Relieved of her egg-scrambling duties, and apparently also other breakfast making, Mrs Cannock pulled out a chair at the head of the table. ‘Vince – Mr Dudley – his father was head gardener here too. He used to arrange all the flowers. He kept on doing it long after the lady of the house had taken over that duty in most big houses.’
‘I just stick flowers in vases when I do flowers,’ said Vanessa, ‘but I know Electra will want something better for tonight.’
‘The flowers you did for our room were lovely,’ said Alexandra.
‘What’s Electra’s big announcement?’ Lizzie had to steal herself to ask this.
‘Oh, the engagement! Electra and Hugo,’ Vanessa said.
‘Hmm,’ said Mrs Cannock. ‘I can’t say I’m sorry I’ll be retired before that one takes over as lady ofthe manor here. Lady Lennox-Stanley has her ways … but that one?’ Mrs Cannock shook her head as if words were inadequate to express how she felt.
Lizzie was really glad to have a task to keep her occupied. During the night, while trying to get to sleep, she had wondered how she could somehow leave. But although she spent what felt like hours trying, she couldn’t think of anything that didn’t involve a very elaborate set of lies. Leaving early would cause problems and embarrassment for the others, too. It was supposed to be Vanessa’s party, even though Electra had taken it over. Lizzie would just keep out of the way of Vanessa’s parents and Hugo and Electra as much as she could.
‘Mr Dudley, this is Lizzie,’ said Vanessa, a little while later. ‘She’s doing the flowers for the ballroom and anywhere else that needs flowers. My sister-in-law-to-be had booked a florist but they’ve let her down. So we have to do them.’
Mr Dudley nodded. ‘It would have always been done in house in my father’s day. He used to do them.’
‘I know. Mrs Crannock told us.’ Vanessa smiled. ‘Would you mind helping Lizzie find things? Lend her secateurs and tell her what she can pick? Would it be a lot of trouble for you? I’m clearing out the barn and it would be better if you did it.’
‘I would hate to pick the wrong things,’ Lizzie said. ‘The garden is so beautiful. It would be awful if I spoilt it.’
‘Bless you, my dear! You wouldn’t spoil it! But come with me and I’ll show you where you’ll find the best blooms. You’ll need buckets of water, and tarpaulins when you go into the house. There used to be a flower room but it’s used for storage now. I’ve got the bits and pieces in a shed. There’s chicken wire, and those heavy plates with pins sticking up. They’re good for the smaller arrangements.’
‘Do you like arranging flowers?’ asked Lizzie. ‘I don’t want to do it if you’d rather do it instead.’
‘No, no. I never had my father’s eye for flowers, not once they’ve stopped growing. Now, let’s find you something to put the flowers in.’
Mr Dudley found tarpaulins and spread them under the two huge vases that were to be filled with flowers for the ballroom. Then he found buckets, gave her secateurs and some stronger loppers for thicker stems and took her on a rapid tour of the garden. Then he set her loose.
Lizzie had become entirely absorbed in her task. Never had she had such wonderful material to work with. When she did church flowers with her mother and usually a couple of other women of the parish, she was always restricted by what people had in their gardens, plus some carnationsor chrysanthemums, depending on the season. While in theory her restrictions here were the same, she had vast borders, a rose garden, shrubby areas and a small arboretum to pick from. She was in a flower-arranger’s heaven. And if she didn’t have enough of a flower or type of foliage, she could have more. Even more useful, she didn’t have anyone pursing their lips and tutting if she did anything a bit different.
Mr Dudley kept a close eye on her. He carried the picked flowers to the ballroom for her and found extra buckets from deep in the potting shed for more. The most helpful task was when he explained to Sir Jasper what she was doing when he came rushing out into the garden having spotted Lizzie hacking at some variegated pittosporum (such a good backdrop to the flowers) from an upstairs window. She had kept her head turned well away, grateful for the capacious apron she was wearing which added to her disguise.
Vanessa brought her sandwiches at lunchtime in the ballroom. Lizzie had been aware of getting hungry but didn’t know what she was expected to do for lunch and was terrified of intruding somewhere she wouldn’t be welcome.
‘Oh my goodness, those flowers are so beautiful! You could definitely be a professional florist if you wanted to be!’ said Vanessa, putting down a plate and a mug of tea.
‘Not if I’d be paid by the hour,’ said Lizzie, taking a sip of tea. ‘It’s taken me so long.’
‘But you didn’t know where anything was. Those flowers are so unusual but lovely. You’ve used so many different kinds of foliage. We never learnt how to do that at Mme Wilson’s!’ Vanessa was walking round, looking at the large arrangement from every angle.
‘To be fair to Mme Wilson, she didn’t have an acre of wonderful garden to acquire her foliage from. And I learnt how to be resourceful from doing church flowers with my mother,’ said Lizzie. ‘We just had to use what people had brought with them and I often used to have to rush out into the churchyard and get more material from there.’
Lizzie had been thinking fondly of her mother as she’d selected different flowers or sprigs of leaves. She had so wanted to get away from home but now she was in exactly the sort of house her mother wanted her to visit, she realised she much preferred her own smaller and simpler home. For although (being fair-minded) she was sure that not all people who lived in grand houses were raging snobs, Sir Jasper and Lady Lennox-Stanley definitely were.
Electra came in to check on proceedings, possibly hearing Lizzie and Vanessa chatting. She looked like the perfect society fiancée, as seen inCountry LifeorTatler. Her hair, nearly shoulder-length, was backcombed so it had height and was held back fromher face by a black velvet headband. It curled evenly all the way round the bottom in a Jackie Kennedy flip. She had on a knee-length gaberdine dress in pale yellow, a matching cardigan and an Hermès scarf tied round her neck, somehow not interfering with the string of pearls that matched those in her ears. Her shoes were patent leather and had low, square heels.
Lizzie immediately felt scruffy in her apron and slacks. At least her hair was too short to get in a mess.
‘Oh, haven’t you finished the flowers yet?’ said Electra. ‘You’ve been at it for hours! We still need flowers for the drawing room. I thought you were good at this?’
‘Electra!’ Vanessa couldn’t contain her indignation. ‘Lizzie is doing this to get you out of a spot! You could at least be polite!’
‘Oh, sorry. Yes, you are only an amateur so I suppose you’re not doing a bad job.’
Electra’s grudging praise made Lizzie feel even worse. She started gathering some of the detritus and putting it in an empty bucket.
Lady Lennox-Stanley came in. ‘Oh, Electra, dear! Those are lovely!’
