by Nancy Carson
Already dominating the conversation was the disappointment of not being awarded the Birmingham contract for constructing the new sewers and drains.
‘I think it’s appalling that they couldn’t have let us know sooner,’ Oliver commented predictably. ‘We could have directed our resources elsewhere, rather than holding back and waiting for it to materialise.’
‘I agree,’ said Ridley. ‘And my response to the council will be very much along those lines. I am very disappointed. We invested a great deal of time and money in tendering for that work. It would have been a highly profitable contract. But there are other fish to fry.’
‘Let’s hope that when next it’s up for tender they will mean it,’ Clare said sympathetically, misconstruing the reasons. She tilted her soup bowl to collect the last dregs. ‘It all smacks of insincerity, I think.’
The soup was finished, the empty bowls were cleared away and the next course was brought in and served. When the servants had left the room, Robert cleared his throat and took a gulp of wine.
‘I, er … I have an announcement to make,’ he said hesitantly. ‘It’s perhaps an appropriate time to make it – with the exception of dear Elizabeth, we’re all present this evening …’
Suddenly, all eyes were on him.
‘I, um … I visited Virginia Lord this morning … and sought release from our engagement …’ Silence fell on the table as he peered across at his mother to gauge her reaction.
Clarissa, predictably, gasped with horror. ‘You have done what, Robert?’
‘I have asked to be released from my promise to marry Virginia.’
‘Oh, my goodness,’ she said, as if he had announced the end of the world. ‘Did you know anything about this at all, Ridley?’
‘I have been privy to a few basic facts,’ Ridley replied economically, hoping he would not be too deeply incriminated.
‘And yet you said nothing to me?’ She turned again to Robert. ‘Are you out of your mind? What has brought on this madness?’
‘Oh, you may be sure, Mother, that Virginia has typically refused my request. She is absolutely certain I shall marry her come what may, but on what she bases such a tragic notion I’m at a loss to understand.’
‘You cannot back out at this late stage, Robert. You will marry her if I have anything to do with it. Virginia is blessed with some sense in not giving way. But why on earth would you not wish to marry her? She is such a sweet, unspoilt girl who idolises and adores you. She must be heartbroken. And she the daughter of Ishmael Lord.’
‘The truth is, Mother,’ Robert said, ‘I wish to marry somebody else.’
‘Some—somebody else?’ She looked at Ridley, seeking support. This was a severe blow to her contentment and social esteem, with the added potential for a scandal of monumental proportions. ‘And are we allowed to know who this girl is?’
‘Indeed,’ Robert answered. ‘Especially since she will shortly be your daughter-in-law. It’s Poppy Silk.’
There was another momentary silence while everybody digested the information before them. Robert sensed Bellamy’s sudden but expected agitation.
‘Poppy Silk?’ Clarissa at last queried, as if speaking the name left a nasty taste in her mouth. ‘Aunt Phoebe’s young companion?’
‘The same.’
‘But she hasn’t got two ha’pennies to rub together.’
Bellamy dropped his knife and fork onto his plate with an indignant clatter. ‘But I have asked Poppy Silk to marry me.’ He looked at his mother beseechingly so that she might run with his cause.
‘I know you have,’ Robert answered. ‘But she hasn’t consented, has she? In any case, Miss Silk and I have been close friends for nearly two years now. Long before she met you, Bellamy.’
‘You mean you have been conducting a secret affair with her all that time?’
‘Why? Did you expect me to conduct it openly and have no regard for Virginia?’
‘Openly or covertly,’ Clarissa hissed, ‘you have obviously had precious little regard for poor Virginia.’
‘Then this Poppy Silk is a hussy,’ Bellamy complained, petulantly pushing his dinner away unwanted. ‘And on two counts … One, for having an affair with you, Robert, discreet or not, and two, for allowing me to think she was available.’
‘I understand,’ Robert said calmly, ‘that she did intimate to you that she was interested in somebody else. She merely did not name me. That there was somebody else obviously didn’t deter you. Is that because you believed you had something better to offer?’
