The Rag Princess, page 4
‘It’s all right. I came round earlier and lit the fire in the drawing room and the kitchen, so it should be warm when we get there,’ Maggie assured him. Her eyes frequently swept the streets as she prayed that their new neighbours wouldn’t see them arriving in the old cart with all their belongings piled on it. But thankfully, since it was pitch-dark and bitterly cold, there were few people about.
Once they got to the house, Levi urged the horse around to the back, and he and the two older boys began to carry the furniture inside. When it was finally all in place, Maggie couldn’t help but feel slightly disappointed. They only had enough to furnish the small lounge and the kitchen downstairs, and while the pieces she had taken such a pride in had looked grand in their tiny cottage, they looked completely out of place and far too small for the larger rooms in Swan Lane.
‘We’re going to need a much larger sofa,’ she told Levi, as he bit into the sandwiches she had made for supper. ‘Our others look lost in here.’
‘Don’t start that already, pet,’ he warned. This was just what he had feared. ‘I told you when you insisted you wanted the place that it’d take some time for us to furnish all the rooms. There’s no money left for anythin’ else just yet, so the rooms will just have to stand empty for a time. But come on now, soon as we’ve eaten this and had a sup o’ tea we need to get the beds sorted if we’re all to sleep comfy tonight.’
Two hours later, Maggie had hung curtains at the front bedroom window, which was to be hers and Levi’s, and the boys were sound asleep in their rooms. She made her way back downstairs to where Levi was sitting by the fire with a cup of cocoa.
‘Well, we’re in, lass,’ Levi sighed as he held his feet out to the fire. For some reason she didn’t seem quite as excited as he had expected her to be. ‘Are yer happy now?’
‘Er . . . yes, it’s just that everywhere looks so bare.’ She bit down on her lip as she glanced about the room,
Levi frowned. Knowing her as he did, he was concerned that she was going to want to start buying furniture they could ill afford. What with the solicitors’ fees and one thing and another, the house had cost a little more than he had estimated, so he had been forced to take out a small mortgage on it. Not that he had told Maggie about that. He didn’t want to worry her, but he knew he wouldn’t be happy until it was paid off, which meant working even more hours than he already did. Levi didn’t like owing money, even to the bank. Only once everything was paid off could Maggie start to spend on new furniture.
After finishing his cocoa, he stifled a yawn and got slowly to his feet. He had been up since the crack of dawn and it was telling on him now.
‘Are yer comin’ to bed, pet?’ he asked with a wink.
Maggie was still gazing about the room deciding where the new furniture could go. Perhaps a lovely long mahogany sideboard along the back wall, and a chaise longue for inside the bay window.
‘I’ll be up presently,’ she said, her mind far away, so with a sigh Levi made his way to bed.
By the time she joined him some time later after damping down the fire and turning off the gas lights, he was already fast asleep, his gentle snores echoing around the room. The small wardrobe and the bed they had brought from the cottage looked lost in such a large room. They would need some more bedroom furniture too, but that would have to wait until she had furnished the downstairs as she wanted it to receive visitors. She was still mentally making a list of everything they would need when she eventually fell asleep curled against Levi’s broad back, in a way she hadn’t for years.
Over the next few days, as Maggie unpacked the last of their things, she discovered that the bedrooms weren’t going to work out quite as she had planned. Charlie and Harry adamantly refused to go into their own rooms, complaining that they were too big and creepy. In the end Levi had no choice but to move Harry’s bed into Charlie’s room. Barney, on the other hand, was quite happy to have his own space. He was coming up to fourteen and looking forward to finishing school. It was assumed that he would start work with his father, but Maggie had other thoughts on that.
‘I was thinkin’, we ought to be seeing what the chances are of getting Barney into the grammar school next year so that he can have some further education.’
Barney frowned. They were all seated around the table about to have their evening meal. ‘An’ why would I want to go on to further education, Ma? I don’t need it if I’m goin’ to be helpin’ me da on his rounds.’
Maggie sniffed. ‘There’s nothing wrong with trying to better yourself. Oh, and I met the new neighbours today.’
‘Oh aye.’ Levi had just loaded a fat juicy sausage onto his fork. ‘An’ what are they like?’
