A Loving Family

by Dilly Court

  ‘I don’t blame you,’ Belinda said, giggling. ‘It’s heavy as lead.’

  His rugged features softened into a smile. ‘Thank you for the warning, Miss Belinda.’

  ‘We were just talking about the financial problems of the estate, Mr Sparrow.’ Stella could see that he was attracted to her sister, but at this moment the fate of the estate was uppermost in her mind. ‘Have you any ideas?’

  He turned to her, his smile fading. ‘I’ve given it a great deal of thought, Miss Barry. The tenants can’t afford to pay higher rents and the home farm has been neglected. That in itself isn’t a problem but it will take time for the land to recover and become profitable. The estate needs another income if it is to survive.’

  ‘Have you investigated the old mine workings?’ Stella asked.

  He cast an anxious glance in Rosa’s direction. ‘I have.’

  ‘It’s all right, Harry,’ Rosa said casually. ‘I know that they are notorious and have a dreadful reputation, which is why they are now chained and padlocked.’

  ‘I think the answer lies in the caves,’ Stella said slowly. ‘I think their reputation might prove to be an advantage.’

  Rosa stared at her in astonishment. ‘How can you say such a thing?’

  ‘I think people would pay to visit them,’ Stella said simply. ‘I think you ought to open the grounds and the caves to the public and charge them admittance.’

  Belinda clapped her hands. ‘That’s a wonderful idea. We could sell our cakes to them too.’

  ‘One idea at a time, please,’ Rosa said, laughing. ‘We aren’t going into competition with Gunter’s, are we?’

  ‘I’m serious, Rosa,’ Belinda protested. ‘If you have people tramping around the grounds it would make sense to offer them refreshments. It would make money.’

  ‘I don’t know about the refreshments, but I certainly think you could open to the public,’ Stella said firmly. ‘What is your opinion, Mr Sparrow?’

  ‘I think the idea has merit,’ he said slowly. ‘But would the family be prepared to have the general public wandering around the grounds? Mightn’t they do more harm than good and end up costing money to repair the damage they did?’

  ‘I wasn’t suggesting that we open the house to them, and I think we would have to limit their access,’ Stella said thoughtfully. ‘What do you say, Rosa? Would Kit agree to this?’

  ‘Kit is thousands of miles away, and your mother still owns the estate. Maybe we should ask her.’

  ‘She’s away visiting Chalkhill Farm for a few days, but Ma won’t raise any objections,’ Stella said confidently. ‘She’s put the transfer of the deeds in the hands of a solicitor Perry found. As far as she’s concerned the estate reverted to you and Kit a long time ago.’

  ‘Perhaps we ought to go outside and inspect the caves,’ Harry suggested. ‘If we went together you ladies would have a better idea of how visitors might find the going. The ground is quite rough, and could prove difficult for women wearing high heels.’

  ‘Or children who might fall over,’ Belinda added eagerly. ‘Or old ladies like Aunt Maud might be too scared to venture inside. We should take her with us and see if she can manage it.’

  Harry rose to his feet. ‘The estate finances are such, Miss Rosa, that almost anything will be better than doing nothing.’

  ‘The roof leaks too,’ Rosa said sadly. ‘The windows rattle when it’s windy and the attics are damp. The servants will suffer dreadfully if it gets any worse.’

  ‘Then let’s take a look at the caves,’ Stella said, rising to her feet. ‘Belle, will you go and fetch Aunt Maud? If she can explore the tunnels I think we can safely say that they would be suitable for all comers.’

  ‘How exciting. I’ve heard so much about this place but I never thought I’d see inside.’ Maud leaned on Stella’s arm as Harry unlocked the iron door which led into the old mine workings. He made them wait while he lit a couple of lanterns, taking one himself and handing one to Stella. She braced herself to enter the place where she had been imprisoned, concentrating her thoughts instead on the joy of being reunited with her mother. The dark, dank caves held no terrors for her now.

  Belinda slipped her hand through the crook of Harry’s arm. ‘Do you mind if I hold on to you, Harry? I don’t much care for the dark.’

  ‘Not at all, Miss Belinda. But do take care, as I said before the ground is quite uneven.’

  ‘I’ll hold on tight,’ she said softly. ‘It’s very creepy.’

  Rosa followed them into the tunnel. ‘Kit and I used to play here as children,’ she said dreamily. ‘I wish he were here now.’

