The Roses of Feldstone, page 11
“I don’t know that you should spend the Hawthorne money on that,” I said, bending so my mouth was by Elizabeth’s ear.
“Shh, don’t you remember? The point isn’t to like that hat; it’s to buy it before Mama does. But it seems as though we might be too late.”
We heard the woman say she would take the hat, and then she turned.
“Lady Chatsworth!” I cried out in surprise. I knew she had planned to come to London, but still, it seemed so strange to find her here, looking the picture of health.
“Oh, Rose!” she said. “It is so good to see you!”
“You look so well,” I couldn’t help but say. Despite my melancholy, I felt some elation at seeing her looking so vibrant.
“Yes, well, I have had some pleasant news, and I suppose it must show on my face,” Lady Chatsworth said.
“Pleasant news?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, the best news, really, but I really mustn’t say what, I’m afraid. Lord Chatsworth doesn’t know yet. Everything is still so new; I just found out last night.” The smile on her face fell, and a shadow of worry crossed it.
I fiddled with the buttons on my navy jacket. I knew the news she looked forward to most was an engagement for William. I couldn’t make myself ask any further questions, even though I was hoping to be proven wrong. The milliner handed Lady Chatsworth her hat all packed up. Elizabeth must have noticed my complete lack of functionality and decided to engage Lady Chatsworth in a safer subject matter.
“That is quite a hat you have purchased,” my sister said to Lady Chatsworth.
“Do you think so? I am worried it might be a bit much.”
“It is quite interesting, for certain,” Elizabeth said. “As long as you find the right dress to wear it with, it will be quite becoming on you.”
“Oh, it isn’t for me . . .” she began and then quickly stopped herself. She looked back and forth between Elizabeth and me. “Oh, this just isn’t going to do,” she said with her face scrunched up. “We can’t just keep this a secret forever.”
“Has Lord Telford . . . ?” I began in a whisper so quiet I wasn’t sure Lady Chatsworth could hear me. I couldn’t ask it, I realized. I couldn’t ask Lady Chatsworth if the reason she was so vibrant today was because William had taken my advice and told his mother about the woman he was in love with. But it made complete sense. Whom else could she be buying that hat for? Lord Chatsworth would be furious at William’s choice for a bride, so of course they wouldn’t have told him. I grabbed Elizabeth’s arm. I just wanted to leave the shop. I couldn’t trust myself to speak with Lady Chatsworth any longer.
“Lady Hawthorne, Miss Davenport,” Lady Chatsworth said, stopping us from heading out the door as I had wished. “You and your families must come visit with our family this weekend while Parliament is on break. We will be returning to Feldstone for a few days, perhaps longer. There’s someone I would love for you to meet, and I believe your family will be a good buffer between them and Lord Chatsworth.”
I pulled on Elizabeth harder. She wanted us to be a buffer for “them”—William and his dark-haired beauty. There was no other answer. Lady Chatsworth wanted us there at the manor so Lord Chatsworth wouldn’t run for his gun like he had for Joseph. A new fear entered my heart. Lord Chatsworth wouldn’t, would he? What had I pushed William into doing? My memory flashed back to that night as his head lay in my lap, our last night as friends. He had thought his father could forgive Joseph if only he had told them of the marriage before it had occurred. Perhaps that would be enough to save William from total disgrace with his family. At least he wasn’t married yet.
“I am sorry to interrupt, Lady Chatsworth,” Elizabeth said after looking at my face. “We are to meet our mother soon and must be on our way.”
I nodded in agreement, and finally, Elizabeth moved toward the door.
“Oh, yes, you must go meet her,” Lady Chatsworth said. “Send her my regards, and I will send an invitation for dinner to your home. The trip from London is not far. I am counting on you to be there!”
We reached the door of the shop, and I wrenched it open. I gulped in the outside air as if I had been suffocating in the milliner’s shop.
