Where's that tea, Ellie? I am parched.'
Reluctantly, Eloise let go of her mother's hand and she poured the tea. She gave Joss and Beth cups of milk, and, at Joss's insistence, poured a little drop in a saucer for the kitten.
'I still don't know how you found us here of all places, Mama,' Eloise said, handing her mother the only cup in the Tranters' household which did not have a chip out of it or a broken handle.
'When I reached London I booked into a small hotel in Bloomsbury, and then I went straight to the Missionary Society. They gave me the address that you had left with them, and so I went to the Foundling Hospital and had a very interesting meeting with your Mr Caine.'
Eloise almost dropped her teacup, spilling some of the contents on her lap. She jumped to her feet, covering her confusion by grabbing a piece of rag and mopping at her skirt. 'He's not my Mr Caine, Mama. He was kind enough to give me a job when I needed one.'
'You always were a poor liar, darling. He told me everything, or at least as far as he knew your story. Unless I'm very much mistaken, my dear, Barton Caine is head over heels in love with you.'
'Did you – did you tell him about Joss and Beth?'
'It came out in conversation.'
'And now he must hate me. You don't know the whole story, Mama. There were reasons why I couldn't tell him that Joss and Beth were my children.'
'I think you should have trusted him, darling. I can understand why you did what you did, but I think you underestimated Mr Caine.'
'Did he tell you about Maria's mother?'
'As I said, we had a long talk. He is a most remarkable man, Ellie. I don't wonder that you fell in love with him.'
Eloise covered her hot cheeks with her hands. 'I never said so, Mama.'
'You didn't have to, darling. But you will have a chance to tell him so yourself when he calls at our hotel this evening.'
'I – I don't understand.'
'I've reserved a room for you and the children at my hotel. Barton wanted to come with me this morning, but I insisted that it was best if I saw you on my own. He will have his chance later.'
'To tell me that it was all a mistake, no doubt,' Eloise said bitterly. 'Why did you say I would see him, Mama? And I can't afford to stay in a hotel. Just look at me . . .' She glanced down at her shabby blouse and skirt. 'These are all the clothes I have to wear. I left the Foundling Hospital in such a hurry that I left everything behind. I even had to borrow a nurse's cape, which I must return at some point.' She waved her hands in front of her mother. 'Look at them – they're the hands of a charwoman. I'm a mess, Mama. What man in his right mind would look at me now?'
'Don't be ridiculous, Ellie. Your hands will soon heal and a little pampering together with some new clothes will work wonders. Your father has given me a generous amount of money to keep us until he returns to England. I think his illness and his experiences in the African bush have made him see many things in a quite different light.'
'You won't have to go back there, will you, Mama?'
'No, darling. Your father hopes to be installed in a country parish very soon and then we will be a family again.' Grace stood up, taking Eloise by the shoulders and giving her a gentle shake. 'Now, back to the present, Ellie. The first thing we will do is get you fitted out with a new wardrobe. Although you are so thin now that I fear we might have difficulty in finding anything ready-made that will fit. We will take the children shopping, and buy them some new clothes too.' Grace smiled down at Joss and Beth as they played with the kitten. 'And I will buy them each a birthday present, even if it is a little late.'
'I can't just walk out of here, Mama. The Tranters have been kindness itself to me.'
'Of course you can't. I owe them a huge debt of gratitude, and when we are settled we must invite them all round for tea, but for now, I think you ought to go and find them and tell them of our plans. I'll wait here for you.'
'Oh, Mama, it is so good to have you home.' Eloise flung her arms around her mother's neck and hugged her. 'Just one thing, though. How did Barton know where to find me?'
'He didn't, Ellie. It was that strange little waif called Annie. Apparently you insisted that he took her in and he had given her a job helping Mrs Dean in the kitchen. She brought a tray of tea into the drawing room and was clearing it away when she must have overheard part of our conversation. She was only too happy to fill in the gaps. She told us all she knew of your terrible time in Clerkenwell Green and about Pike, the hateful detective. She said that you had once taken shelter with a family called Tranter who worked a dust heap near King's Cross, and we thought it was worth a try. I wonder that Barton had not thought to interrogate Annie when you first went missing, but my guess is that he was so beside himself with worry that he was not thinking straight. That man clearly adores you, Ellie. Do give him a chance to prove it.'
Eloise stooped to pick up Beth who was attempting to climb up her skirt. She rubbed her cheek against her daughter's curly head. 'I have to be certain, Mama. I have to put my children first.'
Grace smiled. 'Quite right, but don't forget you are talking about a man who has raised a child who was not his own. He could have put
Maria out for adoption, but he did not. And Maria misses you terribly, she told me so several times.'
Eloise nodded her head, but her throat was constricted with tears and she could not speak. Too many emotions were raging in her breast to allow her to think clearly.
'I know, darling,' Grace said, patting her on the arm. 'Everything will be all right. Trust Mama.'
'I – I still can't quite believe that you're here. I'm afraid I might wake up any moment and find that I am dreaming.'
With a gurgle of laughter, Grace pinched Eloise's cheek. 'There, that proves that you are wide awake, my darling. Now go and find those wonderful friends of yours and tell them that you and your mama are going shopping.'
Minutes later, Eloise stood in the entrance of the dust yard, where puddles of rainwater had enlarged to the size of small ponds. The great glowering heaps towered above her and the workers looked like an army of ants as they sifted, sorted and carted away anything of value from London's mountain of rubbish. With Beth in her arms and Joss scampering on ahead as if he had spent all his life on a dust heap, Eloise went in search of Gertie and Peg.
'You will come back and see us, won't you?' Peg asked with tears sparkling on the ends of her eyelashes and slithering down her cheeks leaving snail trails in the grime. 'You won't forget us, will you, Ellie?'
Eloise hugged her regardless of the thin film of grit which covered Peg from head to toe. 'Of course not, Peg. I'll be godmother to your baby if you will let me.'
Gertie wiped her nose on her sleeve and sniffed. 'If she'll let you? She'll have me to deal with if she don't. You come back any time, girl. If your man don't treat you right you can always come and live with us in Magpie Alley.'
Eloise felt the blood rush to her cheeks. 'It isn't certain – 'I mean – 'I don't know if Barton will . . .'
Peg slapped her on the back. 'Course he will, ducks. The man would be a bloody fool if he didn't go down on his knees and beg you to marry him.'
