Riches to Rags Page 11

  It was impossible to resist the temptation to have a peek after about twenty minutes. It was rising nicely and she was so proud, but there was one thing she wasn’t sure about. She popped into the front room. ‘Ma, how do you tell when a cake is cooked?’

  ‘You stick a knife in the middle, ducky. If it comes out clean, then it’s done.’

  ‘Thanks.’ She returned to the kitchen and hovered by the stove until the cooking time was over. When she opened the oven door, she was disappointed to see that it had collapsed in the middle, but the knife came out clean so it must be cooked.

  Using a cloth, Jenny picked up the tin and took it to Ma. ‘It’s sunk!’

  Ma studied the cake and pursed her lips. ‘Did you open the oven door too soon?’

  ‘I had a look to see how it was getting on,’ she admitted, watching the elderly woman’s face carefully. She wasn’t sure if she was going to tell her off for making a mess of it, or burst into helpless laughter. It was hard to tell from her guarded expression.

  ‘Ah, that’s why. You shouldn’t do that.’ Ma leant forward and sniffed. ‘It smells all right, though. Tip it out and leave it upside down and the hole in the middle won’t show so much.’

  Jenny eyed it doubtfully. ‘Is it going to be edible?’

  Ma did chuckle then. ‘If you mean can we eat it, well, there’s only one way to find out. Put the kettle on and we’ll try it.’

  As Jenny went back to the kitchen, she heard Ma give a stifled hoot of laughter. When the tea was made, she cut two slices of the hot cake and took them back to the front room. Jenny didn’t touch hers but watched Ma eat in silence, gazing into space as she chewed each mouthful and picking up the last of the crumbs with the tip of her finger and popping them in her mouth. After giving the cake her very careful tasting test, Ma grinned at Jenny. ‘Don’t look very pretty, but it tastes all right. Not bad for a first effort.’

  Jenny beamed at the praise.

  Ma was still asleep when Jenny looked in her room at five the next morning, and she didn’t wake her. She doubted the elderly woman got up early, so she’d get her breakfast when she got back.

  Ivy was waiting for her and they went to the first job of the morning: a school about a mile away. Jenny met the boss and was officially taken on as part of the cleaning staff. For the next two hours she scrubbed endless corridors, dusted and polished. She’d thought the work hard as under housemaid, but it had been easy compared to this. She didn’t care. She had somewhere to stay and a job. Yesterday she had been on the brink of admitting defeat and returning home to accept her fate. Glad and her lovely family had quickly put that notion out of her head.

  The end of the passage was finally reached, and Jenny sat back on her heels to look at the gleaming floor, tired but with a sense of satisfaction. Of course she knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Glad and her family lived tough lives, but she would be safe with them for a while. Her life was uncertain, and it would be best to take things a day at a time. What the future held would depend upon the spin of the coin, and one day it would fall as heads, she assured herself firmly. Although she had never been superstitious, she had to cling to some kind of hope or else she would sink into despair, and that would be fruitless. She was young with time on her side!

  Jenny was back by eight to get Ma a hurried breakfast of bread and butter. She’d offered to make her toast, but the elderly woman had complained that her teeth wasn’t too good now and could she have something she could suck! Highly amused by Ma’s dry remarks, she just had time to put the plates in the sink before dashing off to her next job. This was at an engineering factory and even harder work. There were iron filings all over the floor that had to be swept up, then the offices to be polished. The washrooms were a disgrace, the smell making her heave. She followed Ivy’s lead, and between them they managed to make them presentable.

  ‘That’s it for today, Jen.’ Ivy grimaced and rubbed her back. ‘Thank goodness we only have to do this place once a week.’

  Jenny heartily agreed and was grateful to have had Ivy’s bright company on her first morning in the job.

  Once back home, Ivy waved goodbye as she hurried off to see to her baby son. ‘See you the same time tomorrow, Jen.’

  A small sliver of sunlight broke through a cloud and made the dingy street look almost pleasant. Jenny lifted her face and felt the warmth on her tired eyes. She ached from head to toe after scrubbing those endless corridors, but at that moment she felt content. She had somewhere to stay, a job and was among friends. In her situation she couldn’t ask for more than that.