“I cannot go, Elizabeth,” I told her as we walked away. My arm squeezed hers as tightly as a girdle. If I relaxed my grip at all, I was afraid I would fall. “You must see that I cannot go. It is that woman she wants to introduce us to. How will I smile and keep up appearances while Lady Chatsworth uses our family to keep her husband from killing William?”
“Would you rather he actually kill William?” Elizabeth asked.
“No! Of course not! But she must have other friends she can invite over. I have been ill. There is no possible way I can attend, and I will tell Mama.”
“I hope that will work for you, Rose,” she said. “If not, I will be there. You have two days to prepare. Close off your heart, and think of a man who is better than William. You know he must be out there.”
“A man better than William?” I said. “I am not convinced someone like that will be easy to find. I would be happy to find one as good as William, as kind as he was before he became heir.” I was going to have to find a man like that, for after knowing William, it would be hard to settle for anything less.
“Let’s find something to spend the Hawthorne money on, or Charles will be quite disappointed in me,” Elizabeth said.
We visited several other shops, and Elizabeth ordered a new set of gloves and slippers. Nothing caught my eye. When we were finally able to catch up to Mother, she was distraught over having missed her chance to buy that horrendous hat. Neither of us had the heart to tell her who had bought it.
“It must have been Mrs. Jepson. She is bound and determined to stand out so her daughter can snag a title.”
“Well, she would stand out in such a hat,” Elizabeth said with a snicker.
“We assume . . . based on your description of it,” I quickly added with a sideways glance at Elizabeth.
“Mother, why don’t you come to my home and have some tea? James would love a visit from his grandmother,” Elizabeth said.
Mother glanced longingly down Bond Street at all the shops she hadn’t set foot in yet. “I was hoping to get a little more shopping done . . .”
“Well, what if I took Rose home with me, and you stopped by to fetch her when you finish? I think we have both done all the shopping we needed to.”
“That would work quite well. In fact, if you could have little James take tea with the two of you beforehand, then I will be able to take mine in peace. I never have understood why you are so adamant about children joining the adults for mealtimes.”
“But he would love to see you,” Elizabeth said, not bothering to cover her disappointment.
“I will pop into the nursery before I leave. Of course I want to see the boy. It is just the noise of children that distresses me.” Mother already had her eye on the next shop she wanted to visit, so we bid her farewell, and Elizabeth and I made our way to the carriage. We both sat on the same side of the carriage, and the footman handed us a blanket to share. We settled comfortably into the warmth of our body heat.
“If I ever get to the point where the sound of children is distressing to me, will you please see to it that I am shipped overseas?” Elizabeth whispered to me.
I stared at her in shock. I was usually the one who complained about Mother. I guess when she insulted Elizabeth’s flesh and blood, Mama had taken it too far.
“She could be worse, I suppose,” I said.
“That’s a lovely compliment to give to one’s own mother,” Elizabeth said, still upset. “But I know you are right. We never really were lacking anything growing up.”
“And she gave us each other. For that, I can forgive a multitude of other faults.”
“That’s true,” Elizabeth said. “But she also gave us Dorothea,” she said, making a face.
“Elizabeth! Insulting both a mother and a sister in one conversation! Today must be an exemplary day. Perhaps I am a bad influence on you.”
“Most likely,” she said, snuggling closer to me under the blanket. “But as Charles would say, surrounding yourself with bad influences is a certain way to recognize a good influence when you see it.”
“So that is why you enjoy spending time with me,” I said with mock disappointment.
“What other reason could there be?”
The carriage rolled on for a few minutes, and I noticed we were nearing Grosvenor Square. As the street opened into the square, I inspected the stately homes. One of these was William’s. It was strange to me that my family had never visited his family here in London. I suppose it was because there wasn’t hunting to be done anywhere nearby.
