The Winter Promise

by Rosie Goodwin

  Cook was hovering by the front door when they got home, and she rushed out to meet them. ‘Oh, ma’am, it’s so good to ’ave you home,’ she greeted Opal. ‘We’ve missed yer somethin’ terrible, but come on in out o’ the cold. Eve got a lovely fire goin’ for you in the drawin’ room afore she left to fetch you home an’ I’ve got a nice tray o’ tea just waitin’ to be poured, an’ some o’ yer favourite shortbread biscuits.’

  Opal gave her a wobbly smile, shocked at how weak she still felt as Eve helped her up the steps and into the hallway.

  ‘That’s really kind of you, but I’m not very hungry at present,’ Opal told the cook.

  Cook frowned as she waved a plump finger at her. ‘Well, you need to get your strength back now. Look at you – yer not as far through as a line prop so try just one at least for me.’ Without waiting for a reply she left to arrange the tea tray.

  ‘Yes, an’ when you’ve had that, we’ll get you tucked into bed. The doctor at the hospital said yer not to overdo it and yer need to rest.’

  Twenty minutes later, after Cook had stood over her while she nibbled at a biscuit, Eve helped her upstairs. The second she set foot in the bedroom, she knew something was different. Henry’s cologne and hairbrush were absent from the dressing table and as Eve saw her looking towards it, she told her in a small voice, ‘The master’s had us move all his stuff into the other bedroom. No doubt he wants you to rest.’

  Not much caring, Opal nodded.

  ‘Now I’ve brought you some books and magazines to read,’ Eve told her kindly once Opal was settled against the pillows. ‘And I’ll bring you yer lunch up on a tray. Cook ’as made yer some chicken soup. She reckons it’s good for convalescents, so hopefully we’ll have you back to your old self in no time.’

  Opal doubted that very much. How could she ever be her old self again when she had lost everybody in the world that she loved? They were all gone: her parents, her brothers, Susie, her baby. Even her beloved pet was gone now. As she stared up at the ceiling tears rolled down her cheeks until, eventually, she slept.

  It was the following day before she saw Henry.

  ‘So, you’re back,’ he said curtly as he entered her room and stared down at her. ‘How are you?’

  She shrugged. ‘As well as can be expected, but hopefully I shall be up and about again soon.’ And then thinking of something she said, ‘Eve tells me that Mrs Wood has left? That was rather unexpected, wasn’t it?’

  Looking decidedly uncomfortable, he ran his finger around his collar as if it was suddenly too tight for him. ‘It was her choice,’ he muttered, and then his manner became stern again as he told her, ‘I dare say you will have noticed I have had my things moved into the other room. I thought it would give you more of a chance to recover and rest if you were alone.’

  Opal could have answered that she had felt alone ever since the day she had set foot in the door, but she merely nodded.

  ‘Well, should you need anything, I’m sure Eve or Cook will attend to you. I shall be away for a few days. I’m going to stay with Matthew in London. I have some business to attend to there. Expect me when you see me.’

  Seeing the loathing and disgust in his eyes as he stared down at her scarred face, she merely nodded, and without another word, he turned and left abruptly. He didn’t seem to have any regard for her feelings at all. Suddenly the years stretched ahead of her, lonely and empty, and she wondered how she would bear it.

  The next day, she had two visitors. Mrs King came to see her in the morning and Emma called in with a basket of fruit and a wonderful bouquet of flowers in the afternoon.

  It was Emma who told her, ‘I know what has happened to you is dreadful, Opal, but you must try to get over it and go on now. You’re young, and there’ll be time to have lots more babies. Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t grieve over the one you have just lost, of course, but accidents happen.’

  It was on the tip of Opal’s tongue to tell her her suspicions about Esther Partridge pushing her, but at the last moment she decided against it. What would be the point? She had absolutely no proof and if she was accused, Esther would obviously deny it and it would simply be her word against Opal’s. She had no doubt whatsoever who everyone would believe and so she kept it to herself, a terrible secret that would haunt her for years to come.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  November 1859

  Clutching an enormous bunch of flowers, the handsome young man standing on the steps of the smart house in Mayfair nervously fiddled with his cravat – then, straightening his back and lifting his hand, he pulled at the rope hanging to the side of the door, sounding a bell inside. Almost instantly a young maid answered the door and smiled a greeting.

