by Linda Finlay
‘Come on, Amos, I’ve been waiting ages,’ Luke called.
‘Leave it for today and return to it fresh on Monday,’ Amos grinned. ‘Fresh, get it?’
‘Yes, very funny,’ she smiled.
‘The plants will have completely dried out by then and your nose will have cleared. Oh well, better get back to the urchin before he finds more mischief to get up to. I shall be staying on this afternoon to get things sorted so you can leave him with me if you want to go and see James.’
‘Thank you,’ she said gratefully.
Hearing the clock chime the hour, Eliza cleared away her things. Then, after checking her appearance in the little glass on the wall, she went to the bottom of the stairs.
‘I’m just going out,’ she called. ‘Luke is with Amos.’
Making her way through the busy town towards the cobbler’s, she nervously rehearsed what she was going to say. Then, when she arrived, she stood dithering outside. Should she go in through the shop door or down the entry to the side one? Thinking the latter would be too personal, she stepped into the cool interior of the shop with its rich smell of leather, only to be confronted by old Mr Cary.
‘Come to thank him for saving the boy’s life, have ee? Well, he’s out the back, but if you upset him you’ll have me to answer to, got that?’ he snarled, rubbing his cheek. He turned back to his work and began banging in a nail with unnecessary force.
Nervously, she pushed open the door to find James finishing his meal. As he looked up she saw his eyes were red with tiredness. The breath caught in her throat and she couldn’t speak. Finally he broke the tension.
‘Late breakfast,’ he said, pointing to his empty plate. ‘Slept the clock round,’ he said ruefully.
‘I’m not surprised after yesterday. I can’t begin to thank you for what you did. If it wasn’t for you, Luke could have been …’
‘Well, he’s not. Luckily I had the lifebelt on. They’re vital in keeping us afloat yet they don’t have enough to go round. Crazy, isn’t it?’ he shrugged. ‘Anyhow, it was all part of the service, Eliza.’
‘But you could have drowned and if that had happened and I hadn’t apologized … Oh, this is coming out all wrong. I meant what I said yesterday. My behaviour has been selfish and unforgivable but if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I really will try.’
He gave her a level look. ‘You’d best be sure, for I’ll not give up the boats,’ he warned.
She nodded. ‘If you can just give me another chance …’ The rest of her sentence was muffled as James jumped up and threw his arms around her. Breathing in his familiar scent, she felt her senses race. It felt so right.
‘Oh, Eliza, I’ve been so unhappy without you, especially when Father said you had other …’
‘Now let’s get one thing clear, James. I have not walked out with anyone else and I never will.’
He chuckled. ‘No, Nan put me clear on that the other afternoon. I should never have doubted you on that score,’ he admitted, staring at her so tenderly her heart flipped. ‘But with you working with that Amos … I mean, he’s a handsome fellow and …’ He shrugged.
‘Amos is a fine fellow,’ Eliza agreed. ‘He makes me laugh but doesn’t make my heart beat fast.’
James grinned. ‘Eliza Dryad, will you do me the honour of walking out with me again?’
‘I would be delighted to, James Cary,’ she answered.
He beamed and, leaning forward, kissed her gently on her lips.
‘Oh, James, I have so much to tell you,’ she said, when the room finally stopped spinning.
‘Let’s go to Carla’s and catch up on all our news,’ he suggested. ‘We’d better say goodbye to Father first, though,’ he grinned, and held out his hand.
‘You’ll be pleased to know that Eliza and I have sorted out our differences and are walking out again, Father. We have a lot to catch up on so if you can spare me this afternoon, I’d be obliged. Of course, I’ll make up the time tomorrow,’ he added quickly as Mr Cary grunted.
‘Go on, then. Nan told me off good and proper for jumping to conclusions, but just you make sure you treat him right, girl.’
‘I will, Mr Cary, I promise,’ Eliza assured him.
‘Pleased to see you’re walking better in them shoes.’
‘Thank you so much, Mr Cary. They’ve truly made a tremendous difference. They’re a fine piece of workmanship and I’m very grateful.’
Mr Cary nodded, then winced and put his hand to his face.
‘Is something wrong, Mr Cary? Only I notice you keep rubbing your cheek,’ Eliza asked.
‘Bit of neuralgia, since you ask. Pains me something terrible,’ he admitted.
‘My grampy had that too. He used to grate horseradish and hold it to his temple. Swore it worked every time,’ she offered.
‘Bloomin’ old wives’ tale,’ the man grunted, and turned back to his last.
Eliza looked at James but he shrugged and made his way outside.
The walk down back through the town was such a contrast to her earlier journey. Now she was aware of everything: James close by her side, the waves and tang of salt carried by the gentle onshore breeze. He grinned down at her and she felt her heart do that funny little skip again.
‘Ah, my bambini,’ Carla cried, as they stepped inside the little café. ‘At last you have seen the sense. I so glad. True love, it does not run smooth.’ She clutched her chest dramatically.
‘We’ve missed you, Carla,’ James declared. ‘And your chocolatinas.’
