by Dilly Court
‘It’s not how it looks,’ Hetty said hastily. ‘I called unexpectedly.’
Mrs Haynes dropped her basket on the table with an ominous scowl. ‘And who are you, may I ask?’
‘Now Mrs Haynes, dear,’ George said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. ‘There’s no need to get yourself in a state. This is my friend Hetty. You’ve heard me mention her, I’m sure.’
Mrs Haynes wriggled free. ‘Mention her? You never talk about anyone else, young man.’
‘Hetty had some bad news and she came to me for advice. I was just about to take her home.’
‘I suppose that’s all right then. I’ll let it go this time, George.’
He leaned over to plant a kiss on her lined cheek. ‘You’re one of the best, my duck.’
‘Oh, get on with you,’ Mrs Haynes said, giggling like a schoolgirl. ‘I suppose you’ll be wanting supper when you get back?’
‘I’ll get something at the pub. You put your feet up and rest.’
Mrs Haynes dug Hetty in the ribs with a throaty chuckle. ‘He’s a one, ain’t he? Quite the charmer. I’m just surprised he hasn’t had a string of young women running after him.’
‘I thought he had,’ Hetty murmured.
‘If he has he’s never brought them here. Not that I would allow it anyway. This is a respectable house.’
George shrugged on his jacket. ‘I won’t be long.’
Mrs Haynes grinned, exposing a row of blackened teeth, and then she frowned. ‘Bathtub.’
‘I’ll empty it out as soon as I get back.’ He put his hand in his pocket and took out a three-penny bit. ‘Here, treat yourself to a meat pie or some jellied eels.’
‘You’ll hang on to him if you know what’s good for you, girl. God broke the mould when he made George,’ Mrs Haynes called after them as they left the room.
‘You’re very free with your money,’ Hetty said once they were outside on the pavement.
‘I treat her every once in a while. She’s a good sort at heart and her old man led her quite a dance until he died in a drunken brawl.’ George pulled up the collar of his jacket and jammed his cap on his head. ‘Come on, let’s get you home, girl. You need a good night’s sleep before you tackle her ladyship in Berkeley Square.’
Hetty slipped her hand through the crook of his arm. ‘It can’t wait that long. If you will just help me find a cab, I’ll go straight there and have it out with her.’
‘Is that wise, Hetty?’
‘Maybe not, but I’m doing it anyway.’
‘Then I’m coming with you.’
‘There’s no point. She won’t see you.’
‘I’m coming anyway. Who knows what lies Clench has fed her? I warned him that I would take it very unkindly if he didn’t own up, but I don’t trust the weasel.’
Hetty knew better than to argue with George when he was in this mood. And he called her stubborn! She squeezed his hand. ‘All right, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
As luck would have it, they found a cab that had just dropped a fare off outside the People’s Palace. As she settled herself against the squabs and the cab lurched forward, Hetty uttered a gasp of dismay. ‘I’ve got hardly any money left. I don’t think I’ve got enough to pay the cabby.’
‘Then it’s lucky I had a good day, isn’t it? Don’t fret, ducks. I’ll see you there and home again.’
‘You’re a brick,’ Hetty said, snuggling up against him. The familiar aroma of the market stall clung to his jacket and she laid her head against his shoulder, safe in the knowledge that she had come home. This was where she truly belonged. George still loved her; in her heart she knew that well enough. All she had to do was convince him that she returned his affection tenfold. His arm was around her waist and their bodies swayed with the rhythm of the cab as it sped over the cobbled streets. There was not much traffic about this late in the evening and the journey took a little over half an hour. When they arrived in Berkeley Square Hetty tried to persuade George to wait in the cab, but he insisted on accompanying her. One of the under footmen opened the door and he would have sent them away, but George stuck his foot over the sill. ‘The old girl will see us, mate. You go and tell her that Miss Huggins and Mr Cooper are here.’
Hetty nipped inside smartly before the footman could shut the door. ‘Where’s Hicks?’ she demanded. ‘Let me speak to him.’
She must have raised her voice, as it echoed round the marble hall and Hicks emerged from one of the reception rooms looking distinctly put out. ‘There’s no need to shout, miss.’