  ‘Good evening, sir. The family are expecting you and asked me to show you to the drawing room. Would you like me to take your hat and coat first?’

  ‘Yes, thank you.’ He handed the girl his garments and followed her along the hallway, admiring the many works of art that hung on the walls on his way.

  The girl stopped at a door and opened it before announcing, ‘Your visitor, sir.’

  ‘Thank you, Polly, and, Charlie, do come in, lad. It’s so good to see you. Unfortunately Juliet isn’t in – she’ll be sorry she missed you.’ Phineas Morgan strode across the room to shake Charlie’s hand warmly, before saying, ‘You’re looking very well and making quite a name for yourself in the jewellery trade I hear.’

  ‘I can’t complain, sir. The shop is doing very well.’ Charlie answered as he handed Isabella the flowers, which she thanked him for warmly. Finally, he allowed himself to look at Francesca, who was sitting beside her mother on a velvet, gilt-edged sofa, and his heart began to thump. She was as beautiful as he remembered, in fact probably more so.

  ‘Don’t I know it?’ Phineas chuckled. ‘My ladies here have spent a fortune there already; I’m surprised they’ve never run in to you there. Now, what would you like to drink?’

  ‘A whisky, please,’ he said distractedly, unable to tear his eyes away from Francesca, who was smiling at him, love shining in her eyes. He felt a surge of relief that it seemed her feelings for him had not changed.

  Although they had exchanged letters, Charlie had forced himself to stay away from her since he had arrived back in England just over two years ago. It had been hard, and she had not been happy about it, but he had been determined to prove that he was worthy of her – to himself as well as to Francesca’s father. But he was still an ex-convict, so he knew that even the success he had achieved might not be enough to convince Phineas Morgan that he was good enough for his daughter. Still, not many men in Phineas’s position in society would even receive a man like him, so he was grateful for his warm welcome.

  ‘Come along then, we’re all dying to know what you’ve been up to since we last saw you,’ Phineas encouraged as he topped up his glass.

  ‘Well . . .’ Charlie scratched his head and decided to start at the beginning. ‘As you’re aware when you first very kindly granted me a pardon, I went off gold prospecting. We had a measure of success but certainly not enough to make us rich. Then we met up with an Aborigine man, Nullah, and he suggested we should move to Lightning Ridge and try our hands at opal hunting. It was a risk as I didn’t even know what I was looking for, and for the first few months we had no luck at all. In fact, I was all for throwing in the towel and heading for home – but then all of a sudden, we struck lucky, and from then on we did really well.’

  He paused and smiled, feeling proud at the rapt expressions of the faces around him.

  ‘Eventually I booked a cabin on a ship home and came back with bags of raw opals. When I arrived in London, I managed to sell half of them at a price far beyond what I had expected, and so I bought the shop and a small house in Knightsbridge. I employed a jeweller to cut and polish the remaining gems and set them into rings and pendants. I never dreamed they would be so popular, which is all thanks to Michael, my jeweller. I started to invest in other gems, mainly emer
alds, diamonds, rubies and sapphires, and it’s all gone on from there. In fact, I’m thinking of buying a second shop, so all in all I’ve been very lucky indeed.’

  ‘From what you’ve told me, luck doesn’t come into it,’ Phineas said solemnly. ‘It sounds like you’ve worked damned hard for everything you’ve got, so you deserve it.’

  At that moment the young maid came to the door to inform them that dinner was ready, and Isabella took Phineas’s arm, leaving Francesca to trail behind with Charlie.

  They started with a thick lobster soup, followed by a slow-roasted shank of lamb and an assortment of potatoes and vegetables. For dessert there was a raspberry soufflé that melted in their mouths. Everything was delicious and the atmosphere was light as they chatted about Charlie’s adventures. Phineas noticed that his beautiful daughter hung on every word Charlie said, and he exchanged a knowing glance with his wife.

