The Lady of Pelham Street

by Deborah Carr

  Florence read the letter. Twice. Then, trying to remember to keep smiling, she looked up at him. ‘You’ve bought us a house? At The Park?’

  She had been to several dinners held by friends who were residents of the smart estate but had never considered that they might move to live there too.

  ‘Yes. I’ve named the house St Heliers in honour of your hometown.’ When she didn’t reply immediately, his smile slipped slightly. ‘Did you see the illustration of our new home attached to the back of the letter?’

  Florence took the letter back. All she could think of was how busy they both were and that the last thing she wanted to do right now, especially as she was heavily pregnant, was to move to a new house. She flipped over the front sheet to study the huge brick house that Jesse had apparently bought for them. It was enormous. How had she come to this only six years after living most of her life in a small flat above a shop?

  ‘What do you think? Do you like it?’

  Florence liked the house well enough, but would have preferred a little time to let the idea that they would be relocating sink in. Their days were already filled with work, looking after John and Dorothy, and in two months’ time they would be welcoming another baby into their family. How was she supposed to fit in a house move and finding extra servants as well?

  By the look of the houses she had seen when visiting the estate, the three women employed at their Wellesley Road home would not be able to cope with the extra work needed to run a house so much larger than the one they currently lived in.

  Florence loved living in her double-fronted home on Wellesley Road. She would have enjoyed living there for longer, although now Jesse had taken on the lease for a new store at Pelham Street, she had suspected they would be moving closer to that location and back to Nottingham, just not this soon.

  Jesse was ever practical, and it was too far for them to travel to work in Nottingham’s town centre. He had spent time working there, staying in the small flat they had lived in as newlyweds above the Goose Gate shop. She also knew how much he missed her and the children when he stayed away overnight. It made sense and, if she was honest with herself, Florence had suspected on a couple of occasions that Jesse had ambitions to move to a larger home. Florence still wasn’t certain that she was ready to do so yet though.

  ‘It has a library and a conservatory,’ he added. ‘Florence?’

  She looked up at him and, hating to see the concern expressed in his deep eyes, pushed her doubts away. How could she refuse this wonderful husband of hers anything at all? Hadn’t he done all that she had asked of him, allowing her to keep working and being proud of all that she had achieved for Boots?

  ‘It’s a bit of a shock, that’s all.’

  Jesse sighed. ‘I’m sorry to drop this on you, especially now,’ he said resting his hand on her rounded stomach. I know the timing is dreadful, but I knew this was the house for us. You’re happy though? To move to The Park?’

  She forced a smile. ‘How can I not be? Most people would give all they had to live in such an impressive home. Anyway,’ she said resting her hand on his,‘when do we need to move there?’

  Jesse’s eyes narrowed. ‘Soon, I’m afraid.’ He bent to kiss the top of her head. ‘I know it’s not the most convenient timing but I feel it’s the right thing for us to do.’

  By now, Florence knew when Jesse was open for discussion about something and also the occasions when he had no intention of changing his mind. This was one of those times.

  ‘I’d better start making arrangements then, hadn’t I?’ she said, unable to help feeling a tingle of excitement at the thought of living in such a majestic house.

  ***

  The next two weeks were a blur. The only time she wasn’t dictating letters to Miss Tweed about their relocation to the new house, Florence was making endless lists. She loved a challenge and this was certainly one of those. The excitement drove her on despite her tiredness. She had never imagined living anywhere like St Heliers and couldn’t help feeling a sense of pride that Jesse had achieved this for them in so short a time.

  Florence began to think of all the connections she could make being one of the residents of this well-respected estate. There were bound to be new acquaintances that she could ask to support her charities and help with local projects that they might not yet know about. Her children would have a large garden to play in. She smiled and reasoned that the benefits of this relocation were bountiful and endless.

  Florence rested the palms of her hands on the base of her back. She ached all over, but she was doing a little too much for someone who was seven months pregnant, so it was hardly surprising. It would be worth it. Jesse was beginning to give her concerned looks, but the only concession she made to this big change in their life was to finish work earlier each day and come home for an hour’s rest between working at her office and overseeing the packing up of their belongings.

  Harriet, their older general domestic servant, led the packing and was as organised as Florence had hoped she would be. Eliza watched over the children, sorting and packing their clothes, linen, and toys, while Beth kept on top of the cleaning in the house.

  Soon the boxes filled their dining room ready to be taken from their Wellesley Road home to St Heliers House. Florence had asked Miss Tweed to write to two agencies for the extra servants they were going to need. She was sorry that Eliza had decided not to continue working for them after their move to The Park, but it was too far for her to travel each day from her own family home. Harriet and Beth, the scullery maid, were coming with them. Neither wished to find alternative work and Florence believed that they were rather excited about the prospect of living in a larger home.

  Florence called Harriet to the drawing room the night before their move.

  ‘As you’re probably aware, I’ve been interviewing a few new servants. The new house is much bigger than this one and it will be too much for you and Beth to look after. There’s a new under housemaid called Violet, as well as a footman. His name is Joseph Meadows.’

