The Secret Orphan

by Glynis Peters

  Elenor gave a slight nod of agreement and tried not to laugh at his pomposity.

  ‘About the book my aunt mentioned, where can I find it?’

  George leaned in close.

  ‘She allows me to make use of her books, and I have stored them in our rooms.’

  To Elenor’s horror he patted the back of her hand as if she was a child.

  ‘I will fetch those I think useful to you and please, ask when you need more.’

  His patronising manner irritated Elenor. Well aware of her status as a poor relation, he’d taken advantage of his own as a male, forgetting his manners in the process. He was married to an employee of her aunt but treated Elenor as though she were a child. She rose to her feet and drew upon a faked confidence.

  ‘As the books belong to my aunt I suggest they be returned to the room, then I won’t have to keep asking you for them.’

  George gave a grimace and down-turned his mouth.

  ‘I will miss being surrounded by such treasures.’

  Irritated, Elenor walked to the doorway, turned around and gave him a polite smile.

  ‘I am to be here for some time – who knows, maybe always, and I do need to make use of the books. We’ll attend to it tomorrow. Victoria can help me collect them from your rooms.’

  George said nothing but gave her a look which sent a shiver down her spine.

  Outside the door she took a deep breath. The man needed careful handling, or he would become another bully in her life.

  Chapter 9

  The following morning Elenor heard the soft singing of a child from outside the back door and it occurred to her she’d not met the Sherbournes’ daughter. She squinted into the sunshine. A tiny blonde child sat on a wall swinging her legs and pulling the petals from a daisy.

  ‘He loves me. He loves me not.’

  ‘I’m sure he loves you,’ Elenor interrupted the girl’s rhyme. ‘I’m Elenor. Mrs Matthews’ niece. You must be Rose.’

  The little girl jumped down from the wall.

  ‘I’m nearly five. How old are you? Did you bring a cow from your farm?’ Rose fired questions one after the other with great enthusiasm.

  Elenor laughed. ‘No, it wouldn’t fit on the bus. And congratulations on being nearly five, I will be nineteen next month.’

  ‘Will you have cake? Can I have some? Pleeease!’ Rose threw aside the flower and pressed her hands together as if in prayer.

  Elenor was reminded of a pretty doll with a rosebud mouth and smiling eyes.

  ‘Rose!’ Victoria’s sharp voice interrupted the laughter and made Elenor jump.

  Rose’s facial expression moved to sombre.

  ‘Coming,’ she called.

  ‘We’ll meet later and discuss cake,’ said Elenor.

  ‘I’m to stay away from you,’ Rose said. ‘I’m not to be a bother.’

  As she ran back inside, Elenor watched her curls bounce on her shoulders and thought the child could never be a bother to anyone. She followed her into the house just in time to see Victoria reprimand the girl.

  ‘I told you not to disturb Miss Cardew. Stay in your room until you are told to come out. Understood?’

  Rose nodded, and a single tear dripped from the end of her nose.

  ‘She spoke to me. I was already there,’ she said through gulping sniffles.

  Elenor stepped inside the kitchen.

  ‘It’s true, Victoria. I distracted your daughter and we made friends,’ she said in a gentle tone, attempting to calm Victoria down.

  ‘Well, she’s been told to keep out from under our feet on more than one occasion. Go to your room, Rose.’

  ‘Victoria, what if Rose is given a useful job? She could help us carry the books from your rooms to the day room.’

  Rose looked to Elenor and gave a beautiful smile which lit up her pretty blue eyes and in those few seconds Elenor, unsure why, felt an overwhelming feeling of wanting to protect her.

  Victoria folded a tea towel over the back of a chair and Elenor could see she was struggling with the suggestion.

  ‘After all, why have her sitting around doing nothing? Idle hands are of no use. On the farm she would have several jobs. Think about it, but I am keen to get started.’

  Not waiting for a reply, Elenor left the kitchen and entered the day room. She set herself a writing space under the window.

  ‘I’ve got four books in my arms and they are heavy,’ Rose’s voice called out from the doorway. She was peering above a small pile of paperbacks.

  ‘Come and put them down here.’ Elenor patted her desk.

  ‘I’ll get some more. This is fun and …’

  Victoria entered the room and Rose ran out.

