by Dilly Court
‘Yes, thank you for reminding me that I’m a poor provider for my family,’ Matt said angrily. ‘I had to swallow every scrap of pride to accept his charity.’
‘I knew you’d make a fuss,’ Molly said, pouting. ‘But it’s too late. I’ve said yes and I’m wearing his ring. I’m twenty-one and you can’t tell me what to do.’
‘I can and I will.’ Matt moved towards her with a martial gleam in his eyes. ‘You’re a silly little fool if you think a man in his position will marry a penniless girl from Shadwell.’
‘Armand loves me and you can go to hell, Matt.’
‘He’s toying with your affections. He’ll have his way with you and then he’ll toss you aside and move on to the next gullible female. They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’
‘You’re hateful,’ Molly screamed. ‘He truly loves me and he’s proved it.’
Matt’s brow darkened ominously. ‘And what do you mean by that? Have you allowed him to take liberties with you?’
‘Yes, we’re lovers if that’s what you mean. He’ll have to marry me to make an honest woman of me.’
Matt raised his hand as if to strike Molly, but Lily threw herself between them. ‘She’s lying, Matt. She’s just saying these things to get her own way.’
‘But it could be true,’ Molly teased. ‘You’ll never know, will you, brother?’
‘That’s enough,’ Nell cried passionately. ‘Stop this, both of you.’
‘Yes,’ Lily said, seizing Molly by the shoulders and shaking her. ‘This isn’t the time for a row. Something dreadful has happened.’
Molly’s petulant expression faded into one of curiosity. ‘Why are you here anyway? I thought you weren’t allowed over the threshold by that tyrant we call our brother.’
‘Tell her, Lily. Tell the selfish little cow that her mother is dying and see if she cares.’ Matt strode across the room to snatch his overcoat from its peg.
‘Where are you going?’ Molly screeched. ‘If you hurt Armand I’ll – I’ll never speak to you again as long as I live.’
Matt shrugged on his coat. ‘I’m not going to hurt him. I’m going to kill him.’ He slammed out of the room and out of the house. He strode past the window, ramming his cap on his head.
Molly uttered a shriek and threw herself into Luke’s arms. ‘Stop him, Luke. For the love of God go after him, or I’ll be a widow before I’m a wife.’
‘Technically that’s impossible, old girl,’ Luke said, setting her back on her feet. ‘And I don’t think he’ll listen to me. He never has and probably never will.’
Nell turned a worried face to Eugene. ‘He might listen to you.’
‘I doubt it, but I’ll try.’ He retrieved his top hat and gloves from the table where he had placed them. ‘Don’t worry, Nell. I’ll do what I can.’ He left the room at his usual measured pace.
Lily sank down on the chair that Matt had recently vacated. ‘Did you hear what Matt said, Molly? Our mother is in desperate need. Don’t you care?’
‘Don’t all look at me like that,’ Molly muttered. ‘Why should I bother about her? She’s never given a thought to any of us since she ran off with the painter.’
‘She needs us now,’ Lily cried passionately. ‘She’s lost the love of her life. Surely you can understand that, Molly?’
‘She had her time in the sun and now I’m going to take mine.’ Molly’s tone was defiant. ‘You should all be happy for me. Armand is handsome and wealthy and I never thought I’d get a chance like this.’
Nell moved swiftly to her side and slipped her arm around Molly’s shoulders. ‘But there are ways of doing things, dear. Matt is only trying to look after you and to protect our good name.’
‘Good name, that’s rich,’ Grandpa snorted. ‘Charlotte Delamare ruined that when she ran off with the man who was too cowardly to take his punishment and topped hisself.’
Molly’s mouth opened and then closed. For once she seemed to have nothing to say.
‘It’s true, Moll,’ Lily said softly. ‘Everard hanged himself in prison and Ma’s taken it badly. She won’t eat and I think she’s willing herself to die so that she can be with him.’
‘How romantic,’ Molly breathed, clasping her hands to her bosom. ‘I think I might do the same if Matt won’t allow me to marry Armand.’
‘All my eye and Betty Martin,’ Grandpa snapped. ‘You’ve got the appetite of a horse, young lady. You’ve never given up anything in your whole life, nor have you spared a thought for anyone else.’