“What in heaven’s name is going on at the home next to ours?” Elizabeth had been looking at the opposite side of the square. I turned my attention to that home, the last one in a long line of attached residences. I looked across the large oval garden to see a crowd of people gathering. Most of them were the elegant people of Grosvenor Square, but I also noticed a chimney sweep, recognizable from the soot on his hands and face. Next to him stood a brick mason. The bricklayer was frantically setting up scaffolding along the side of the home. Directly above the scaffolding was a chimney.
My heart fell to my feet, and I grabbed the side of the carriage for support. I had heard about situations like this before. I hoped it wasn’t what I believed it to be but could think of no other plausible explanation. “Elizabeth, let’s get you home to James. You can send the footman to ask what is going on if you are curious,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “It wouldn’t do to be seen gawking at the neighbor’s home.”
“You are probably right,” Elizabeth said. “I will send John to go check on the situation as soon as we arrive home. Perhaps someone is in need of help.”
I nodded as if the situation were a completely normal one. We made our way up the stairs of her stately three-story townhome and went inside. I didn’t remove my coat. “I will go talk to John, Elizabeth. I will be back in a moment to apprise you of what is happening.” Thankfully, Elizabeth just gave me a nod and made her way up the stairs.
Chapter 10
“John,” I called to the tall, lanky footman as I made my way down the stairs. He turned from his work at the carriage. “Will you accompany me to the home next door? Elizabeth would like to know if there is anything we can do to help.”
“Apprentice must be stuck,” John said with a frown, confirming my fears. “There isn’t anything Lady Hawthorne would be able to do about that.”
“Still, she asked me to check,” I said. “It would be unseemly of me to go alone.”
John gave me a nod, tied off the horses with a quick knot, and motioned for me to go first. The home was connected to Elizabeth’s, so we didn’t have to go far. In just a few feet, we were already pushing past neighbors who had gathered to watch the commotion.
“He is only six years old,” one of the ladies said, and my heart sank even further. It bothered me that so many people were here—at least a dozen—watching and waiting to see the catastrophe unfold, but I supposed I was no different. I made my way closer to the brick mason and master sweeper, determined to see if there was anything I could do to help. I had no desire to just watch. I knew that in this situation, every second counted.
As we got closer, I heard the clanging of a metal pipe and the banging of boards being slapped together. “John.” I reached back and grabbed the arm of Elizabeth’s footman. “Hand me your jacket, and go help those men set up the scaffolding. We both know that mere seconds can be the difference between life and death.” John gave me a quick nod, already shrugging out of his jacket. He seemed gratified to have something to do.
He rushed over to the other men—some working class and a few residents of the community—as they all worked together to get the brick mason to the height needed to reach the boy who was trapped in the flue just behind the bricks. Just six years old! I was grateful Elizabeth was not here. With a two-year-old boy at home, I knew this was nothing she should see.
I glanced over at the dirty chimney sweep standing off to the side, watching with a bored expression as the other men worked as quickly as they could to extract the boy. A deep-seated resentment toward the man grew inside me, and I made my way to him.
“You aren’t going to help?” I asked him. I could hear the anger in my voice, but I didn’t care. “You were the one who put the boy in this situation.”
The chimney sweep pulled his eyes away from the workers and looked me up and down in contempt. “Chimney’s got to be swept. If we didn’t do it, people like you would be whining about children dying in fires and such. Now, why don’t you run along home? This isn’t going to be pretty.”
“You have already given up on him?” I asked incredulously. “Is that why you aren’t helping?”
“Listen, lady, I do you no disrespect,” he said lazily, spitting some black juices about a foot from my skirt. “But nine times out of ten, when these boys get stuck, it’s too late. And this boy is new and small. He isn’t likely to make it. So once again, if you know what is good for you, just head home and have a nice cup of tea. Have the maid start your fire in your fireplace, and don’t worry your pretty little head about the people that make your life possible.”
I took a deep breath, astounded by his lack of humanity, let alone his condescension toward me. “If he is so young and new, why did you send him up in the first place?”
