by Dilly Court
‘You must take the opportunity should it be offered to you.’ Rose wiped her hands on her pinafore, leaving smears of printer’s ink from the newspaper she had been using to wrap the china. ‘If you don’t, someone else will. I’d like to think of you here, bringing up your family as we were in this lovely home.’
His pale face flushed to a warm pink. ‘If there’s nothing I can do to help I’d better go about my parish rounds, but if you or Cora should need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.’
‘Thank you.’ Rose watched him leave with a feeling of regret. She was very fond of Joshua and she knew that Cora liked him, but she could not help wishing that her moonstruck sister could see the difference between Gerard’s dashing good looks, money and position, and Joshua’s kindly nature and good heart.
Gerard had called almost every evening since their father departed, and had taken Cora for numerous carriage rides and trips to the theatre, followed by intimate suppers in expensive restaurants. To his credit he brought her home at the end of the evening and parted with a chaste kiss on the cheek, but despite his exemplary behaviour, Rose had to agree with her father: the Honourable Gerard Barclay might be fond of Cora, but he would never marry her. She had discovered, having made discreet enquiries, that his family owned a large house in Russell Square and an estate in the West Country. In all probability his parents had an heiress earmarked for him, and he would be unlikely to defy them in favour of a clergyman’s daughter, especially one whose family was tainted by scandal.
It was now common knowledge that the vicar had resigned because his son was a murderer and had broken out of prison before his trial. Rose heard whispers as she went about her daily routine; people turned their heads away as she walked down the street, and even those she had known since childhood were openly embarrassed to be seen in her company. Cora kept as much to the house as possible, living for the moment when Gerard came to take her away from her unhappy home. Joshua did all he could to dispel gossip, but the tittle-tattle had gone too far and wild stories went round, growing more outrageous and shocking with every telling. Rose tried to ignore them, but Cora wilted and refused to be comforted.
Rose had hoped that Bennett Sharpe might put in an appearance, but he was not an easy man to reach. She visited his chambers on several occasions, each time to be told he was either in court or out of town. She was beginning to think that he was avoiding her, but she had not given up, and she would not rest until her brother was cleared of Gawain’s murder.
There was no word from Billy, which was hardly surprising, although it would have been a huge relief to know that he was safe. There had been no contact with her parents either, apart from a brief note from Isabel, informing her that both Eleanor and Seymour were well and had found a small cottage on the edge of the village where they intended to live. Rose was saddened, but not surprised by her father’s attitude. Her initial angry reaction had faded into acceptance of the inevitable.
She abandoned an attempt to lift the tea chest, realising too late that she ought to have asked Joshua to take it up to the attic. She made a pot of tea and took a laden tray to the parlour where Cora was resting after a particularly upsetting session going through their childhood mementoes. They had discarded many of their old possessions, and this had left Cora in floods of tears. Rose was not sentimental about broken toys or dolls with missing limbs, but Cora clutched her tattered rag doll, Hephzibah, to her bosom, refusing to let her go even though one leg had been eaten by mice and the embroidered left eye had come unstitched, making the doll look as though she was winking. They had ended up with a large box filled with Cora’s treasures and one less than half the size that contained items Rose thought might come in useful.
Cora had been dozing on the window seat. The spring sunshine turned her fair hair into a golden halo around her head and her flushed cheeks gave her the look of a sleeping cherub. Rose felt a stab of sympathy for her sister. Cora would always follow her heart, but that was not always a good thing. She turned away to pour the tea.
Cora opened her eyes with a start. ‘I must have dropped off,’ she said apologetically. ‘I’ll come and help you now, Rose.’
‘No matter. It’s done. It didn’t take long.’ Rose handed her a cup of tea. ‘We should be ready to move into Aunt Polly’s tomorrow or the next day.’
‘It seems so unreal.’ Cora sipped her tea. ‘I can’t believe this is happening to us. How will we live?’
‘We will have to work. Papa can’t afford to keep us now, and it looks as though he and Mama intend to make their home in Dorset.’
‘But we have money, Rose. There’s the sum we saved for Billy’s trial. You said that Mr Sharpe refused to take it.’