‘That just not true.’ Molly’s green eyes filled with tears and her mouth drooped at the corners. ‘You’re being horrid, Grandpa.’
Nell patted her hand. ‘Don’t cry, dear. I daresay Grandpa didn’t mean it exactly like that.’
‘I did,’ Grandpa muttered. ‘Where’s me dinner? I’m faint from lack of nourishment.’ He rose from his chair and hobbled into the kitchen, calling for Aggie.
Lily and Nell exchanged despairing glances. ‘What will we do?’ Lily asked tentatively. ‘Ma needs us, Nell.’
‘And what about me?’ Molly demanded angrily. ‘Don’t I count in this house? My fiancé might be murdered by our brother and all you can think about is Ma. She was always good at getting her own way.’
‘Hush, Molly.’ Nell frowned thoughtfully. ‘I’ll come with you, Lily. We’ll eat first and then we’ll go to see Ma.’ She turned to Luke with a persuasive smile. ‘You’ll come too, won’t you, Luke? You were always Ma’s favourite son.’
He nodded emphatically. ‘I’ll bring my manuscript and read her some of my poems. That should cheer her up and she might put me in touch with the publisher that Everard mentioned.’ He caught Lily’s shocked glance and his cheeks flushed. ‘God rest his soul, of course.’
‘Well, I’m not coming.’ Molly stood up, shaking out her crumpled skirts. ‘I’m going to wait here for Armand.’
‘You’ll come with us if I have to drag you all the way,’ Nell said firmly. ‘You are so like Ma, and she doted on you for some reason I’ll never understand. You always were a spoilt brat, Molly, but this time you’re going to do something for someone else.’
The tiny bedroom in Cock and Hoop Yard seemed even smaller to Lily as her brother and sisters crowded around Ma’s bed. Charlotte opened her eyes and blinked at the faces hovering above her. She reached out her hand. ‘Molly, is that really you?’
Flashing a smug smile in Nell’s direction, Molly leaned over to clasp her mother’s hand. ‘Yes, it’s me, Ma. How are you?’
‘Not well, darling, but all the better for seeing you.’ Charlotte held her other hand out to Luke with a wan smile. ‘And my darling boy, Luke. You came to see your poor afflicted mother.’
‘Yes, Ma, of course I did. I’d have come sooner if I’d known about …’ Luke’s voice tailed off as he cast an agonised look at Lily.
‘We’re all here, except for Matt and Mark,’ Lily said hastily. ‘I’m certain they would have come if they’d known you were unwell.’
Charlotte’s hands fluttered down onto the coverlet like two white butterflies. She sighed deeply. ‘Matt will never forgive me, and I can’t say I blame him. I was a bad mother to you all.’ She acknowledged their denials with a wave of her hand. ‘No, I was wrong to leave you as I did, but it was all for love.’ Her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes. Tears seeped beneath her copper lashes and ran down her cheeks.
‘Don’t upset yourself, Ma.’ Nell reached out to touch her mother’s hand. ‘It’s all in the past and you have to be strong. I think Everard would be mortified if he saw you like this. I know I’ve been hard on you, and perhaps I didn’t understand then how a woman can love a man to the exclusion of all others, but I’m older now and I feel for you.’
Charlotte opened one eye, staring at Nell. ‘You’ve found someone?’
Lily held her breath as she watched a slow blush rise from Nell’s slender neck to suffuse her cheeks with colour. She had been convinced that Nell loved Armand, bu
t it seemed she had been wrong, and this was confirmed by a snort from Molly.
‘She’s in love with a boring old schoolmaster, Ma. Now as for me, you’ll be proud of me because I’m engaged to a wealthy Frenchman. I’m soon to be Madame Labrosse.’
Charlotte raised herself on one elbow. ‘What’s this? Who is this man? Do you know his family?’
Lily reached for the laudanum and the glass of water on the washstand. She measured a dose, holding it out to her mother. ‘You mustn’t overexcite yourself, Ma. You’d best take some of your medicine.’
Charlotte waved it away. ‘Later, Lily. I want to keep a clear head while I listen to what my daughter has to say.’
‘Since when have you cared what any of us did or didn’t do?’ Molly snapped. ‘I’ve had as much as I can stand of my family today; first Matt and now you, Ma. You of all people should understand my feelings. I love Armand and I’m going to marry him.’