“My other boys are too big for this one. Not that it is any of your business.” He spat again. “Most chimneys are a brick by a brick and a half, but this one here has a section that is just a brick by a brick. None of my older boys would have fit.” The magnitude of his words washed over me, making me feel slightly faint. There was a six-year-old boy trapped in a space so small it took my breath away. The edges of my vision started to blur as I pictured just what it must be like for the poor child. The sweep casually looked up to see the progress the men had made laying the scaffolding. They had finished, and the brick mason was making his way up it.
“How can they do it?” I asked. “Surely the boy was too scared to climb up there.”
“Of course they’re scared, but somebody’s got to do it. That’s what I keep telling you, woman.” He looked heavenward in exasperation. “I had to start a fire under this one to get him to climb faster. I really should have borrowed a boy that actually knew what he was doing.”
I clutched John’s jacket firmly to my chest with my left arm. My right hand balled into a tight fist, and my jaw clenched. I shook my head to clear my vision. I had never met a man so contemptible in my life. He noticed the way I had lost control and leaned close enough to my face that I could smell the horrible stink of his tobacco-laced breath. Several of his teeth were black with rot, making the acidic smell even more potent. “You want to hit me? Go right ahead. It would be a pleasure to be struck by such a pretty little one like you.”
Without thinking, my hand went back. It was going to be a pleasure for me to strike him. Just before my fist flew, I felt a strong steady hand grab my arm.
“Let me hit him, John!” I cried, pulling against him hard enough that he was forced to place his other hand on my shoulder to keep me still. “I have never met such a vile creature.”
“Don’t dirty your hands by touching him,” William said. His steady voice was just inches from my ear. He tightened his hold on me, and I could feel him willing me to calm down.
The chimney sweep laughed and then sauntered away. I spun to face William, frustrated that he had stopped me from having the satisfaction of leaving a mark on that disgusting man. His coat was missing, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His forearms were streaked with dirt, and I could see a sheen of sweat on his brow.
“You helped build the scaffolding . . .”
“Yes,” William said, dropping his hands from me now that the sweep was no longer near. “My home is just up the street, and when I heard the commotion, I came to help.” Both of our eyes went to the exterior of the home. The brick mason was using a hammer and chisel to remove the mortar around the brick. The scaffold shook with every heavy blow. I hoped the men had done a solid job putting it together.
“Will the boy be all right?” I asked William.
“I don’t know,” William said, his eyes narrowing as he watched the mason work. “There’s a chance, if they can get to him in time. I thought I heard whimpering from inside the chimney as we were laying some of the higher boards on the scaffolding. But it doesn’t take long for a boy to suffocate with all the soot that comes loose during cleaning.”
There was a shout from the brick mason, and everyone on the street turned to look. I saw John rush to climb up one of the two ladders that had been laid over the scaffolding. It only reached two thirds of the way up. From there, he proceeded to climb to the top of the scaffolding to assist the brick mason in lifting the boy out of the small opening that had been created near the roofline in the chimney.
“Go home, Rose,” William said, grabbing both of my shoulders and looking me in the eye. “I will call on you later and tell you the outcome. You shouldn’t be here to witness it.” He let go of my shoulders and rushed over to help. I ignored his advice and watched as the brick mason pulled a limp child out of the side of the chimney. He looked so small. A boy like that should be playing in a nursery, not climbing chimneys. It was impossible to tell what he looked like. He was so covered in soot, the only color other than black was the red of the gashes on his hands and knees.
The brick mason passed the boy to John, who passed the unmoving boy down to a man standing on the platform below him. William had made it to the top of one of the ladders, and he was next to take the tiny apprentice. William carefully made his way down from the ladder, keeping a tight grip on him. When they reached the ground, William immediately began moving and shaking the boy, his white shirt turning gray and then black. After laying the boy on his side and hitting him a few times, he laid his ear against the boy’s back. Everyone was silent as we watched the pair.
