‘That’s great – thanks, Mandy, I appreciate it.’
For the next half an hour while John snapped photos, Lily chatted to Mandy about everything from her aesthetic, to her design process, to why she was opening a business back in Violet Falls.
On Wednesday morning there was a knock on Lily’s door. Lily frowned as she glanced at her watch; it was only 8.17. She hurried down the hallway and opened the door.
Flynn stood there with a grin on his face, holding a newspaper. ‘So, my girl is a celebrity,’ he said before bending down and giving her a quick kiss.
Lily would’ve liked the kiss to continue but curiosity got the better of her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean you’ve got a full page in the Violet Falls Gazette.’ Flynn handed her the opened paper as he walked into the house.
‘A full page! I thought I was just getting a teeny article, and maybe a picture or two if I was lucky,’ she said as she followed him down to the kitchen, scanning the article as she went. The headline read “Sew in love – the Gilded Lily – the essential dress stop location”. Along with the article, which highlighted the bespoke aspect of the business, there was a picture of her sitting on the counter surrounded by her dresses, the photo of Violet in her wedding gown, and another of her blue damask silk on the antique dummy. ‘This is amazing!’
‘Sure is. I reckon you’ll be chained to your sewing machine with all the orders that will stream in,’ Flynn said as he headed over to the kettle and flicked it on.
‘Do you really think so?’
‘Definitely – apparently your dresses are “sublime” according to the article, and besides that, you’re brilliant.’
Lily walked over and slipped her hands around his waist. ‘Brilliant, hey?’
‘Absolutely,’ he said before he scooped her up and kissed her.
Chapter 24
As much as she would have loved to spend her Friday night wrapped up in Flynn’s arms, Lily had reluctantly turned down his idea of dinner at the Millstone so she could spend the time sewing. With the opening looming closer, Lily needed to get everything finished so she could concentrate on decorating the shop.
It was getting late but Lily was pleased with what she’d accomplished. She’d managed to create a small but cohesive collection that displayed her style and sensibilities. Half of the collection was young and a little flirty, a mixture of skirts, tops and dresses. Added to that there were two other dresses with more structured designs and boned corsets. Beautiful and fashioned in dark cream silk, either one would make the perfect wedding gown. But of course, her centre-piece for the display was Violet’s wedding dress, which she was borrowing for the opening. There was also a sea-green silk that flowed like water and could have been seen on the red carpet in the 1930s. Everything was done, finished and rechecked, all except the last dress. A barely pink silk, it was almost complete, with just a dusting of crystals to be hand sewn onto the bodice and the skirt needing to be hemmed.
Over the hum of her sewing machine, Lily heard her phone ring. Taking her foot off the pedal, she reached over and snatched up the phone. Lily glanced at the incoming number but didn’t recognise the caller.
‘Hello?’
‘Lily? It’s Edwina Partell here.’
‘Edwina! What a surprise.’
‘I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time. I was wondering if we could have a little chat?’
‘Of course. How can I help you?’
‘Well, firstly, I guess I should congratulate you on the newspaper article.’
‘You saw that?’
‘A friend of mine lives near Bendigo and she sent me a link. From the photos, your designs look stunning.’
‘Thank you, that means a lot.’
‘I have to say that I was sorry to hear that you resigned from our team. I was hoping that you were going to stay with us longer than you did.’
‘But you know why I left, right?’
There was a pause on the other end of the line. ‘I was told that you were returning back to your home town to be closer to family.’
‘Edwina, I returned home because I basically had no other option than to quit.’
‘What do you mean?
‘Sam Worth took the credit for one of my designs. I felt that I couldn’t stay at the company after that. Even if I backed down and didn’t say anything, there were no guarantees that she wouldn’t do the same thing again in the future.’
‘I’m sorry, Lily – I wish I’d known. I guess at the time I was busy in London then opening up the new shop in Sydney.’
‘I know. I tried to get in touch with you several times but I don’t know if you received my messages.’
‘No, I didn’t, and I can’t say I’m surprised. All I can say is that some people have been let go.’
‘Is Sam one of them?’
‘Yes. Sometime after you left I was approached by others on the design team – it seems you weren’t the only one that had happened to. Several designers, interns and junior designers came forward to complain about Sam passing off other people’s garments and designs as her own. It appears that this had been going on for quite some time. Your name was mentioned a couple of times, and I did wonder if she’d done the same thing to you.’
Lily let out a sigh. ‘Yeah, she did.’
‘The burnished copper dress was yours, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, yes, it was.’
‘And Sam passed it off as her original design. I remember that you were still with us and then, after that meeting I had with Sam, you weren’t. I should have put two and two together. It’s a great dress, Lily. I can see that you not only have the ability to be a successful designer but you also have an individual aesthetic.’
‘Thank you.’
Edwina made a brief dismissive noise. ‘Now, getting down to the crux of the conversation: I want you to come back, Lily, and be part of our team again. You’ll be welcomed back as a fully fledged designer, not a junior. I know you’ve made plans in Violet Falls but if you come back, I’ll make it worth your while.’