  ‘Yes, madam,’ Harriet replied, enthralled by this news.

  ‘Mr Boot will need a valet, so we’re looking to engage someone to fit that role. The reason I’ve asked you here is not only to let you know about the new servants, but also to tell you that I’ll need a lady’s maid.’ Harriet’s eyebrows lowered slightly. Florence could see she was probably wondering what that had to do with her, so added, ‘I was hoping you might like that role, Harriet?’

  ‘Madam?’

  Florence smiled, hoping to reassure the shocked woman. ‘You know more about my daily routine than anyone other than my husband,’ she said. ‘I trust you and feel that you are the obvious candidate, should you wish to be. What do you say?’ When Harriet didn’t answer, Florence was concerned and added, ‘You don’t have to, naturally, but maybe you might need some time to consider the offer. Obviously, you’ll have more responsibility and an increase in your salary, but if you’re happy to remain looking after the domestic duties downstairs then I’m happy for you to take charge of the more junior staff.’

  Harriet clasped her hands together and beamed at Florence. ‘No, madam. I don’t need to think about it at all. I’m a little shocked to be asked, that’s all. I’d be honoured to be your lady’s maid, very much so.’

  Relief flooded through Florence. She had been hoping that Harriet would agree to the promotion. She had never had a lady’s maid before and wanted to have someone she knew and liked, since whoever it was would be working very closely with her; Harriet was the perfect person to carry out the role.

  Florence stood. ‘I’m delighted. I’ll inform Mr Boot and you can start your new position from the day of our move.’

  ‘Thank you, Mrs Boot. I’m very happy you asked me.’

  ‘And I’m delighted you’ve accepted,’ Florence replied honestly.

  ***

  Florence stood at her bedroom window and stared out at the trees and garden to the rear of their splendid new
home. The move two weeks earlier had gone well. The new valet she had sourced for Jesse, Henry Trimble, was discovered drinking after only two days and his employment terminated. Florence always made sure she explained to every member of staff during their interviews that she and Jesse believed in temperance. She wanted prospective staff to be aware that they didn’t allow alcohol in their home either for themselves or for their servants. They were aware that to some this would not be acceptable and wanted servants to be able to make the choice before confirming that they would like to work for them at St Heliers.

  ‘Mr Meadows is very conscientious at his work,’ Jesse said when she broke the news to him that his valet had left rather suddenly. ‘Maybe he will be happy to act as my valet if we offer to increase his wage accordingly?’

  Florence liked the idea. She also liked Joseph Meadows and had been hoping that Jesse would make exactly this suggestion.

  ‘Very well, I’ll ask him,’ she said.

  Thankfully Meadows was happy to do as she and Jesse asked, and explained that the increase in his wage meant that he would be able to send more money home to his elderly parents in Devon each month.

  Everyone was settling in nicely to the new house and both Florence and Jesse were particularly delighted with Mrs Rudge’s baking abilities. She ran her kitchen with a kindly but firm hand and never failed to produce delicious meals, which Florence was especially happy with as there always seemed to be something to tempt Jesse’s appetite when he was feeling unwell.

  The new under housemaid, Violet, and a kitchen maid, Annie, were due to start working for them in the next two days and Florence felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and that it was beginning to feel like the new servants had worked for her and Jesse for months. They had still to settle on a footman to replace Meadows, but Florence was wondering if they really needed to find one, or if it was an unnecessary addition to the household.

  She decided to speak to Meadows and ask if, when he wasn’t looking after Jesse, he might agree to act as footman.

  ‘I’d be happy to, Mrs Boot,’ Joseph Meadows had said. ‘To be honest, Mr Boot is out so much of the day that I’d feel better if I had other work to attend to during that time.’

  Florence turned and walked out of her beautifully decorated bedroom, with its smart patterned wallpaper in pale blues and subtle yellows and large rug that matched the tones exactly. Jesse had surprised her, yet again, by arranging for new wardrobes and chests of drawers to be made to match their existing bedroom suite. He had known Florence would not want to replace it with a new one, but also that the larger bedroom would need more furniture.

  She arrived at the spacious landing with its sweeping staircase flowing gracefully down to the open hallway and stopped to take in the vibrant colours of the large flower arrangement that one of their neighbours had sent to them as a welcome to the area.

  The children had rooms on the upper floor and the servants had their accommodation in the attic with a back staircase taking them down to the kitchen so that they could come and go without any visitors seeing them. Jesse had been right. This house had been meticulously planned and was a delight to live in.

  Florence walked through to her new library. She still had more books to find to fill the shelves completely, but that was a treat she was going to take her time to enjoy. She stood by the fire and rubbed her hands together slowly. The baby moved and she caught her breath for a second. Jesse, as usual, had been right about buying this house and moving their family to this place. The red brick house wasn’t beautiful, but it had character and the grounds were stunningly beautiful. It gave them all the space they needed to grow, especially with this new baby about to arrive.

  Florence’s heart swelled with happiness and optimism for their future. ‘We’re going to be very happy here,’ she said to herself. ‘I just know it.’

