The Winter Belle, page 11
Ivory turned her head to look. ‘Maybe Charles can help. He’s friendly with Marriner. Perhaps a word from him might encourage his lordship to find another girl to take Amy’s place.’
Kitty eyed her doubtfully. ‘It might be best to keep that to yourself for the moment. At least until Charles settles up. Here they come.’ She managed a bright smile. ‘I’ve just finished your portrait, Frances. I hope you both approve.’ She stood aside so that they could view the picture on the easel.
‘I think it’s excellent,’ Ivory said firmly. ‘We haven’t been introduced, Miss Westbrook, but I feel I already know you simply from this portrait.’
Charles smiled apologetically. ‘I’m sorry, Ivory. I should have done the honours.’
‘I’m delighted to meet you, Ivory,’ Frances said earnestly. ‘And I agree with you entirely. The painting is excellent, Kitty. You’ve flattered me, I think.’
‘No, not at all,’ Kitty said hastily. ‘I paint what I see.’
Charles stood back, studying the painting with a serious expression. ‘It is very good, Kitty. You have a definite talent.’
‘Thank you.’ Kitty could not hide her relief. ‘I’m glad you like it.’
‘I do. May we take it now?’ Charles took a leather pouch from his pocket and selected some coins, which he placed on the counter beside Kitty. ‘There you are, paid in full.’
Kitty scooped the money into her reticule. ‘Thank you. The painting is still a little damp and might smudge. Perhaps I could bring it to your house when it is completely dry.’
Frances smiled. ‘Of course. Why don’t you and Ivory come to tea tomorrow afternoon, although I’d prefer it if Flinders did not accompany you.’
‘Is the rift so deep that you cannot reconcile yourself to your cousin?’ Kitty had to ask the question, even at the risk of alienating a client.
Charles frowned. ‘It is a family matter, Kitty.’ He proffered his arm to Frances. ‘We have business to conduct elsewhere. Good day to you both.’
Frances smiled apologetically. ‘I’ll see you at four o’clock tomorrow afternoon, with my lovely portrait.’ She allowed her brother to lead her away.
‘What was that all about?’ Ivory asked in a low voice. ‘What has Flinders done to upset Charles Westbrook?’
Kitty shook her head. ‘I have no idea, although he did say it was an ongoing family feud.’
‘I suppose every family has its own problems,’ Ivory said. ‘Ours are just beginning. Do you really want to go to tea in Duke Street tomorrow?’
‘Frances could be useful. She must have many well-off friends who might like their portraits executed in watercolours. I still intend to earn my own living, Ivory, even if we have to reside with Grandmama Carstairs until Papa comes home. I will go quietly insane unless I have something useful to do while we are incarcerated in Bridlebank.’
‘Which brings us back to Amy.’ Ivory glanced at the open doors leading into the street. ‘Where do you think they’ve gone?’
‘I have no idea,’ Kitty said wearily. ‘I suppose I should have asked Charles, but he didn’t seem very friendly today. I really don’t know how to take him. Sometimes he is quite charming and at others he is withdrawn and almost rude, whereas Frances has been so open and friendly.’
Ivory shrugged. ‘I have no time for people like that. Charles Westbrook obviously thinks that a title, wealth and a handsome face put him above the rest of us.’
‘I thought you rather liked him, Ivory.’
‘I may have been taken in at first, but now I know better. Anyway, I don’t know about you, Kitty, but I am going home to start packing my things, and I need to persuade Mama to order a carrier to take our furniture to storage, otherwise we are likely to lose everything, especially if the landlord sends the bailiffs in.’
Kitty nodded. ‘Yes, you’re right. Even if the police get our money back, or the silver, there is not enough to settle with the landlord. I will finish early here, and if Mama won’t order the removal van, I will. The money I earned from this portrait will go towards the cost of that. At least we will salvage something from this disaster.’
‘I agree, but I won’t tell Mama about Amethyst and Sebastian Marriner until it’s absolutely necessary.’
‘Just another thing,’ Kitty said as Ivory was about to leave. ‘Do you know if Mama has actually asked Grandmama if she will take us in?’
‘I’ll question her when I get home. This is all such a terrible mess, Kitty.’