‘Oh, what have I done?’ Charlotte fell back against her pillows. ‘I see myself in you, Molly. Stop and think before you rush into marriage.’
‘You’re all jealous of me, that’s what it is,’ Molly cried passionately. ‘And you are a fraud, Ma. There’s nothing wrong with you, so get up and stop wallowing in self-pity.’ With a rebellious shrug of her shoulders, she stalked out of the room.
‘She’s just upset,’ Nell murmured, biting her lip. ‘Don’t take any notice of her, Ma.’
‘I think we should go now,’ Luke said, taking the sheaf of papers from his inside pocket and laying them on the coverlet. ‘Perhaps you could give these to your publisher friend when you feel more the thing, Ma.’
‘That’s enough, Luke. You shouldn’t have bothered her at a time like this.’ Catching him by the sleeve, Nell drew him towards the doorway. ‘We’re leaving, but we’ll come again soon.’
‘I think you should rest now,’ Lily said anxiously. ‘Please take your medicine, Ma.’
Charlotte snatched the glass and hurled it at the far wall where it shattered into shards and its contents trickled down the wall to pool on the floor. ‘I’m getting up,’ she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, but as she attempted to stand she swayed and fell back onto the bed. ‘Perhaps I’ll leave it until morning, but you can tell Molly that I haven’t finished with her, and I’ll have a few words to say to Matt when I see him.’
‘Yes, Ma. Of course.’ Lily hurried from the room, catching up with Nell as she was about to follow Molly and Luke out into the street. ‘Thank you for coming,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I know it must have been difficult for you.’
Nell clasped Lily’s hands. ‘You were right to make us come here today, Lily. Seeing Ma like that has made me realise what’s important in life, and in a strange way it’s made me see things more clearly.’
‘Like your feelings for the schoolmaster?’
‘Don’t call him that. His name is Eugene as you well know.’
Lily suppressed a smile. Nell had always maintained an outward display of serenity and rarely lost her temper. She had seemed almost saintly to Lily as she had struggled through the emotional turmoil of the in-between years when she was neither child nor woman. Now, all of a sudden, Nell’s cast-iron self-control had slipped to reveal a woman with hopes and desire just like anyone else.
‘He’s a good man,’ Lily said gently. ‘But I thought it was Armand you loved.’
‘So did I.’ Nell smiled ruefully. ‘I suppose you could call it infatuation. I think we were all a little in love with the romantic stranger who turned our lives upside down.’
‘You and I have learned better,’ Lily whispered. ‘Perhaps Molly will come to her senses.’
‘What are you two talking about?’ Molly stuck her head round the door. ‘Hurry up, Nell. It’s getting colder by the minute and I think it’s going to rain. I want to go home.’
‘Coming.’ Nell brushed Lily’s cheek with a kiss. ‘It might be better if Ma didn’t come to call on us until the business with Armand is sorted. She’ll only make matters worse if she tries to influence Matt.’
‘We’re going now,’ Molly called impatiently. ‘You can walk home alone if you don’t come right away.’
Lily watched her sisters and brother disappear into the gathering gloom with mixed feelings. She was an outsider once again, just like Ma.
Prissy had come up behind her and Lily jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. ‘Come and have a nice hot cup of tea,’ Prissy said cheerfully. ‘I’ve taken one upstairs to the missis, and she’s sitting up in bed with a shawl wrapped round her shoulders sipping tea like her old self. I think she’s on the mend.’
‘Her heart is broken,’ Lily said sadly. ‘I don’t suppose she’ll ever get over Everard’s death, but I think seeing Nell and the others might have helped a little. I just wish Matt would find it in himself to forgive Ma.’
Prissy sniffed. ‘He needs a good sorting out, does that brother of yours. It sounds to me as if he’s had his own way for far too long.’
‘That’s not fair,’ Lily protested. ‘Matt had to look after us all after Pa died in the fire. He took on a lot of responsibility.’
‘He needs a woman, if you ask me. It ain’t natural for a man of his age to be without a wife.’ Prissy marched off, leaving Lily staring after her.