Bellamy did not answer directly. ‘Evidently, she’s making fools of both of us,’ he said instead.
Clarissa put down her table napkin in a state of obvious distress. ‘I am much too upset to discuss this now,’ she said to Robert. ‘But I shall be visiting your Aunt Phoebe Newton tomorrow to see what is to be done. I shall also confront Miss Silk.’
‘You most certainly will not, Mother.’
‘Indeed I shall.’
‘Listen, I am a grown man. I know my own mind. I am able to make my own decisions.’
‘I fear you cannot be trusted to make decisions that are sensible, Robert.’
The doorbell rang and everybody fell silent.
‘Damn! What a time for somebody to call,’ Ridley said, and threw his napkin down on the table.
As the front door was opened by one of the servants a cold draught blew under the dining-room door, chilling Clarissa’s ankles.
‘Who can it be?’ she complained impatiently. ‘How inconsiderate for anybody to call at this time.’
The door opened and a maid said, ‘Miss Virginia Lord to see you, ma’am.’
Clarissa put her hands to her face. ‘Oh, the poor child. She’s here. Ask her to come in, Barnes.’
Virginia entered, looking pale, in a state of obvious consternation, and shivering with cold.
‘Oh, my child,’ Clarissa fawned. ‘I have just heard … You must be distraught …’ She turned to the maid. ‘Thank you, Barnes. That will be all.’
Virginia greeted everybody at the table, including Robert. ‘I do apologise for interrupting your dinner. I had not intended that … The drive did not take as long as I thought it would, for some reason. But it is bitterly cold out.’
‘Come and sit down, Ginnie,’ Robert suggested softly, his guilt rising again at seeing her upset and knowing himself to be the cause of it. ‘Oliver, please give the fire a poke.’
‘Thank you, Robert,’ Virginia said and looked around for a spare chair.
Seeing her difficulty, Robert got up and pulled another chair to the table between himself and Bellamy. ‘There,’ he said. ‘Would you like a glass of brandy to warm you?’
‘Don’t be silly, Robert.’ She forced a smile to soften what was a mild rebuke. ‘You know I don’t drink.’
‘I was merely trying to be hospitable.’
‘I’m sorry to burst in on you like this, but I had to come,’ Virginia said to Clarissa, from whom she knew she would gain maximum sympathy. ‘I suppose, Robert, that you have told everybody of your decision?’
‘Indeed, I have. Just. Mother is still reeling from the news, you may be sure.’
‘Well, it is convenient that you are all gathered here this evening … Because I don’t think I could bear to repeat what I have to say.’
‘Which is what, Virginia dear?’ Clarissa asked supportively.
‘I have come primarily to tell Robert that I forgive him for his faithless adventure, but also …’ she sniffed, full of self-pity, ‘to tell you all that he has made a prodigious blunder. Not simply in wishing to be rid of me, but in his choice of bride. I think too much of him to allow him to make such a grave mistake, to make such an absolute fool of himself.’
‘I think you are very brave in coming here, Virginia,’ Clarissa said indulgently, ‘and I am also very happy to hear you question his revised choice of bride. It proves beyond doubt your mettle and your integrity, of which Robert should also take note.’ Sh
e shot a withering look at her second son. ‘Would you like some hot tea, Virginia, or a glass of water, perhaps?’
‘A glass of water would be most welcome.’
Robert reached for a clean glass and filled it from the crystal jug on the table.
‘Thank you.’
‘So do tell us in what way you feel Robert has made a colossal mistake,’ Clarissa urged. ‘I for one will be very interested to hear of it.’
‘It concerns Miss Silk, of course.’ Virginia sipped the water and put down her glass carefully, all eyes upon her. ‘As you may be aware, Miss Silk and I are already acquainted, and I would like to tell you of the circumstances under which we met.’ She wiped her eyes with her small handkerchief, an action that Robert realised was calculated to elicit more sympathy. ‘You see, unbeknownst to my own family, I took it upon myself to try and help some of the young women of this town who had fallen by the wayside. I had this urge to help them give up their sinful ways and live good and godly lives. One such fallen woman – and I am dreadfully sorry to have to reveal this – was Minnie Catchpole, whom you know now as Mrs Cecil Tyler, the wife of dear Captain Tyler …’
There was a murmur of surprise from those seated around the table. This response encouraged Virginia and she grew more assured in her measured delivery.