The lump in Lily’s stomach got heavier. God, wasn’t this what she’d wanted, designing for an established house? There was a pull, an instinct to burst into a dance of joy and say ‘yes’. But she bit her lip and was silent. What about her new dreams – her business here and, above all of that, what about Flynn?
‘Lily, are you still there?’
‘Yes, I’m still here. I’m sorry, Edwina. It’s just an awful lot to take in, that’s all.’
‘I see … Well, you don’t have to give me an answer right now, take some time and think about it. If you would like to come back to us you’d be more than welcome. Working here, working with me, could push your career to greater heights. It just depends on what you really want. I’m not saying that you wouldn’t be successful if you stayed where you are; clearly you’ve got the talent. It’s just that if you want a shot at reaching an international audience and clientele, I think you may have a better chance with me. As a design house we’re beginning to take off. We’ll be attending Melbourne Fashion Week next March and have some features coming up in several international fashion magazines. I can’t say more at the moment because we’re still working out the details, but this could be very big for our label. And I just hope that you will consider returning to us.’
‘I understand, Edwina, and I’d like to thank you for the opportunity. I’ll give it some thought and be in touch soon.’
‘Good. I look forward to it. Bye then,’ Edwina said before she hung up.
Lily sat there for a minute and ran over the conversation in her mind. She felt torn and confused. Yes, she did want her own business, to have the freedom to design what she wanted and see her vision realised. But to design for Edwina Partell was a chance to make it in the higher echelons of the fashion world. The label was garnering more and more interest and, after years of hard work, Edwina Partell was beginning to take off. What Edwina was offering Lily was potentially a cha
nce at something big, but the question was, did she still want it enough to give up everything she’d just found?
The phone rang again in her hand and made her jump.
‘Hi, Flynn.’
‘Hey, just thought I’d see how you were going. Missing me, I hope?’
‘Always,’ Lily said as a smile touched her lips.
‘Good. So whatcha doing?’
‘Um, I’m just sewing … um … that’s all.’
‘Lily, what’s wrong? You sound distracted or something. Did I catch you at a bad time?’
‘Oh no, it’s nothing. It’s just I got a strange phone call and it’s turned me about.’
‘Strange as in heavy breathing and asking what you’re wearing? Sprung, that was me.’
Lily chuckled. ‘No, funnily enough there wasn’t any heavy breathing involved.’
‘Shame. Personally, I could do with a bit of heavy breathing about now.’
Lily laughed. ‘No, it was strange as in my former boss just offered me a job. I mean, it was really out of the blue and the last thing I was expecting.’
The line was silent for a moment. ‘I see. So what did you tell her?’
‘Nothing, she asked me to think about it.’
‘Right. Okay then.’
Lily frowned; his tone was short and clipped. ‘It would have been rude of me to reject her offer after she asked me to think about it. It’s a huge opportunity and not the sort of thing you dismiss on the spur of the moment.’
‘So you’re actually considering it?’
‘No, well … it was just such a surprise.’
‘But what about all these months of hard work trying to get the shop ready? What about your dream of having your own business? What about …’ He paused for a second before he went on. ‘Look, it doesn’t matter. Just tell me when you get around to making your decision.’
Again with the silence.
‘Flynn, I—’
‘Listen, I have to go. I’ll catch you later.’
And before Lily could reply the line went dead. Damn.
***
Flynn tossed his phone on the table as a wave of coldness washed through his body. She was going to leave him, just when he’d started to believe that his life had changed. He placed his hands on the table, lowered his head onto them and closed his eyes for a moment.
No one will ever want you. You don’t deserve to be loved.
His grandmother’s spiteful words circled in his head like a murder of crows as he retreated into himself. Why had he thought that this would be any different? They all left him in the end because he was unlovable.
Flynn took a breath and it seemed to keep at bay the darkness that threatened to envelop him. He was jumping to conclusions and allowing that twisted old bitch to screw with his mind again. Well, this time he wouldn’t let her. Lily cared about him, and deep down inside he knew that. There was something between them, something solid and tangible like a foundation, and with work maybe they could build on it.
He took in another breath and slowly straightened.
No matter what her decision was he’d support it. There would be some way for them to be together even if she moved back to Melbourne; he’d just have to be creative.
A frown formed on his brow as he rewound the conversation with Lily. Yeah, he kind of mucked things up again. It was just the thought of Lily leaving that sent him into a tailspin. He should call back and apologise. He snatched up his phone and she answered on the first ring.
‘Hi.’
‘Lily, listen, I’m sorry if I was weird before. It’s just come as a surprise that you would consider moving back to Melbourne.’
‘Flynn, I haven’t agreed to anything.’
‘I know. I just wanted to tell you to do what’s best for you. We’ll find our way around it even if it means I have to move to the city to be with you.’
‘Flynn, you can’t give up the Grange – it’s in your blood.’
‘Maybe, but the question is, what do I want more? Anyway, all I’m saying is do what you need to do because whatever your decision is, I’ve got your back. I told you that I was here for the long haul and one way or another I’m going to prove that to you.’
