‘It ’appened one day when I ’ad to ask ’er to lift ’er feet so as I could sweep underneath, ’em!’ Hetty shook her head. ‘Can yer believe it? It were as if her backside were bloody glued to that chair an’ on this particular day I just ’it the roof an’ told ’er if she didn’t pull ’erself together an’ make an effort I were off, I’d ’ad enough!’
Emmy blinked in surprise. ‘And how did that go down?’ At one time, she knew, had any of the servants dared to talk to her mother that way she would have dismissed them on the spot.
‘Funnily enough it seemed to do the trick, cos after sittin’ there cryin’ for a while she actually got up to put the kettle on an’ thankfully she ain’t looked back since.’
‘Well done you,’ Emmy praised. At least she could return to London with her mind easier now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
‘When are you going to take me to meet your parents?’ Abi asked as she slipped a feather-trimmed peignoir over her curvy figure while Hugo lay in bed sucking on a cigar.
They’d been spending almost every night together for the past few weeks, but still he had made no move to introduce her to his family.
‘What’s the rush? We’re happy, aren’t we?’ His lazy smile made her heart skip a beat. He was so handsome that just the sight of him turned her legs to jelly every time she saw him and he knew it.
‘Er .?.?. yes, of course we are but .?.?.’ She chewed on her lip as she chose her words carefully. ‘But we’ve .?.?. we’re, you know? Together in all ways now, aren’t we, so shouldn’t we be making it officially known that we are a couple?’
‘Hold on, we’re still both very young,’ he pointed out. ‘And I don’t think my parents, or yours for that matter, would be too pleased if they thought we were becoming too serious about each other.’
‘But we’ve .?.?. we’re .?.?.’ Abi was finding this very embarrassing but was determined to get her point across. ‘I’ve given myself to you in all ways now so surely we should make some commitment to each other?’
‘What?You mean get betrothed or something?’
She nodded eagerly. ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. We wouldn’t need to get married until we’re both a little older, but it would be nice to show each other that this is forever.’
Crushing the cigar out in the ashtray at the side of the bed, Hugo clambered out and began to yank his clothes on and Abi couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t look at all excited about the idea.
‘Youdolove me, don’t you?’ she whimpered uncertainly.
Instantly he came to take her in his arms. ‘Why, of course I do, you silly little goose.’ He kissed the end of her nose, trying to ignore the feel of her soft breasts pressing against his chest. Normally he would have dragged her back to bed and made love to her all over again but she’d quite put him off the idea now. He pushed her away a little. ‘But because we’re so young we don’t want to have our parents objecting to the union. Let’s just give it a little more time and then I’d love my parents to meet you. I’m sure they’ll love you.’
Abi watched as he pulled on his boots and although he had said all the right things the first little niggling doubts about his intentions began to creep into her head. She’d noticed that over the last couple of weeks his visits to the club hadn’t been quite so frequent and he’d been too busy to see her during the day too, although his reasons for not doing so had always seemed very valid.
‘Surely you’re not leaving yet?’ she questioned him. ‘It’s barely ten o’clock.’
‘I know and I apologise for having to dash off but I have to be up early in the morning to accompany my mother to France. Unfortunately, we’ve had word that my grandfather has taken ill; I might be away for a couple of weeks or so depending on how he is. I’m so sorry to drop it on you like this but I wanted to come and explain.’
‘Oh, I see .?.?. I’m sorry about your grandfather.’ Abi was feeling devastated. He was the first person she thought of every morning and the last before going to sleep each night so every day she didn’t see him now felt like a year. How was she going to cope with him being away for weeks? she wondered.
He came over to kiss her and she clung to him like a limpet.
‘I’ll be back as soon as I can,’ he promised as he eventually put her from him. ‘You look after yourself. Goodbye.’ He left without a backward glance, heading off down the stairs and back into the club again for a last game of poker with Jasper and his friends before he left.
Once he’d gone Abi got dressed and went back to the club too. If she didn’t show her face early in the evening she would be in Lilly’s bad books.
Lilly was at the bar when she entered the smoky room, and raising her eyebrow she nodded towards some of the customers who were sitting alone. And so with a sigh Abi approached one of them. He was a middle-aged gentleman with a red face and the most enormous moustache she’d ever seen. She batted her eyes at him and before long she had him eating out of the palm of her hand, although she constantly glanced towards Hugo who was seemingly unaware of her.
Eventually he rose from the card table. He had lost a lot of money again and knowing that he would have to go cap in hand to his mother for yet another handout he wasn’t in the best of moods, so he didn’t even acknowledge Abi as he walked out, leaving her feeling thoroughly miserable.
‘Lover boy disappeared early, didn’t he?’ Bella commented when the last of the customers had finally left in the early hours of the morning. Then seeing the sad look on Abi’s face, she patted her arm. ‘You are taking precautions like I showed you, aren’t you, queen?’
It was more than obvious that Abi had succumbed to the young lord’s advances and Bella felt sorry for her, knowing Hugo as she did. He’d bedded almost every girl in the club since she’d been working there and had soon tired of them once he’d had what he wanted from them. It was no use telling Abi that, though. She knew love was blind and she had the terrible feeling that Abi was going to get her heart broken.
Abi blushed. ‘Yes .?.?. of course I am, and he left early because he has to go away for a while. His grandfather is very ill,’ she answered, although the first part wasn’t absolutely true. She knew that if she should fall for a child Hugo would marry her earlier than they planned so what did it matter if she didn’t take precautions?
‘Good, but just, er .?.?. be careful, eh?’ Bella liked the girl despite her hoity-toity ways. She’d clearly come from a good background and was nowhere near as streetwise as many of the girls that worked there, which meant she was as green as grass when it came to men and their needs. They parted at the top of the stairs and once in her room, Abi lifted the pillow that Hugo had lain on and breathed in the scent of him as tears slid down her cheeks. He loved her, she was sure of it, and although she dreaded the time they would be apart, she was confident he would come back to her as soon as his grandfather started to recover.So why am I so worried?she asked herself.
As Emmy yawned and stretched on the following Sunday morning, she smiled. Jake was coming to pick her up early today and they were going to take a picnic to the park. Hopping out of bed she smiled again when she saw the sun already shining and after slipping into her robe, she hurried along the landing to check on her aunt. She had been slightly better over the last few days but had decided that this year she wouldn’t be going to her house at the coast.
