Читать книгу The Sweeping Saga Collection: Poppy’s Dilemma, The Dressmaker’s Daughter, The Factory Girl - Nancy Carson - Страница 26

The months passed. Winter, along with its attendant snow and icicles, came and went. Poppy had never known anything like Christmas in the way that it was celebrated at Cawneybank House. Many of Aunt Phoebe’s friends visited them, bringing gifts that delighted Poppy. Aunt Phoebe was increasingly proud of her young companion and the way she was responding to her coaching. March blew in like the lion it was always expected to emulate but, by the end of that month, the winds had died, the chill had receded and April crept quietly in. The warmer rains encouraged new buds in the garden, fresh green leaves on the trees, and the occasional break in the clouds promised summer just around the corner.

In her improved situation, Poppy had not forgotten Minnie. Indeed, she made an effort to visit her most weeks if she got the chance. The stark contrast between life at Cawneybank House and the back-to-back in Gatehouse Fold became ever clearer the more she visited her friend. The first Friday in April Poppy tapped on Minnie’s door. It had been a month since last they had met. She waited in the drizzle, feeling conspicuously well dressed in a new dress, new cloak and bonnet. She tapped again, harder, as a middle-aged man peered at her from The Hare and Hounds on the corner and scowled at her, as if in envy of her obvious well-being. Poppy heard the screech of an upstairs sash and looked up to see Minnie thrust her tousled head out, peering down apprehensively.

‘Poppy!’ Minnie’s face lit up when she saw her friend. ‘I’m glad it’s you. I thought you was that wench what started to come round trying to get me on the straight and narrow. I’ll be right down to let yer in.’

Presently, the door opened and Minnie stood aside. ‘Come in out the wet … God’s truth, look at ya, Poppy. Dressed up like a princess, and no mistake.’

Poppy grinned, delighted as always to see her friend. ‘Oh, Aunt Phoebe’s looking after me good and proper.’

‘I’m still in me nightgown, Poppy,’ Minnie said apologetically.

‘Oh, I don’t mind … I swear you’re losing weight, Minnie.’

‘A bit. I’m glad to see you looking so well, Poppy.’ Minnie seemed tentative, on edge, and she shivered in the cold of the room that was cheerless without a fire. ‘I love your cloak … and your dress.’ She felt the material between her fingers. ‘Good stuff, in’t it?’

‘I’ve come to ask you if you’ll come to my birthday party, Min.’

‘A party?’ Minnie glanced at the stairs’ door as if expecting it to open. ‘You’m having a party?’

‘In the assembly rooms at The Dudley Arms. You know. That big hotel by the town hall. A week on Saturday night. I’d love you to come, Minnie. Have you got a nice dress you can wear?’

‘Are there likely to be many chaps there?’ Minnie whispered.

‘Some real toffs, I would’ve thought. Aunt Phoebe’s arranged the guest list, though. Why are you whispering, Min?’

Minnie pointed to the ceiling. ‘Somebody up there,’ she whispered.

‘Oh, I see … I’d better go then. So will you come? A week on Saturday, about eight o’clock?’

‘I’ll try … Listen, do I still owe you any money, Poppy?’

‘No, you paid me back.’

‘Did I? Good. I’m glad. Hey, I’m making a mint o’ money. I told you I would. I can easy afford to buy a dazzling new dress for your party.’

Poppy smiled. ‘If you can afford a new dress, buy yourself some fire coal as well, Minnie. You’ll catch your death else. Get back to your warm bed and that chap you’ve got up there, before you freeze.’

Minnie grinned. ‘Still the same old Poppy under all that finery, ain’t ya?’