‘Well, when I say I met the neighbours, I should have said I met the lady of the house. Her husband owns the mill in Attleborough. They must be very rich if the way she was dressed is anything to go by.’
Levi shrugged. ‘Clothes don’t maketh the man,’ he said quietly, but Maggie was clearly very impressed with the woman.
‘Their name is Taylor-Lloyd and can you believe they have a maid, a cook and a housekeeper! I’ve seen a gardener there too.’
‘Hmm, just don’t get thinkin’ we can run to hirin’ staff,’ he warned.
Maggie pouted. ‘She asked me what you do for a living and I told her you were a businessman and you have your own business.’
‘Then you were tellin’ the truth, weren’t you? I do own me own business. Did you tell ’er what I do?’
Shamefaced, Maggie shook her head. ‘Not exactly.’
‘And why was that? Are you ashamed o’ me?’
‘Of course not, but . . .’ Maggie bit her lip. ‘It just doesn’t sound very posh, does it? If I tell her you’re a rag-and-bone man, I mean.’
‘There’s nowt wrong wi’ what I do,’ Levi said with a frown. ‘I’m sure I work just as ’ard if not ’arder than ’er husband.’
‘Yes of course you do.’ Maggie could see that she’d upset him, so she hurried on. ‘She’s invited me round there for morning coffee on Thursday at eleven o’clock. Apparently, some of the ladies who live in the road meet up weekly and take it in turns to have coffee mornin’s . . . I mean, mornings.’
‘Lucky for them they ’ave the time fer such things,’ Levi grunted as he tucked into his dinner and, sensing that he wasn’t too happy with her, Maggie sensibly changed the subject.
The following morning, Peggy arrived and when Maggie answered the door to her, she rushed inside out of the cold. ‘Brr, it’s enough to cut you in two out there,’ she said with a shiver as she crossed to the inglenook to warm her hands. ‘I pity your poor Levi stuck out in it all day. I can’t stay long cos I’m due in at work in the next hour. But ’ow are yer settlin’ in?’
‘Oh, we’re fine, and you?’
Peggy beamed. ‘We’re snug as bugs in rugs in that little cottage,’ she told her happily. ‘It’s so much better than the one we were rentin’ before. The kids love it. But get that kettle on, gel, else I won’t ’ave time for a cuppa afore I ’ave to go again.’
Soon after the two women sat at the table with Maggie’s precious china cups and saucers steaming in front of them, and Maggie told Peggy about her morning coffee invitation from her new neighbour. ‘She talks ever so posh,’ she told her. ‘And she’s got live-in staff, can you believe it? Although I can understand why in a house the size of this one. It takes a lot more cleaning than the cottage.’
Peggy raised an eyebrow. ‘So, if she’s got all them to wait on ’er what does she do all day?’
‘From what I can make of it she has a big circle of friends and she does the flower arranging up at St Mary’s Church apparently.’
‘How the other ’alf live, eh?’ Peggy gulped at her tea, keeping one eye on the clock. ‘Good luck to ’er, I say, but unfortunately, I’ve got to get to work. The nursery is chock-a-block wi’ babbies at the minute. Poor little buggers. Not all o’ the staff are as kind to ’em as I am. One o’ the poor little mites ’as got colic an’ cries non-stop, an’ I got there t’other day to find a rag shoved in its mouth wi’ laudanum on it to stop it cryin’. It’s a wonder the poor little soul woke up at all. I told the woman who did it that if I came in to find she’d done it to any o’ the others again I’d tell the housemistress – not that I think she’d do owt about it. She’s as bad as the rest of ’em. Which leads me to ask . . . ’ave you had any more thoughts on takin’ a child in?’
‘I have but I thought I’d give us time to settle in before I speak to Levi about it again,’ Maggie admitted.
‘Is ’e not ’appy ’ere then?’
Maggie sighed. ‘I’m not sure. Charlie and Harry seem fine but I think it’s taking Barney and Levi a bit longer to get used to the place.’
Peggy laughed. ‘Well, it is a big change from where you were livin’,’ she pointed out. ‘Give ’em time to settle. An’ what’s ’appened to the way you speak an all. Why ’ave you started talkin’ all posh?’