‘Flynn, you don’t have to prove anything. I believe you.’
‘Good, great. It’s all I need to know. Night, babe, talk to you tomorrow.’
‘Night, and Flynn …’
‘Yes?’
‘Thank you,’ Lily said before the phone went dead.
***
It was an accident, he never meant to do it – why would he? He tried to tell his grandmother but she just wouldn’t listen to him.
As he reached over the table to get the butter his arm had caught the highball glass and knocked it over. All he could do was watch it, the whole scene playing out as if it was a slow-motion clip from a movie. The half-filled glass toppled, spilling orange juice over the snowy white tablecloth. He tried to snatch it up but before he could it rolled with what seemed like agonising slowness across the damask cloth and over the edge of the table. Flynn winced as he heard the sharp tinkle of the glass shattering into a thousand pieces on the black and white linoleum floor.
‘Look what you’ve done, you stupid, stupid boy!’
‘I’m sorry, Granny, I didn’t mean to,’ Flynn said as he jumped up from his seat and hurried towards the sink. ‘I’ll clean it up.’
But he never made it across the room. His grandmother caught him before he could take three steps. Her thin bony fingers were like needles as they bit into his shoulder. Flynn cried out in pain as well as surprise.
‘Idiot, clumsy boy – no wonder your mother never wanted you. I took you in when no one else would have you. I know it was my Christian duty but I swear to God it was the worst mistake I ever made. Then your grandfather goes and dies on me and all I’m left with is you, a bad bargain if ever there was one.’
Her fingers dug deeper into his shoulder as she bent down and whispered in his ear. ‘You’re more trouble than you’re worth.’ She propelled him through the kitchen and out towards the tiny closet sandwiched between the utility room and the back verandah.
A thin flare of panic flickered through Flynn the closer he got to the door.
‘No, please, Granny. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’ He tried to twist out of her grip but she held on so tightly that he wondered if she would push her finger right through his skin. He dug in his heels but the soles of his shoes skidded across the slippery linoleum.
‘Well it’s too late for that. You should’ve been more careful,’ Edith Hartley said as she pushed him through the little door.
Flynn stumbled forward and banged his arm against the bank of shelves that lined the three sides of the narrow cupboard. He never knew what was meant to be housed in here but he was sure it wasn’t a boy. The cupboard was so skinny there was only just enough room for him to stand upright. Swinging around, he caught a glimpse of his grandmother’s smug face before she slammed the door shut and left him in total darkness. His stomach lurched with fear and the hairs on the back of his neck quivered. It was so dark that he couldn’t make out anything.
‘You can stay there until I come and get you,’ she said as she turned the key in the lock. The sound was hollow and deafening at the same time.
It was so dark in the cupboard, he couldn’t see what was in there with him.
Don’t think that! His mind shouted as Flynn squeezed his eyes shut. ‘Don’t think that,’ he whispered. ‘I’m alone in here and there’s nothing to be afraid of. Nothing, nothing to be afraid of.’ He repeated the words over and over again in the hope that he would eventually believe it.
The inky blackness pressed down on him like a great stone and Flynn tried to remember how to breathe. He leant against the door and held on to the handle; it gave him an anchor to concentrate on. Taking in an even breath, Flynn tried with all his might not to imagine the horrific monsters that could lurk behind him in the velvety shadows.
T
he silence enveloped him and he strained his ears to try to hear something from the sunlit world outside. But there was nothing. It was as if he was floating in a great black void that nothing could ever penetrate.
‘There’s nothing there, there’s nothing there.’
Flynn clutched the door handle so tightly that the metal bit deeply into his flesh. He didn’t know if the moisture he could feel in his palms was sweat or blood.
‘There’s nothing there.’
But a shiver skipped up his spine as he heard a faint scratching coming from somewhere behind him.
‘It’s only a mouse, it’s only a mouse,’ Flynn whispered over and over again as the scratching became stronger. In his mind the phantom mouse grew into a monstrous shadowy creature with talon-like claws sharp enough to slice him in two. His legs trembled as he sank to his knees and tried to tuck his feet underneath him. He made himself as small as he could, his hand still gripping onto the door handle. His heart was beating so hard he thought it may jump right out of his chest. Flynn pinched his eyes shut.
‘There’s nothing there. There’s nothing there,’ he chanted as the huge cupboard monster edged closer. The hairs on the back of Flynn’s neck stood on end as hot tears ran unchecked down his cheeks. Any moment now he’d feel its fetid breath on the side of his face – any moment now it would lash out and tear him limb from limb.
***
Flynn sucked in a breath as he sat bolt upright in bed.
‘Fuck!’
A shudder ran through his body as he rubbed his hands over his face and then through his hair. Fucking nightmare! God, it had been years since he’d suffered through one of them but they were always the same. They would start with the memory of him breaking that stupid bloody glass and end up in some sort of hellish nightmare where he’d be pulled apart by a mutant rat-like creature.
Throwing back the covers, Flynn got out of bed. He walked over to the large bank of windows and stared out unseeing into the night, his mind still half trapped in his eight-year-old self and that bloody cupboard.
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