The days and evenings at Cawneybank House remained pleasant. Poppy was keen to learn, an eager pupil, and Aunt Phoebe continued to lavish time and trouble on her companion, teaching her, correcting her patiently and with endless devotion. Considering that just a few months earlier they were not only strangers but more than a generation apart, they lived in perfect harmony. In the evenings they sat and talked and exchanged confidences. Poppy made Aunt Phoebe laugh with her down-to-earth comments and her uninhibited sense of humour, which was often a little bawdy for the older lady’s taste. But she took it in good part. She was astonished by some of the tales Poppy recounted about navvy life, especially the story of how her mother and Tweedle Beak became entangled in a loveless relationship. When Poppy told her about how Tweedle Beak had tried to raffle her off and fix it so he won her himself, she was outraged that any man could stoop to such absolute dishonour.

‘Thank goodness I helped you keep away from all that immorality,’ she said, looking up over her spectacles from her embroidery.

‘Oh, I know,’ Poppy replied, with all the conviction of a socialite. She was knitting as they talked, a skill she was learning, and the white scarf she was attempting had grown to about a foot in length.

‘But I hope your poor mother will have settled happily with that man you referred to as Buttercup.’

‘Oh, I think she will’ve, Aunt Phoebe. He’ll look after her. He’s a good man. He reminded me so much of me dad.’

‘My dad, Poppy,’ Aunt Phoebe gently corrected. ‘Not me dad. My dad. How many times—?’

‘Sorry … my dad …’

‘Let us hope they will marry and make a legal match of it. If only to stem their incontinence.’

‘I hope so as well, Aunt Phoebe,’ Poppy replied, clueless as to the meaning of the word incontinence.

‘But I can’t help thinking Buttercup is such a strange name for a man.’ Aunt Phoebe pulled a green thread through the taut drum of her work.

‘It’s a nickname. All the men go by nicknames. Sometimes, you never get to know their real names.’ She swapped her needles over and played out a little more wool from the ball in her lap. ‘Take Jericho, for instance. Nobody knew his name. I don’t think he knew it himself. If he did, he never told nobody.’

‘Never told anybody, Poppy. You are using a double negative again …’

‘Oh, damn,’ she said with genuine disappointment. ‘I must try and think about what I’m saying before I say it, eh, Aunt Phoebe? You’re very patient with me …’

‘I try. And please, never say damn either. At least, never in company.’

The composition of her birthday party had been discussed and they agreed that as many people of Poppy’s age as possible should attend, chaperoned, of course, by their parents. Such a sprinkling of the young and unmarried would, it was hoped, lend the party some zest.

‘It’s a splendid opportunity to meet more of my family and friends,’ Aunt Phoebe said to Poppy. ‘Many have sons and daughters your age. The Crawfords must of course be invited. I haven’t seen them for months. They have a daughter a little younger than you, but she is at boarding school, I believe. I seldom see her. However, I shall be interested to learn what you make of Robert’s two brothers … I would stress, Poppy, that you would be wise to keep to yourself the fact that you were a friend of Robert – that you and I met through him. Such an admission would only invite questions and, if you answered them too candidly – as well you might – your origins will be revealed and all the excellent progress you’ve made over the months could be negated.’

‘What do you mean, Aunt Phoebe?’

‘I mean that unless they delved, nobody would know that you are the daughter of a railway navvy, reared on an ungodly encampment. So let us not make it known. Let’s maintain the subterfuge that you are employed solely as my companion. You’ve already surpassed my expectations, my dear. I’m proud of you.’ Aunt Phoebe paused, and Poppy waited for the tempering statement that always followed praise. ‘That’s not to say there are no more rough edges to be rounded off. Indeed, there are, but the fullness of time and greater experience will see to that. In any case, your guests will not notice any flaws. To my mind, they have plenty themselves and will be used to seeing and hearing such faults every day in everybody else. We’ve still plenty to do yet in the matter of your education.’

‘I have to thank you, Aunt Phoebe,’ Poppy said sincerely. ‘For everything. For giving me a home, a comfortable bed. For being so kind …’

Aunt Phoebe looked over her spectacles at Poppy with genuine affection. ‘Just as long as you are happy.’