Hetty stood her ground. ‘Hicks, we must see Miss Heathcote. Please tell her that we are here.’
‘I’ll tell her, but I don’t think she’ll see you, miss.’ Hicks inclined his head in a polite bow and walked off with a maddeningly slow gait. Hetty paced the floor. She was nervous now and quite dreading a hostile encounter with Miss Heathcote.
George stood by with his hands in his pockets, scowling at the footman. ‘Keep calm,’ Hetty whispered. ‘You won’t impress her with strong-arm stuff.’
‘I won’t start anything, but I’m not letting you face this alone,’ George said in a low voice.
‘Miss Heathcote says she will see you, miss.’
Hetty turned to see Hicks standing at the top of the staircase and she squeezed George’s hand. ‘There, I knew she would. I’ll soon have this sorted out.’
He made as if to follow her, but Hicks held up his hand. ‘No, sir. Just Miss Hetty.’
In the icy splendour of her drawing room, Miss Heathcote was seated in her chair by the fire with Dorrie standing by her side. Hetty was relieved to see Dorrie looking so well, and she longed to rush over and give her a hug, but there would be time for all that later. She approached Miss Heathcote cautiously. ‘Thank you for seeing me,’ she began hesitantly.
‘Come closer,’ Miss Heathcote said in a querulous voice.
Hetty moved nearer, standing with her hands clasped behind her back as if she were a recalcitrant schoolgirl facing an angry head-mistress. ‘I would like to know what I’m supposed to have done wrong, ma’am.’
Miss Heathcote’s eyes narrowed and she leaned towards Hetty with a disbelieving sneer. ‘As if you did not know. Don’t act the innocent with me, girl. I have proof that you were fiddling the accounts and taking money for yourself.’
‘That’s utter nonsense,’ Hetty cried angrily. ‘Apart from anything else, why would I do that? The business was mine. I would have been robbing myself.’
‘Are you forgetting my part in all this?’
‘No, Miss Heathcote, of course not, but you said that you were not interested in profit. Naturally, you wanted the capital sum repaid, but your main concern was to prove to the men who manage your father’s estate that you were their equal.’
‘That is true, which makes it even more difficult for me to understand why you acted in such an underhand way. I trusted you, Hetty. And you let me down.’
‘No. No, I did not. I was scrupulous in attending to the accounts and banking the money. I was in America when all this happened anyway, so how could I be the culprit?’
‘Yes, you were away chasing after that man.’ Miss Heathcote laughed but there was no humour in the sound. ‘You returned very quickly, so I assume that the scoundrel let you down. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
‘Yes, everything you say is true. Charles was just toying with my affections and I made a complete fool of myself. Does that satisfy you, Miss Heathcote? Do you enjoy seeing me suffer as you did all those years ago?’
‘Oh, miss,’ Dorrie cried, clapping her hand to her mouth. ‘I am so sorry.’
‘Be silent, girl,’ Miss Heathcote snapped. ‘Speak when you are spoken to and not before.’
‘Are you happy here, Dorrie,’ Hetty demanded, ignoring Miss Heathcote’s frown. ‘If not you can come home with me. You do not have to stay here.’
‘I am quite happy here, miss. I got me brothers with me and we have a room all to ourselves with t
hree good meals a day. She’s not such a bad old stick when you get to know her.’
‘Praise indeed,’ Miss Heathcote said sarcastically. ‘You may go and get your supper, Dorrie. I shan’t need you again this evening.’
‘Ta, Miss Heathcote. I mean, thank you, ma’am.’
Hetty caught Dorrie by the hand as she was about to leave the room. ‘I will speak to you again soon. I need to be sure that this is what you want.’
‘It’s all right, miss, really it is. The servants have been ever so kind to us, and Cook’s taken quite a fancy to the boys. If she goes on feeding them up like she does, they’ll be fat as little pigs before long. They go to school every day and Miss Heathcote says she’s going to bring them up to be decent men and not scoundrels.’
Hetty smiled at that. ‘But you, Dorrie. What about you?’
‘Don’t worry about me, miss. I never expected much out of life. I thought we’d end up in the workhouse, not living in a blooming mansion.’