‘We’ll survive,’ Kitty said hopefully. ‘I’ll follow you as soon as I’ve cleared up here and settled today’s rent for the stall with Miss Pollitt. I’d better give my notice in for Friday, too. It’s becoming all too real, Ivory. I must admit, I’m a little scared.’
‘What do we do if Mama hasn’t contacted Grandmama?’ Ivory asked urgently. ‘I don’t fancy going to see her on my own.’
‘If that’s the case we’ll go together, but we need to do it quickly as it’s quite a long carriage ride to Bridlebank.’
‘I’ll go home now and speak to Mama. She must be made aware of the seriousness of our situation.’
Kitty nodded. ‘I’ll finish up here and join you. If Mama won’t take charge, then it’s up to us.’
Kitty returned home an hour later, having given her notice to Matron Hume with some regret, although she knew she would not miss the daily inspections and the long hours. When she walked into the entrance hall, she found Flinders and Ivory in earnest conversation.
‘Ah, Kitty, you’re just in time.’ Ivory managed a tired smile. ‘Flinders has been helping me to convince Mama that we have no choice other than to move in with Grandmama Carstairs.’
Flinders took the easel from Kitty’s hands and propped it against the wall. ‘Your mama was convinced that something would happen to save you from losing the house, but in the end she understood. I’ve booked the carter to collect all your goods on Friday morning and store them until you can have them returned. Nellie is doing a splendid job of packing.’
‘And I persuaded Mama to write a note to Grandmama, which I sent with a messenger. We’re waiting for her response. It’s not too far to Highgate, so it should not take too long.’ Ivory laid her hand on Flinders’ sleeve. ‘I don’t know how I would have managed without Flinders’ help.’
‘It’s the least I can do. And now I must find alternative accommodation. If I had the money, I would rent this house and you could all stay in your home, but unfortunately my income does not stretch to such luxuries.’
‘Where will you go?’ Kitty took off her bonnet and hung it on a peg, followed by her mantle.
‘It’s high time I visited my mother and grandmother in Little Foxbury. I’ll stay there while I work on my report for the Geological Society and then I hope to return to British Guiana. I’m anxious to get back to the convent hospital to find out how your father’s condition is progressing.’ Flinders smiled sadly. ‘But I hate to leave you like this.’
‘You’ve done more than enough,’ Kitty said hastily. ‘We wouldn’t have managed this far if you had not arrived on our doorstep. I know we’ll all miss you, Flinders.’
‘We have a couple more days . . .’ Flinders hesitated as someone hammered on the front door. ‘Would you like me to answer that?’
‘Please do,’ Ivory said nervously. ‘It might be the Daggs, released from the cells and come to threaten us.’
‘I doubt it. Not even they would be so stupid.’ Kitty followed Flinders as he went to the door.
A liveried footman tipped his hat. ‘Is this the residence of Mrs Robert Harte?’
‘It is.’ Flinders opened the door wider.
Kitty glanced over his shoulder. It was dusk and the streetlamps had just been lit. In the flickering golden light, she could see a familiar carriage with a lozenge on the door bearing the family crest.
‘Oh, my goodness,’ Kitty exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hand. ‘Ivory, it’s Grandmama Carstairs. She’s come in person. Fetch Mama.’
The footman went to open the carriage door and put down the steps. He handed the small lady to the pavement. Dressed in black from head to foot, Honoria Carstairs leaned on an ebony cane as she crossed the wet pavement.
‘Come inside, Grandmama.’ Kitty extended her hand, but it was brushed away.
Lady Carstairs stepped inside. She raised a lorgnette and looked Flinders up and down. ‘Who is this?’
‘May I introduce Flinders Riley, Grandmama?’ Kitty said hurriedly. ‘He is a geologist who works with Papa in British Guiana.’
Flinders bowed over Lady Carstairs’ hand. ‘How do you do, ma’am?’
‘I don’t know why you are here, young man,’ Lady Carstairs said bluntly. ‘Has Robert returned from abroad at long last?’
‘I regret to say that Mr Harte met with an accident, ma’am. He is currently in a convent hospital in Georgetown,’ Flinders said calmly.
‘Not dead then? If that is the case, why are you all being turned out of your home?’ Lady Carstairs turned to Ivory. ‘You, girl. You are usually the most sensible of the three silly sisters. What have you to say?’
