Poppy's Dilemma

by Nancy Carson

  He smiled. He would have expected no other answer from this girl. ‘I had hoped we might remain friends for a long time. I had hoped we might become more than just friends …’

  ‘More than just friends?’ she queried. ‘What does that mean? Does that mean you got designs on me? I ain’t a girl like that, you know.’

  ‘And I’m very glad to hear it. In any case, my designs on you are more or less honourable … I am an officer and a gentleman, you know …’

  ‘I reckon the only way you’ll prove that is by keeping your hands off me.’

  He guffawed at that. ‘Is that what you want?’

  Minnie made no reply.

  ‘I have a proposition to put to you, Minnie …’ She looked at him with curiosity. ‘You say you dislike living with your folks … I – or rather, my mother – owns a house that is vacant. It is fully furnished, very comfortable and in a pleasant area. You could move in there … rent-free, of course. It merely needs airing.’

  ‘Show me,’ Minnie exclaimed. ‘Can you take me there now?’

  Chapter 24

  ‘Do you love him, Minnie?’ Poppy asked, looking wistfully into the dregs of her coffee cup after she’d heard her friend’s story.

  ‘Love? Dunno, Poppy. Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. I ain’t really sure.’

  ‘Do you feel you want to be with him all the time?’ Poppy could only draw on her own acute feelings and experiences regarding Robert. ‘I mean, when he’s not with you, do you miss him?’

  Minnie shrugged. ‘Not partic’ly. I like him, though. I do look forward to seeing him. He talks to me … about all sorts o’ things. He’s always interesting to listen to.’

  ‘So do you think you’ll become Mrs Cecil Tyler?’

  Minnie guffawed in a most unladylike manner and received resentful glances from a group of respectable women at another table. ‘Hey, that’d be a turn-up for the books, wun’t it, eh, Poppy? Me wed to a rich chap, a gentleman at that. I’d have to have lessons on how to talk proper, like you.’ She chuckled at the thought.

  ‘Well, I must say, you look the part, Min, in your expensive dress.’

  ‘What he bought me … He’s generous with his money, I’ll say that for him.’

  ‘I’m that relieved, Minnie,’ Poppy said. ‘I’m just happy you’re not on the game anymore. Anything could have happened to you. Now you’ve got the chance to be somebody. I hope it all works out well for you, Minnie. I hope you do marry him and have a house full of children.’

  ‘Lor! Just think if I’d stopped with Dog Meat, Poppy …’

  ‘I know. None of this would have happened.’

  ‘I’m glad I left the encampment when you did. I knew Dog Meat would never be any use. And when I found out he’d sold me to Jericho for a gallon o’ beer … I wonder how Jericho is now? I wonder where he is?’

  ‘You were in love with Jericho, weren’t you, Min?’

  Minnie smiled dreamily. ‘I thought I was. But when it come right down to it, he was no better than Dog Meat. Any road, Jericho had his eye on you.’

  ‘I know.’ Poppy laughed. ‘For all the good it did him.’

  ‘Have you heard anything more about him who’s the love of your life?’

  ‘You mean Robert? He’s well, they say. Bellamy said they’d had another letter from him. Yes, he’s well, thank God.’

  ‘And how’s this Bellamy? Is he still chasing yer?’

  Poppy nodded and smiled bashfully. ‘I still see him. I do like him. He calls for me and takes me out sometimes. Generally on a Sunday afternoon if the weather’s fine.’

  ‘He ain’t given up then?’

  ‘It doesn’t seem like it. But I’ve been honest with him. It’s not as if I’ve led him on.’

  ‘Does he know you’re hankering for his brother?’

  ‘No, course not.’

  ‘I wonder when he’ll be coming home? Have you heard?’

  ‘Nobody’s mentioned it. He said he’d be away about a year. It was the start of last August when he went. It’s now the end of May.’

  ‘June, July,’ Minnie said, counting the months on her fingers. ‘Two more months. How long does it take to sail from Brazil to England?’

  ‘I’ve no idea, Min. I’ll ask Aunt Phoebe … And talking of Aunt Phoebe, I’d better go. She’ll be wondering what’s happened to me. I’ll go and pay …’ She shifted her chair back to get up from the table. ‘By the way … Am I allowed to tell her about Captain Tyler and you?’

  ‘Best not, for the time being. Let’s wait for him to tell her.’