‘I don’t want to touch that unless it’s absolutely necessary. Bennett earned it and he should be paid.’
‘We were good as the Sunshine Sisters and it was nice to have money, even if we didn’t keep it for ourselves.’ Cora almost spilled her tea as the sound of the doorbell echoed round the room. ‘I wonder who that is.’
‘If it’s reporters I’ll give them a piece of my mind,’ Rose said angrily. She marched out of the room and across the hall. She wrenched the door open. ‘Oh!’ The angry words that had been on the tip of her tongue went out of her head. ‘Signor Fancello. This is a surprise. You’re the last person I expected to see.’
He stood on the doorstep, clutching his top hat in his hands. ‘Might I come in, dear lady?’
Rose could see that he was genuinely distressed, and although her first instinct was to send him away, she took pity on him and stood aside. ‘Of course. Come into the parlour. My sister and I were about to take tea, if you would care to join us.’
‘I don’t drink tea,’ he said apologetically. ‘It is an English habit to which I have not grown accustomed.’ He followed her into the parlour.
‘Signor Fancello.’ Cora stared at him in amazement. ‘What a strange coincidence. I was just speaking of our time as the Sunshine Sisters when you rang the doorbell.’
‘Take a seat, signor,’ Rose said, indicating a chair by the fireplace. ‘You look upset. Perhaps a drop of brandy would soothe your nerves? I think there is some left in the cupboard.’
‘That is kind. I don’t deserve such generosity.’ He produced a grubby handkerchief and blew his nose. ‘I have had a run of bad luck since my little Clementia returned to Italy.’
‘Don’t you mean Clementino?’ Cora asked gently.
‘His mother and Alphonso went with him. I am left alone in London with no one to support me in my old age.’
Rose found what was left of her father’s brandy and poured it into a glass. ‘Sip this, signor. It will revive you.’
He drank it down in one greedy gulp. ‘Thank you, cara. I am sorry to burden you with my sorrows.’
‘You haven’t told us anything,’ Rose said, taking a seat opposite him. ‘Why didn’t you return to Italy with your wife and son?’
‘At home they think I am an important impresario in London. How could I return and admit that I am a failure?’
‘You have the saloon in Cupid’s Court.’ Cora stared at him, her face alight with curiosity. ‘Surely you could find other acts?’
He shook his head. ‘I could not pay the rent. I had to close down.’ He looked from one to the other with a sly smile. ‘All I need is one good act to get me back into the business.’
Rose eyed him thoughtfully. This was not the larger-than-life Fancello she remembered. He seemed to have shrunk both physically and mentally. His clothes hung on him and his dark curls were flattened to his head, and even his moustache had lost its spring.
‘Are you offering us work, signor?’
‘Er, not exactly, but you are thinking along the right lines.’ Fancello’s eyes brightened. ‘I am offering to become your manager. I no longer have a premises, but I would find you employment, and make sure that you were treated with due respect, for a small fee, of course.’
‘How much?’ Rose fixed him wit
h a hard stare.
‘Ten per cent.’ He cleared his throat nervously. ‘That is a modest sum to take if I am to get you top billing.’
Cora opened her mouth to speak but Rose held up her hand. She concentrated her attention on Fancello. ‘How much do you think we would earn for each performance?’
‘You are interested then?’
‘Only if you come up with a reasonable proposition, signor. It would have to be worthwhile financially.’
Fancello stood up and seemed to grow in stature as he puffed out his chest. ‘You are talking to one of the best in the business. I am not an amateur, ladies.’ He moved towards the doorway. ‘I have already spoken to the manager of the Grecian Theatre, and he is very interested. You have an audition at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. Meet me at the stage door.’
‘We haven’t got our costumes,’ Cora protested.
Fancello tapped the side of his bulbous nose and his moustache quivered with excitement. ‘I kept them all. They are in a trunk in my lodgings.’
‘You were taking a huge chance,’ Rose said slowly. ‘How did you know we would be interested in your proposition?’
‘I read the newspapers, Miss Rose.’ He opened the door. ‘Tomorrow morning, ten o’clock, stage door of the Grecian.’ He left them staring after him in stunned silence.