‘Happy?’ Poppy smiled brightly. ‘Oh, I’m happy. I love being here with you, Aunt Phoebe. I feel as if I’ve lived here all my life. I think about my family a lot and I wonder where they’ve got to now. I do worry about them, you know … But I look upon you as my mother nowadays …’

Aunt Phoebe reached out and took Poppy’s hand, touched by her openness. ‘And you have turned out to be the daughter I never had. I’m so glad you’re happy. You’ve made me very happy too, Poppy. It’s so fortunate that we were brought together.’

‘Esther and Dolly as well,’ Poppy said, wide-eyed. ‘They’re like sisters to me … and Clay’s like an old uncle …’ She laughed happily. ‘Oh, Aunt Phoebe, I dread to think what would have happened to me if I hadn’t dared to come and see you that Sunday …’

‘What on earth do you mean?’

Poppy looked at her knitting, deliberately avoiding Aunt Phoebe’s eyes lest she read too much into them. ‘My friend Minnie … The one who lives at Gatehouse Fold. She’s the daughter of a navvy as well. Did I tell you? She’s not been as lucky as me. She’s getting into bad ways … I suspect I might have done as well after Robert went away …’ It was not the first time Poppy had admitted, to herself at least, that she might have become drawn into prostitution, especially when the money that Buttercup gave her had run out. ‘Anyway, I invited her to my party. I hope you don’t mind.’

‘Oh, my goodness …’ Aunt Phoebe sat bolt upright, her expression suddenly grim. ‘I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Poppy. I mean to say, however much of a friend she is, do you really want a street girl at your party to lower the tone? There will be some very respectable people there. They will not want their sons and daughters to be mixing with that sort of girl.’

‘But Minnie’s all right, Aunt Phoebe. Honest. And she’ll be all dressed up in nice new clothes. She’s really very friendly. Nobody’ll know she’s that sort of girl, I promise.’

‘Are you absolutely sure?’

‘Yes, I’m sure. Anyway, I’ve asked her now …’

‘Very well then,’ Aunt Phoebe grudgingly agreed. ‘Will she be escorted?’

‘You never know with Minnie.’

A string quartet had been engaged and they sawed their way through the first half hour or so almost unheard, and certainly disregarded, as the guests arrived and engaged in excited chatter. Aunt Phoebe stood in front of the fire that burned brightly in the huge grate. With a roundly smiling face, she introduced Poppy to everybody in turn. Although Poppy was determined to remember all the guests’ names, she knew she must inevitably fail … but not with the Crawfords …

‘Clarissa, dear, how lovely to see you.’ The two women greeted each other superficially. ‘Clarissa, let me introduce you to my friend and companion, Miss Poppy Silk … Poppy, Mrs Crawford, my dear sister-in-law …’

‘How do you do, Mrs Crawford?’

So this was Robert’s mother. It was obvious she had once been a fine-looking young woman and the years and bearing of children had not been entirely unkind. She was not tall, but her demeanour, her slenderness and straight back made up for it. She wore a dark green velvet dress and matching stole, and she smiled cordially as she took Poppy’s hand, of course unaware of her association with her long-absent son.

‘It was such a pleasant surprise to receive an invitation from Mrs Newton to the birthday party of her friend and companion,’ Mrs Crawford said to Poppy. ‘We had heard that she had a companion living with her, so we just had to come and see you for ourselves. It’s such a pity that my daughter couldn’t be here. She would have enjoyed mixing with people of her own age.’

‘Yes, it’s a pity, Mrs Crawford. I would have liked to meet her.’

‘We see precious little of her ourselves while she’s at boarding school.’

‘I see. What’s her name?’

‘Elizabeth.’

‘So she must be your youngest?’ Poppy deduced.

‘She’s sixteen. Not much younger than yourself, Miss Silk. Anyway, I do hope our birthday gift to you will be to your liking.’

‘Thank you,’ said Poppy, taking the small parcel.

‘It was actually suggested by the fiancée of my son Robert.’

‘Oh, then I’m sure I shall like it a lot.’ Well, fancy that – the choice of Robert’s fiancée. It felt like a book.