  Poppy stood up. ‘If he’s as sharp about it as he was telling her his mother had died, he might never let her know.’

  Minnie laughed. ‘That’s true. But I’m sure he will. In fact, I’ll ask him to.’

  Over the weeks, Poppy received several short letters from Virginia extolling the virtues of the Leicestershire countryside, and giving a serialised account of an intense love affair she was having with Ulysses, her aunt’s brindle Great Dane. Poppy replied, of course, giving Virginia the news that Minnie had now reformed, although she was careful not to mention her meeting Captain Tyler, or that it was due to him alone, and nothing to do with Virginia’s evangelism. Virginia’s letters were warm and friendly and Poppy enjoyed receiving them. They were building a strong friendship and Poppy looked forward to the girl’s return so they could meet again and get to know each other even better. Virginia wrote to say she was returning to Harborne on the fifth of July.

  At the end of June, an envelope arrived in the post, addressed to Mrs P Newton and Miss P Silk collectively. It was a wedding invitation. Captain Cecil Tyler and Miss Minnie Catchpole requested the pleasure of their company at St Edmund’s church on Sunday the seventh of July at half past two, and afterwards at The Dudley Arms Hotel.

  ‘I am flabbergasted,’ said Aunt Phoebe.

  ‘I’m not,’ Poppy admitted.

  ‘You mean you knew?’

  ‘I saw Minnie a while ago. She met me as I came out of the school. She’d left her little house in Gatehouse Fold and I wondered where she’d gone. She told me Captain Tyler had set her up in a furnished house his mother owned.’

  ‘Good gracious! Poor Ariadne, his mother, would turn in her grave if she knew he’d been keeping a woman.’

  ‘Well, at least he’s making an honest woman of her now, Aunt Phoebe. It’s the best thing that could have happened to Minnie.’

  ‘Let us hope it’s the best thing that could have happened to Cecil. He always was wayward, unconventional, an absolute rebel. The worry of his mother’s life, you know. I doubt whether she would have approved of him marrying such a girl.’

  ‘What do you mean, Aunt Phoebe? Minnie’s a likeable, honest person. She’s down-to-earth, I admit, but hardly more so than me.’

  ‘I don’t dislike her, but you are refined, Poppy. It is tempered in you. I am not unmindful of your similar backgrounds, but you have raised yourself way above the level of a navvy’s woman. I fear she has not. Nor ever will.’

  ‘Perhaps you could give her some of your excellent coaching, Aunt. It worked for me.’

  Aunt Phoebe shook her head. ‘The old saying is true, I’m afraid. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear … But such short notice gives us so little time, Poppy. We shall both need new dresses, bonnets, shoes and no end of new accessories. I think a visit to Mrs Gadd is urgently necessary.’

  So to Mrs Gadd, the seamstress, they went and chose new dresses for the wedding. For Poppy, being measured again and choosing new clothes was hardly a chore. Excitedly, she chose a pale green taffeta material, to be made up into a dress with high neck, tight bodice and flounced skirt over a wide crinoline. She enjoyed the final fitting a week or so later and knew she looked good when Mrs Gadd stood back to admire her own work, displaying a look of self-satisfaction.

  At last the big day came. Clay drove Aunt Phoebe and Poppy to St Edmund’s and Poppy recalled the time she’d met Robert Crawford outside this very church
when he’d taken her to the Old Priory and given her her first lessons in reading. Clay waited outside the church perched on the driver’s seat while Captain Tyler took Minnie Catchpole to be his lawful wedded wife.

  Unfortunately, Poppy did not think much of Minnie’s wedding dress. It was cream – to the bride’s credit, not claiming absolute innocence by wearing white – but the fit was not exquisite. Minnie was inclined to be buxom and it was too tight where it might have been less so. But the bride seemed happy and she smiled contentedly, looking up frequently into the groom’s eyes with obvious admiration.

  During the service Poppy was so intent on keeping her eyes on Minnie, that she failed to see her most recently acquired friend, Virginia Lord. Virginia was sitting in the congregation on the groom’s side, wearing a dress of blue-grey tarlatan, very plain, except for the pristine white edging to the skirt’s flounces. She was also accompanied. Poppy gasped with surprise when she saw her. So Minnie had invited her too. That was not only very thoughtful, but also very brave, considering the reason they’d got to know each other in the first place. Maybe Minnie had confessed her past to Captain Tyler. It never occurred to Poppy that those sitting on the same side of the church as the groom were traditionally connected with him. They caught each other’s eyes, waved discreetly and smiled. Poppy thought how well Virginia looked, how happy, with a definite sparkle in her eye. Maybe she and Ulysses the Great Dane had become engaged. The thought elicited a wry smile.

