“I think it is simply that your records don’t go beyond the first week or two of any foundling’s placement. On paper, Mrs. Grant’s check-list looks excellent to the inspector, but neither you nor Miss Drayton have ever seen for yourselves whether things are well with the waifs and strays you’ve scattered indiscriminately throughout the land. That’s why you’re always in such a state of anxiety whenever he comes. You’re afraid that one day he might pounce on some small point you’ve overlooked.”
“How dare you!” Miss Lapthorne’s flurry of outrage was short-lived for her head ached too much. As Lisa released her wrist, she put a limp hand to her brow. “I have enough to think about without you becoming obstreperous, Lisa. Worse still are these delusions about the integrity of your benefactresses, because I include myself in that category with Miss Drayton. If it had not been for me, you would have left here long ago, as I have mentioned on many occasions, and now it seems we are all to move West together.”
“Move? What do you mean?”
“I mean that I had a wire from Halifax yesterday in your absence. Miss Drayton sent it upon disembarking there. I’m to have papers and books packed up together. She thinks that in future the Distribution Home should be in Regina, Saskatchewan, where she owns some property. That is prairie country, you know. Very different from anything you have seen so far.” She took up her tea at last and drank it thankfully as if it were a restorative. “You shall continue to be my assistant, Lisa. I’m prepared to overlook your impertinence to me.”
Lisa decided, not for the first time, that Miss Lapthorne was quite impossible. “Do you want to leave Toronto?” she asked her, greatly taken aback herself by the prospect.
The woman lowered her teacup. “Upheavals of any kind disturb me,” she admitted carefully, in the pretence that her listener was not aware of it. “I was quite distraught yesterday when I received the wire and you were not here to run errands on my behalf, such as telegraphing Mrs. Grant from the post office and so forth.” Then her whole face softened on inner thoughts and she spoke tremulously and sentimentally. “But I go wherever my dear friend, Miss Drayton, goes. I left England to come to Canada with her. It is a much smaller step in every way now to go from Toronto to Regina. Home is where the heart is, Lisa.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Lisa agreed quietly, thinking in terms of an entirely different relationship.
Miss Lapthorne had found sufficient stimulation in the tea to start issuing orders. “Now as much as possible in the way of preparations to leave must be done. Get your belongings packed in readiness. Afterwards pack mine into a large trunk you will find under the stairs. It’s not seen the light of day since I first arrived in this country fifteen years ago. I expect it will be dusty.”
Upstairs, Lisa crossed the floor of her little room to hold back the lace drapes at the window and look out. She could see as far as the corner where Peter had waited for her. It was as well that she was leaving Toronto, for otherwise memories of those three wonderful days would meet her everywhere, and the like of them would never come again. The lace became crumpled in her grasp as she covered her face briefly, fighting back the anguish that kept engulfing her.
It did not take her long to pack her possessions into a tapestry valise she had made herself during one session of church sewing evenings. Last of all she took the cut-out Norwegian flag from the frame on the wall and tucked it into a book of poems which she placed on a folded piece of tissue paper that held the blue satin ribbon from the chocolate box.
Miss Drayton arrived the next day. As always prior to her arrival, when known, Miss Lapthorne was almost beside herself with excitement, going constantly to the window to look down the street and fussing over the final preparations. In the early days she had gone running down the porch steps to welcome her friend before the hackney cab had drawn to a halt, but Miss Drayton had put a stop to that, saying it was unseemly and undignified. Now it was with carefully maintained restraint that Miss Lapthorne moved out onto the porch after Lisa had opened the front door as the usual cavalcade of hackney cabs from the railway station drew up outside.
It was easy to see at once that Miss Drayton was in a savage mood. She barely tolerated Miss Lapthorne’s fond kiss and gave her quite a forceful thrust in the direction of the thirty girls alighting from the cabs.