  Stella silently echoed the sentiment as she guided Maud, taking care to avoid loose stones and flints that had fallen from the chalk. ‘Are you all right, Aunt?’

  ‘Never better, dear,’ Maud said confidently. ‘This is exciting. Here was I thinking that nothing much was going to happen to me again and now I’m having an adventure in the caves where Gervase carried out his wickedness. I think people would flock here if only to enjoy being scared.’

  ‘And we could sell cakes at the entrance,’ Belinda added. ‘It would boost sales no end if we did.’ Her voice echoed eerily off the damp walls and she laughed. ‘Isn’t that quaint,’ she whispered. ‘It sounds as if there are lots of people here. They’re laughing and talking, like the souls of the dead come back to haunt the scene of their misdeeds.’

  ‘Stop it, Belle.’ Stella prodded her sister in the back. ‘You’re scaring Aunt Maud.’

  ‘Not at all,’ Maud said stoutly. ‘I’m loving every minute of it, and I think the idea of selling cakes is an excellent one. Maybe you could provide lemonade and beer as well.’

  ‘We could make it a proper day out for Londoners,’ Rosa said, warming to the idea. ‘We could put up a tent like they have in the circus and have chairs and tables.’

  ‘And we could have a fairground,’ Belinda added. ‘With gypsy fortune-tellers and men on stilts.’

  Harry held his lantern so that the light bounced off the walls and trickled down the narrow passages. ‘I think people would pay good money to visit a place like this.’

  ‘Then that’s what we’ll do,’ Rosa cried enthusiastically. ‘Will you work out a plan, Stella? It was your idea in the first place. You and Harry can discuss the details over supper tonight.’

  ‘But Rosa, we came on the omnibus,’ Stella said, smiling at her friend’s enthusiasm. ‘We’ll never get back to London tonight if we stay any longer.’

  ‘I’ll send you home in the carriage. That’s one luxury I won’t live without. You can’t leave now, not when we’re so near a solution to our problems.’ Rosa turned to Sparrow. ‘You’ll stay too, won’t you, Harry?’

  ‘Perhaps he has a wife at home?’ Belinda said coyly.

  He shook his head. ‘No, Miss Belinda. I’m fancy free.’

  ‘Are you?’ she murmured. ‘How lovely.’

  ‘You were flirting shamelessly with Harry Sparrow,’ Stella said as the carriage took them home that evening after dinner.

  ‘Was I?’ Belinda settled back against the squabs with a smug smile. ‘I thought he was flirting with me.’

  ‘Not so long ago you were flirting with Bertie.’

  ‘It was all good-humoured fun and I daresay Bertie has a dozen village girls who are head over heels in love with him. He’s a good catch for one of them.’

  ‘But you like Harry?’

  ‘I do, and we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in future.’

  ‘I’m not sure about providing refreshments for the visitors, Belle. It sounds fine in theory but we haven’t got the capacity to make more cakes. We would be talking of production on a scale quite beyond my capabilities. The kitchen is too small, for one thing, and I’ve only got one pair of hands.’

  Belinda shrugged her shoulders. ‘There are huge kitchens in Heron Park, and scullery maids and kitchen maids, but Rosa needs to find a new cook. If she had someone like your Mrs Hawthorne it would solve all
your problems.’

  ‘I’ll think about it,’ Stella said, yawning.

  ‘And I do like Harry,’ Belinda added dreamily. ‘He has the deepest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Did you notice that he has a dimple in his cheek when he smiles? And he has an air of authority. I like that in a man.’

  ‘Go to sleep, Belle. I’ll wake you when we get home.’

  ‘I’m half asleep already.’ Belinda’s eyes opened suddenly and she leaned forward. ‘But you will go ahead with the plan, won’t you? I mean it’s the only way to save Heron Park, and you’ve got to think of Kit. What would he do if he returned from war to find that he’d lost his home for a second time?’

  ‘That won’t happen,’ Stella said, leaning her head back against the soft leather. ‘I’ll do everything in my power to keep Heron Park from bankruptcy. Absolutely everything.’