The Grecian Theatre was situated in Shepherdess Walk at the back of The Eagle tavern. It was within walking distance of the vicarage, and Fancello was waiting for them as arranged. He had brought a large carpet bag filled with their stage costumes, which he thrust into Rose’s hand as they made their way to the dressing rooms. ‘Start with “Long, Long Ago”,’ he said in a low voice. ‘Then, if they like that, do something lively, like “A Life on the Ocean Wave” or “Little Brown Jug”. Let them see how versatile you are, and don’t forget to smile.’
Cora tossed her head. ‘You don’t have to tell us how to perform, signor.’ She pushed past him and flounced into the dressing room. ‘Wretched man,’ she said when Rose closed the door on him. ‘As if we need to be told how to do our act.’
‘A lot depends on this.’ Rose stepped inside and was gratified to find that it was twice the size of the dressing room in Cupid’s Court. ‘We have to be practical if we’re to earn enough money to support ourselves.’
Cora started to undress. ‘Let’s get it over with, Rose. Gerard is taking me to the zoo this afternoon.’
‘You must take this seriously,’ Rose said firmly. ‘You can’t rely on Gerard.’
‘I don’t know what you mean.’ Cora shook out the costume they had selected for their audition. ‘Tighten my stays, please, Rose.’ She glanced at her sister’s reflection in the mirror. ‘And don’t look so disapproving. Gerard’s intentions are strictly honourable, like his title.’ She giggled. ‘I must tell him that. He thinks I’m funny as well as adorable. He’s always telling me so, Rose. I don’t think it will be long before he proposes.’
Rose tugged at the strings, drawing them in until Cora’s waist was little more than a handspan. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell her sister that she was living in a dream world, but that would be too cruel, and besides that, she did not want to upset her just before they went on stage. ‘You know him better than I,’ she said mildly.
‘I’m happy to say I do.’ Cora stepped into her costume. ‘His family own a town house in Russell Square and an estate on Bodmin Moor. It has a lovely name – Rosewenna Hall. Don’t you think that sounds sweet and romantic? Gerard said he’d take me there one day.’
‘I wouldn’t count on it too much, Corrie.’
‘Stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself, Rose. I just wish you could meet someone who made you feel like this. I’m truly happy in spite of everything.’
Rose struggled into her own costume. ‘Do me up, and then I’m ready. The Sunshine Sisters are back in action. Fingers crossed.’
Fancello was waiting outside smoking a cheroot. He dropped it onto the floor and ground it out on the bare boards. ‘Splendid,’ he said, grinning. ‘You will charm them, of that I am certain. Smile.’ He led the way through the maze of corridors to the wings.
The audition seemed to go well. The pianist was a professional and played with true feeling, unlike Alphonso’s enthusiastic clattering on the keyboard. The theatre manager and his underlings seemed impressed with the Sunshine Sisters’ performance, and Fancello descended upon them afterwards, beaming happily. ‘You were splendid. Now I go to negotiate.’
Rose and Cora retreated to the dressing room and left him to earn his ten per cent.
‘It’s a beautiful theatre,’ Rose said enthusiastically. ‘It’s so different from Fancello’s seedy little saloon. I would love to perform here.’
‘I’d almost forgotten how good it feels to hear applause.’ Cora stepped out of her frothy costume. She paused, studying her figure in the full-length mirror. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen the whole of me in a mirror,’ she said, giggling. ‘It’s always been one bit at a time. I really think I have quite a nice shape.’
Rose smiled benevolently. ‘You are beautiful, Cora. You surely don’t need me to tell you that.’
‘Papa would be disgusted if he saw me now. Perhaps what we’re doing is sinful, Rose. Have you thought of that? Maybe we are condemning our souls to eternal fire.’
‘Nonsense. I don’t believe that for a moment. We’re not doing anything wrong. In fact, we’ll be giving people pleasure and making them happy. That’s if the theatre manager decides to give us a part in their show. We mustn’t assume that we’ve been accepted just because they seemed to like us.’
They dressed in silence, waiting for Fancello to come and give them the news, good or bad.