  Two hours later the shelves were full.

  After lemonade with Rose and Victoria, Elenor sat at the desk looking through an atlas for Canada. When she found it, she traced her way across the country until she’d found Vancouver. She rushed to her aunt sitting in the parlour.

  ‘I found Canada. Look!’

  Her startled aunt looked up from her newspaper and gave a smile.

  ‘I do think it was founded by another keen soul, but I congratulate you Elenor.’

  Elenor lifted a chair from the corner of the room and sat beside her aunt.

  ‘I’m sorry, did I disturb you? It is fascinating, this book, and Canada looks enormous compared to England. Here it is, see?’

  Her aunt peered into the atlas.

  ‘I do see, yes. Vast lands are uninhabited, and there are others where brown bears wander free, alongside wolves.’

  Elenor sat back in wonderment.

  ‘I’d be so scared if I came across a bear on our farm,’ she declared.

  ‘The chances are minimal. I would have liked to visit Canada, but your uncle was not a traveller.’

  Her aunt tapped the book. ‘Where shall we visit next, Wales? It is closer to home. Your uncle’s family originated from there. A place called, Blaenau Ffestiniog, now there’s a name for you.’

  They spent an hour travelling the world and Elenor sensed the bond between them growing.

  Around midday there was a tap at the door, and Victoria entered with a lunch tray. She was closely followed by her husband who, without giving Elenor a glance, strode to her aunt’s side and knelt down.

  ‘Mrs Matthews, I understand you have been unwell whilst I was away. How are you today?’

  Her aunt gave a good-humoured cough.

  ‘I take it your conference was worth the while. Victoria will no doubt be visiting her family soon. At times I fear you two are ships who pass in the night.’

  Elenor disliked his familiarity with her aunt. His voice grated her nerves. Posh school boy education no doubt. Loneliness must have made the old lady blind to his false ways.

  ‘We moved the books, George,’ Elenor said, rising to her feet. She was determined not to be ignored by him. ‘Victoria and Rose helped.’

  Elenor noticed Victoria slip from the room; she hadn’t spoken that morning and looked pale. Her husband turned as she left, then turned back to his employer.

  ‘I’m pleased to say I learned a lot from my professors. As for Victoria, I have told her a family visit is on the cards. Now your niece is here to assist you, maybe she will go sooner rather than later. Oh, I have arranged for the piano tuner to visit in the week. I understand Miss Cardew sings, I thought we might entertain you one evening.’

  Aunt Maude dismissed him with a flick of her hand as she bit into a slice of bread and butter.

  Try as she might Elenor still could not find anything pleasant about the man.

  ‘What a …’ Elenor stopped, remembering her aunt was in the room.

  ‘Arrogant man? Is that what you were going to say?’

  Elenor turned to her aunt, embarrassed by her small outburst.

  ‘I’m sorry for being rude. It’s just since his return he has upset Victoria, and tries to ignore that I exist.’

  Her aunt pointed to the chair opposite.

&n
bsp; ‘Sit. Victoria is a timid thing when he is around. He dominates her. We have to respect their marriage and how they conduct themselves within it. If I felt for one moment he hurt her physically, I would have something to say, but I have found no evidence.’

  ‘But …’

  Her aunt tutted. ‘No buts. You will do as I do. I watch, I listen, and I say the right words to let him know his place. Victoria is a good housekeeper and I would hate to lose her over something I said to her husband. Rose is a well-behaved child, and of no bother. Everything works as I need it to work and I will not have it altered. I’m too old to change my ways and to have them changed for me. Understand? Keep the balance – and the peace. I look forward to our musical event, at least you will find common ground with George and music.’

  Elenor understood the message her aunt communicated.

  Later, a gentle snore from her aunt meant their session was over, and she headed back to the day room – a room she now referred to as the study. Victoria arrived with a tray laden with a light lunch.

  ‘Thank you, Victoria. No Rose?’

  ‘She’s in the garden. It’s best when she’s at school.’

  Elenor shrugged, not sure how to respond.

  ‘I take it George has returned to work?’

  ‘Yes. He insists on eating at home. I must confess it is easier when he is away.’