Maggie raised her chin and sniffed. ‘There’s nothing wrong with trying to better yourself,’ she said primly. ‘And didn’t you say it was time you were leaving?’ She didn’t like the way the conversation was going.
Thankfully, after another glance at the clock, Peggy rose and fetched her shawl from the back of the chair. ‘Yer right, pet. I’d best be off. Don’t forget where we live, see yer soon, ta-ra fer now.’ And with that she was gone, leaving Maggie to her thoughts.
As she wandered around the large house, Maggie paused at the door of the spare bedroom and pictured a little girl in there. She had been so busy over the last few weeks preparing for the move and then settling in that that she hadn’t had time to give too much thought to adopting a child, but now the yearning was back. Oh, she knew only too well that no one could ever take Penny’s place but surely having another little one to love would ease the heartache a little? She loved each of her sons dearly, but she still missed having a daughter, and now that they were settled, she wondered if she shouldn’t pay a visit to the workhouse to see what babies were available. Levi would be none too pleased, but he didn’t have to find out, did he? After all, what harm could it do? The move had made her happy for a time but already the novelty was wearing off and the pain and grief of losing Penny were returning with a vengeance. Tears were never far away, although she tried to hide them from the family.
Still, she had her coffee morning to look forward to. Suddenly she wondered what she should wear. If the way Mrs Taylor-Lloyd had been dressed was anything to go by, the rest of the ladies would be dressed in finery and she would stick out like a sore thumb. She had always ensured that the boys were well dressed but the only really decent gown she possessed was the black bombazine she’d got for Penny’s funeral. Perhaps she could dress it with a white lace collar and wear that with the string of pearls Levi had surprised her with one Christmas. Feeling better about things she hurried to fetch the dress from the wardrobe.
Chapter Five
I
t was the day of the coffee morning at Mrs Taylor-Lloyd’s and Maggie wanted to make a good impression.
After going to great pains with her appearance, at eleven o’clock on the dot she knocked on the Taylor-Lloyds’ door. It was opened by a little maid, who looked no older than nine or ten, wearing a snow-white apron and mob cap trimmed with broderie anglaise. Maggie stepped past her and into the hall. It had much the same layout as her own, but that and the Minton tiles on the floor was where any similarity ended, for this house was extravagantly furnished and decorated. Heavy flocked wallpaper in a rich green, and expensive mirrors and pictures adorned the walls.
‘The missus is in the drawin’ room,’ the little maid told Maggie, and after following her along the hall Maggie was admitted into a room decorated in shades of red and gold that almost took her breath away. Envy coursed through her as she looked around. Two plush velvet sofas, heavily trimmed around the bottom with gold braid, stood either side of a roaring fire, and matching curtains hung at the windows, and an enormous, highly polished mahogany sideboard stood against the back wall, covered in expensive-looking china ornaments. Maggie was so taken with everything that she didn’t quite know where to look first.
‘Ah, Mrs Lilburn. How nice of you to come. You are the first to arrive. Do come and take a seat.’ Mrs Taylor-Lloyd advanced on her in a cloud of heavy French perfume and held out her hand. Suddenly Maggie felt totally out of her depth. ‘Eve, the other guests should be arriving shortly so tell Cook to prepare the tea and coffee.’
‘Yes, missus.’ The little maid bobbed her knee.
The woman frowned at her. ‘How many times do I have to tell you, girl,’ she snapped irritably. ‘It’s ma’am when you address me, not missus!’
‘Sorry . . . ma’am!’ Quaking in her shoes, the girl backed out of the room, her cheeks flaming, as the hostess turned her attention back to Maggie.
‘I do apologise about the new maid.’ Mrs Taylor-Lloyd smiled ingratiatingly. ‘I took her from the workhouse and I’m afraid you might say she’s still rather rough around the edges. Still, what more can you expect? I dare say I shall have her trained to my standards eventually. Have you managed to employ any staff yet, Mrs Lilburn?’