‘Now let me introduce my husband, Mr Crawford …’

‘Delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss Silk.’ Ridley Crawford’s eyes scanned Poppy up and down assessively. He was a tall man, heavily built. Poppy, still a navvy’s daughter beneath her finery, imagined him and his slim wife in bed engaged in awkward copulation, she smothered by his bulk. She smiled to herself, glad that he could not read her saucy thoughts.

Aunt Phoebe turned to a young woman who was waiting to be introduced, the wife of Robert’s elder brother. ‘Clare. It has been too long since last we met. How well you look.’

‘Thank you, Aunt Phoebe. You too. I’ve never seen you looking better,’ Clare Crawford responded.

‘And how are the children?’

‘Little tinkers,’ she giggled. ‘But thank you for enquiring.’

Aunt Phoebe laughed with her. ‘This is Poppy Silk. We get on so well, Clare, I can’t begin to tell you … Poppy, Mrs Oliver Crawford.’

‘So this young lady is your companion these days?’ Clare looked at Poppy expectantly and smiled. ‘How do you do, Miss Silk?’

‘Very well, thank you. And yourself?’

‘Well enough. This is my husband, Miss Silk. Mr Oliver Crawford. Oliver, this is Miss Silk whose birthday we are celebrating.’

Poppy looked at him with curiosity, looking for a facial resemblance to Robert. She found none, except for the shape of his mouth when he smiled. ‘I’m pleased to meet you, Mr Crawford. I’ve heard very little about you, but you must be Mr and Mrs Crawford’s eldest son.’

Oliver looked her up and down like his father had. ‘I am indeed. I hope we shall have the opportunity to speak later, or even dance together, Miss Silk.’

She smiled at him appealingly. ‘I’ll be sure to keep one dance free in case you come asking.’

Poppy’s heart jumped when she saw Bellamy Crawford, the youngest son, Robert’s younger brother. There was no mistaking him. He had a distinct and disturbing facial resemblance to Robert.

‘This is such a pleasant surprise,’ he said, looking directly into Poppy’s shining blue eyes. ‘You know, I rather expected the new companion of Aunt Phoebe to be a bit of a frump. I hardly expected to see such a vividly beautiful, fair-haired girl who makes the other ladies here pale into total insignificance. Please assure me, Miss Silk, that you are unattached …’

Oh dear … She nodded and smiled, uncertain what to say at his gushing praise.

‘Please may I have the first dance with you? And, indeed, the second?’

‘I’ll gladly have my first dance with you, Mr Crawford, once I’ve met all my guests.’

As more people arrived and handed over gifts in that smoke-filled, noisy room with the maroon velvet drapes and flock wallpaper, Poppy graciously met them and seemed to grow in confidence and poise. Aunt Phoebe watched her with increasing pride. Poppy was statuesque in the pale blue satin dress that set off her figure to perfection. Esther had carefully tended her hair and it was piled on top of her head, enhancing the elegant set of her youthful neck. Her bare shoulders glistened like flawless ivory and her breast rose and fell with every excited breath and each peal of laughter. Her face was a picture of spontaneous gaiety and her large blue eyes sparkled with the reflection of the gas lamps that hung from the ceiling.

Aunt Phoebe watched with amused interest the reactions of the young dogs that came sniffing around; and the not so young ones too, who could not prevent their eyes from dwelling on Poppy. She felt a great surge of satisfaction. Oh, this Poppy Silk was going to be the toast of the town.

Another guest stood waiting to be introduced. He was tall and erect with a military bearing, and aged about forty-five, Poppy estimated. Quite old.

‘My dear Cecil,’ Aunt Phoebe cooed. ‘How good of you to come. How is your mother? Is she improving?’

‘Mother won’t improve,’ Cecil replied, his eyes dancing between Aunt Phoebe and Poppy, in anticipation of meeting her. ‘It’s just a matter of time, I’m afraid.’

‘Do give her my love. I must get Clay to drive Poppy and me to see her one of the days … You haven’t met Poppy yet, have you? Cecil, this is Poppy Silk, my companion. Poppy, Captain Tyler.’

