by Lesley Eames
But there were worse burdens than loneliness and Lily had the comfort of knowing that Artie was getting a better start in life. Besides, she’d already survived three days here and who knew? In time Rose and her cronies might grow bored of tormenting her.
The Wind in the Willows, Little Lord Fauntleroy and Life of the Saints were all missing the following afternoon. Hiding her misery, Lily took A History of English Kings and Queens to the window seat.
Someone slid onto the seat beside her. Red-haired Elsie Davenport. ‘You wanted this one, didn’t you?’
She was holding out Little Lord Fauntleroy.
‘I got to it before Rose and her gang,’ Elsie added.
‘That was kind.’ Lily took the book.
Elsie grinned. ‘Rose needs to know that she can’t have everything her own way.’
Lily glanced at the pretty girl who was looking furious. ‘I hope she won’t be mean to you for helping me.’
‘It doesn’t bother me if she is. Agnes pinched me once and I threatened to sit on her if she did it again.’
The thought of it made Lily smile.
‘I’ve been watching you,’ Elsie said then.
‘Watching me?’
‘You stand up to Rose. I like that.’
‘So do I.’ Another girl came and sat on Lily’s other side. ‘I’m Phyllis Beckett.’
Phyllis was a slender, dark-haired girl who wore glasses. Seen from a distance, there was nothing remarkable about her appearance but now she was close Lily could see intelligence and humour in Phyllis’s grey eyes. ‘Looks like the princess isn’t happy today,’ Phyllis remarked.
‘She doesn’t like me,’ Lily admitted.
‘She likes you even less now we’re talking to you. But that’s her hard luck, eh, Elsie?’
‘Yup,’ Elsie agreed.
The thought of having Elsie and Phyllis on her side gave Lily a warm glow. She was happy to set her book aside to talk to them. Like Lily, both girls were orphans from London. Elsie had been at Booth’s for almost two years and Phyllis for nearly as long.
‘My dad delivered coal,’ Elsie said. ‘He had a cart and a horse called Dobbin. A dear old thing. The day after Dad died Dobbin just crumpled up in the yard and died too.’
‘There was no one else to look after you?’ Lily asked.
‘I lost my mum when I was five and my only brother when I was six. Frank was two years younger than me. Dad had called the business Davenport & Son because he hoped to take Frank in with him. After Frank had gone, Dad talked about calling it Davenport and Daughter instead because I always helped him to load the sacks onto the cart and looked after Dobbin too. Maybe that’s why I’m so big.’
‘It was influenza that took my parents,’ Phyllis said. ‘My aunt might still be alive but she moved to America before I was born and stopped writing. My dad used to work in a brewery but both he and my mother were great readers who believed in a better world with education and opportunities for everyone. I believe in that too, especially education and opportunities for girls.’
‘Me too,’ Lily said.
It was her turn to share her story. She told them about Mum, Dad and Gran, and the chance her brother had been given to make something of himself.
‘It must be hard to be stuck here when he’s in a smart house in Hampstead,’ Elsie suggested.
‘Never mind the grand house,’ Phyllis said. ‘He’s got a chance for the sort of education we’ll never have.’
‘It isn’t all about books and learning,’ Elsie persisted. ‘If Artie’s raised by a gentleman, won’t that turn him into a gentleman too?’
‘Artie will never be so much of a gentleman that he looks down on me,’ Lily insisted. ‘He isn’t just my brother. He’s my twin.’
Despite their smiles Lily could see that both girls had doubts. Oh, heavens. Phyllis’s concerns mirrored Lily’s own but did Elsie have a point too? Artie surely had too good a heart ever to sneer at his sister, but might the day come when he was secretly embarrassed by her lack of social polish as well as her lack of education? Lily felt cold suddenly.
But, no. She wouldn’t allow such fears to take root in her mind. She had to keep her faith in her twin.
TEN
Lily worked hard at hiding her feelings on the days when Mrs Henderson handed out letters, determined to deprive Rose of the satisfaction of seeing her disappointment when no letter came from Artie. Not that Rose could crow about receiving letters herself. Only a few children received occasional letters from distant family members or old neighbours and Rose wasn’t among them.