  Bride and groom emerged from the vestry having signed the register, and made their way down the aisle, man and wife, smiling happily. It struck Poppy that there was no bridesmaid. She herself might have been asked to perform the function, but maybe Minnie considered that it was all too short notice and decided to do without. The small congregation filed out slowly behind them into the warm July sunshine, and spilled out onto the pavement of Castle Street. At once, Virginia made her way towards Poppy and they greeted each other eagerly.

  ‘Fancy seeing you here, Virginia.’

  ‘I know. Isn’t it a surprise?’

  ‘It was good of Minnie to invite you, wasn’t it? You see, she doesn’t forget her friends.’

  ‘In fairness—’

  ‘Have you had a lovely holiday, Virginia? You look ever so well.’

  ‘Thank you. So do you.’

  ‘So how’s Ulysses?’

  ‘Ulysses …’ Virginia smiled radiantly. ‘Oh, we fell in love good and proper, Ulysses and me. Such a beautiful animal. I enquired of my aunt if I could adopt him, but to no avail … I’m here with my mother and father and my sister.’

  ‘That’s your mother and father?’ Poppy queried, wondering why they should be in attendance as well. ‘I imagined it must be.’

  ‘Yes, and I’ve told them all about you and they’re dying to meet you. I’ll introduce you when we get to The Dudley Arms Hotel. Look, everybody’s moving on now …’

  ‘And I must introduce you to my aunt,’ said Poppy, glancing in her direction.

  ‘I’ve also had the most wonderful news, Poppy. I’m so excited. I’ll tell you all about it later.’

  Poppy watched Virginia rejoin her parents and make their way to their shining black carriage that had pulled up behind the bride and groom’s, but a little way in front of Clay.

  ‘My friend Virginia’s here,’ Poppy said to Aunt Phoebe when she returned to her side. ‘It’s good of Minnie to invite her. Her family as well, which is a bit of a surprise. Maybe they’re here to make the numbers up. After all, there aren’t that many guests, are there?’

  ‘My dear, they are the Lords. I recognise her.’ Aunt Phoebe moved towards Clay and the waiting clarence. ‘It never occurred to me that the Virginia you had befriended was their daughter.’

  ‘So you know them, Aunt Phoebe?’

  ‘I have only once ever been in their company. Come, my dear. It’s only a short drive to The Dudley Arms but we must arrive in style.’

  Captain and the new Mrs Cecil Tyler stood just inside the upstairs assembly room they’d hired and greeted their guests, thanking them for coming.

  Poppy flung her arms around Minnie and gave her a hug. ‘I’m so happy for you, Min,’ she said sincerely. ‘The change in fortune for me was dramatic, but it’s even more so for you. I do hope you’ll be happy.’

  ‘And you’ll be next, I daresay, when your chap comes back, eh?’

  ‘Oh, let’s just get him back. I’ll worry about getting wed later.’

  Poppy moved on to Captain Tyler and he greeted her with a broad grin. ‘Thank you for coming, Miss Silk, and for bringing Mrs Newton.’

  ‘Congratulations, Captain Tyler,’ Poppy said affably. ‘You’ve chosen quite a girl to be your wife. But I believe you’ve chosen very wisely.’

  ‘There was nobody else in the world for me once I’d spent an hour in her company,’ he replied proudly. ‘I couldn’t snap her up quickly enough.’

  ‘She’s a prize, and no mistake,’ Poppy affirmed. ‘I’ve known her longer than anybody … and I know.’

  She moved on so that Aunt Phoebe could give him her congratulations, and looked for Virginia, who had already spoken to the bride and groom. A waitress carrying a tray of drinks intercepted Poppy and she took a glass. It was champagne and the tiny bubbles seemed to burst in profusion just under her nose. As the waitress moved away, Virginia was at Poppy’s side again.

  ‘Do come and meet my parents, Poppy.’ She leaned closer to Poppy and spoke in a low voice. ‘They have no idea of Minnie’s past, of course. Doubtless if they did they would disapprove wholeheartedly of the match.’

  ‘I’m glad for Minnie,’ Poppy replied in a conspiratorial whisper.

