‘She left hours ago,’ her mother informed her shortly from her usual seat in front of the fire. Abi sometimes wondered if her backside was glued to it. Dorcas still hadn’t stepped outside once apart from to visit the privy at the bottom of the garden since they had moved there.
Crossing to Hetty who was scouring a sink full of dirty dishes, Abi dropped two of her best gowns on to the floor at her side, saying curtly, ‘These need washing.’
Hetty lifted her chin to stare at her calmly before replying, ‘Well, yer know where the dolly tub is. I’ve to go into town shoppin’ in a while so I’ll not ’ave time to do ’em.’
‘What!’ Abi looked horrified. ‘Are you daring to suggest that I should do them myself?’
Turning back to the pan she had just scrubbed, Hetty clattered it on to the wide wooden draining board and answered stoically, ‘That’s exactly what I’m suggestin’, miss. I ain’t quite got the knack o’ bein’ in two places at once as yet so if yer want ’em doin’ you’ll ’ave to do ’em yourself. I’ve got to meet Mickey in the marketplace in a bit to see if he’s managed to sell the missus’s porcelain, an’ if I don’t get a move on I’ll miss the cart. Oh, an’ afore yer start on yer washin’, yer might want to finish these pots an’ all.’ And with that she went off to get ready, leaving Abi with her mouth gaping.
‘Are youreallygoing to allow the servant to speak to me like that, Mama?’ she queried, her voice trembling with rage.
Dorcas shrugged. ‘I’m afraid it’s out of my control,’ she said in a self-pitying whine. ‘Everything is out of my control thanks to your no-good father. How could he do this to us? I feel as if I am living in a no-man’s land – shunned by the peasants and the gentry alike.’
With an annoyed click of her tongue, Abi approached the teapot only to find the tea was stewed and almost cold. ‘She could have at least made sure my breakfast and a fresh cup of tea were ready for me when I rose,’ she stormed. When she got no reaction from her mother, she stamped away to her bedroom and after throwing her nightgown across the room she dragged her clothes on and stormed outside. She had gone no more than a few yards when Jasper turned up.
One glance at her sullen face told him all he wanted to know and he smiled sympathetically and fell into step with her. ‘Missing your sister already, are you?’ he queried.
‘Not in the least!’ Abi tossed her pretty head. ‘I’m just sorry that it wasn’t me that got out of this godforsaken place! I think I shall go mad if I have to stay here for much longer.’
‘Well, my offer of finding you a position in London is still open,’ he said coaxingly. ‘Just think how it would feel to be the belle of every gent you met. You would be cossetted and spoilt and I doubt very much if you would ever want to come back here.’ He sighed. ‘As it happens I had a hell of a row with Father last night over the very same thing. He’s keen for me to start learning how to manage the farm so that he can retire, but I’ve told him I want to live a little first, instead of being buried in this backwater!’
Abi couldn’t help but be curious. ‘And what did he say?’
He grinned. ‘He was dead against the idea but in the end, Mother coaxed him into a compromise so he’s agreed I can have a few more months with a good allowance going where I please before starting to learn the business.’ He shook his head and shrugged. ‘To be honest, I would have liked a bit longer but I suppose it’s better than nothing, so I shall be living in London too. I have lots of friends there I can stay with and I intend to make the most of every minute! You’re only young once, after all.’
Abi stared at him thoughtfully. ‘So you’re saying that you would be close at hand if I went and I didn’t like it?’
Sensing victory, he stifled a smile and his voice when he answered was sincere. ‘Of course I’d be close by and if you were the least bit unhappy I would bring you back to your mother immediately. Although, as I said, I don’t think there’d be much chance of that happening. I think you’d love it there!’
She stopped walking and gazed up into the cloudless blue sky as her mind raced. Suddenly she made her decision. ‘I’ll come!’ she told him. ‘When can we leave?’
‘Whenever you like. But do you intend to tell your mother where you’re going? And if you do, do you really think she’d allow it?’
Abi shook her head. ‘No, she wouldn’t. Never in a month of Sundays, so I won’t tell her. If we were to go late one evening, we could catch the early train to London the next morning and be gone before she realises.’ She frowned. ‘But how would I get all my clothes out of the house without them realising?’
He laughed. ‘Don’t worry about that. If you sneak some out a few at a time and hide them somewhere dry at the back of the cottage I can collect them, and then on the night we leave I shall bring the carriage personally to collect you. I can leave it at the train station and pay someone to bring it back here for me the next morning.’
Excitement at the thought of the adventure ahead brought colour to her cheeks. ‘When shall we go?’
He tapped his lip. ‘Hm, today is Monday and you’ll need a couple of days to sneak some of your clothes out, so how about we go Wednesday night? Is that too soon for you?’
‘Not at all!’ She clasped her hands. ‘Mama and Hetty tend to go to bed quite early so I should be able to be ready by then.’
‘Wednesday night it is then, but be sure not to breathe a word to anyone,’ he warned. ‘My head would be on the block if any of our parents were to find out that I was helping you to run away.’
‘Not a word,’ she promised solemnly but her heart was pounding and suddenly Wednesday evening seemed a very long way away. ‘I shall leave some of my luggage in the little shed behind the washhouse this evening as soon as Hetty and Mama are asleep. It’s nice and dry in there.’
‘Until Wednesday evening then.’ He gave a courteous little bow and as he turned and strutted away, he was smiling as he thought of the money he would earn for introducing a new girl to the Black Cat club in Soho. Lilly Flynn, the proprietor, would welcome a little beauty like Abi with open arms and he had no doubt that soon Abi would be well and truly under Lilly’s spell.
Emmy arrived in Euston shortly after lunch and after locating a porter to fetch her luggage from the luggage van at the back of the train, she hailed a hackney cab and gave him her aunt’s address. As usual the capital was teeming with people, but Emmy was so nervous she barely noticed as the cab wove its way through the traffic. At her aunt’s, the maid was clearly expecting her, and was waiting at the door to help her to carry her luggage into the hall.
‘The missus says I’m to show yer to yer room, miss,’ Aggie told Emmy cheerfully. ‘She’s had me put yer next door to her in case she needs yer durin’ the night.’
Emmy nodded and taking a valise in each hand she followed Aggie up the curving staircase to a magnificent galleried landing dotted with fancy little tables and bric-a-brac. They proceeded along it until Aggie stopped and threw a door open. ‘This ’ere is your room, miss. An’ that un next door is the missus’s room. Oh, an’ I’m Aggie by the way.’
Emmy stepped past her and once again blinked as she tried to take everything in. Just like the rest of the house the room was lavishly decorated and furnished. A huge four-poster bed surrounded by thick pink velvet drapes stood against one wall and matching curtains hung at the long sash-cord window. The bed was piled high with pink satin pillows trimmed with lace and a deep-pink eiderdown. A highly polished rosewood armoire with matching drawers stood against another wall and a pink deep-pile carpet covered almost all of the floor area. There was a dainty desk and chair in front of the window and an elegant chaise longue along the bottom of the bed. As in the drawing room, the walls were covered in gilt-framed mirrors and paintings of angelic cherubs.
Emmy couldn’t help but chuckle. ‘Crikey, I hardly know what to look at first,’ she admitted in a whisper. ‘There’s so much to take in. It’s all very .?.?.’ She strove to find a way to describe the room before ending, ‘Elaborate!’