‘Supper, Dorrie,’ Miss Heathcote said firmly. ‘And you, Hetty, come here. We need to talk.’
Dorrie hurried from the room and Hetty returned to stand before Miss Heathcote. ‘Answer me one question, ma’am. Who was it who discovered that the books had been tampered with?’
‘It was Maitland at the bank, of course. You know very well that he deals with all my financial matters. When it became apparent that Dorrie was too young and inexperienced to handle the responsibility, Maitland sent two of his men to collect the monies and the ledgers for inspection.’
‘Would those men have been named Clench and Shipworthy by any chance?’
Miss Heathcote shrugged her thin shoulders. ‘I hardly know. I don’t deal with minions.’
Without waiting for permission, Hetty pulled up a chair and sat down. ‘Let me tell you about those men, and you will understand why I accuse them. If you will just give me a chance, I think I know how we can prove their guilt and my innocence.’
‘Very well, but I have yet to be convinced.’
An hour later, Hetty and George were travelling homeward in Miss Heathcote’s carriage. ‘I must say this is the way to travel,’ George said. ‘It beats a hansom cab hands down.’
Hetty slipped her hand through his arm and she smiled. ‘One day we’ll be rich enough to afford one of these, or maybe even one of those new-fangled motor cars.’
‘What’s all this “we” business, Hetty? I haven’t proposed to you yet.’
She couldn’t see his features clearly in the dim light, but Hetty knew that he was smiling. She cuddled up to him. ‘But you will, George. You love me – you said so.’
‘I do, but you risked everything for that fellow in America. I need to know that you love me as much or more.’
‘Then kiss me.’ Hetty closed her eyes as their lips met in a kiss that seemed to make time stand still, blotting out the past and promising so much in the future. ‘There,’ she whispered. ‘Does that prove anything to you?’
George released her gently. ‘I don’t want to be second best, Hetty. I don’t want just to be the “and Co.” any more. If you give yourself to me it has to be heart and soul. I can’t live with the ghost of an old love hovering in the background.’
Hetty moved away from him. ‘It’s not like that.’
‘I’m still here for you, and I’ll stand by you. Give yourself time to know your own heart.’
Choking back a sob of frustration, Hetty glared at him. ‘I love you truly. You are more important to me than making a success of the business, and I’ll prove it to you one way or another.’
His teeth flashed white in the gloom. ‘Stubborn and obstinate to the last, girl.’
‘I shan’t throw myself at you again,’ Hetty said stiffly. ‘But you might like to be present tomorrow at the shop in Artillery Lane to see Cyrus Clench get his just deserts.’
‘Of course I want to be there.’
‘Two o’clock, sharp. Don’t be late.’ Hetty glanced out of the window as the coachman drew the horses to a halt. ‘We’re home. No, don’t bother to see me in, George. Milton will do that.’
Hetty went into the house without a backward glance. She would not let George see that she was hurt by his attitude. Why wouldn’t he believe her? Were all men as stupid and stubborn? She followed Nora to the kitchen where Jane and Granny were waiting anxiously for news. Hetty barely had time to divest herself of her outer garments before they were clamouring to be told every single detail of her encounter with Miss Heathcote.
Next day the trap was set. Sammy had been sent round to Tipton’s Bank with a note for Clench, asking him to meet Hetty at the coffee shop at ten past two in the afternoon, when he would learn something to his advantage. Hetty was not at all certain that he would keep the appointment, but she had bargained on Clench’s insatiable greed. At five minutes before the hour, Miss Heathcote and Dorrie arrived at the coffee shop and George escorted them into the cramped confines of the scullery, while Hetty stationed herself behind the counter. She was extremely nervous; so much depended upon Clench admitting his offences in the hearing of witnesses, and Miss Heathcote in particular.
The hands on the clock face barely seemed to move as Hetty waited. She tidied the counter which had been abandoned so hastily, and she placed fresh cloths on the tables. She had wound the clock and set it at the correct time according to George’s pocket watch, and now she watched it as the seconds ticked by and then the minutes. At quarter past two, Hetty was convinced that Clench was not coming, but just as she was about to lock up she saw his familiar figure scuttling along on the other side of the street. She straightened her apron and tried to appear calm, but in truth her legs were trembling so badly that she could not stand. She sat down at one of the tables, clasping her hands in front of her until her knuckles cracked; everything depended on the outcome of this encounter.
