by Dilly Court
The hands on the clock face seemed not to have moved at all. Lily rose to her feet and listened, but the inexorable tick-tock assured her that time had not come to a standstill. She paced the floor anxiously. Should she ring the bell for Prissy? It seemed a bit of a liberty to do so in someone else’s house. She waited for another five minutes and then, in desperation, she was about to tug the embroidered bell-pull when the door flew open and Prissy burst into the room, her rosy cheeks a deeper shade of pink and her eyes sparkling with excitement. ‘Oh, miss. You’ve got visitors. A pretty young lady and a handsome foreign gentleman with a limp. Shall I let them in?’
Lily was out through the door before Prissy had finished her sentence. She ran down the carpeted passage to the entrance hall to fling her arms around her sister. ‘Oh, Molly, has Matt forgiven me? Have you come to take me home?’
Chapter Fourteen
‘No, he hasn’t, and I haven’t come to take you home. For heaven’s sake, Lily, let me go,’ Molly cried, pushing her away. ‘You’re crushing me.’
Lily took a step backwards, her elation evaporating. Molly’s expression was not encouraging. ‘How did you know where to find me?’
‘I remembered the address on that card Gabriel gave you. We went to his lodgings and asked him where you were living.’ Molly cast an envious glance around the spacious entrance hall with its opulent crystal chandeliers, gilded furniture and the richly carpeted staircase sweeping upwards in an elegant arc. ‘You’re not exactly out on the streets, are you?’
Prissy stepped forward holding her hands out to Armand. ‘Give us your hat and coat, sir, and I’ll hang it on the peg.’
His worried expression melted into an amused smile as he took off his hat and gloves, handing them to Prissy while he divested himself of his overcoat. ‘Merci, mademoiselle.’
‘Well I never did,’ Prissy murmured, bobbing a curtsey. ‘A foreigner.’
‘We’re not staying,’ Molly said, frowning. ‘It seems we had a wasted journey, and to think that I was actually feeling sorry for you, Lily.’
‘I’m glad you came.’ Lily managed a tremulous smile. ‘I didn’t want things to turn out this way.’
‘Shall I take your things then, miss?’ Prissy asked, seemingly unabashed by Molly’s sharp tone. ‘You won’t feel the benefit when you go out into the cold.’
‘When I want your opinion I’ll ask for it,’ Molly snapped. ‘Go about your business, girl.’
Lily felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she saw Prissy’s bottom lip tremble ominously. ‘Thank you, Prissy. I’m sure my sister didn’t mean to raise her voice to you.’
‘You’re too soft,’ Molly muttered. ‘Give the girl an inch and she’ll take a mile.’
Armand took Lily’s hand and raised it to his lips. ‘We are relieved to find you in such comfortable circumstances, Mademoiselle Lily. Molly was worried about you.’
‘Unnecessarily, it seems,’ Molly said with an irritated toss of her head. ‘I wouldn’t have come here if Luke hadn’t convinced me that you would be huddled in a doorway, freezing to death. He didn’t think that Ma would take you in, but obviously he was wrong.’ She looked Lily up and down with a disapproving frown. ‘It didn’t take you long to get your feet under the table. I doubt if she’d make me as welcome, let alone dress me up like some fancy doll. You were always her favourite.’
‘That’s just not true,’ Lily protested. ‘I think Ma is genuinely sorry that she left us, and I’m sure she would be overjoyed to see you.’
‘I haven’t got your cheek. I work hard to earn my living. I don’t play with paints and paper and pretend to be an artist. Maybe Matt was right when he said you were the cause of all our troubles.’ Molly slipped her hand through the crook of Armand’s arm. ‘I think we’d best leave now, Armand. We’ve done our duty.’
‘Come, come, that’s not fair, Molly, ma chérie,’ Armand said gently. ‘Lily is here because she had no other choice. I feel responsible in some way for that.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. How could it possibly be your fault?’
‘My father is a man of passion. He allowed his admiration for so beautiful a young lady to carry him away, and for that I am ashamed and regretful.’