‘Miss Silk …’ He took her hand and held on to it for longer than was necessary. ‘Enchanted. So you are the fine young lady who has kept my cousin company through the long dark days of winter?’ His voice was deep and masculine and his diction was perfect.

‘Cecil was an army man, Poppy,’ Aunt Phoebe explained. ‘Recently retired, of course.’

‘Oh?’ Poppy said, wishing to appear interested but drawn by curiosity to seek out Bellamy Crawford in the throng. ‘Did you enjoy being a soldier?’

‘Loved it. You must allow me to regale you with some of my exploits some day, Miss Silk. You would find them very entertaining, I’m sure.’

Poppy smiled politely.

One or two of the younger people were beginning to dance and the band played with more enthusiasm in consequence. One set of dances finished and, after the couples had returned to their tables for a refresher, the leader announced another. Poppy caught the eye of Bellamy Crawford and, as he smiled, her heart went into her mouth. It was not for him, though, it was for Robert, because he reminded her so much of him. She raised her eyebrows at him and he took it as a signal, making his way towards her at once.

‘Excuse me, Miss Silk, you promised me your first dance. May I claim it now?’

Poppy looked apologetically at Captain Tyler. ‘If you will excuse me, Captain …’

Captain Tyler smiled grudgingly and nodded. He turned to Aunt Phoebe. ‘What an enchanting princess you have captured as your companion. Do I have your permission to call on her?’

‘You may call on me, Cecil,’ Aunt Phoebe replied astutely. ‘But I suspect you’ll be well down the queue when it comes to calling on Poppy.’

‘I hope you’re not expecting a brilliant dancer,’ Poppy said, as Bellamy led her to the floor.

‘I wouldn’t know a good dancer from a bad one, Miss Silk,’ Bellamy replied. ‘But it’s a perfect excuse to hold a pretty girl around the waist and get to know her a little.’

As they began waltzing, she smiled up at him, imagining she was looking up at Robert. It was very disturbing being held by a young man so much like him. He was not quite as tall as Robert, but his eyes were similar, the way they crinkled so appealingly when he smiled. The nose was akin, too, as was the shape of his face. But the mouth was different. Oliver, the older brother, was blessed with a mouth more like Robert’s. All the same, she could not help wondering if it would be as pleasant to be kissed by this younger brother.

‘Where are you from, Miss Silk? We certainly haven’t met before.’

‘Oh, I’ve lived in Dudley for a year or two now,’ she said ambiguously, gliding across the floor as gracefully as she could. ‘Before that I lived all over the place.’

‘I see. Ever lived abroad?’

‘No.’

‘Your family isn’t army then?’

‘Oh, no.’ This was dangerous ground. She desperately needed to sidetrack him. ‘I understand you have a younger sister, Mr Crawford, but do you have any other brothers besides Oliver?’ It was the first thing that came into her head.

‘Indeed I do. Robert. Robert is older than me but younger than Oliver. He’s twenty-four. I’m twenty-two.’

‘Is he much like you, this Robert?’ She became confused over her footwork and they had to start the sequence of steps again. ‘Sorry, Mr Crawford. I told you I wasn’t much of a dancer.’

He smiled his absolution. ‘No matter, Miss Silk. I’m as much to blame … People say we are alike, Robert and I, though for the life of me I can’t see it meself.’

‘Is he here? I haven’t met him, I don’t think.’

Bellamy laughed. ‘Good God, no. Poor devil’s in Brazil of all places. He felt the need to visit the wide-open spaces of South America. He’ll probably come back with severe malaria or beri-beri, I shouldn’t wonder. Always provided he doesn’t decide to stay and become a cowboy.’

‘Brazil?’ Poppy said, feigning ignorance. ‘Have you heard from him since he went to Brazil?’

‘A short letter to our mother and father every month or so, I think.’

‘And is he all right, did he say?’

‘I believe so.’