“Get those creatures settled in as quickly as you can, Mavis. Then come to me at once. There is much to talk about and arrange.” She stalked into the house. It was rare for her to give as much as a glance at Lisa, and today was no exception.
Miss Lapthorne saw the girls up to the attic rooms, explaining they would only be there overnight and left them to Lisa’s charge. They were from workhouses and institutions in south London, and were friendly and eager to talk to Lisa as the groups usually were. It always came as a relief to them to find someone young in the house to whom they could put their questions. The buzz of chatter continued down the stairs as she led them to a prepared meal in the kitchen.
Emily Drayton was lying against satin cushions on the chaise longue in her bedroom when Miss Lapthorne arrived bearing a silver tray of light refreshments daintily arranged. She ignored her deputy’s chatter as the tray was set into place on a low table at her right hand. It was the usual flow of delight that she was back again, the expressed concern that she should get adequate rest after the journey and all the unnecessary fussing that occurred on these occasions. When they had been young their relationship had been pleasing to Emily Drayton, but those feelings were long since gone, although Mavis was too stupid and too devoted to realise it.
“Sit down, for mercy’s sake, Mavis,” Emily Drayton exclaimed in exasperation. “My cushions are perfectly comfortable and do not need rearranging. There is scarcely time as it is for all that has to be said and done. First of all I have to tell you what happened while I was in England.”
Miss Lapthorne sat down quickly in the nearest chair facing her. “Yes, Emily dear. I’m listening.”
There followed a disturbing account to the sympathetic ears of the listener of an official investigation into the financial affairs of the Herbert Drayton Memorial Society. It had been an embarrassing ordeal, which Emily Drayton thought she had countered to a certain extent, but it was clear to her that she was by no means out of the woods. The inquiry had been instigated by Mrs. Bradlaw of Leeds and persons unknown. “I say unknown, but I have reason to believe that some of the information came from this very house.”
For one panic-stricken moment Miss Lapthorne thought she was being falsely accused. “No! I took an oath on the Bible that I would never reveal anything of our affairs, business or otherwise, to the outside world!”
“I do not mean you,” Emily Drayton snapped, almost at the end of her tether. “I suspect Lisa Shaw.”
Miss Lapthorne caught her breath. She had never revealed to Emily that she had broken the Home’s rule about giving no incoming mail to any girl in her charge, but she had not been quite sober on those occasions. Afterwards, she had filched the letters back again. It would never do in the present circumstances to let Emily know that only the day before Lisa had claimed three letters that were rightfully hers. At all costs the girl must be persuaded to keep quiet about them. “You are linking Lisa with Leeds, I suppose?” she questioned cautiously.
“Yes. Not that the Bradlaw woman had any time for the girl. I could see that. It is far more likely that one of the other Leeds girls wrote to her and she started stirring up trouble for me as a result of it.” She frowned uncertainly. “Yet I usually have an instinct for these matters.”
“Are you going to question Lisa?” Miss Lapthorne was on tenterhooks.
“Certainly not. Do you ever use your intelligence? If Lisa is the culprit, having received messages or communications of which you have been unaware, the last thing I want is for her to write about being cross-examined by me.”
“You’re right, of course.”
“My main concern at the moment is not the cause of my pre
sent difficulties, but the cure. What has happened means I must make an entirely new beginning. At any time now news of the inquiry in England could leak through to local authorities here in Toronto, which is why it is essential to move swiftly. I have found loopholes before in conditions laid down for the placing of children in this country, and I shall find them again, but I need time to rethink and reorganise without officials breathing down my neck. A short sojourn in the United States should give me time to re-gather my strength and replenish my fortitude.”
“I’ll do anything I can to help.”
Emily Drayton did not look impressed by this offer. She continued speaking as if it had not been made. “Apart from the inquiry, I had to contend with the most accusative letter sent to me in England from a minister in some far-flung corner of Ontario. It is certainly true that troubles never come singly. Why I bother myself with the welfare of others for so little reward I do not know.”
“What sort of trouble was this?”