  ‘So am I. I am delighted.’

  ‘He’s made an honest woman of her. It’s what we both wanted for her, Virginia.’

  ‘I couldn’t agree more. I had to pretend we’d never met when we offered our congratulations.’ Virginia chuckled at the collusion.

  She took Poppy’s hand and led her away. Poppy was in awe of Ishmael Lord, an imposing man, tall, with greying hair, and fresh-faced for a man in late middle age. She remembered that Virginia’s mother, Rebecca, had once been a Quaker before she was expelled for marrying out. She still bore the hallmarks of a Quaker; her dress was sombre grey and very plain, she wore no jewellery except a wedding ring, and her hair was unadorned and unstyled beneath her plain bonnet. However, she was slender and elegant for all that, and she smiled kindly at Poppy.

  ‘We have heard so much about you, Miss Silk,’ Mrs Lord said in her quiet, unassuming voice. ‘I have been very keen to meet you. My daughter tells me that you have attended a Friends’ Meeting House together.’

  ‘Yes, it’s true, Mrs Lord.’

  ‘And what was your impression?’

  ‘It made no impression,’ Poppy answered honestly. Except on my backside, she wanted to add.

  ‘I told you she was outspoken,’ Virginia said.

  Rebecca Lord laughed. ‘Don’t tell me. You found the silence a little unnerving.’

  ‘I’m more used to an ordinary church where they sing hymns and say their prayers aloud.’

  ‘So am I now. But I hold the Friends in very high regard still, and always will.’

  ‘Enough of this talk of Quakerism,’ Ishmael Lord said affably, keen to get in on the conversation. ‘I thought I’d saved you from all that when I married you.’ He winked at Poppy.

  Rebecca turned to Poppy and glanced at her husband with a look of mischief. ‘What my husband won’t tell you, Miss Silk, is that his own father was a Quaker, but he too was disowned when he married my mother-in-law, who was a Methodist. So you see, he has no reason to denigrate Quakers at all, has he, Miss Silk?’

  ‘Please call me Poppy.’ She liked these people. They were evidently wealthy, but very amenable for all that. Neither superior nor stand-offish.

  ‘You must visit us, Miss Silk,’ Mr Lord said with an expansive smile. ‘Arrange it with Virginia. Come for dinner. Stay the night. Stay
a fortnight if you want to. I know she’s very taken with you. It’s my belief that you could be a very moderating influence on this unsavoury religious fervour she’s got.’

  Poppy looked at Virginia and smiled matily. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that, sir. It’s just that I’ve got no religious fervour, as you call it, at all.’

  ‘A girl after my own heart,’ Ishmael Lord declared, and took a defiant swig from the champagne he was holding.

  ‘Excuse me, Father, but I’m keen to tell Poppy my good news. I’m sure it will all come as a complete shock to her.’

  ‘Very well. We’ll see you later, Miss Silk. In the meantime, see if you can get my daughter to drink a glass of champagne. It would be a singular achievement.’

  ‘You know I don’t drink alcohol, Father,’ Virginia admonished. ‘It’s the cause of so many problems in this world …’ She turned away and led Poppy to the far end of the room away from other ears.

  Poppy sipped her drink and looked at Virginia attentively. ‘What I don’t understand, Virginia, is why Minnie would invite your mother and father and your sister to her wedding, when she doesn’t know them from Adam.’

  ‘Oh, we are not guests of Minnie. We are guests of Captain Tyler.’

  ‘Captain Tyler? I don’t understand.’

  ‘It’s a long-standing family connection. Captain Tyler’s father was a banker, you know, like my own father. In fact, old Mr Tyler and my grandfather merged their banking businesses more than thirty years ago. They formed what is now known as Tyler’s and Lord’s Bank.’

  ‘I had no idea,’ Poppy said.

  ‘Mr Tyler then sold his interest to my grandfather, but they retained the name of Tyler’s and Lord’s. Nowadays my father runs the bank.’

  ‘And yet Captain Tyler has nothing to do with it now.’

  ‘Of course not. Because his father sold his share of the bank to my grandfather.’

  ‘Yet you are still friends with the Tylers?’

  ‘Oh, yes. My father attended Mrs Tyler’s funeral just a few weeks ago. Our two families have always kept in close contact. In fact, I think old Mr Tyler and my grandfather were related by a marriage somewhere along the line.’