Elsie and Phyllis weren’t among them either so Lily tried to copy their bored expressions as the more fortunate children were called out.
Then, three weeks after her arrival, Lily’s name was called. A thrill of excitement passed through her and she took her letter with trembling fingers. ‘Thank you, Mrs – Mother.’
Lily carried the precious letter to the window seat and sat down to read it.
Dearest Lil,
I hardly know where to begin as I’ve never written a letter before. What I most want to tell you is that I miss you every day and every night. Especially every night becos you are not here for me to tell you about the day. I’m very glad you are not in the workhouse anymore. I hope you are all right at Booth’s and have good food to eat.
I am all right at Mr Alderton’s house. I don’t know how it is becos he doesn’t shout but he has a way of looking at me and waiting for me to pay attention that scares me a bit. Not that he is unkind so don’t worry about me. Lessons are hard without you helping but I’m doing my best even if Mr Alderton sometimes thinks I’m slow. I have time to play in between lessons and I have made friends with a cat that lives on one side of us and a dog that lives on the other side. I’m allowed to take the dog for walks sometimes. I’m also well fed. I don’t know how this is either but I eat until my belly is so full I think I won’t be able to eat again for hours but somehow I soon start feeling hungry. Mrs Lawley says it’s becos I’m a growing boy.
Well, Lil, I hope you are happy if it is possible to be happy with all that has happened. I miss Gran horribly and I’m sure you do too. Please write back soon.
Your loving Artie x
The letter made Lily want to laugh and to cry too. She missed Artie so! But she was glad he was coping.
‘He’s fine,’ she said, looking up at Elsie and Phyllis.
Over Phyllis’s shoulder, Lily saw Rose glaring at her with a hatred born of jealousy. Lily had received a letter that brought her joy. Rose had received nothing.
Oh, dear. Lily didn’t flaunt her letter. She simply put it in the pocket of her pinafore, touching it every now and then to feel the warmth of Artie’s love. She wrote back to reassure him that she was well, writing mostly about her new friends but also reporting that she wasn’t the only clever girl in school because he’d know that she longed to be with girls who enjoyed learning.
Phyllis was even faster than Lily at adding and subtracting columns of pounds, shillings and pence. She could divide and multiply them easily too. ‘It’s the only thing I’m good at, though,’ she was quick to say.
‘You might be able to get work in a shop instead of going into service,’ Lily encouraged. It troubled her that every girl from Booth’s was expected to go into service.
‘Perhaps it’s because we can live in,’ Phyllis suggested, and Lily realised it was probably true.
They’d be fourteen when they were sent out into the world to earn their livings. Not many jobs apart from domestic service came with accommodation attached, and not many landladies were likely to want lodgers who were quite so young.
‘We needn’t be in service forever,’ Lily pointed out. ‘We can make our own decisions when we’re older.’
‘I’m no good at anything,’ Elsie said. ‘Unless you count hauling heavy baskets and digging in gardens.’
Elsie was a godsend when it came to carrying baskets of wet washing outside to dry on the wash
ing line when on laundry duty, and also when it came to working in the vegetable patch where Booth’s grew much of its own food.
She grinned. ‘I’ll be hopeless in service. Imagine me washing fancy china and glasses.’ She held up her hands to show how much bigger they were than Lily’s or Phyllis’s. ‘I should have been born a man. Then I could have worked heaving coal like my dad with a nice horse like Dobbin to help.’
‘Your strength will make you useful wherever you work,’ Lily told her. ‘Besides, you’re clever in your own way because you’re wise.’
‘Wise? Me? You’re having a laugh.’
‘No, I’m not. You see the truth in people.’
‘Get away with you.’ Elsie pulled a face but Lily meant every word.
She kept Artie’s letter under her pillow at night and carried it in her pocket during the day.