“It was about a bad home. One of two children placed there through the society had died. I had to write to Mrs. Grant about the matter and I can trust her to have the affair in hand. When is she due to arrive?”
“Early tomorrow morning.”
“Good. That means we can all be out of here by noon. Mrs. Grant has used my property in Regina as a subsidiary Distribution Home for a long time. When my new arrangements are finally completed, it will become my headquarters.”
“What will happen to this house?”
“I shall close it up. It will come to no harm. In a few years time, when everything has died down, it would be pleasant to take up residence here permanently. I have always liked this house.”
“So have I,” Miss Lapthorne enthused, glancing appreciatively about her and thinking contentedly towards the day when she and her dear friend could drift towards old age together without any outside harassment. A thought struck her. “What is to become of Lisa? If you suspect her of tittle-tattle, she can no longer be my assistant.”
“She will be placed somewhere by Mrs. Grant, but in the meantime keep quiet about that. I want her safely on the train out of Toronto without any unnecessary nonsense.”
“An excellent idea.” Miss Lapthorne could not get rid of Lisa fast enough. She completely forgot her liking for the girl and the many times she had been grateful for the competent management of the house. It should be easy enough in the short time that was left to prevent Lisa from blurting out to Emily, anything about the letters, or making demands as to the whereabouts of the sisters of the correspondents that had communicated with her. Once Lisa was on the train for the West and Emily bound for the United States, everything would be over and done with.
That night Lisa heard the basement door open and close several times. She went to investigate. Looking over the banisters, she saw Miss Drayton and Miss Lapthorne feeding papers and entry books and ledgers into the basement furnace, which was roaring away as it turned everything into ashes.
Long before noon the next day the house was shuttered and ready for being closed up. The carter came to transport luggage to the railway station, and Miss Drayton’s trunks and boxes were piled high. Lisa and the other girls were to take charge of their own small items of baggage.
Mrs. Grant had arrived early. She was immediately closeted on her own with Miss Drayton in business talk. Miss Lapthorne was thoroughly put out by not being included and went about the many things there were to do with two high spots of colour in her cheeks. She tried to console herself with the thought that they were probably sorting out the trouble that had been made by the Ontario minister, but as her friend’s deputy she felt she should at least be present at any business conferences.
Mrs. Grant emerged from the study and took a glance at the gold watch she wore on a chain around her neck. “The hackney cabs should be arriving in two minutes time,” she said to Lisa, who as senior Home girl was to share the responsibility in looking after the group. “Get the girls out on the lawn to wait. We want no delays.”
It had been arranged that the Home party should be transported away from the house in plenty of time for Miss Drayton and Miss Lapthorne to complete the locking of doors and make a last-minute inspection of the property before leaving in a cab. When Lisa and Mrs. Grant had seen the girls into the vehicles, they took seats themselves. Lisa did not look back at the house as the cab moved away. It had been a place of heartbreak, not only for herself but, in another sphere, for many of the frightened, lonely, and homesick children that had passed through it.
Both Miss Drayton and Miss Lapthorne had been too busy making final checks for security to see the hackney cabs leave. They met in the hall, the open door giving the only light into the house.
“Do I have all the keys?” Miss Drayton asked.
“Yes.” Miss Lapthorne knew her reply to be a white lie. Once she had lost a front door key and had two re-cut, one being on the ring of keys in her friend’s hand, the other reposing in her purse as a sentimental keepsake towards the day when the two of them would return to make this house their home together.
“Then go ahead,” Miss Drayton said. “I will close the vestibule door and then lock the front door after me.”
Miss Lapthorne emerged into the sunshine and waited on the porch steps. She thought it fitting that the two of them should descend side by side. At the kerb two hackney cabs waited, and she tut-tutted to herself that there had been a mix-up, causing two to be sent instead of one. Then with some surprise, she saw her solitary trunk was loaded onto the cab standing to the rear of the other and wondered why the carter had not taken it with the rest of the baggage. She turned as her friend withdrew the key from the locked front door and something about Emily Drayton’s whole demeanour suddenly struck a warning knell as nothing else had done.