Perhaps she was right. Lily had never given a thought to Matt’s emotional life. She had washed his clothes, darned his socks and made his bed for him ever since she was old enough to fill the copper and turn the mangle, but suddenly she was seeing him through a stranger’s eyes. She followed Prissy into the kitchen, which was filled with the savoury smell of boiling mutton and onions. ‘How do you know so much about people?’ Lily asked as she took a seat at the table. ‘What makes you so wise when you are so young?’
‘I ain’t that young,’ Prissy said, pouring tea into a cup and handing it to Lily. ‘I’ll be seventeen next birthday, and I’ve had to earn me keep since I was a nipper. I had to work on the farm and take the eggs and butter to market. I looked after me younger brothers and sisters and nursed ’em through all their childish ailments. I suppose you pick up bits and pieces of know-how here and there, like gleaning in the fields at harvest time. There’s a pattern to life in the country.’
Lily sipped her tea, watching Prissy as she bustled about the kitchen, preparing the evening meal. She had the sudden urge to sketch her as she worked, making drawings of those capable little hands and the strong line of Prissy’s profile. Lily flexed her fingers. ‘I think I’ll do some painting before supper,’ she said, rising to her feet. ‘Or is there anything I can do to help you?’
Prissy turned to her with a grin of approval. ‘No, miss. Go and rest your brain doing something you enjoy. We’ll wait for Mr Gabriel to come home afore we eat.’
Lily suffered a pang of guilt. It was already dark and she had been too busy to give Gabriel a second thought. ‘He’s very late. He should be home by now.’
‘He can take care of hisself. He’ll be back when his belly’s empty,’ Prissy said firmly. ‘You go and do your scribbling. Oh, and you’d best light the fire. I laid it first thing this morning so all it needs is a match to get it going. I don’t want to come in later and find you froze to death.’
Taking a lighted candle, Lily went into the parlour and set about making herself comfortable. The fire responded to a match, flames licking greedily at the dry kindling and lapping hungrily around the blue-black coals. She pulled her chair close to the blaze but as she reached for the charcoal she found the box empty. With an exasperated sigh, she picked up the candlestick and made her way up to the top floor. She entered Gabriel’s room, shielding the candle flame with her hand as a draught from a cracked windowpane almost extinguished it. Holding the candlestick higher, she stifled a gasp of surprise as she came face to face with a likeness of herself so vivid and alive that she might almost have been staring into a mirror.
On an easel facing her was the painting on which Gabriel had spent so much of h
is time, refusing to allow her even the smallest peek. Lily had instantly recognised herself, but on closer scrutiny the girl in the portrait was strikingly beautiful, determined and yet ethereal. Gabriel had captured a hint of vulnerability in her eyes, and an innocence which seemed at odds with the background of a conflagration that blazed against a black velvet sky. With her hair flying out behind her and glowing as bright as the heart of the fire, she stood in the well of the firemen’s wagon, holding the reins like a modern Boadicea. It was a picture alive with colour and drama. The firefighters were in the background but that did not detract from their heroic efforts to contain the blaze. Lily caught her breath. She could almost feel the heat; hear the crackling and crashing of burning timbers, the shouts of her brothers and the men who formed a human chain taking water from the river, and the hiss of steam as it evaporated in the intense heat. The scene could have been the gateway to hell’s inferno and the pale-faced girl an angel from heaven caught up in a tussle with the devil himself. It was, by any standards, a masterpiece. Lily felt tears running down her cheeks as she was caught up in the emotion of the painting.
‘You weren’t supposed to look.’ Gabriel’s voice made Lily turn with a start.
‘I didn’t hear you coming.’
‘It’s finished. What do you think of it?’
Lily’s hands fluttered in front of her face as she struggled to put her feelings into words. ‘It’s wonderful. I didn’t know you were such a brilliant artist.’
He smiled, shrugging modestly. ‘I was inspired by my subject.’
She studied the painting, stepping backwards so that she was standing side by side with Gabriel. ‘You’ve captured the ferocity of the fire so well. It’s as if you could warm your hands by just holding them close to the canvas. You might have been there yourself, it’s so real. How could you have known what it was like? I don’t understand.’
‘Perhaps I felt it through you, Lily. The fire in the warehouse was not my inspiration, it was you.’ His eyes held her for a moment and then he looked away. ‘I’ve named it Lily in the Flames.’