  With the impression Victoria resented the presence of both husband and daughter, Elenor said nothing, but wondered at the other woman’s happiness … or lack of it.

  When she’d finished lunch, she returned the tray to the kitchen. Rose was nowhere to be seen, and Victoria sat polishing a silver candelabra.

  ‘Do you sew Victoria? I’ve a mind to make something from my mother’s clothes and wondered if you would help me decide what to make. A keepsake item, maybe. Oh, and young Rose can join us. Again, we’ll make use of her idle hands.’ Elenor smiled gently.

  Victoria set aside her cloth.

  ‘I sew, and Rose will also benefit from a lesson, if you are sure she won’t be in your way.’

  ‘You fret too much, she’s no bother. Meet me in the study when you are ready.’

  An excited Rose followed her mother into the room.

  ‘I’m good at cutting out,’ she declared.

  By the end of their sewing session, Elenor had trimmed her hat and Victoria had created a small flower to match. As they were clearing away, the door to the study burst open.

  ‘There you are! I’m home and thirsty, and the pot is cold!’ George shouted at his wife.

  ‘Hello Daddy.’ Rose said.

  ‘Leave. Out,’ he said in reply and pointed to the door.

  Rose slipped out of the room and Elenor heard her run upstairs.

  ‘I said, where’s my tea?’ George’s voice was low and angry.

  He ignored Elenor, and she stood in shock at the way he had spoken to his wife and child.

  Victoria stopped folding fabric and went towards the door and her husband stepped to one side.

  Anger rose in Elenor’s gullet. The man had no respect for women and again, Elenor decided it was her duty to remind him she was in the room. Keeping her voice calm, she spoke first to Victoria.

  ‘Stay where you are please, Victoria, and continue clearing the things away.’

  She turned to George.

  ‘Sorry to keep you waiting, George. Victoria will be a while longer yet.’

  From the corner of her eye she saw an angry man leave the room as she continued about her business.

  ‘I do hope George won’t reprimand you for doing your duty, Victoria.’

  ‘I apologise Elenor. Sometimes he forgets he is not teaching his pupils.’

  Elenor leaned on the table and spoke across it to Victoria in a clear, precise voice.

  ‘I may be young and have a simple education, but I am not blind nor stupid, Victoria. Never apologise for George. Through you he has a roof over his head, and food in his belly. There is no place for a bully in this house. We will keep him waiting a while longer and take these things upstairs.’

  Chapter 10

  Days ticked by and Elenor walked Rose to and from school. Their friendship bloomed, and on more than one occasion, Rose, Elenor, and her aunt sat learning together from the encyclopaedia. Each time she opened the book, Elenor went to the page bookmarked with a scrap of paper on which she’d written, ‘a country to visit one day’. Canada had captured her attention.

  Rose was fascinated by the bears. Aunt Maude proved herself a quiet, patient tutor, and Elenor enjoyed their time together.

  Elenor’s nineteenth birthday was just a few days away, and Rose let it be known how disappointed she was that adults did not celebrate. From Elenor’s point of view, having never celebrated the day for many years, she had no expectations. She promised herself a walk into town and a browse the department store.

  She hoped to find the courage to go to the tearooms around the corner from the store. When Elenor had peered through the window on her first visit, she’d noted a few young women seated as if in wait for a companion. Her plan was to pretend just that and enjoy a birthday treat. She would borrow a few coins from her aunt’s emergency dish and repay the money when she had earned a wage.

  The morning of her birthday arrived and with it a misty grey atmosphere, but it didn’t bother Elenor, knowing she had the protection of her new coat. After enjoying a warm bath, Elenor dressed in her wine-coloured outfit.

  Entering the dining room, Elenor was aware her aunt had not arrived, or eaten and left. It puzzled her as to why her aunt asked for her to live in and help but had never asked Elenor to do anything for her. After waiting a few minutes, she made a start on her porridge and was pleased to see Victoria arrive with a hot pot of tea.

  ‘Good morning Elenor, I heard you come down. Many happy returns of the day from George, Rose and myself. Your aunt apologises, she has a severe headache today and asked me to give you this with her birthday greetings.’ Victoria pulled an envelope from her apron pocket.