‘You can’t blame yourself for anything your father did,’ Lily said, wishing that Armand had not raised the subject which was both embarrassing and painful to her. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’
‘I was a guest in your home, Lily. I brought the trouble to your door, so to speak, and now I wish to make amends.’ He winced as an awkward movement seemed to cause him pain from his injured leg.
‘Are you going to keep us standing in the hall?’ Molly demanded. ‘If we’re not leaving right away then you might ask us in. Anyway, Armand shouldn’t be putting too much strain on his bad leg.’
‘Yes, what am I thinking of?’ Lily turned to find Prissy taking her time arranging Armand’s coat on the hallstand as she listened to their exchanges with an expression of avid interest. ‘Would it be possible to bring some refreshments to the morning parlour, Prissy? My sister and Monsieur Labrosse have come a long way to see me.’
‘You don’t ask her,’ Molly hissed. ‘She’s a servant. You give her orders.’
Prissy beamed at Lily. ‘That’s right, miss. I’m here to look after you. What shall it be? Sherry wine, tea or coffee perhaps?’
Lily was at a loss. She gazed helplessly at Armand, but Molly seemed determined to have her say. ‘We’d like coffee and cake. Be quick about it.’ She dismissed Prissy with an airy wave of her hand. ‘There, you see, that wasn’t too difficult, was it, Lily? You have to know how to handle servants or they’ll take advantage of you.’
‘Prissy has been very kind to me,’ Lily protested. ‘She’s a nice girl and I don’t think you should speak to her like that.’
‘Never mind her. I’m fed up with standing in this draughty hallway. Besides which I want to see more of Ma’s house since it’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get.’
Helpless in the face of her sister’s determination, Lily pointed in the general direction of the morning parlour. ‘The second doorway on your left.’
‘Come on then. Don’t stand there like a couple of wet ducks in a thunderstorm.’ Molly stalked off towards the morning parlour, pausing to examine one of the many oil paintings that adorned the walls, but apparently unimpressed, she moved on, entering the room without a backwards glance.
Armand hesitated. ‘Are you sure we will be welcome in this house, Lily? I don’t want to make things difficult for you with your mama.’
‘She isn’t an ogre, Armand. Whatever Molly thinks, Mama has welcomed me as she would all her family. I believe she is truly sorry for the way things turned out. I’d like you to meet her and Everard too.’
‘I’m glad for your sake, and maybe good will come out of bad,’ he said softly. ‘You have broken the ice, as you English say, and perhaps because of it your family will now be reconciled.’
‘I do hope so, Armand. I can’t bear to think that I am unwelcome in my own home.’
Molly popped her head round the door. ‘What are you two going on about? Didn’t your ma ever tell you it’s rude to whisper, Armand Labrosse?’
Lily glanced anxiously at Armand and was relieved to see that he did not seem to have taken exception to Molly’s sharp words. He smiled indulgently. ‘The little briar rose is growing impatient. Come, Lily, lead me to the parlour and we will sit down and talk. I think I may have a solution to your problems.’
‘I heard what you said and I am not a briar rose,’ Molly said sulkily as they joined her in the morning parlour. She flounced over to a chair by the fire, throwing off her cape and sitting down to peel off her gloves. ‘I think it’s horrid of you to call me that, Armand. It makes me sound wild and full of thorns.’
‘It is part of your charm, ma chérie,’ Armand said smoothly. ‘But now if you will be patient for a few moments longer, I will tell you my plan.’ He paused as the door was pushed
open and Prissy entered, carrying a tray which she placed on a table by the window. ‘Coffee,’ she said importantly. ‘And some of Cook’s best Madeira cake.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Lily. ‘Shall I pour, miss?’
‘It’s all right, Prissy,’ Lily said, hurrying to rescue the heavy silver coffee pot held precariously in Prissy’s small hand. ‘I’ll do it, and thank you.’
‘No trouble, miss.’ Prissy shot a darkling look at Molly. ‘Let me know if she gets above herself and I’ll stand up for you. I met her sort afore.’
‘Yes, thank you,’ Lily said hastily. ‘I’ll ring if I need anything else.’