‘It’s true, Grandmama. We have to leave the house because the rent is overdue and has not been paid for several months.’ Ivory sent an anguished look to Kitty. ‘We have no choice in the matter.’
‘Your mother was always a fool when it came to men and money. I warned her against marrying a man who could not keep her in the style to which she was raised, but she was in love and didn’t heed my advice. Now you can see what has come of her headstrong behaviour. Where is she?’ Lady Carstairs looked up the staircase. ‘Isabella, come down here at once, or do I have to come up to you?’
Isabella peered over the banisters. ‘Is that you, Mama?’
‘Of course it is. Who else would travel all the way from Highgate to find out what is going on?’
‘How did you know we needed you, Mama?’ Isabella asked nervously.
‘Someone went to the expense of sending a messenger to my home, which was foolish in the extreme considering your present financial status. What else was I to do?’
Isabella appeared at the top of the stairs. She was still wearing a wrapper over her flannel nightgown and her feet were bare. She descended slowly, eyeing her mother warily.
‘I suppose one of the girls must have sent the note, Mama. I didn’t want to bother you.’
‘You didn’t want to admit that your feckless husband had let you down yet again, that’s the truth of the matter.’ Lady Carstairs turned to Ivory. ‘I am not going to walk up those steep stairs. Have you a room on the ground floor where I might rest a while before I return to Bridlebank? And a cup of tea would be nice. What happened to hospitality?’
‘I’m sorry, Grandmama,’ Kitty said hastily. ‘Please go into the morning room. Ivory will show you the way and I’ll ask Nellie to make a pot of tea.’
‘Earl Grey tea, of course,’ Lady Carstairs said imperiously. ‘I never drink anything else.’
‘Yes, Grandmama.’
Kitty beckoned to Flinders, who followed her downstairs to the kitchen. ‘We only drink Darjeeling.’ She put her hand in her pocket and took out some coins. ‘Will you go to the shop and get some Earl Grey tea, please, Flinders? I don’t want to give her even more reason to complain.’
‘What’s that?’ Nellie demanded angrily. ‘She hasn’t come here in person, has she? Not the old harridan from Highgate?’
Flinders grinned as he took the money. ‘I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. Don’t worry, I’ll be double quick. I want to see the rest of the performance.’
‘It’s not funny, Flinders,’ Kitty said, suppressing a giggle. ‘You don’t have to live with Grandmama. We will have to bear the brunt of her criticism and her constant carping.’
Nellie shooed Flinders out of the kitchen, thrusting a jug in his hands. ‘Fetch some milk, too. We’ve run out again. I hope to goodness that we’ve plenty of sugar. We need something to sweeten the old witch’s temper.’
‘Just put the kettle on, please, Nellie. I’m going to the morning room.’ Kitty did not wait for an answer. She followed Flinders upstairs to the ground floor. ‘Please hurry. Grandmama doesn’t like to be kept waiting.’
‘I’ll run all the way.’ Flinders left the house without bothering to put on his coat and hat, leaving Kitty to brave her grandmother in the morning room.
Lady Carstairs was seated by the fire with her fur-lined cloak wrapped around her as if she was sitting in an icehouse, while Isabella and Ivory perched on the edge of the sofa, their faces pale and strained.
‘Well, Kitty, this is a pretty to-do, isn’t it?’ Lady Carstairs tapped the floor with her cane to emphasise her words.
‘Robert will sort everything out when he comes home, Mama,’ Isabella said faintly.
‘It seems to me that he should have foreseen such an emergency.’ Lady Carstairs curled her lip. ‘He thinks of nothing but his stupid rocks and minerals. He should look after his family better, and now I am supposed to step in and put a roof over your heads.’
‘It will just be a temporary measure, Mama.’ Isabella trembled visibly.
‘Where is the other child?’ Lady Carstairs looked around the room as if expecting to see Amethyst hiding behind a chair.
‘Amethyst is dining with friends,’ Kitty said hastily. ‘She should be home very soon.’
‘Friends? I suppose you mean the flighty piece has gone off with a couple of roués. I know exactly what is going on with you all. I have my spies everywhere, and I know that you, Kitty, have been working like a shop girl in that disreputable place they call a bazaar.’