  It was decided. Heron Park caves were due to open to the public on Easter Monday. Harry Sparrow had taken a team of workers from the home farm to clear the tunnels of anything that might constitute a danger to the unwary, and they had installed signs pointing to the exit in case anyone got lost. Rosa and Stella had decided to leave the furnished rooms as they were in order to add to the intrigue, but Belinda’s suggestion of placing manikins in them had to be put aside because of cost. Turpin’s eldest daughter was to act as a guide. She was employed as a scullery maid in the Heron Park kitchens, but at the tender age of thirteen had her sights set on a stage career and had a fertile imagination. With a little encouragement from Stella she set about learning the history of the tunnels and would no doubt add some embellishments of her own.

  Stella and Jacinta had doubled their production of buns and cakes, which Belinda had volunteered to sell on a stall at the entrance to the caves. Rosa had set the kitchen staff to make lemonade and ice cream, which would be sold as penny licks. Turpin and Mrs Turpin set up a table at the gates where visitors would hand over their penny entrance fee, and Harry had signposts erected indicating the way to the caves.

  After the coldest winter on record, Easter 1879 promised to continue that way but on Easter Monday everyone was at their stations, wrapped up against the chill wind but determined to make the best of the capricious English weather. Stella and Jacinta had the warmest job of all, supervising the kitchens, while Rosa, muffled up in fur, paraded the grounds on Tommy’s arm, greeting the visitors. Aunt Maud had decided to watch the proceedings from the drawing-room window, and Belinda manned the cake stall with Spike’s help. Perry together with the gamekeeper and a couple of the gardeners kept an eye on the visitors, watching for pickpockets and troublemakers.

  Trade was brisk. Londoners weary of the long, bitterly cold winter had come out in their droves, driven no doubt by curiosity and the notoriety of the late owner. The untimely death of the unfortunate village girl had been reported in all the newspapers as had the subsequent murder of Gervase Rivenhall. Very few people had had the opportunity to explore the caves. No doubt stories of the wild parties had been widely exaggerated, but this in itself had created a desire to visit the scene of debauchery and vice.

  Stella left her mother watching over the last batch of currant buns. Wrapping her shawl around her shoulders, she left the house and went to the cake stall where Belinda and Spike were doing a roaring trade. The sharpness of the air had obviously put an edge on the visitors’ appetites and the novelty of eating food prepared in the kitchen of such a grand house had its own appeal.

  Spike handed a penny lick to a small girl, taking her money and stowing it in a bag below the table. ‘Don’t forget to bring the glass back, nipper.’

  The child grabbed the ice cream, nodding her head. ‘I will, mister.’ She backed away, her pink tongue lapping like a kitten as she devoured the treat.

  ‘You got to watch them,’ Spike said cheerfully. ‘I had to chase a couple of lads all the way to the gate when they made off with the glasses.’

  ‘Well done, Spike.’ Stella patted him on the shoulder. ‘You’re a born businessman.’

  His snub-nosed face creased into a pleased grin. ‘D’you think so, Stella?’

  ‘I do, and if you continue the way you are you’ll make a skilful baker. I’ve come to rely on you, Spike.’

  He puffed out his chest. ‘Being small with crooked legs ain’t so much of a disadvantage in the kitchen. I can stand on a box when I knead the dough, and I’m strong.’

  Belinda handed over a couple of sticky buns in exchange for a farthing. ‘We’ve almost sold out,’ she said happily. ‘Are there any more cakes to come?’

  Stella nodded. ‘Go to the kitchen and fetch the last batch, please, Spike. I’ll stay and help Belinda until you get back.’

  He hobbled off, making his way back to the house. Belinda watched him with a fond smile. ‘He’s a plucky youngster. Some of the older boys have been tormenting him because of the way he looks, but he just grins and turns it into a joke. I wish I was as brave as Spike.’

  ‘He’s a different boy from the poor little wretch I came across in the funeral parlour. Ronald was beating him senseless and I think he might have killed him if I had not intervened.’

  ‘It’s odd how we’ve all come together,’ Belinda mused dreamily. ‘A few months ago we were all virtual strangers, even you and I, and now we’re a family.’

  ‘I wish I’d been in a position to look for you all sooner, but at least we’re together now, and Freddie will be with us again on his next leave. I just hope we can help Rosa save Heron Park for future generations.’ Stella realised that she had lost her sister’s attention. Belinda had spotted Harry and was waving frantically.

  ‘Harry, come and have some refreshment before we sell out completely.’

