‘No, it’s not like a church at all. I feel as if it was made for worship but not of God. It’s like a monument to the achievements of man, as if whoever made it was seeking to do something that had never been done before.’
‘Well, there’s certainly nothing else like it that I’ve ever seen,’ Archie said. ‘It was Prince Albert’s idea, so I’m told. Though I don’t think he even lifted a pencil to draw it, let alone a shovel to dig the footings.’
They laughed a good deal about the sight of the prince in work boots and an ermine cloak. There was no doubt about it, Kate enjoyed Archie’s company and for a while, when she was with him, she forgot about Philip. Archie was a good man, but meeting his mother, well that might give him ideas. She didn’t feel ready. Kate asked if they could sit for a while, and Archie found them a bench where they could rest and admire the building. He explained that it was called the Crystal Palace and it was built for the Great Exhibition.
‘Did you go?’ Kate asked.
‘I wasn’t even born, Kate, and neither were you. It was 1851. Even if we had been alive then, that wasn’t for the likes of you and me. Only the richest could afford the entry fee.’
She had so much to learn. There was so much out there in the world to discover. They strolled around the park for some time until the evening air began to cool and Kate wrapped hershawl more tightly around herself. They agreed that it was time to leave as the walk back would see the best of the daylight out. When they reached Westwood Hill again the evening was getting cooler. Kate was shivering despite the climb and Archie removed his jacket to put around her shoulders. As he lifted it over her head, he drew her to him and kissed her briefly but sweetly on the lips. Apart from pecks on the cheek in the playground as a girl, Kate had never been kissed. She raised her hand and touched her own lips with her fingertips as if to hold the feeling there a little longer.
‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have,’ began Archie. ‘It’s just you’re so lovely,’
Kate did for a moment wish it was Philip who had given her that kiss, but she brushed the thought away, placed one finger over his lips and then returned the kiss. She could feel a turning in the pit of her stomach like the falling sensation on a swing. Sometimes just one day could change many things. Today had been full of surprises, of the good sort, she decided. She would wait and see what the following days would bring.
Chapter Seventeen
August 1914
The twins almost collided with Kate as she was passing the sitting-room door with a basket full of freshly laundered clothes. They danced around her calling out, ‘Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah, hoorah, hoorah!’ She placed the basket on the floor and stood waiting for them to calm down.
‘What’s got you two so excited?’ Kate asked.
Mrs Winton appeared behind them with Thomas and said, ‘Quiet children, do stop shouting. You are making my head ache. Your brother is pleased too but do you see him making such a fuss?’ The twins looked suitably chastened but continued to make little nodding and smiling gestures to each other. Mrs Winton turned to Kate. ‘Philip and Clara are coming home. Their rooms need to be aired and made ready. Would you tell Mrs Bowden please, Kate?’
Kate felt a thud in her chest. She tried to control her breathing and not let her face betray her joy. She had missed both Philip and Clara so much. Hearing of Philip’s return particularly made her light-headed. She could feel his breath on her face and hear the unmistakeable tenderness in his voice when he spoke to her. How would their first meeting be? She could expect too much but she couldn’t stop herself from dreaming.
‘We can play hide and seek and Grandmother’s Footsteps. So much more fun with all of us!’ Simon said.
‘Ooo, yes, Clara’s so good at hiding,’ Sophie added.
‘And Philip can help me with my Latin,’ Thomas joined in. ‘If I’m to be a scientist or a doctor, Latin’s important, you know.’
Kate smiled at the simplicity of the children’s desires. Hers were so much more complicated. She wanted to share her ownexcitement with someone too but who could she tell? Perhaps, in time, she would be able to confide in Clara. Their friendship had developed through their shared interest in the suffragette movement but would Clara understand the love she felt for her brother? Or would she dismiss Kate’s feelings as a completely impossible situation that could never be reconciled with their social differences? And what of Philip? Were his feelings for her as strong? Would he dare to go against his parent’s expectations? The spiralling circle of questions made her head throb.
Her only option was to deal with these things one at a time. She would try to gain some impressions of how Clara might have been changed by her recent experiences. She might come home a different Clara to the one who left. She hoped she would be able to see Clara in private, although given all the hullabaloo around their imminent arrival, she thought it unlikely. She had been instructed to assist Mary in the making up of the bedroom that was to be Clara’s. As well as airing the room, there should be freshly laundered sheets. The rugs were to be beaten and fresh flowers needed to be picked from the garden.
‘Roses, Kate, the pink and yellow ones will look well in that room and they smell so beautiful,’ Mrs Winton instructed.
Kate was just adding the finishing touches and plumping up the cushions on the window seat when she saw a carriage pull up outside. She hardly recognized the young woman who got out. She was wearing a neat hat with a huge green, white and blue band around it finished with a bow on the side. Her hair was swept up neatly inside it. A shawl collar edged her pale green dress with pin tucks on the sleeves and, as the coachman took her hand, Kate could see she wore delicate, white gloves. So, this was what finishing school was meant to achieve, Kate thought. She wondered how Clara felt about being sent away and if shewas relieved to be home? She must have so much to tell about her travels in Europe.
She didn’t have to wait long for as soon as Clara had entered the house and been greeted by her parents, she heard the clatter of feet down the stairs and cries of, ‘Clara, Clara, you’re home, come and play with us, come and play. I have a new doll’s house.’ Sophie’s voice rang out along the landing.
‘And I have the best set of soldiers,’ added Simon.
‘Where’s Thomas?’ Clara asked.
‘Thomas will be somewhere with his nose in a book,’ Mrs Winton said. ‘Don’t expect an enthusiastic welcome from him. He’s a studious boy, my dear. He doesn’t see the need for such outbursts of emotion. He’ll seek you out soon enough, no doubt, Clara, when he has some piece of new information to impart.’
Clara was swept up the stairs in a tide of pulling, pushing and talking and, when Kate greeted her at the door of the nursery, it was as if she had never been away. Her hat removed and her hair already slightly dishevelled, she beamed at Kate and said, ‘I’ve so missed that smiling face. Oh, Kate, it’s good to be back. I can’t tell you what a prison I’ve been in for the past few months. It feels like years. Even the Europe tour didn’t lift my spirits much. I just exchanged one gaoler for another. Aunt Beatrice is such a puritan. She’s stuck in the past. Paris and Venice would have been so much more fun if you’d been there with me.’
‘It’s good to see you, Miss Clara, I’m so pleased you’re back,’ Kate replied.
‘Now, you must tell me everything,’ Clara said, taking Kate’s hands. ‘We have a good hour or two before dinner and I want to know all that’s happened since I’ve been away.’
They talked and talked while the twins constantly complained that Clara wasn’t paying attention. When the interruptions got too loud, Clara and Kate took a moment toadmire their new playthings and then got back to the business of catching up with each other’s news.
Clara was intrigued to hear about Archie, and Kate was equally intrigued to hear about how Carnforth’s letters had been smuggled in to the school.