Isabella sent a pleading look to Kitty, but she was not going to give her grandmother the satisfaction of catching her out in a lie.
‘Yes, Grandmama, I have been selling my paintings in the Bazaar and I’ve done a couple of portraits for which I was paid. I’m not ashamed of helping my family to survive in hard times.’ Kitty met her grandmother’s steely gaze with a defiant toss of her head.
‘You don’t seem to have disciplined your daughters properly, Isabella,’ Lady Carstairs said angrily. ‘I suppose you want me to take them in and do your job for you.’
‘We just need somewhere to stay for a while, Mama.’ Isabella’s dark eyes filled with tears.
‘Very well. Never let it be said that I did not do my duty by my family. I will take you, Isabella, and you, Ivory, but Kitty thinks she knows better than I, so she must find other accommodation. As to the flighty one, she can stay with Kitty. I do not wish to be associated with a shop worker and a girl of questionable morals. That is my last word.’
Chapter Nine
‘I don’t understand,’ Isabella said dazedly. ‘What are you saying, Mama?’
Lady Carstairs looked down her patrician nose and sighed. ‘I thought I had made myself plain, Isabella. You and Ivory are welcome to come to Bridlebank and stay with me until Robert decides to return, but Kitty and the other one must find alternative accommodation.’
‘I don’t think that is fair, Grandmama.’ Ivory rose slowly to her feet. ‘Where are Kitty and Amethyst supposed to go, if not to Bridlebank with us?’
Kitty laid her hand on Ivory’s arm. ‘It’s all right, Ivory. I can stand up for myself.’ Kitty turned to her grandmother, controlling her anger with difficulty. ‘I can fend for myself, Grandmama, but Amethyst needs to be with Mama and Ivory.’
‘You cannot expect me to abandon two of my children, Mama,’ Isabella said tearfully.
‘You should have thought about that before you squandered the rent money on fripperies, Isabella, and you should have exerted more control over your youngest daughter. No doubt she is off somewhere behaving outrageously, as she did when she came to stay at Bridlebank a year ago. She spent all her time flirting with one of the under-gardeners.’
‘Better a gardener than Marriner,’ Kitty said in a whisper meant for Ivory’s ear only.
‘I heard that, Kitty.’ Lady Carstairs glared at her. ‘I may be old, but I am not deaf nor am I stupid. You are the clever one in the family. I leave it to you to find a solution.’ She thumped her cane on the floor. ‘Where is that tea? Must I travel back to Highgate without so much as a sip of Earl Grey?’
The momentary silence was broken by Nellie, who opened the door with the toe of her booted foot and marched in to lay the tea tray on a low table.
‘Tea, your ladyship? Earl Grey, of course.’ Nellie eyed Lady Carstairs defiantly.
‘It’s too late. I don’t want it now,’ Lady Carstairs rose to her feet. ‘And you’re not wanted at Bridlebank either. You had better find yourself another position, Miss Pickering.’ Lady Carstairs marched out of the morning room, brushing past Flinders in the doorway. She gave him a cursory glance. ‘And if you have designs on any of these young ladies, just remember that I hold the purse strings, and if they marry beneath them, they will not inherit a penny from me. Kindly summon my coachman. I’m leaving.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Flinders cast a sympathetic look around the room before hurrying off to do as she asked.
Isabella burst into tears and Ivory went to sit by her side and comfort her.
‘Do something, Kitty,’ Ivory said urgently. ‘I don’t want to go to Bridlebank without you.’
‘You know Grandmama won’t change her mind,’ Kitty said angrily.
‘Please try.’ Ivory sent her a pleading look, which was impossible to ignore.
‘All right, but don’t get your hopes up.’ Kitty followed her grandmother into the entrance hall. ‘Grandmama, please reconsider.’
Lady Carstairs came to a halt as Flinders opened the door and stepped outside to summon the carriage.
‘Go back to your mama, Kitty,’ Lady Carstairs said dismissively. ‘My mind is made up.’
‘This isn’t about me, Grandmama. I’m not looking for anything for myself, but I beg you to reconsider your decision with regard to Amethyst. She needs her mother and the protection of her elders. She’s wayward, but she’s a good girl at heart. And Nellie is part of the family. She’s an excellent cook and I’m sure she would be of great assistance to you.’