‘Two of Carla’s specialities coming up. The making up is fun,’ she said, giving them such a saucy wink, that Eliza felt her cheeks grow warm.
James laughed. ‘Now tell me all your news. I know about young Luke, of course, and Nan made sure I understood Amos has been taken on to train as an apothecary,’ he grinned, shamefaced.
‘So much has happened, I don’t know where to start,’ she said, nodding her thanks as Carla placed their drinks in front of them.
‘Now I leave you for the lovey-dovey,’ she giggled, wiggling her way back behind the counter.
‘How about starting at the beginning,’ James quipped.
Eliza nodded and told him about Duncan’s visit, Fae’s bequest and Grandfa Sam’s offer to rent her Nan’s part of the shop.
‘So you’re rich?’
‘Hardly. What Fae left me was generous in the extreme, and will enable me to set up my perfumery in the shop and give something back to everyone as well. But I shall need to have an income. Nan kindly offered to give me her products but I insisted on paying her a fair price. I will still make a profit on sales and can use this whilst developing my perfume. And guess what? You remember that black bottle?’
James rolled his eyes. ‘As if I could ever forget those evenings spent looking for flowers to match the scent in it.’
‘James Cary, I thought you enjoyed our time together.’
He immediately became serious. ‘Of course I did. Now what were you going to tell me about that bottle?’
‘I think I’ve found the ingredients to recreate that fresh scent. When I’ve finally perfected it, I intend to call it Fae’s Fragrance and sell it in little black bottles just like hers, with blue labels to match the stopper. It will be my way of honouring her and thanking her for all she taught me. Or does that sound stupid?’
‘I think it sounds amazing, and so are you,’ he said, his eyes lighting up.
‘I’m so pleased you’re happy,’ she said, feeling her face growing hot once more.
‘Oh, I am. Now we can spend our time together doing sensible things rather than collecting blooming plants,’ he replied.
Next morning, Eliza sat at the table in the parlour with Grandfa Sam, watching as he showed her how to enter things in the ledger. He explained about business practices and asked to see the list of equipment she’d made out.
‘Doesn’t seem too unreasonable,’ he commented, running his finger down all the items. ‘By my reckoning you should be able to buy these, pay your first month’s rent and still have some put by. I take it black bottles are essential?’
‘Most definitely. I want them to be a tribute to Fae, you see.’
‘Commendable, and it could also be a good trade symbol to distinguish you from your competitors. That’s important, too. However, I would recommend you buy the smaller size ones first to see how that perfume sells. Is that agreeable to you?’
‘Yes, that makes good sense, Grandfa Sam. Thank goodness I have you to advise me.’
The old man smiled. ‘Well, we’ll see Mr Sharp at the bank on Tuesday and get his professional advice,’ he said, snapping the ledger shut.
Eliza opened her mouth then shut it again.
‘Got something on your mind?’ Grandfa Sam asked, shrewd as ever.
‘I’d like to make a donation to the lifeboats,’ she answered. ‘James mentioned they desperately need more cork lifebelts and I would like to use some of my legacy to buy some.’
‘I think that’s an admirable idea, Eliza,’ Nan said, coming into the room.
‘It is, but your legacy, while generous, is not a huge amount, and you will need a fair bit of it to set up your perfumery,’ Grandfa Sam pointed out. ‘When you first start a business your outgoings exceed your income, and you will need to have some put by to live on.’
‘I know, but I would like to give them something. Grampy always said if you had three pennies then you should spend one, share one and save the remaining one.’
‘Quite right too,’ Nan applauded.
‘You’re not doing this to curry favour with James?’ Grandfa asked, staring directly at her with wise eyes.
‘Of course I’m not. I don’t even want him to know. Donations are anonymous, aren’t they? Besides, if you give it to them, nobody will be any the wiser,’ she said.
Sam was silent for a few moments. ‘In that case, I will make the appropriate arrangements and get them to issue a receipt so that you have an audit trail. That’s another thing you need to understand. Everything you spend, purchase or sell must be accounted for in the ledger.’
Exhausted from recent events, yet excited by the future, Eliza curled up on her bed and flicked through the notes she’d brought with her from Monsieur Farrant.
A light, fresh, delicate fragrance can be centred round the top note … may contain less base notes than a heavier one. Consider … citrus for freshness. The character of the finished fragrance will be determined by the proportions of each … Blend can be what you choose … Experiment until your nose tells you it is right. Remember the je ne sais quoi! Once you have learned the rules, you can then begin breaking them.
Of course! She’d been concentrating on the base and blindly adhering to the rules. As she mentally sniffed her way through the different plants and flowers she’d tried, something Nan had said clicked in her mind. Hurrying downstairs, she snatched up her basket and made her way to the undercliff where she’d picked the yellow flowering plants earlier in the year. Now they’d deepened to orange and were bearing berries. Sea berries, Nan had called them. Splitting one open, she inhaled, then smiled. It just might work!
Her first attempts came close to the smell in the bottle, but were still not perfect. Knowing she was on the right track, she continued experimenting until she was boggy-eyed from concentrating.