‘I had not intended to compromise Mrs Tyler,’ she went on. ‘Indeed, it was my earnest wish that I should avoid it, but as she is an integral part of the story you will see that I have no alternative. I therefore beg you to respect and keep this information strictly between ourselves. Mrs Tyler is of course now, mercifully, reformed and I like to think it was a direct consequence of my intervention. However, the very first time I saw Miss Catchpole – as she was then – was while she was negotiating a price for her services with a gentleman in some sort of carriage – a carriage with a driver. Another girl accompanied her, slender and quite pretty, with fair hair. Both girls climbed aboard the carriage when the deal was struck. On another occasion I followed Miss Catchpole, which is how I discovered where she lived, but I lost track of the other girl and did not know then what had become of her, and neither did Miss Catchpole at the time. Or so she said.’
All attention was focused on Virginia. She dabbed her eyes again and sniffed.
‘The first time I met Miss Silk she was visiting Miss Catchpole. Not unnaturally, when I saw such a well-dressed and glossy young woman, I assumed she was also trying to save Minnie in the same way that I was. Thus I befriended her. I liked her vastly. She seemed a very cheerful character and irreverently forthright, which amused me. But with hindsight, I also perceive now that she was very worldly for a girl of such tender years. Anyway, sometime later – at Robert’s welcome home party actually – I was informed by Minnie, who was by this time Mrs Tyler, that she had known Poppy Silk since they had been quite young. When I enquired as to the circumstances, she told me that their fathers were both railway navvies …’
Virginia paused for this gem to register.
‘So this … this Poppy Silk, whom my son wishes to marry, is a navvy’s daughter?’ Clarissa challenged, her face expressionless like a carving in alabaster.
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘Then it is entirely possible – even likely – that she is illegitimate in any event, if what I have read about the navvies is anything to go by. I hear some dreadful things. Who’s to say she hasn’t had a child herself already?’
‘I’m to say,’ Robert exclaimed huffily. ‘I know it for a fact. Look, I know she is a navvy’s daughter. I’m aware of it. But so what? That’s how I met her in the first place. Her father was working on the OWWR. There’s nothing wrong with her. She is sweeter than any girl I know, more talented, more intelligent … Bellamy will testify to that. So what if she is a navvy’s daughter? Who cares? So what if she’s illegitimate? It’s not her fault if she is. And anyway, you wouldn’t know it to look at her.’
‘It’s not merely that she is a navvy’s daughter or illegitimate, Robert,’ Virginia said patiently. ‘One could forgive that, since plainly she cannot help it. But when I questioned Minnie further, she confirmed that Poppy was the girl who accompanied her on the night I saw her get into the carriage with that man. Don’t you see? It means that Poppy Silk herself was a prostitute … and might still be, for all we know. I believe that by raising her social status she has merely raised the standard of her clientele.’
‘That’s preposterous,’ Robert protested vehemently. ‘Poppy Silk is no more a prostitute than you are, Virginia. You should be ashamed of yourself for even thinking it, for tainting the minds of my family with such malicious speculation.’
‘But, Robert, I saw her with my own eyes getting into the carriage with that man,’ she said earnestly. ‘There can have been no other motive. Don’t you see? It is already established beyond doubt that Minnie was working as a prostitute. It must be obvious even to you, who sees Poppy Silk through rose-tinted spectacles, that she is also.’
Robert remained as silent as death after this, his thoughts at once searching desperately for some clue that might either confirm or deny Virginia’s persuasive allegations.