Prissy winked at her and sashayed slowly past Molly, eyeing her as if she had plenty to say but was holding her tongue with difficulty. She left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
‘You must keep her at arm’s length,’ Molly said severely as Lily handed her a cup of coffee. ‘Put her firmly in her place.’
Pushed beyond endurance, Lily glared at her sister. ‘Since when did you know all about handling staff?’
‘Well, there’s Aggie. She’s a servant.’
An image of Aggie’s indignant face flashed into Lily’s mind, forcing a reluctant smile. ‘Don’t ever let her hear you say that, Molly. She’d box your ears for less. Aggie is one of the family and you know it.’
Molly dismissed this with a careless shrug of her shoulders. She turned a sulky face to Armand. ‘Are you going to put us out of our misery and tell us your grand plan, or do I have to sit here and take insults from my sister?’
‘I’m sorry, Armand,’ Lily said, handing him a brimming cup of coffee. ‘Here we are bickering like schoolgirls and you have something important to tell us.’
‘As I said, I feel partly to blame for everything that has happened to your family recently. If it weren’t for you I might have died on the foreshore during that terrible fire.’
‘It was nothing,’ Lily murmured, sensing Molly’s annoyance that she had had no part in the events of that fateful day.
‘No, you are wrong, Lily,’ Armand declared passionately. ‘You took me into your home and you and your sister nursed me back to good health.’
‘I was there too,’ Molly said crossly. ‘Don’t I get any credit for your speedy recovery?’
‘Of course, ma chérie. You were all ministering angels and for that I will be eternally grateful. But for your prompt actions and excellent nursing I might have died of pneumonia, so the doctor informed me.’
‘Well, he’s an old toper at the best of times,’ Molly muttered, selecting a large slice of cake from the plate proffered by her sister. ‘Go on, Armand, don’t keep us in suspense.’
‘I know that my papa was partly to blame for your family being evicted from the dockmaster’s house. Your leaving there was inevitable in the circumstances, but he made it happen more quickly and that was unforgivable. I think he also had something to do with the fact that your brother had to pay a considerable amount to the dock company for alleged neglect of the property.’
‘What?’ Lily and Molly demanded in unison.
Armand put his cup and saucer down on a rosewood sofa table. ‘You did not know this?’
‘Nobody tells us anything,’ Molly said bitterly.
‘That explains why we are so hard up.’ Lily frowned as she remembered Nell poring over her housekeeping accounts. ‘Nell never said a word about it.’
‘She wouldn’t,’ Armand agreed. ‘Nell is a saint if ever there was one. She did not want to worry you with her problems, but did you never wonder why you were living in such straitened circumstances?’
Lily shook her head. ‘It all happened so quickly.’
‘Nell treats us like babies,’ Molly said, pouting. ‘I thought she was just being mean.’
‘I only found out recently.’ Armand shook his head as Lily offered him a slice of cake. ‘No, thank you.’
‘So how did it come about?’ Molly demanded. ‘Come on, Armand. You can’t tell us half a story and leave it there.’ She put her cup and saucer down, eyeing the Madeira cake and licking her lips. ‘I’ll have another slice, Lily.’
Lily cut the cake and slipped it onto Molly’s plate, but her attention was fixed on Armand. ‘Please go on.’
‘My papa has put me in charge of the London office.’
‘Does that mean you’ll be living in London permanently?’ Molly asked eagerly.
‘I will divide my time between London and Paris.’
‘Nell will be so happy.’ The words had tumbled inadvertently from Lily’s lips but the look on Molly’s face made her wish them unsaid.
‘It will please us all.’
Molly’s clipped tones made Lily flinch but Armand seemed happily oblivious to the heightened tension in the room. He sipped his coffee. ‘This is excellent. It is so hard to get good coffee in London.’
‘Never mind that,’ Molly said through a mouthful of cake. ‘Tell us your blooming plan and how you found out about the money that we had to pay the dock company.’
‘As I said, my papa has put me in charge of the London office as he wants to devote more time to business at home. It was there I came across a letter from the manager of the dock company to my papa, confirming that he had taken action against your family and the rate at which the monies were to be repaid. It was not an insignificant amount and I realised that it would bring you close to bankruptcy.’