  During the years they had been back in London Francesca had had more than her fair share of would-be suitors, but she had shown no interest in any of them, and now it became obvious why. She and Charlie had grown close during their time in Australia, but they had been little more than children then. Now Charlie had grown from a misguided youth into a handsome, successful young man, and Francesca into a very lovely young woman, and it was clear they could hardly keep their eyes off each other. This left Phineas in something of a dilemma. Francesca had been brought up as a lady, whereas Charlie was from working stock and an ex-convict into the bargain.

  The meal was followed by coffee after which Phineas suggested, ‘Why don’t we go and enjoy a glass of port and a cigar in my study and leave the ladies to chat, Charlie?’

  Charlie inclined his head. ‘Thank you, sir. That would be most pleasant.’

  He’s good-mannered, I’ll give him that, Phineas thought as they left the room, and soon they were seated in the comfortable old leather wing chairs set either side of the fireplace in his study, with glasses of port in their hands.

  They chatted of this and that for a moment until Phineas asked, ‘So, have you done anything about tracking down the sisters you used to talk about since you got back, Charlie?’

  Charlie’s face clouded as he stared into the flames. ‘I’ve been back to Nuneaton on a number of occasions to look for them, but with no success as yet, sir. It’s as if they’ve vanished off the face of the earth. But I’ll keep trying. They’re bound to be there somewhere.’

  ‘Hm.’ Phineas swirled the amber-coloured liquid round his glass, as he eyed the young man thoughtfully. ‘Actually, I was surprised when Francesca told me you had chosen to stay in London when you first came back. I thought you were planning to return to your hometown.’

  Charlie looked decidedly uncomfortable and in that moment, Phineas knew that his suspicions had been correct. His mind raced. Both he and his wife had always hoped for a good marriage for both their daughters. Could he really countenance Francesca marrying an ex-convict?

  But then, his eldest daughter was much like her mother, in that she had a mind of her own. Who knew what she might do if he prevented her from seeing Charlie? And after all, Charlie was decent and hard-working, and who else apart from him and his family would ever know that he was an ex-convict? And so he decided to put him out of his misery.

  ‘Would I be right in thinking that you have feelings for my daughter, Charlie?’

  Charlie flushed. ‘Yes, sir . . . you would. I always have, since the first moment I set eyes on her. Oh, I know I don’t have a past to be proud of but I am trying hard now. My house is modest and nowhere near as big as this, but I own it and once I’ve acquired the new shop, I hope to buy a bigger and better one. All I can tell you is if you would allow me to marry your daughter, I would work my fingers to the bone to ensure that she never wanted for anything! Because you see . . . I love Francesca, with all my heart, and if I can’t have her I doubt very much that I will ever wed!’

  It was such an impassioned speech that Phineas blinked as he stared down into his glass. He believed every word the young man had said and it was clear Francesca felt the same about him.

  Eventually he took a deep breath and said quietly, ‘In that case, you have my permission to court her.’

  ‘I have?’ Charlie’s face was incredulous as a wide grin spread from ear to ear, and the next minute, he had taken Phineas’s hand and was shaking it up and down so hard that he feared it might drop off. Charlie fished in his pocket then and producing a small box he snapped the lid to show the contents to Phineas.

  ‘Do I have your permission to give her this? It’s one of the best I brought back from Lightning Ridge.’

  Phineas stared down at a beautiful pendant suspended on a delicate gold chain; the centre of the pendant boasted a black opal the like of which he had never seen before. The stone was set in an ornate filigree gold mount and was a fine example of just how clever the jeweller Charlie employed really was. Although the stone was black, it caught and reflected the light in all the colours of the rainbow and Phineas could have stared at it for hours; it was mesmerising.

  ‘It’s quite beautiful,’ he breathed truthfully. ‘She’ll love it. What woman wouldn’t?’