  When she stepped into Ma’s front room she had a smile on her face.

  11

  Sunday morning was Matt’s favourite time. His parents and brothers were all engrossed in the newspapers, and the atmosphere was peaceful. He glanced around the drawing room: there was a fire burning in the grate – so warm, comfortable and safe. His thoughts turned to the young girl who had fled from their house. That had been three weeks ago, and a day never went by without Matt wondering about her …

  The butler entered carrying a silver tray with a message for his father.

  ‘What is it, Gilbert?’ his wife asked, as he read the card.

  He frowned fiercely, obviously displeased about the intrusion on their quiet Sunday morning. ‘There’s a Mr Albert Greaves and a Mrs Gertrude Osborne asking to see us urgently. Do you know them, Louise?’

  ‘I’ve never met them, but …’ Louise Stannard frowned. ‘Greaves? The name sounds familiar.’

  ‘That’s the name Gloria mentioned at the New Year dinner party.’ Matt put his newspaper down. ‘What on earth can they want?’

  ‘Goodness knows,’ his mother said, ‘but if they are here, we had better find out.’

  Her husband sighed. ‘Send them up.’

  ‘Do you want us to leave?’ John asked.

  ‘No, no.’ Their father waved a hand in irritation. ‘They won’t be staying long.’

  From the tone of his father’s voice Matt knew that the visitors would be politely, but firmly, ushered out as quickly as possible. Their peaceful Sunday mornings were sacrosanct, and all their friends knew better than to disturb them before lunch.

  The visitors were shown in, and the three brothers stood politely while introductions were made; then they all sat down.

  ‘We apologize for calling uninvited like this,’ Mr Greaves said smoothly. ‘We are looking for someone and must follow up every lead, however tenuous it might be.’

  ‘Indeed.’ Mrs Osborne sniffed in distaste. ‘We have even taken to listening to the servants’ gossip. That is how we found out that you had dismissed someone for stealing who sounded like my niece.’

  Matt was a pretty good judge of character, and there was something about this pair that made him uneasy, especially the man. It was obvious he drank too much and there was a strange, unstable look in his eyes. Not a person to be trusted.

  ‘We are looking for this girl – Eugenie Winford,’ Mrs Osborne said, getting to her feet and handing his father a miniature. ‘That is a likeness of her when she was twelve. She is seventeen now, but she can’t have changed much in appearance.’

  His father never said a word but handed the picture to his wife. Matt and his brothers also went over to have a look.

  ‘Charming. And what is your interest in this girl?’ Louise asked, after casting a warning glance at her sons.

  She was standing right behind her husband and Matt could see that she was gripping his father’s shoulder firmly, alerting him not to speak either. It came as a shock, but there was no mistaking that this was a portrait of the girl who had been their under housemaid.

  ‘I’m her aunt.’

  ‘And I’m her intended husband,’ Mr Greaves announced.

  Matt stared at him, trying to mask his disgust. No wonder the poor girl had fled to scrub floors.

  ‘We understand the girl once in your employ was about the right age and had dark hair and brown eyes.’

&n
bsp; ‘Then you were misinformed, Mrs Osborne.’ Louise gave a regretful smile. ‘The housemaid who stole from us had fair hair, pale skin and blue eyes. And she was at least twenty.’

  ‘Her mother must be very worried,’ Gilbert said, speaking for the first time. ‘May we ask why your niece ran away?’

  ‘After her father, Cyrus Winford, lost all his money in the crash and killed himself, Eugenie was distraught and fled. My sister has not coped well, and is incapable of dealing with her own affairs.’ Mrs Osborne didn’t try to hide her scorn. ‘That has left me with the burden of trying to find her wayward daughter.’

  Matt turned away and wandered over to the window in order to hide his look of fury. Poor little devil!

  ‘Do you believe that your niece would be working as a servant?’ Their mother’s face was a picture of disbelief as she handed the picture back to Mrs Osborne.