Poppy breathed a discreet sigh of relief. ‘What’s he doing in Brazil?’

‘Surveying for a new railroad. Damn fool. He should join the family firm like Oliver and me instead of trying to make a name for himself. Then there’d be no need to risk life and limb in some godforsaken hole like Brazil. They say there are untold dangers out there. But let’s not talk about him. Let’s talk about you, Miss Silk.’

‘Oh, I’m not that interesting, Mr Crawford.’

‘Call me Bellamy, eh?’ he said jovially. ‘And I’ll call you Poppy. Poppy’s such a sweet name. It suits you. Tell me, Poppy, do you think Aunt Phoebe would mind if I took you home afterwards?’

‘It’s very kind of you to offer, but I wouldn’t dream of leaving Aunt Phoebe to go home by herself.’

‘I daresay she’ll have Clay to watch out for her, won’t she?’

‘But Clay will be sitting outside on the driver’s seat. Aunt Phoebe will be inside. No, I couldn’t.’ She failed to say that Esther and Dolly would also be travelling back with her, since they were at the party too.

‘Then may I call on you?’

‘Yes … If you want to, I suppose … If you’re married or engaged though, you needn’t bother.’

He hooted with laughter. ‘Me married? Indeed not. Nor even engaged. Haven’t met the right girl, Poppy … Till tonight, that is …’

The dance finished and Poppy returned to Aunt Phoebe’s side. Captain Cecil Tyler was still talking to her, along with another woman who was plainly dressed, but imposing.

‘Poppy … You remember Mrs Green …’

They had met before.

‘Mrs Green,’ Poppy greeted and offered her hand. ‘How lovely to see you again.’

‘Mrs Green and I have been discussing you, Poppy. We were schoolteachers together some years ago, as I think I must have surely told you. She is connected with Baylies’s Charity School in Tower Street. It’s a sort of Ragged School, of course. They need some help in the classroom and Mrs Green wondered if you might be willing.’

‘Me?’ Poppy looked at Mrs Green for confirmation.

‘Yes,’ Mrs Green replied. ‘Mrs Newton tells me you are an able reader and writer. We have placed advertisements in the Ten Towns Messenger for a teacher’s help, but to no avail. I am certain your qualities could be put to good use. Of course, a knowledge of singing as well would be indispensable.’

‘It would be a wonderful opportunity for you, my dear,’ Aunt Phoebe urged.

‘But I can’t sing. I don’t know a thing about singing.’

‘I’ll teach you to sing,’ Aunt Phoebe said, as if it would be the easiest thing in the world. ‘Not only would you be continuing to learn in this school, but you would also be gaining invaluable experience. Experience which could possibly lead to a full-blown teaching position somewhere. You would also be earning a little extra money. You should consider it very carefully, my dear.’

‘D’you really think so, Aunt Phoebe?’

‘My dear, I would not be so keen on you doing it if I did not think so.’

Poppy saw Bellamy Crawford making his way towards her again. ‘Very well, Aunt.’ It was time to postpone this conversation lest she miss the opportunity to dance with Bellamy again. ‘We can talk about it more tomorrow, maybe.’

‘Indeed we shall.’

‘And thank you, Mrs Green, for thinking about me.’

‘You are an obvious candidate, Miss Silk.’

Bellamy arrived at her side. Smiling affably, he acknowledged Aunt Phoebe, Mrs Green and Captain Tyler in turn. ‘Would you mind greatly if I robbed you of Miss Silk’s company?’ he said.

Captain Tyler’s expression did not change, but the two women flashed knowing looks at each other and smiled their assent before Bellamy turned to Poppy.

‘Poppy, would you care to dance again?’

‘Thank you, Bellamy,’ she consented graciously, and he led her away.

‘This time it’s a polka …’

‘I’m not very good at polkas, Bellamy.’

‘No matter. It’s just that I can’t seem to settle when somebody as beautiful as you is in the same room. Perhaps you would accompany me in to supper afterwards as well?’

‘Yes, all right,’ she said contentedly.