  Stella smiled to herself. Belle seemed to fall in and out of love so easily: she sometimes wished that her heart could heal as quickly. She knew she would love Kit until her dying day, but he might return from war a changed man. He had never promised her anything and the differences between them could still pose an insuperable barrier. She looked up, realising that Harry had spoken to her. ‘I’m sorry, I was miles away. What did you say?’

  ‘It’s going better than I expected, Miss Barry. I don’t know how much money was taken at the gate, but there are more people here than I thought would turn out on a cold bank-holiday Monday.’

  ‘Do have a cake,’ Belinda said, offering him what was left on the tray. ‘Spike has gone for more supplies, but we’ve done a roaring trade.’

  Stella nodded in agreement. ‘It has gone well, Harry. Thanks to your hard work and everyone involved, I think our first day of opening to the public has been a huge success.’

  ‘I’m going to collect the takings from Turpin and his wife,’ Harry said, selecting a sticky bun and taking a bite.

  ‘I think we should have a celebration tonight,’ Belinda said eagerly. ‘We ought to include the servants and the farm workers whose efforts made all this possible.’

  ‘That’s a very good idea, Belle. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.’ Stella gave her an encouraging smile.

  Harry stared at Belinda with open admiration. ‘It’s a wonderful idea, Miss Belinda. It would go down well with everyone.’

  ‘I’ll put it to Rosa and Tommy.’ Stella had just caught sight of them as they emerged from the crowd. ‘I’m sure you can manage on your own until Spike returns, Belle.’ She hurried off without giving her sister a chance to argue.

  Rosa greeted her with a delighted smile. ‘Isn’t it wonderful, Stella? It’s exceeded all our expectations.’

  ‘It has gone well,’ Stella agreed. ‘Will we do this again?’

  Tommy nodded enthusiastically. ‘We’d be mad not to follow this up. I’d suggest having posters made advertising the next event, and even placing an advertisement in the newspapers.’

  Stella fell into step beside them as they headed for the house. ‘Belinda has suggested that we give a party for the staff tonight as a thank you for all their efforts. What do you think?’

 
; ‘A party for the servants?’ Rosa came to a sudden halt. ‘What a strange idea.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Tommy said thoughtfully. ‘We do something similar at Christmas. The servants have a ball and the family attend. Perhaps an impromptu party would raise their spirits, which I daresay have been dampened by the sacking of Mrs Kendall and Cook. It would be foolish to imagine that the servants aren’t aware of the precarious financial position that Rivenhall left behind him.’

  ‘What do you think, Stella?’ Rosa asked anxiously. ‘Wouldn’t it take an awful lot of preparation?’

  Stella glanced at the thinning crowd as the visitors began to make their way homeward. She smiled. ‘We have plenty of cake, and I’m sure I could help the kitchen staff to make up a cold collation. I don’t know the state of your cellars, Rosa, but I’d be prepared to bet that Mr Rivenhall left them well stocked.’

  ‘I’ll send Noakes down to look,’ Tommy said, grinning. ‘On second thoughts, perhaps I’d better accompany him or he might take a wrong turn and we would never see him again, poor old fellow.’

  Rosa beckoned to Harry, who came rushing to her side. ‘A party for the servants is a splendid notion. We just need some musicians so that there can be dancing.’

  Stella had a sudden vision of the carol singers on Christmas Eve and the choirmaster with his huge violoncello. ‘Surely someone on the estate must have a musical talent?’

  ‘I believe that Turpin plays the fiddle,’ Harry said thoughtfully.

  ‘That will do for a start.’ Rosa set off in the direction of the house. ‘I’ll leave it to you both to make the necessary arrangements. I’ll go and make the announcement in the servants’ hall.’

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  THE OPEN DAY had proved to be even more of a success than Stella and Rosa had hoped for. They had not made a fortune and the mismanagement of the estate would not be corrected overnight, but Harry worked tirelessly to make it profitable once again.

  They continued to open the gates once a month during the spring and Stella’s business was doing well. Spike proved to be a keen apprentice and she was able to leave much of the preparation to him, assisted by Connie, the workhouse girl who now lived with them in Fleur-de-Lis Street. Belinda, having suffered the rigours of the workhouse first hand, had taken the child under her wing and Connie was her devoted slave. Stella supervised the day-to-day running of the shop, but she was able to leave them to work on their own when necessary. This allowed her to spend time at Heron Park and make full use of the kitchens there in order to provide refreshments when the caves were open to visitors.