‘I, er. . . no, I haven’t.’ Thankfully Maggie was saved from having to say more by the sound of the other guests arriving and soon the room was full of beautifully dressed women. They were all decked out in very expensive-looking jewellery, almost as if they were trying to outdo each other, and even in her newly trimmed gown Maggie felt more out of place by the minute.
‘How are you settling into your new home?’ one woman asked Maggie as she sipped her tea daintily from a delicate bone china cup and saucer.
‘Quite well, thank you,’ Maggie answered in a small voice.
The woman nodded, ‘I believe you have three children?’
Maggie gulped. ‘Yes, and I was thinking of going to look at the babies available for adoption in the workhouse. We lost our young daughter you see, and I thought . . .’
‘How very noble of you,’ the woman cut in condescendingly. ‘But are you quite sure you’d be doing the right thing, my dear? What I mean is, you have no idea where or who these children have come from, do you? Your children are boys, are they not?’
‘Er. . . yes. Barnaby, Charles and Harold.’ It didn’t seem right to shorten their names in her present company.
Luckily the mention of adopting a child from the workhouse started a debate amongst the women, so Maggie was happy to sit on the sidelines saying nothing. In fact, she was just watching the clock until enough time had passed that she could make an excuse to leave. The morning had been nothing like she had hoped and she certainly wouldn’t be in a hurry to come back again anytime soon.
At last, she was able to rise and apologetically tell Mrs Taylor-Lloyd that she had to leave to wait for a delivery, and after saying her goodbyes she scuttled away. As the drawing room door closed behind her, she heard a gale of laughter and one of the women comment, ‘Goodness me, whatever did you invite her for, Eunice? Do you know her husband is a rag-and-bone man and they’ve come from the courtyards in Abbey Street?’
As Maggie slid through the front door, her cheeks were burning with humiliation. She had looked forward to this visit so much, but she would be in no rush to accept another invitation – if another one came, which she very much doubted.
Maggie’s day went from bad to worse when Barney walked in after school with blood spurting from his nose and sporting the promise of a black eye. The sleeve of his coat and the knees of his trousers were torn, and he was valiantly trying to hold back tears.
‘Why, whatever’s happened?’ Horrified, Maggie rushed towards him, but he held his hand out to ward her off.
‘Keep away,’ he growled. ‘This is all your fault!’
‘What?’ Maggie frowned. ‘How can this be my fault!’
‘It were you as wanted us to come ’ere,’ he sobbed. ‘We was all ’appy in the cottage. I ’ate it ’ere; the rooms are too big an’ it’s cold. An’ all me mates at school don’t wanna know me now. They say I’m a snob an’ they pick on me.’
Maggie’s chin set. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll nip this in the bud right now,’ she promised. ‘I shall be at the school to see the headmaster first thing tomorrow. I hate bullies!’
‘No!’ The word shot from his lips like a bullet from a gun. ‘That would just make things worse fer me.’
With a heavy heart, Maggie hurried away to fetch a cloth and a bowl of water to clean up Barney’s face. She had thought the boys would love living in a larger house and in a better neighbourhood, but it seemed she’d been wrong if the other two felt the same as Barney, who was glaring up at her as she dabbed gently at his nose.
‘There,’ she said eventually, returning the bloody cloth to the water. ‘I think it’s stopped bleeding now but you’re going to have a right shiner on you tomorrow. Slip up and get changed and I’ll see if I can repair your shirt and put the rest of your clothes in to soak.’
Barney slunk off to do as he was told and once upstairs he sank onto the side of his bed and buried his face in his hands. He had never felt so unhappy in his life. Since moving to the new house, he had felt totally unsettled and like a fish out of water. But like the rest of his family, he’d had no say in the matter. As usual his da had done what his ma wanted. And the new house wasn’t the only thing he was unhappy about. He would be leaving school soon and his parents had taken it for granted that he would go to work with his da. He sighed. What he really wanted to do, though, was work with the circus that visited the town each year. He had loved the circus ever since his parents had taken him and his brothers to see it a few years before, and whenever it came to town, he would go to help erect the big top or do any other jobs that needed doing. He had got to know many of the circus folk and knew they would take him on. So what was he to do? If he did what he wanted he would hurt his parents, but if he stayed, he would be unhappy. It was a difficult dilemma to find himself in.