  ‘I had three commissioned,’ Charlie told him. ‘One for Francesca and one each for Opal and Susie . . . when I find them again. Thank you, sir.’

  Phineas clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Come on, let’s put the women out of their misery. I’m sure they’re both aware that something is afoot, and I want to hear Francesca’s opinion on the opal.’

  With a spring in his step, Charlie followed him back to the drawing room where the women were enjoying a glass of sherry, and the minute the door opened Francesca’s eyes went anxiously to Charlie. Seeing his smile, her face relaxed into a beaming grin.

  ‘Isabella, I have just given this young man permission to court our daughter,’ he informed his wife. ‘I hope that meets with your approval?’

  ‘Very much so,’ Isabella replied with a smile, as Francesca skipped across the room to slip her arm through Charlie’s. ‘And now I know why all my matchmaking has been in vain. You were waiting for Charlie all the time, my love, were you not?’

  ‘I’m afraid I was.’ Francesca blushed prettily.

  Charlie handed her her gift, and as her eyes fell on the black opal, she cried out with delight. ‘Oh Charlie, it’s just wonderful. Did you dig this one out yourself?’

  ‘I certainly did,’ he told her, as he fastened the chain about her neck. ‘Although of course they look nothing like this when they come out of the earth. It takes the skill of a good jeweller to cut and polish them and bring them to life.’

  ‘I shall treasure it for always,’ she promised him as she gazed adoringly up into his eyes.

  At that moment, Isabella rose and taking her husband’s arm she suggested, ‘Why don’t we give these two lovebirds a little privacy, my love?’

  And then they were alone at last, and it was as if they were the only two left in the world.

  ‘Your father has given me permission to court you, but I also intimated that, when the time was right, I could ask you to marry me, and he didn’t object.’

  ‘So, what are you waiting for?’ Her eyes were sparkling and he felt like the luckiest man on earth.

  ‘I’m waiting because I don’t wish to appear disrespectful.’

  ‘I see – but don’t wait too long, will you?’ she teased and as their lips joined they lost track of time.

  From that moment on, Charlie became a regular visitor to the house, and as Christmas rushed towards them, he was delighted when he was asked to join the family for Christmas Day. But first he decided to fit in yet another trip to his hometown, for surely someone somewhere would know what had become of Opal and Susie.

  He left four days before Christmas Day, promising Francesca that he would only stay away for one night; but when he returned, she saw immediately by his face that his trip had been unsuccessful yet again, and her tender heart went out to him. It was cl
ear that Charlie and his sisters had been very close. He had spoken about them and his family often back in Australia and she knew how much he missed and worried about them.

  ‘Never mind, darling.’ She hugged him to her. ‘You can try again in the New Year and hopefully next time you’ll be successful. For now, you must try to look forward to us spending out first Christmas together.’

  Charlie nodded. Deep inside, his hopes of ever finding Opal or Susie were fading but even so Francesca’s words warmed him. For the first time since being transported, he would be spending Christmas with a family again. And this would be a very special Christmas. He smiled as he thought of the emerald and diamond ring that he had commissioned his jeweller to make especially for Francesca. On Christmas Day he was going to ask her to marry him.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  ‘All ready, are you, dear?’ Opal’s friend Emma Dawson-Myres asked, as she breezed into the Kings’ drawing room early in the New Year. Seeing Opal sitting with her head bowed she sighed before crossing to her and lifting her chin.

  ‘Not another shiner? Let me guess, you walked into a door again,’ she said drily.

  Opal gulped. There would be no point in lying. She and Emma had become close friends, and Emma could read her like a book.

  ‘So what did you do . . . or not do this time?’

  ‘He was drunk again,’ Opal said sheepishly. ‘When he came in late, I tried to help him up to his room and he lashed out.’ She had arranged to go with Emma to decorate the church with flowers for a wedding that was taking place there the following day, but there was no way she wanted to be seen out in public now.

  ‘Oh Opal, why don’t you just leave him?’ Emma scowled at her.

  ‘And where would I go?’ Opal smiled at her, a sad smile that tore at her friend’s heart.