‘I wish Nell and Matt had told us,’ Lily said with feeling. ‘I feel even worse now.’
‘There is no need. I made it my business to settle matters with the dock company. There is now no debt and your family will be able to live as they once did, although sadly not in your old home. But,’ he added, holding up his hand as Molly opened her mouth to interrupt, ‘I have a property which I think is eminently suitable.’
‘Oh, Armand, how wonderful.’ Lily clasped her hands to her bosom, restraining the urge to give him a hearty hug.
‘Where? Is it somewhere fashionable, Armand?’ Molly’s eyes shone and her unconcealed delight brought a smile to Armand’s lips.
‘Not exactly, but I think your esteemed grand-père will be more than happy with my choice. The house is close to Pelican Stairs and it overlooks the waterfront. It was once our counting house but the premises became too small and we moved to our warehouse on Bell Wharf. Since then the property has been empty and it will need some renovation, but I think it will make a comfortable home.’
Lily sighed. ‘I wish I could see it.’
‘It will be your home too,’ Armand said with conviction.
Molly selected another slice of cake. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Matt is furious with Lily. He’s not going to forgive her easily for what she did.’
Lily bowed her head. She knew that Molly only spoke the truth, but it was not what she wanted to hear. ‘Perhaps if you put in a good word for me, Armand?’
‘Of course I will do anything I can, but for now I think Molly is right. You are better off here with your mama. Matt will come round in time, I think.’
‘I’d swap places with you.’ Molly licked her fingers, eyeing the remains of the cake as if she would like to gobble it up, but she put her plate down and rose to her feet. She strolled around the room examining its contents as if she were assessing the value of each porcelain figurine and cut glass vase. ‘Old what’s-his-name must be worth a fortune,’ she murmured appreciatively. ‘He must have sold a few paintings to pay for all this.’ She paused as the sound of the doorbell was followed by the patter of feet on the marble tiles. ‘Visitors,’ she said eagerly. ‘I wonder if it’s anyone famous.’
Lily listened to the sound of an interchange in the hall and she recognised Gabriel’s voice. ‘I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed, Molly. It’s only Gabriel.’
‘Oh him.’ Molly’s tone was disdainful. ‘He admitted that it was his father who Ma ran off with. It was a bad day when you met Gabriel Faulkner.’
‘That’s not fair. It wasn’t his f
ault any more than it was mine, or yours for that matter.’
‘No, the real culprit is Ma, and that’s why Matt won’t forgive you for siding with her.’ Molly snatched up her cloak and bonnet that she had discarded carelessly on a chair by the door. ‘I think we’d better leave, Armand. I don’t want anything to do with the Faulkners. Like father like son.’ She clapped her hand over her mouth. ‘I didn’t mean to include you in that, of course.’
Armand rose to his feet. ‘Perhaps it would be best if we leave now, Lily. I have nothing against the young man, but I have to respect Molly’s delicate feelings.’
‘Yes,’ Molly said, swinging her cloak so that it swirled dramatically around her shoulders. ‘I have delicate feelings. D’you hear that, Lily? Not that my family ever acknowledged the fact, but I’m highly sensitive. It’s my artistic nature, although I’m nothing like Ma. You’re her child through and through, Lily, and you’ll have to suffer that for the rest of your life.’ Molly made a move towards the door as it opened to admit Prissy.
‘Mr Gabriel for you, Miss Lily,’ she said loudly. ‘Come this way, mister.’
‘We meet again, Miss Molly,’ Gabriel said, inclining his head in a semblance of a courtly bow. He held his hand out to Armand. ‘I’m glad to see that you decided to come and see Lily. I’m sure it means a lot to her.’
‘We were just leaving,’ Molly said with a haughty tilt of her head. ‘You haven’t done her any favours, Gabriel Faulkner. I hope you realise that no decent man is going to look at my sister now.’
‘Come, ma chérie, I think it is time we departed,’ Armand said, ushering her gently from the room. ‘My coachman will waiting for us and we don’t want the poor fellow to freeze to death in the snow.’
‘Goodbye, Lily,’ Molly called over her shoulder. ‘I’ll tell Nell that you’re doing very well without us.’