Until the morning came when she returned from the bathroom and lifted her pillow to find the letter wasn’t there. Had it slipped down the bed or under it? Lily pulled back the covers and got to her knees to survey the floor but it wasn’t to be found.
‘Lost something?’ Elsie asked.
‘My letter.’
‘Humph!’ Elsie said. ‘I think we all know who took it. Leave this to me.’
Elsie waited until the other girls were heading downstairs before she stepped across Rose’s path. ‘Give it back,’ she said.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. ‘
Elsie rolled her eyes. ‘Are you going to be boring about it?’
Rose flushed. ‘I’m not boring.’
‘You’re horribly boring. Now give it back or—’
‘I don’t have Lily’s rotten letter!’
‘How would you know I meant Lily’s letter if you hadn’t taken it?’
‘I… I heard you talking about it.’
‘Liar.’
You’re a bully, Elsie Davenport. I’m going to report you to Mother.’
‘Mrs Henderson isn’t your mother or mine. I wonder what your mother would think of the way you’ve turned out? Do you think she’d be proud of you? I don’t.’
‘Let me pass.’ Rose looked around desperately. ‘Agnes, fetch Mother now.’
‘Do that,’ Elsie approved. ‘In the meantime, let me tell you about something you might not have noticed, Rose. I’m a clumsy sort of girl, not good with delicate things like sewing. The scissors slip in my big hands and sometimes they cut off more than I intend. If your hair happens to swing in my direction, I might—’
‘I’m going to tell Mother you’re making threats.’
‘Threats? Did you hear me make threats, Phyllis?’
‘No,’ Phyllis said, ‘and I’ve been standing here all the time.’
‘We’re going downstairs now,’ Elsie said. ‘If you put the letter back, we won’t need to talk about it again. But we’re all getting tired of your nastiness, Rose. You’ve still got Agnes and Ivy for friends but the other girls haven’t been paying you much attention recently. Haven’t you noticed?’
Lily hadn’t noticed, but now that she thought about it, she realised Elsie was right.
Rose’s group had shrunk while more girls were friendly to Lily, Elsie and Phyllis.
By evening Artie’s letter was back under Lily’s pillow.
*
A month passed before Lily received another letter. She was delighted to see he’d learned to spell because and even more delighted to hear that he’d cycled over to see their old Jessy Street neighbours.
I knew you’d like news of them. Mrs Flynn has had her baby. Another boy but I forget his name. I saw Davie too. I hoped it would be just like it used to be when we played together but it wasn’t. Davie said I’d started speaking like a toff and my suit must have cost more than his dad earned in a week. I told him I was still the same old Artie but I don’t think he believed me. He made me feel awkward so I didn’t stay long.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to go over there again anyway. Mr Alderton said he was surprised I hadn’t chosen somewhere more educational to go. A church or a palace or something like that. So I suppose I’ll have to keep to those sorts of places for a while.
Of course, the person I most want to see is you, Lil. I’m glad to hear you have friends in that place. It makes me feel better to know you’re not too unhappy and to hear that you have roast meat and a nice pudding on Sundays. Mrs Lawley makes jam roll too. It’s one of my favourites.
Poor Artie. The advantages weren’t all stacked on his side because Lily had friends on hers. Hoping he wasn’t horribly lonely, she wrote back and reconciled herself to another wait of several weeks before she received Artie’s next letter. But four weeks passed, and no letter came. Mr Alderton had tried to steer Artie away from visiting old neighbours. Perhaps he was trying to steer him away from Lily too in case staying in touch with his humble beginnings held Artie back from both his education and his transformation into a gentleman.
It became hard to stay cheerful. One Saturday Mrs Henderson required Lily to deliver a note to the foster mother of Fry House which was two cottages away. She was walking back, fighting the worry that gnawed inside her when her eyes were caught by movement further along the drive. It was a boy on a bicycle.
A jolt of excitement shot through Lily. She hardly dared to hope… But soon it was beyond doubt. ‘Artie!’ She waved an arm and ran to meet him only to come to a halt as doubts crowded in and a strange shyness overcame her.
