The meal that followed was delicious and throughout, Emmy was amused to see her mother passing titbits to Bruno under the table.
‘I was amazed to see that you’d got yourself a dog,’ Emmy commented innocently.
Dorcas had the good grace to blush. ‘I know I always said you and Abigail couldn’t have one because of the mess they’d make but in actual fact, apart from the odd little accident, he’s as good as gold,’ Dorcas said apologetically. ‘And I feel so much safer knowing he’s here now that your father’s .?.?. Well, he keeps me company and I don’t feel so lonely when he’s around.’ She quickly blinked back the tears that had welled in her eyes.
Emmy was even more shocked at that. It was the first time since her father had disappeared that she had seen her mother show any signs of missing him and she wondered what had brought about the change of heart.
The next surprise came after the meal when they were sitting enjoying a cup of tea. Emmy took some of the wages she had saved from her bag and pushed the money across the table to her mother, but instead of snatching it up as Emmy had expected her to, she smiled and slid it back to her.
‘Thank you, that’s very kind of you but we’re managing very well now, aren’t we, Hetty?’
Hetty nodded and Dorcas went on, ‘Bernard supplies us with fresh meat, eggs and milk and we grow our own vegetables out the back. Hetty’s brother has been wonderful too at selling some of the trinkets we fetched from Astley House, so we’re actually very comfortable. And our anonymous benefactor is continuously leaving us money on the doorstep each month, although we still have no idea who it is. They tend to bring it on the same day monthly and I tried to stay up to catch whoever it was leaving it but I’m afraid I fell asleep. And now tell me, how is Imogen?’
The smile slid from Emmy’s face as she sighed. ‘Actually, she’s very poorly. As well as the muscle-wasting disease she’s suffering from, she also has a weak heart.’
‘And is there nothing that can be done for her?’ Her mother was finding it hard to imagine her once glamorous sister this way.
‘I’m afraid not. All I can do is make her as comfortable as I can, which isn’t easy because she’s very independent.’
‘At least that hasn’t changed,’ Dorcas commented. ‘And what about Abi, have you seen her again?’
Emmy decided it was time for a few white lies. There was no point in telling her mother the truth about the place she had found her sister living and working in, it would only worry her. ‘I have actually and she looks really well,’ she said glibly, at least that was the truth because Abi had been absolutely glowing and was clearly enjoying her new life.
‘And did she say if she might be coming home for a visit soon? I won’t try and force her to stay if she does.’
‘I think she’s just settling in at the minute but I’m sure she will when she has time,’ Emmy forced herself to say and she was rewarded when she saw her mother’s face relax a little.
The following day seemed to pass in the blink of an eye and at one point Emmy took Bruno for a walk to take a peek at her former home. She could only view it from a distance because the new owners were in it now and she felt sad as she thought back to the happy times she had spent there. How their lives had changed since her father had left! Thoughts of the gentle man brought stinging tears to her eyes. She still constantly worried about him and wondered where he was. She knew that he must have been in a very dark place to abandon them as he had, for she had never doubted that he loved them.
Turning about she made her way back to the cottage and when she entered, she was surprised to see her Aunt Sybil seated at the table sipping tea from one of her mother’s delicate cups and saucers. She was dressed in a dull-grey gown and with her hair pulled severely back into a tight little knot at the back of her head she looked just as formidable as Emmy remembered her being.
‘Ah, Emerald. Your mother said you were here on a visit. Been to look at your old home, have you?’
Emmy detected a gloating look in her eyes and was instantly on the defensive. ‘No, I just fancied a breath of fresh air,’ she answered, not wanting to give her aunt the satisfaction of seeing that she was bothered.
‘Oh, the new people who own it arequitedelightful,’ her aunt twittered on and Emmy saw her mother flinch. ‘The Nelson-Hyams live there now and the lady of the house has been to take tea with me on a few occasions. They’re extremely wealthy and distantly related to royalty, I believe.’
‘How nice,’ Emmy said through clenched teeth. Her aunt clearly hadn’t changed a bit since she’d been away and was still as big a snob as ever. She certainly hadn’t missed her, although she realised now that she missed the clean fresh air and the wide-open spaces, so different to the smoggy London streets. She took a seat and sat quietly as her aunt finished her tea.
Finally the woman stood up. ‘I really must be off now, Dorcas. The maid will be preparing to serve afternoon tea soon and you know what a stickler Bernard is for routine.’
Dorcas inclined her head and after their goodbyes Sybil glided from the room like a ship in full sail.
‘She’s still as annoying as ever, I see,’ Emmy commented once her aunt had gone, and to her surprise her mother grinned as she took the dirty cups to the sink.
‘Ah well, she’s on her own for most of the time. Bernard is always off somewhere or another and she has very little to do with all those maids to wait on her so I suppose she gossips to fill in the time. I sometimes get the impression that she isn’t quite as happy with her lot as she makes out to be.’
Once again, Emmy was surprised at her mother’s reaction. Not so long ago she would have been spitting feathers by now and calling Sybil all the names under the sun, but she was much mellower and Emmy approved of the change. ‘Long may it last,’ she muttered under her breath as her mother carried a cup of tea and a slice of Hetty’s excellent fruit cake to the table to give her.
Before she knew it, it was Sunday evening and time to pack her bag to return to London.
‘I shall miss you,’ her mother told her with tears in her eyes as they said their goodbyes. Emmy would have to leave to begin the long walk into town very early the next morning to catch the first train to London, and so they had no idea when they might see each other again. It all depended on how well Imogen was or if her mother did decide to visit.
‘I can’t believe the change in her,’ Emmy commented to Hetty as they sat enjoying a cup of cocoa together when her mother had retired to bed. ‘It’s as if someone’s waved a magic wand and put someone else in her place.’
Hetty chuckled. ‘Hm, I reckon I might ’ave had an ’and in that,’ she admitted without a trace of remorse. ‘She was sinkin’ deeper an’ deeper into depression so I had to put me foot up her arse an’ give her a short sharp shock.’
‘And how did you manage that?’