“This is farewell then, Mavis.”
“What did you say?” Miss Lapthorne stammered. Her heart had taken a lunge and was beginning to pound terribly in alarm. “We’re travelling to the railway station together, aren’t we?”
Emily Drayton dropped the ring of keys into her purse. “I had no idea what your plans would be, hence the two cabs.”
“But am I not to go to Regina?”
The reply came coldly. “Did I ever mention that you were? Mrs. Grant has always been in charge there. I simply have no need for two deputies.”
Miss Lapthorne’s whole face was working. Her twitching lips seemed barely able to form the words she spoke. “How could you play such a cruel joke on me? I don’t think it’s amusing.”
“I am not in the habit of joking about anything. You should know that. You know also that my policy has always been for the quick, clean break when separating two people from each other. Thus it is only to be expected that I should apply the same method to our parting.” Emily Drayton dived her hand into her still open purse and drew out a thick envelope, which she pressed into the other woman’s nerveless fingers. “You will find a handsome financial gift enclosed, Mavis. It will recompense you for any temporary inconvenience and, if you get good advice on how to invest it, you will be kept in moderate comfort for the rest of your days. Now you cannot say I am ungenerous.” Snapping her purse shut she went down the porch steps onto the path. She stopped impatiently as Miss Lapthorne flew after her.
“Are you saying we are never to meet again, Emily?” The cry was frantic.
“I am.” Fastidiously Emily Drayton plucked the other woman’s clutching hand from her arm. “Please do not maul me, Mavis. You know I have never liked being mauled.”
“What of our friendship? What of all we have meant to each other?”
Emily Drayton fixed the frantic woman with an icy glare. “Over and done with a long, long time ago. Now let us shake hands in a dignified manner.” She extended her white gloved hand.
Miss Lapthorne stared at it as if in disbelief. Then with a terrible wail like a wounded animal, she clamped both arms about Emily Drayton and kissed her hard on the mouth. There were a few moment
s of struggle watched with interest by the two cab-drivers and several passers-by, who paused on both sides of the street. Finally Emily Drayton freed herself with a force that flung her former companion to the ground.
“You disgusting wretch!” she shrieked hysterically. Snatching a lace-trimmed handkerchief from her jacket pocket, she wiped her lips furiously as she ran down the path and sprang into the foremost cab. The cabby whipped up his horse and drove away.
The other cabby came to where Miss Lapthorne still lay on the grass where she had fallen. “Are you all right, ma’am?” When she muttered that she was, he helped her to her feet. Seeing that she seemed to be in a daze, he tried to bring her out of it. “Where do you want me to drive you, ma’am?”
She looked at him dully, not comprehending what he had said. “Drive?” she echoed.
“Yes, ma’am. Your trunk is on my cab. I’m waiting to take you wherever you want to go.”
“Oh, yes.” With an effort she gathered herself together. “I’m not going anywhere after all. Take my trunk off the rack. I’ll open the front door for you.”
He unloaded the trunk and shouldered it into the house. He found her sitting listlessly on a hall chair, staring blankly before her. “Where do you want the trunk, ma’am?”
“Please put it upstairs in my bedroom. The first door on your right at the head of the stairs.”
Enough light glimmered through the closed shutters for him to be able to find his way. The key was in the lock and he turned it. When he came downstairs again, she was on her feet. He took the tip she gave him. As he departed, he heard her shoot home the bolts of the front door.
Miss Lapthorne found she was still clutching the envelope Emily had given her. Going through into the kitchen, she found matches and set fire to it and its contents over the sink for safety. Then she went to the basement door, unlocked it, and went down the iron stairs. It did not take her long to find what she was looking for and then she placed a chair directly below one of the ceiling beams.
What the Heart Keeps Page 11