Rose was adjusting her bonnet in the mirror when Fancello rapped on the door. She rushed to open it. ‘Well?’ she said eagerly. ‘What did he say?’
Chapter Eleven
‘It’s a start, Aunt Polly.’ Rose put down the heavy carpet bag she had carried all the way from the vicarage. ‘We didn’t expect to be top of the bill at the beginning. The Grecian isn’t anything like the saloon.’
‘Leave your case, dear. Tommy will take it up to your room,’ Polly said with a careless wave of her hand. ‘Come and sit down, Rose. You look exhausted. You should have allowed me to hire a carter to bring your things here.’
‘You’ve done enough for us already. Besides which, we’ve had Joshua to help with the heavier cases and Maisie has done her bit. I can’t thank you enough for agreeing to take her in. The poor girl was afraid we would abandon her.’
‘I can use another pair of hands,’ Polly said airily. ‘There’s always work to be done here. She can assist Ethel in the kitchen and Tommy sometimes needs a helper.’ She turned to him with a smile. ‘You’d appreciate that, wouldn’t you, boy?’
He had started up the stairs with Rose’s case clutched in his hand. He looked back, nodding vigorously. ‘I’d do anything for you, miss. I’d have been living on the streets if you hadn’t taken me in when Fancello give me the boot. Me and Maisie get along fine. She’s a proper caution.’
‘I’m sure she is,’ Polly said wryly. ‘You can show her what to do, but let her settle in first.’
‘Yes, miss.’ He scuttled up the stairs, and Rose was surprised to see how fast he could move, even allowing for his odd crabwise gait.
‘I’d better go back to the house and make sure we’ve left everything as it should be,’ she said, sighing. ‘Mrs Blunt has agreed to stay on, and Joshua is moving in tomorrow.’
‘When do you start at the theatre, Rose?’
‘Early next week, Aunt. We have just a few days to polish up our act and then we’re on. It’s exciting and it’s scary.’
Polly smiled benevolently. ‘You have inherited my talent, Rose. I’m not so sure about Cora. She’s pretty and she has a sweet voice, but you have spirit and the push needed to go far. I have great faith in you, my girl. Don’t let me down.’
‘I’ll try not
to.’ Rose kissed her on the cheek. ‘I must go. This will probably be the last time I’ll set foot in my old home.’ She opened the front door to find Joshua, Cora and Maisie standing outside surrounded by bags and suitcases. ‘Come in.’
‘Where are you going?’ Cora demanded crossly. ‘We’ve only just arrived and you’re going out.’
‘I’ll be back before you know it, and ready for a nice cup of tea, so don’t eat all the cake, Cora.’ Rose set off along the street without waiting for a response.
The sun was high in the sky and it was warm for the beginning of May, but ominous grey clouds crouched above the chimney tops, ready to empty a shower on the unwary. Rose quickened her pace and had just reached the garden gate when rain spilled from the sky in a sudden downpour. She ran up the path and used her key to open the front door. The house where she had been born and raised seemed suddenly alien and unwelcoming. Stripped of the small touches that had made it home, it was just four walls and a series of empty rooms. She had meant to check each one thoroughly, but memories of childhood came flooding back, and when she reached Billy’s old room she was overcome with a feeling of sadness and loss. The patch of wallpaper behind the door was scuffed and the marks indicating their ages and height were fading, but they were still there. Billy had always been the tallest and she herself had outstripped Cora at an early age, but her sister had grown suddenly and now there was less than an inch between them. She ran her finger over the pencil lines and her eyes stung with unshed tears. She hurried from the room and closed the door, but then as if her presence had conjured up echoes from the past she heard a male voice.
Her heart did a sudden leap and she started down the staircase, hoping against hope that Billy had returned home, but as she rounded the curve of the stairs she realised it was not her brother who was talking to Mrs Blunt.
‘Mr Tressidick?’ Rose said, descending at a more sedate pace.
Vere turned his head. ‘Miss Perkins. I’m sorry to intrude.’
‘I just told this gentleman that you’d moved out, Miss Rose.’ Mrs Blunt’s tone was laced with disapproval. ‘I didn’t know you was upstairs.’