  ‘Thank you, Victoria. Please, send my best wishes to my aunt, I won’t disturb her. I have plans to take a walk and will borrow a coin from the dish.’

  Elenor opened the envelope and stared down at its contents. A silver shilling and a note for Mrs Green to allow Elenor to select toiletry items, a gift of Elenor’s choosing and a small trinket from her aunt to be chosen by Mrs Green in her absence.

  She put her hands to her mouth to smother the squeal of joy.

  ‘How kind of her,’ she said, as tears of happiness filled her eyes. ‘It is my first gift on my birthday since my mother died. It has been years since anyone thought of me in this way. To think, I once feared my aunt, yet she is the most generous person I know.’

  Although the air was damp, Elenor didn’t mind. She relished the idea of taking time looking at beautiful things inside the store once again and pondered over the cost of a small clutch bag.

  Once in town she stopped outside the window of the department store. It housed a new outfit, a mannequin sporting a red evening gown. All thoughts of a clutch bag went from her mind as Elenor stared up at the pretty outfit.

  Inside the store the mingled aromatic fragrances reminded her she was to purchase toiletries, and she sought out Mrs Green to give her the message from her aunt.

  She found the woman at her station, keeping a watchful eye on the shop floor like a mother hen watching her chicks.

  ‘Is everyone behaving, Mrs Green?’

  The older woman turned and took a step backwards. A smile lit up her face.

  ‘Miss Cardew. How lovely to see you again. You do look elegant. I take it your aunt approved?’

  ‘Thank you, Mrs Green. Wholeheartedly, I am pleased to say. She has written to you.’

  Mrs Green read the letter and gave Elenor another wide smile.

  ‘Many happy returns. What fun you will have choosing your gift. Do you have anything in mind?’

  ‘The dress in the window caught my eye, b
ut I am in need of a small bag, one to compliment my hat and gloves.’

  ‘Sally is free to assist you. Ah, here she comes now.’

  ‘Miss Cardew, I didn’t recognise you at first. How are you?’

  Elenor gave Sally a smile.

  ‘I am another year older than when we last met, Sally. Today is my birthday and my aunt has been most generous. Toiletries and a new bag are on my list.’

  She removed her gloves.

  ‘And look Mrs Green, your advice about buying the lavender cream has helped them already. They are improving each day. If ever I milk a cow again it will be with softer hands, that’s for certain.’

  Both Sally and Mrs Green laughed their approval.

  Sally guided Elenor to the toiletry and cosmetic area.

  Perfumes wafted across the shop floor, and ladies sprayed and inhaled in gay abandon.

  ‘What items were you considering, Miss Cardew?’ Sally picked up a talcum powder pot to show Elenor.

  ‘Yes, it is the same as my cream. Oh, and soap to match, wonderful.’

  They ventured through to the handbag section and the smell of leather added to the luxurious surroundings.

  ‘These are lovely, Miss Cardew, and look far more expensive than they are,’ she picked up a green leather with an embossed image of a flower on the flap. ‘This one would complement your hat and is proving to be rather popular.’

  Returning to Mrs Green with her packages, Elenor was handed a wrapped gift.

  ‘This is the item from your aunt. Please enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Cardew.’

  With her head held high, Elenor walked out of the shop with her gifts nestling in their bags. The mist had lifted. She walked a few steps and came to a newsagent’s set back between a haberdashery and grocer’s. The lure of a fashion magazine to enjoy that evening was a strong one. She spotted a women’s magazine for two pennies. Its price suited Elenor, and she stepped inside to purchase a copy. She unclasped her bag and took out the shilling coin and handed it over to the newsagent. Unsure whether she would have enough to sit inside the small tea rooms, she chose to walk home and enjoy a cup of tea there instead.

  A familiar figure ahead caused Elenor to change her mind. George crossed the road and was heading in her direction. Elenor couldn’t determine if he’d seen her or not, but she was not prepared to wait around and find out. With a sharp turn away from the direction of home, she walked back towards the store and past its front door. A suitable window offering a clear reflective view showed George looking into the main window of a taxidermist. She entered a side lane knowing it linked up with the main road she needed to cross and if she hurried she would make it unseen. To have George as a companion in town would ruin all the pleasures she had savoured for her birthday. He was a memory she had no desire to make.