Determined not to give up, she spent the next week refining the proportions of her je ne sais quoi, until, finally, she managed to recreate the fresh, invigorating aroma she’d been seeking. James was busy with his training and she was feeling so much better now they’d made up she could concentrate fully again.
Thank heavens Grandfa Sam had advised buying small bottles otherwise she’d never manage to make enough, Eliza thought, as she lined them up ready for filling. In her mind, it had already become the Fae Sea Breeze Fragrance and eagerly she began scripting the blue labels. One day she might be able to afford jewel-blue stoppers too, she daydreamed. Only when the perfume was bottled and labelled, did she let the others test the fragrance.
‘Well done, Eliza, you have finally found the last note to finish your symphony,’ Amos beamed.
With Nan’s help, she added the Sea Breeze fragrance to the soaps, salts and salves for sale in her shop. Her artistic window display of little black bottles nestling in beds of shiny green moss surrounded by bright orange sea berries aroused great interest. She continually had to replenish the tester flagons depleted by ladies eager to sample the new scent. Even customers visiting the dispensary were intrigued, many leaving with little bottles of the perfume or soaps alongside their tablets or embrocation.
As word of the new fragrance spread, ladies visiting Salting Regis or staying on holiday were drawn into the fragrant little shop, often leaving with gifts for friends as well as purchases for themselves.
‘Suppose I’ll have to book an appointment to see you now?’ James moaned good-naturedly, after he’d had to wait whilst Eliza wrapped yet another customer’s purchases.
‘Oh, James, I’m sorry. I had no idea these summer months would be so busy. I’m sure it will quieten down in the autumn and then we’ll have more time to ourselves.’
‘Don’t knock it, Eliza. You make the most of it. Grandfa Sam was saying only yesterday that with you turning over a good profit and Amos doing well in his training, it won’t be long before he can put his feet up in style. By the way, we had a surprise of our own today. Six new lifebelts were delivered to the lifeboat station. Six! That’s going to make such a difference to the men’s safety.’
‘Oh, I am pleased,’ Eliza said, clapping her hands. James looked at her with eyes of the same shrewd blue as his grandfather’s.
‘Don’t suppose you have any idea where they came from?’ he asked.
‘Me?’ she asked, feigning surprise. ‘It’s good to know the men will have some protection, though, isn’t it?’
‘It is,’ he agreed, his lips twitching. ‘I guess you’re so busy these days you would hardly notice when the maroon’s fired.’
Eliza kept quiet, for hadn’t she promised she wouldn’t stand in his way or make a fuss? The trouble was, the stronger her feelings for him became, the worse she felt.
41
One morning Eliza had just turned the sign to open when the shop door burst open.
‘So, Mademoiselle, you think you can rival Monsieur Farrant’s sublime perfume-making skills?’
As his weird smell pervaded her space, Eliza took a step back. If only he could do something about his own particular brand, she thought, forcing her lips into a smile.
‘Good morning, Monsieur Farrant, how may I be of help?’ she asked.
But he ignored her, lifted the stopper from the tester flagon and wafted it round in front of him. Inhaling deeply, he stared at her over the glass tube, his eyes narrowing. ‘You never made this?’ he barked, all pretence of his French persona disappearing.
‘Indeed I did,’ Eliza protested, her voice rising. He stared at Fae’s pictures that Grandfa Sam had framed and hung on the walls behind the counter.
‘Those are Miss Beaumont’s pictures.
I recognize her style from the receipt book. So, you did keep some of her receipts and used one to make this fragrance,’ he accused, leaning over the counter and waving the tube in front of her, nearly sending a dish of soaps flying in the process.
‘No, my perfume is my own receipt,’ she cried.
‘Is everything all right, Eliza?’ Amos asked, hurrying over from the dispensary.
Monsieur Farrant stared at him in surprise. ‘So, it is a conspiracy,’ he hissed. ‘You think you can steal my business? Well, let me tell you, Monsieur Farrant, he is the one wanting the warrant from the Queen and he is the one who will get it. Your little business, it will go pouf,’ he said, waving his hands in the air.
‘I think …’ Eliza began, but he was already storming out of the shop.
‘Remember, there is no smoke without fire,’ he warned, pausing on the doorstep and shaking his finger at them.
‘Pompous idiot,’ Amos said. ‘Take no notice. He’s obviously jealous.’
‘But how did he know about my perfume and why has he sought me out after all this time?’ she asked, clutching the counter for support. ‘He gave up before.’
‘Ah, but now you are hitting him where it hurts most, Eliza – in his pocket. Everyone is talking about your perfume, saying it smells like an energizing sea breeze. My landlady was telling me only the other night that her daughter, who lives in Bath, has asked her to take two bottles of your uplifting scent when she visits at Christmas.’
‘Energizing perfume? Great heavens, I’d never thought of it like that,’ she replied, automatically rearranging the soaps in her dish on the counter. Then the little bell tinkled and, snapping into business mode, she turned to greet the customer.