  Chapter 5

  March 1892

  ‘You must eat your lunch, John,’ Florence said, attempting to spoon steamed apple into her son’s mouth. He usually fed himself but wasn’t very keen on today’s pudding. ‘A little more and then you can carry on playing with your toy horses.’

  He narrowed his deep blue eyes briefly before opening his mouth like a little bird. Florence giggled gleefully and quickly deposited the spoonful into his mouth.

  ‘There, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?’

  She wiped his face with a muslin square and handed his two toys back to him. How she loved this little boy of hers. He was already showing signs of stubbornness, just like his parents, she thought with amusement. She bent down and kissed the top of his head and couldn’t help trying to imagine what sort of man he would grow up to be. A kind one, she hoped.

  Her thoughts were distracted by a knock at her office door. ‘Mr Boot has asked that you join him in his office,’ Miss Tweed said, smiling at John.

  ‘Mr Boot?’ She hoped nothing had happened to him. He had been a little quiet of late and Florence suspected that he might be suffering from more pain than usual.

  ‘Is everything all right, Mrs Boot?’

  Florence closed her eyes to gather herself. ‘Yes, perfectly fine, thank you. You took me by surprise, that’s all. There’s nothing amiss, is there?’

  ‘I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant to. And no, I’m not aware that there’s anything wrong.’

  ‘It’s not your fault, Miss Tweed. Will you watch over John while I go to see my husband?’

  ‘I’d be delighted to,’ she replied, stepping further into the room and immediately making her way to crouch next to John’s play area.

  ‘Thank you.’ Florence left the room feeling a little silly for sounding panicked, but sometimes her worry for Jesse’s health made her nervous. Thankfully, his infirmity seemed to have slowed down in the past year. She was certain this was helped by her insistence that he rest more than he had been used to doing, and because she kept an eye on his diet, ensuring it was as healthy as possible at all times. Florence never admitted to anyone how she was always on guard for any deterioration in her husband. However, much to her embarrassment, this time she had been careless enough to let her fears show to an employee.

  She walked the few steps to his room and knocked lightly.

  ‘Come in.’

  She opened the door and walked in to find him standing behind his desk. Her heart swelled with love for the man who had given her so much more than she had ever imagined wanting. His hands rested on the lower half of the plans which were unfurled on the mahogany and tooled-leather surface with paperweights holding the curled paper on either side.

  ‘What is this?’ she asked, intrigued as she joined him and tried to make sense of what the plans might be for.

  Jesse looked up, the smile on his face showing how happy he was to see her. ‘These are the plans for the Pelham Street store. I wanted to show you, so that we could begin working on designs and layouts throughout.’

  She thought of all the ideas she had come up with for the store and hoped that Jesse would allow her to utilise most of them. It would be the first place where she would be able to visibly make her mark, with her ideas for decor and new departments with stock that appealed to more customers than the items they currently sold. It would be somewhere that was almost as much hers as Jesse’s. Florence was determined to use whatever opportunity he gave her to show just how much foresight and intuition she had, and how it would bring in the vast numbers of new customers they would need to make the business pay.

  ‘There’s a huge amount of floor space and on several floors too. We’re going to have to think of what we can use to fill the entire area.’ She studied it further, aware that she needed to slowly introduce all the ideas she had for this store. ‘I particularly like the idea of having a gallery supported by a colonnade of cast-iron pillars,’ she said, picturing how it would look once finished.

  He looked at her thoughtfully then smiled proudly. ‘I thought that design feature would play to your creative instincts,’ he said.

/>   ‘And we’re going to need to employ quite a few more people here than at most other Boots stores, if we are to cover all the new departments we’re going to need to use the building to its maximum potential.’ Florence felt Jesse’s eyes on her as he considered this notion.

  ‘I agree,’ he said. ‘I was also thinking that you should be charged with the taking on of the female employees for this store and also the interior decoration. What do you think?’ His eyes glinted as he waited for her reaction to what she suspected he had known she would want to hear.

  Florence opened her mouth to speak but when the words didn’t form, she closed it again. She was grateful for this proof of his confidence in her abilities, especially when she had managed to get things so wrong when dealing with the Nellie Blythe situation. Florence beamed at him.

  ‘I’d like that, very much.’ She leant forward and kissed him.

  ‘There’s no one I trust more than you, Florence.’ He rested his hand lightly on her rounded stomach. ‘I trust you to bear my children; there’s nothing more important in my life than that. I also know that there’s no one better to work beside me. Haven’t you proved your business worth to this company already in these past six years?’

  ‘I like to think so,’ she said, not reminding him of the times she had got things wrong. ‘I love working with you, Jesse, I hope you know that?’

  Their lives had been such a whirlwind, building up their home and family life together. As Florence had gradually become more involved in Jesse’s daily working life, she barely had time to draw breath. Now they were planning what was to be their most impressive store to date and, despite feeling a little weighed down by this third pregnancy, Florence’s enthusiasm for the project grew.

  He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I most certainly do. Look,’ he said, pointing at the area on the plan depicting the shop fronts. ‘I took note of your suggestion to bring in an art nouveau style for the doors, window design, and decoration on the stonework. What do you think?’