Three months had passed since she’d last seen him. Artie’s clothes were new and smart. Even the way he held himself was different as though he’d left the urchin behind and was taking on the look of a boy who’d turn into a man in a few years’ time. He’d grown too. Filled out a little. Narrowed the gap between their heights.
‘You came,’ she finally said.
‘’Course I did.’
He grinned then and Lily felt lightheaded with relief. So far at least he remained her Artie despite the outward changes.
He got off the bicycle and lowered it to the grass verge then caught hold of Lily in a hug. She threw her arms around his neck. ‘It’s so good to see you!’
‘I’d have come before but I have lessons on Saturday mornings and Sunday School on Sundays. I had to wait for a holiday.’
‘You didn’t come all the way on the bicycle?’
‘Hardly. I cycled to the station, caught the train to Sevenoaks and cycled from there. It still took me almost three hours to get here but it’s worth it to see you, Lil. It’s all right for me to visit, isn’t it?’
Visits were rare but happened occasionally. ‘I’ll tell Mrs Henderson you’re here and then we can have a cosy chat.’
Artie picked his bicycle up and they walked back to Nightingale House. ‘Visits are usually arranged in advance,’ Mrs Henderson pointed out, as Artie waited outside. ‘But he’s here now so you can take him into the recreation room.’
‘Might we walk around the garden for a while?’
‘If you wish, but keep to the girls’ side.’
‘Thank you, Mother.’
Lily was eager for her friends to meet Artie but she wanted him all to herself for a while first. They propped the bicycle against the cottage wall and set off arm in arm back along the drive where they were unlikely to be disturbed. It was December and cold but Lily didn’t mind that.
‘Tell me what it’s like at Mr Alderton’s,’ she urged. ‘Do you spend all your time with him?’
‘I have lessons and meals with him except for extras like cake which I have with Mrs Lawley as Mr Alderton doesn’t eat between meals. We have our dinner in the evenings and something called luncheon in the middle of the day. Mr Alderton doesn’t like talking during meals which is a good thing as I wouldn’t know what to say to him.’
‘He isn’t friendly?’
‘He doesn’t smile much and he never tells jokes.’
‘Oh, dear.’
‘He’s just one of those people we never really get to know. But it was
kind of him to take me in, and Mrs Lawley makes up for him being a bit… far away in his thoughts.’
‘You’re not unhappy?’
‘I miss you but I like Mrs Lawley and I love playing with the neighbours’ dog and cat. I know I’m lucky to be getting an education too.’
‘Tell me about your lessons.’
As well as English grammar he was learning algebra, arithmetic, science, history and geography.
‘That’s wonderful,’ Lily told him, though it dismayed her to think how little she was learning.
She understood what Davie meant about Artie’s speech because Mr Alderton was knocking the urchin out of him there too. Not that he’d spoken all that sloppily before and neither did Lily because being brought up reading books had taught them about the letters that went into words. The fear that he might be leaving her behind sent a chill into Lily’s stomach but Gran hadn’t been a stupid person despite what she called her lack of book learning. Surely Lily could teach herself things from books once she was out in the world?
‘What about you?’ Artie eventually asked.
She told him something of her life at Booth’s but said nothing about her lessons because she didn’t want him to feel bad. She focused on telling him about Elsie and Phyllis instead.
‘We’re like two halves of a whole,’ Artie said. ‘I have an education. You have friends.’
‘Come and meet them.’
They returned to Nightingale House and sat in the recreation room. Lily was delighted to see that Artie, Elsie and Phyllis liked each other on sight. ‘It makes me feel better knowing Lil has friends like you,’ Artie told them.
He’d brought in a bag that had been strapped to his bicycle. ‘Mr Alderton is giving me what he calls an allowance,’ he said. ‘A sixpence every Saturday. I’ve been able to buy more paper and stamps for you, Lil.’ He took them out of the bag and passed them to her.
‘I also bought these…’ He reached in again for a small paper bag. ‘Sugar mice,’ he explained. ‘One for each of you.’