  ‘We have tried all her friends and anyone she might have gone to, without success,’ Mrs Osborne told them. ‘She walked out with few possessions and nothing of any great value. So we have come to the conclusion that she would have needed a roof over her head, and one way to do that is to become a servant. We are now reduced to investigating any lead. She is very wilful. After her father’s unfortunate demise, Mr Greaves had been willing to give her a good home and a prestigious marriage as soon as she was old enough. Ungrateful girl!’

  ‘She is strong-minded,’ Mr Greaves said, ‘but she would soon have come in line. The Templeton School has fitted her only for a life of privilege.’

  Matt felt like punching his bloated face as he felt John stir beside him. His eldest brother had a very short temper. How he would love to tell this arrogant man that he was quite wrong. Eugenie had indeed been their under housemaid, and had been very capable of hard work. His respect for her grew. What courage the child had.

  ‘Are you certain you haven’t seen her?’ Mrs Osborne persisted. ‘You can’t see it in the picture, but she has unusual eyes, inherited from her American father. They are pale brown and in certain lights appear almost amber.’

  Gilbert Stannard rose to his feet, clearly intent on bringing this visit to an end. ‘As my wife has told you, we do not know the girl. It is a tragedy and I’m sorry we cannot be of assistance to you.’

  ‘If you ever do come across her, I’m offering a handsome reward of one hundred pounds.’ Mr Greaves looked proud about that.

  ‘Very generous.’ Louise smiled sweetly, then looked across at the butler, who was still standing by the door. ‘Show our visitors out, please.’

  Matt bowed politely and watched them leave, bursting with fury.

  ‘I hope you’ve hidden yourself well, little Jenny,’ Luke muttered beside him.

  There was silence in the room until they knew their visitors had left the house.

  ‘Well!’ Louise exclaimed. ‘What a disagreeable pair. But that settles the mystery about our under housemaid. Jenny Baker had indeed been Eugenie Winford. No wonder that poor girl ran away.’

  ‘I agree, my dear. However, I didn’t like lying to them.’

  ‘But we didn’t, Gilbert.’ She faced her husband. ‘We told them that the girl we had caught stealing was not the one they were looking for.’

  ‘We lied by omission, though,’ her husband corrected.

  His wife had the grace to look uncomfortable. ‘Ah, I know, but what could we have told them? We don’t know where Jenny, or Eugenie, is, do we?’

  ‘That’s true.’ Matt joined in. ‘The fact that she attended the Templeton School explains why she rushed out of the dining room during our New Year dinner. Gloria Tremain would have recognized her. In view of what we have learnt, I think we should renew our efforts to find her.’

  ‘John,’ their mother said, ‘you are looking very thoughtful. What do you make of it?’

  ‘Matt’s right – we should try to track her down.’ John gazed into space, frowning.

  Matt knew his eldest brother well and respected his intelligence. ‘What’s troubling you?’

  ‘We have been told that Miss Winford’s father lost everything in the Wall Street crash, so the family is obviously penniless.’ John frowned in concentration. ‘That dragon of a woman has given her sister a home. And from the sound of it she has taken over her affairs …’

  ‘And I would think she has no love for her niece,’ his father remarked, ‘but what is your point, John?’

  ‘As I listened to them, I had the distinct impression that they were quite desperate to find her.’

  ‘That’s because that objectionable man, Albert Greaves, wants a young wife.’ Louise pulled a face in disgust.

  John gave a wry smile. ‘I expect you’re right. I have a very suspicious mind.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Their father pulled the bell rope. When the butler appeared, he ordered coffee for all of them. ‘Oh, and would you ask Edna to bring it up, please, and we’d like you and Mrs Douglas to come as well.’

  Green bowed and left the room.

  ‘Why do you want to see them?’ Luke asked.

  ‘The housemaid was friendly with the girl, and she might have information that wouldn’t reach us. And we should tell the staff what’s going on, just in case those people start questioning them.’

  ‘I wouldn’t put that past them,’ Matt said.

  When they had gathered together Green, Mrs Douglas and Edna, Gilbert explained that Jenny was really Eugenie Winford, and that her aunt and Albert Greaves were doing all they could to find her.

  ‘You would like us to deny that she ever worked here?’ Green asked.