‘It is convincing enough for me,’ Clarissa proclaimed. ‘Robert, I expressly forbid you, in the good name of Crawford, to have anything else to do with this … this navvy’s daughter. You too, Bellamy, if you were so fooled as to have designs on her as well. Thank you, Virginia, for having the courage to speak to us about her. I intend to visit my sister-in-law Phoebe Newton tomorrow in any case. I shall tell her what we have just learnt. There is no doubt in my mind that she will not want a woman of the streets, reformed or not, living under the same roof.’
‘Indeed, Clarissa,’ said Ridley, who till this moment had remained silent, content to swig his wine and listen, ‘methinks it would behove me to do it. It’s rather a delicate matter to be tackled by a woman.’
‘Nonsense, Ridley. There are none of us women here so squeamish that we couldn’t talk one woman to another about such things. Best left to me.’
‘Virginia, have you discussed any of this with your father?’ Ridley asked.
‘Indeed not, Mr Crawford. I didn’t wish to upset him prematurely. Nor my mother either, when it seemed that it might be unnecessary. I was certain you would take the stance you have.’
‘You were very wise, Virginia.’ Ridley turned to Robert. ‘I am so sorry, my son,’ he said, telling no lie. ‘I appreciate that this girl Poppy Silk meant something to you. But we all of us make mistakes.’
Virginia leaned towards Robert and touched his hand. ‘I’m so sorry too, Robert, to shatter your illusions about Poppy Silk,’ she said softly, privately, and kissed him gently on the cheek. ‘But I know you’ll thank me for it someday. Of course, I understand that you will need a little time to recover from the emotional distress of having to give her up, but I will make allowances for that. I am very patient. It will all be for the best, believe me.’
‘Oh, God, I do wish you weren’t such a bloody martyr, Virginia,’ he said acidly, as he got up from his chair. He left the room.
In the privacy of his bedroom he blew out the lamp and stood at his window looking out into the darkness. The sky was clear and already there was a hard frost. He was thinking about Poppy, could see her smiling face. If only she were with him now so that he could bask in the warmth of her presence. He slumped onto his bed, tortured by doubt, and wept bitterly. How could they be so cruel as to annihilate his most cherished dreams with such icy detachment? Despite having consumed several glasses of wine, his mind was wildly active, preoccupied. They had talked about the sweet girl he loved, denigrated her, turned her into nothing more than a common whore, a piece of dirt worthy of no more than being trodden underfoot. But Poppy was no piece of dirt. She was a living, breathing soul, kind, generous, witty, chock-full of vitality and oh, so much love. They did not know her like he did. They had never been privy to her warmth, her laughter. They had never experienced the infectious joy she imparted to al
l that took the trouble to get to know her.
But Virginia’s words, those potent words that had sown the seeds of doubt, kept returning. Powerful words. ‘I saw her with my own eyes getting into the carriage with that man. There can have been no other motive. Don’t you see?’ He could still hear her controlled voice, the spite she felt for Poppy deliberately suppressed so that she would come across as reasonable, rational, impartial. ‘It is already established beyond doubt that Minnie was working as a prostitute. It must be obvious even to you, who sees Poppy Silk through rose-tinted spectacles, that she is also.’ It was all there – resentment, scorn, revenge. He knew it was there. Virginia could not hide these negative emotions from him. For all her religious beliefs, her kindness, her fine education, her professed compassion for lesser mortals, she was vindictive, bent on vengeance. He knew every catch, every falter that would be imperceptible to anybody else, in her calm, quiet delivery. She was so sure of herself, and so confident she would win him back with this attack, deliberately enlisting the willing help of his mother.
However, one thing irked Robert more than anything else: the possibility that Virginia might be right. What if she was right? What if he’d been wrong about Poppy all along? What if he had been entirely bedazzled by her angelic face, her firm, delightful body? What if her winsome charm, her amorousness, her tenderness were all an act calculated to deceive? While he was away in Brazil languishing, agonising over her, had she been with anybody else? Well, if it was true that she had been picked up by some man in a carriage with Minnie Catchpole – and he knew Virginia well enough to realise that she was essentially not a liar, despite her other flaws – then it seemed to prove that Poppy must have worked the streets while he was away.