The train gave a jolt and she opened her eyes. They had left the wide-open spaces behind. There were a great many more houses, carts, cabs, motorcars and people.
‘Oh my goodness, Mrs B, what is that?’ Kate said.
‘That, my dear, I believe, is an omnibus. I’ve heard about them but never seen one,’ Mrs B replied.
‘But there are people on the top and below. How many people can it carry, do you think?’ Kate asked.
‘I have no idea, Kate. You must ask Mrs Winton when we’re all settled or, better still, Master Thomas. No doubt he knows all about them, how they work and all.’
The train was slowing and the platform swept into view.
‘Oh my, we’re here,’ Mrs B exclaimed and immediately jumped up.
‘But the sign says Clapham Junction,’ Kate said.
‘Yes, don’t you remember, Mrs Winton said that we must change here and take the Forest Hill train?’ Mrs B snapped, struggling with her bags. ‘Don’t you listen to anything I say?’
The two women hurried out of the train and stood on the platform bewildered by the movement of people and the signs. Kate had no idea which direction they should go in. Unfamiliar sounds and smells surrounded them. Smoke billowed from waiting trains and brakes squealed.
‘Mind yer backs,’ a barrow boy shouted, as he struggled by with a cart loaded with bags and boxes. They moved quickly to one side only to be in the path of another stream of people descending a staircase. Kate noticed Mrs B’s colour turning from pink to purple, and the little beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her hat had slipped over one eye and the other held a startled expression as if she couldn’t quite believe where she was.
Kate offered to carry one of Mrs B’s bags along with her own and approached a man in uniform to ask where they might catch the Forest Hill train. The man pointed them down the staircase towards a tunnel which took them under the track to platform three, where Kate helped Mrs B to a bench to sit and regain her composure. A large gantry indicated that their train would be leaving in ten minutes.
‘Not long to wait,’ Kate said.
‘I just hope someone on the staff has thought to get in some provisions,’ complained Mrs B. ‘I’ll be good for nothing when we get there. No good expecting me to cook without having a cup of tea. Good thing I thought to pack a couple of slices of me best fruit cake,’ she said.
Kate was starving hungry. It seemed an age since breakfast but, with any luck they would be there soon, and be able to put their feet under their new kitchen table. She wondered what the other servants would be like, but felt that no one would ever replace Eliza in her affections. She wondered what Eliza was doing now, at this very moment and if she was missing her too?
‘Come on then, Dolly daydream,’ Mrs B said. ‘Train’s pulling in, let’s get aboard.’
As they stepped out from Forest Hill railway station, Kate felt insignificant. People brushed past her, intent on their own path and no one looked her in the eye. Finally, she managed to catch someone’s attention and asked which way for Dartmouth Road. Mrs Winton had said it was walking distance, and that therefore they would not need to take a cab but, by the time they arrived, Mrs B was on her last legs. Vanburgh House was much larger and grander than the house they had left behind in Andover, but Kate was too tired and Mrs B too cranky for them to do more than just relieve their aching arms of their baggage and thankfully accept the offer of a reviving cup of tea. Kate was pleased to find that her new roommate and serving companion was a smiling sort of girl, with round cheeks and even rounder waistline, who was happy to show them the essential rooms of the house while the kettle boiled.
‘Elders and betters first,’ said Mrs B. ‘I don’t know how much longer I could have waited,’ and she disappeared outside the back door as fast as her weary legs could carry her.
Kate watched as the newly appointed girl, Mary, busied herself about the kitchen, boiling the kettle and setting out the tea things. She couldn’t help but think how different she was to the Mary she had gone to school with back in Micklewell, she was as broad as Mary White was tall and quite a contrast to her old friend. She had a similar kindly look to Eliza, though, and that made Kate feel more at ease. Perhaps she and Mary would become friends too? She hoped so, for she was beginning to feel homesick and lost. She felt like a small person in a big place that was far outside her experience and understanding. At least she had Mrs B, though. For all her gripes and groans, Mrs B had a kind heart and her presence gave Kate a little reassurance that she was not completely without a familiar face to rely upon.There were many other girls in service who would be far from home and alone. At least she knew the Winton family and Mrs B.
Chapter Fifteen
March 1914
Forest Hill was a pleasant enough place to be. The streets were wide and, when Kate was out on errands or with the children, she was fascinated by the people, the elegant fashions and the number of motor cars. Andover had been a busy place to her, coming as she did from a small village in the heart of the Hampshire countryside, but to be on the outskirts of the capital city broadened Kate’s horizons and altered her perceptions of the world. Who’d have thought that a little Hampshire girl would be living in London of all places?
Life soon settled into a pattern. Her main duties had changed a little in that she spent a good deal of her time going back and forth to the children’s schools. The walk took about fifteen minutes and they did it every school day morning, unless the weather was so bad that the children would’ve been drenched before they got there. On those mornings they were permitted to take a cab, but she was told to take the best and biggest umbrella and wear her galoshes for the walk back.
Dulwich College was the far side of the gardens surrounding the Horniman Museum. She encouraged the children to play tag or follow-the-leader on the way to make Thomas hurry along. If Thomas was in one of his silent, uncooperative moods she’d introduce I Spy, for he was always more interested in mental than physical games.
The grounds were an absolute joy to walk through and, once the children were safely delivered, Kate delighted in taking her time on the return journey, ambling along and enjoying her freedom. She walked the children as briskly as possible down the main avenue going towards the school but on her way home, weather permitting, she wandered beside the water gardens,the wishing seat and the putting green. The tall trees reminded her of her Hampshire home and, when they were in bud in the spring, she stood beneath them looking through the woven scramble of their branches to the sky. At those moments she felt as if she could float away. She cherished her time in the gardens and took great pleasure in exploring different areas as the year progressed.
One morning, Kate took a path she had never taken before. In one corner of the outer reaches of the garden, she noticed a group of trees showered in white. She recognized the clusters hanging beneath the branches. Before she even got close to them, she could smell the familiar perfume. One of her favourite tasks at this time of year in Micklewell was to pick the lacy capped flowers of the elder tree with her mother and sister and make the thick cordial that filled the air with the scent of summer. Before she could stop her hand from reaching, she’d picked one of the clusters and brought it to her nose. She inhaled deeply.
‘Oy, you’re not supposed to pick the flowers. Can’t you read?’ a young man called, indicating one of the many signs about the gardens.
Kate dropped the bloom instantly. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t think,’ she stuttered.
‘No, you didn’t,’ the young man said.
He wore a navy flannel shirt and peaked cap, which made him look official, although his boots were muddy, and he had a wheelbarrow with him with a fork and spade poking out of it. His jacket was flung over the side of the barrow and he stood with both arms folded across his broad chest. Kate noticed the sleeves of his shirt were folded up and his lower arms looked firm and strong and covered in dark hair. When a smile cracked across his face, Kate felt relieved. It altered his appearance completely. It was quite a handsome face, Kate thought, wide-set eyes andheavy brows with a strong chin, peppered with stubble and a bold moustache. His hair, hidden mostly beneath the cap, was very dark and curled around his ears.
