For a moment, Mrs. Davenport stiffened, but then released a sigh. “I vowed years ago that I would never speak of what happened to my family. However, because you’ve borne the brunt of my more than mercurial moods at times, moods that were a direct result of my past, I owe you an explanation. In sharing the pathetic reality of my past, I hope you’ll finally be able to understand that you were far more tolerant of me than you should have been, and far kinder than I deserve.”
“I have my reasons for being tolerant of you and your peculiar habits, Mrs. Davenport, not all of which are a result of my needing the wages you afford me.”
“And while I would love to distract everyone with questions about those reasons, I believe it’ll be for the best if I simply spit out the whole horrible truth, making a clean break of matters once and for all.”
Straightening her spine, Mrs. Davenport began to speak, her words tumbling out of her mouth one right after another.
“As I mentioned, I’d begun behaving badly to attract Roy’s attention, but what I have yet to disclose is I enjoyed behaving that way. I absolutely adored shocking the staid members of society and reveling in the attention the designs I created and then wore around society attracted. As Jane grew older, I turned my styling efforts in her direction, dressing her in clothing that mimicked mine, never noticing the poor child was miserable being trotted around to all my events, then put on display like a performing pony.”
“I imagine your daughter enjoyed the time she was able to spend with you,” Gertrude countered. “I was not fortunate enough to have a mother who wanted me around, and I’ve always been envious of the girls who were blessed with attentive mothers.”
“I don’t believe Jane considered me a blessing, dear. She hated the way I’d try to style her hair, hated all the ‘fussiness,’ as she called it, that I’d add to her gowns, and hated knowing her friends were whispering about the rumors swirling around town, especially regarding my drinking. I never paid her complaints any mind, though, probably because my drinking was increasing every day back then and my thoughts weren’t exactly clear.”
Mrs. Davenport looked up at the ceiling for a long moment, then turned her attention to the stained-glass window again. “Well, Roy got wind of what I’d been up to—he’d been off sailing, you see, with one of his many lady friends, and he wasn’t pleased with me when he returned home.” She shook her head and smiled rather sadly. “I can remember the exact day he returned—it was Jane’s tenth birthday, and because I’d invited numerous little girls to our home to celebrate, I insisted Jane wear one of my creations, one that exactly matched a dress I’d designed for myself.”
“Oh ... dear” was all Gertrude could think of to say.
“Indeed, especially since our dresses were covered with rows of bows, and then I put more bows in our hair, lending both of us the appearance of tiered cakes. Jane tried to get me to relent, but I would hear none of her arguments.”
“You forced your daughter to attend her own party looking like a birthday cake?” Gertrude asked.
“That’s not the worst of it. Because I heard a few of the mothers mocking my outfit that day, I helped myself to all their pin money, and anything else of interest in the reticules those women had given over to our butler to store.”
“Good heavens.”
“Quite. Even though all those ladies believed the thefts had been perpetrated by someone on my staff, because that’s what I told them, and told them I’d dismissed that person, Roy knew exactly who the thief was when he showed up at the house after the party.” She shook her head. “We got into an enormous row, not helped by the fact that I’d been drinking steadily since morning, and at the very end of it, Roy told me he’d had enough. He also told me that since Jane was no longer a young child, it was time for him to take over raising her. And when I put up a loud fuss, he stalked out of the room, telling me I was an unfit mother and couldn’t be trusted with Jane another day.”
She shook her head sadly. “I didn’t realize how determined he was to get our daughter away from me. So, instead of immediately going to make certain Jane was fine, I helped myself to a bottle of wine first. By the time I finished that bottle and made my way up to her room, she was gone, as was Roy. All they’d left me was Jane’s horrid birthday dress and a Bible I have to imagine Jane purposely left for me to see, one with the ancestry pages shredded into a pile on the floor and a ribbon marking Scripture that implied I’d forsaken her.”
“It’s no wonder you looked like a ghost when I brought down that trunk,” Gertrude said.
Mrs. Davenport nodded. “I hadn’t seen that trunk since I threw the dress and Bible in it and had one of my footmen cart it up to the attic the very day Roy and Jane left.”
“But they eventually came back, didn’t they?”
“No, I’ve never seen either of them again. Roy emptied our bank account, although I had several my father had set up for me he didn’t know about, and then he and Jane disappeared.” She nodded to the stained-glass window. “Jane used to be enraptured with that window, having been told her father purchased it to honor her birth. She idolized him and blamed me for his never being around, which only added to the fantasy she created about him being so perfect.” She dashed a tear from her cheek. “I imagine Roy turned her completely against me over the years, but I still hold out hope that Jane will someday want to come back to New York, if only to see her special window again.”
“Jane’s who you’ve been searching for all these years, isn’t she, and why you insist on attending so many services,” Gertrude said.
Mrs. Davenport nodded. “I know she’ll never forgive me for how I treated her all those years ago, but I would like to have an opportunity to tell her I’m sorry.” Tears sprang to her eyes again as she caught Gertrude’s gaze. “I need to tell you I’m sorry as well, my dear. I’ve behaved horribly with you over the years, what with the outfits I’ve made you wear, the hairstyle horrors, and the expectation that you’ll return all the items I pick up here and there that don’t belong to me. You’ve stuck by me no matter what, and because of that, I must beg your forgiveness and express how deeply sorry I am to have expected so very much from you while giving you nothing in return. I don’t expect you to forgive me. I do hope, however, that you’ll eventually understand that what I asked of you was done to see how far I could push you. I’ve recently realized I did that pushing because I didn’t believe I was worthy of your companionship. It’s a great testimony to your character that you took every push I aimed your way with such grace, never pushing back at me as I’m sure you wanted to do at times.”
Gertrude reached over and took hold of Mrs. Davenport’s hand. “Working for you was not always a trial, Mrs. Davenport. I enjoyed the attention you spent on me, which filled a part of the void my mother left when she died.”
Mrs. Davenport gave Gertrude’s hand a squeeze. “May I dare hope that you might be able to forgive me someday then?”
“Of course I forgive you, and you don’t have to wait for someday since I forgive you today.”
“And may I also dare hope that you’ll reconsider tendering your notice and continue working for me?”
“Of course Gertrude isn’t going to continue working for you.”
Turning toward the voice, Gertrude blinked when she discovered Miss Henrietta Huxley standing directly beside the pew, in the company of her sister, Miss Mabel Huxley, along with Edwina, Harrison’s sister, peering over Miss Henrietta’s shoulder, her eyes alight with curiosity.
Before Gertrude could greet anyone, or Mrs. Davenport could raise the argument that was clearly on the tip of her tongue, Miss Henrietta held up a hand, effectively keeping everyone silent.
“You, Mrs. Davenport, have clearly been running amok for far too long, and while I have proclaimed myself interested in taking a few of the wallflowers in hand—” she shot a glance to Gertrude, then to Temperance, then returned it to Mrs. Davenport—“after hearing your confession, of which I’m not ashamed about listening to, if that was in question, I’ve decided that your needs are greater than theirs. That means Mabel and I are going to intervene in your life, and I’ll hear no arguments about that, if you please.”
Chapter