  ‘We don’t like asking you to lie,’ John told them, ‘but it might be best until we can find out more.’

  ‘Our lips are sealed.’ Mrs Douglas looked scandalized. ‘That poor dear girl.’

  Edna had been standing, head bowed, ever since she’d entered the room.

  ‘If you know anything, Edna, you will tell us, won’t you?’ Matt spoke gently, for the girl was obviously distressed. ‘We will not give her away. She needs help and we would like to see what we can do for her.’

  Edna looked up then, tears in her eyes. ‘I guessed she was posh, but she didn’t mind getting her hands dirty. Never complained neither.’

  ‘She has much courage.’ Louise gave the housemaid an encouraging smile. ‘You were her friend, so have you any idea where she might be?’

  ‘I don’t know where she is, but I did get a letter from her yesterday. She said I wasn’t to worry about her ’cos she’s all right. Someone’s taken her in.’

  ‘Have you still got the letter?’ John asked.

  Edna pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to him. ‘She don’t say much. It’s no more than a note, really.’

  ‘I don’t want to read your personal mail, Edna. We are looking for any clue as to where she has gone.’ He studied the envelope carefully. ‘This was posted in Kensington. Does she know anyone there?’ he asked, handing it back to her.

  ‘I don’t think so, sir. The only place she ever mentioned to me was Lambeth.’

  ‘I expect that was just something she conjured up to throw people off the scent. And she’d be very careful not to post it in the borough she was living in now.’ Luke gave Matt an inquiring glance. ‘We could go to have a drive around Lambeth, I suppose.’

  ‘We’ll do that,’ Matt agreed. At least he would feel as if he were doing something. ‘But it will be a hopeless task trying to find her. That’s if she’s even there.’

  ‘You’d have to look in the poor places, ’cos she ain’t got no money,’ Edna told them helpfully.

  ‘You mean in the slums?’ Luke asked.

  Edna nodded her head miserably. ‘Places like that.’

  ‘Thank you all for your help.’ Gilbert dismissed the staff. ‘I know we can rely on your discretion.’

  Once they left, the family settled down to coffee.

  ‘What are we going to do now?’ Luke wanted to know.

  ‘Keep searching for the poor girl.’ Louise gave a help
less shrug. ‘Though if the determined Mrs Osborne can’t find her, we shall have little chance, I think.’

  They all agreed that the chances of finding her were slim.

  12

  ‘Come and sit down.’

  Jenny stopped clearing the table. ‘I’ll just wash the tea things first, Ma.’

  ‘Leave them, they won’t run away.’ Ma pointed to the chair opposite her. ‘Sit there. I want to talk to you.’

  As Jenny sat down, it was hard to stifle a groan of relief. She ached in every limb.

  ‘You look fair worn out, Jen, and you’re getting skinny.’ Ma studied her with a ferocious glint in her eyes. ‘You ain’t been born for such hard graft.’

  ‘I’m fine –’

  Ma gave a dismissive wave of her hand. ‘No, you ain’t. You’re up at the crack of dawn scrubbing and polishing, and then you comes back here to look after a cantankerous old woman like me. It’s slavery, my girl, and don’t try to deny it! And I’ve got a nasty suspicion that you’re spending your hard-earned cash on seeing I get some good food. I ain’t never ate so good, and I dare you to say that isn’t so.’

  Jenny couldn’t. This was much harder than working as an under housemaid. At least there she had time off and wonderful food. Now it was go from morning to night, with meals of whatever they could afford. She dipped her head, unable to meet the old woman’s shrewd gaze. ‘You got to have proper food; I know you’re not well. And as for the hard work, I’ll get used to that.’

  ‘That’s as may be. You worry about me too much; I’m as fit as any woman of my age deserves to be.’

  ‘I like you, Ma, and you’ve been so kind to give me a room with you –’

  ‘Poof!’ Ma snorted. ‘Kindness ain’t got nothing to do with it. You needed a roof over your head and I needed some help. I thought it would be a fair exchange, but I’ve got the better bargain. Are you sure this is right for you? Couldn’t you go home?’ she asked gently.