She looked up as the door opened and Clench burst in on a gust of cold air. ‘Good afternoon,’ she said coldly.
Clench took off his bowler hat and he glanced around the room. ‘Are we alone?’
‘As you can see.’ Hetty emphasised her words with a casual wave of her hand. ‘I wanted to talk to you in private, Mr Clench.’
‘It’s no use appealing to me better nature, Hetty, because I ain’t got one.’
‘I realised that a long time ago.’
‘Then what do you want? You said it was something to my advantage.’
‘I admit defeat, Mr Clench. You’ve been out for revenge against my family for a long time and I want it to stop now. You’ve won.’
Clench’s grin almost split his face in two as he sidled over to the table and sat down opposite her. ‘Well, now. Here’s a turn-up for the books.’
Hetty forced her cold lips into a smile. ‘Like the books that you fiddled in order to take money from the coffee shops? Is that what you mean?’
He threw back his head and guffawed. ‘That was Jasper’s idea, and it was one of his best. It was so easy to cream a tidy sum off each shop every week. We’ve got a nice little nest egg as a result, but I’ve still got a score to settle with you and yours, Hetty.’
‘That isn’t fair, Mr Clench. I’ve repaid you and you signed a note to that effect.’
‘I’ll say it was signed under duress.’ Clench bared his teeth in a lupine snarl. ‘I’ll take the coffee shop instead then. I’m sure the old cripple will allow you to keep this one for old times’ sake. Just sign the lease over to me and we’ll call it quits.’
Hetty leapt to her feet. ‘Did you hear that, Miss Heathcote?’
Clench shot off his chair and backed towards the door, his face ashen. ‘You little bitch.’
‘I’ve heard quite enough, thank you,’ Miss Heathcote said, emerging from the scullery with George and Dorrie following close on her heels.
‘You can’t prove anything. I’ll deny it all in court.’ Clench made a grab for the doorknob and twisted it frantically, but it was held by Milton who had just arrived with two police-men.
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‘You won’t get away with it this time,’ George said, crossing the floor and seizing Clench by the collar.
‘Don’t hit me again,’ Clench cried, cowering against the wall. ‘You broke me nose last time. I’ll sue you for common assault.’
‘Prove it, mate,’ George said, dragging him away from the door to allow the police and Milton to enter.
Miss Heathcote limped forward, supported by Dorrie. ‘Take this man away, Constable. Arrest him for embezzlement and also his accomplice, a man named Shipworthy who works at Tipton’s Bank.’
The elder constable pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and clipped them around Clench’s skinny wrists. ‘Are you pressing charges, ma’am?’
‘I most certainly am,’ Miss Heathcote said firmly. ‘And I’ll be happy to appear in court if necessary as a witness.’
‘Oo-er, ma’am,’ Dorrie said admiringly. ‘You are getting brave.’
‘I’ve always been brave,’ Miss Heathcote conceded. ‘But now I’m just a bit braver. Take him away, Constable. The sight of him makes me feel sick.’
Hetty watched as Clench was dragged from the shop still protesting his innocence. She was stunned by the sudden turn of events and amazed at Miss Heathcote’s unexpected show of resilience. She turned to her with a genuine smile of admiration. ‘Well done, ma’am. I didn’t think you had it in you.’
A faint blush of pink tinted Miss Heathcote’s cheeks and she fluttered her silver eyelashes. ‘I have my moments, and this was one of them.’
George nodded enthusiastically. ‘That was well done. It was a stroke of genius sending your man for the cops, if you don’t mind me saying so.’
Miss Heathcote’s flush deepened, and at first Hetty thought she was going to put George in his place for being so forward, but she smiled and nodded her head. ‘Thank you, young man. I don’t mind in the least. After all, it is only the truth.’
‘And now you know that I am innocent of any wrongdoing,’ Hetty said, eyeing Miss Heathcote warily.
‘Of course, and I am sorry that I doubted you in the first place. You are reinstated as from this moment with my blessing.’