Authors: Dilly Court
‘Never mind that, Grandpa,’ Nell said hastily. ‘Lily will go to the baker’s and there’s a heel of cheese left from supper last night, but you’ll have to make do with tea this morning.’
‘But I can smell good ale,’ Grandpa muttered. ‘It comes out of the walls and up through the floorboards, even though the beer shop closed years ago.’
Lily jumped to her feet and as she did so she noticed that a small crowd had gathered in the street below. She craned her neck to get a better look and realised with a sinking heart that some of the men held notebooks in their hands, and at least three of them were setting up cameras on tripods aimed at the fire station.
One of them looked up and caught sight of her. He raised his hand and pointed. She could see his lips working although she could not hear his words, but the upturned faces of the onlookers confirmed that she had been recognised. She backed away from the window, knocking a chair over in her haste.
‘For Gawd’s sake, what’s wrong with the girl?’ Grandpa demanded, wiping spilt tea from the front of his nightshirt. ‘Look what you made me do, you silly thing.’
‘What is it, Lily?’ Nell moved towards the window but withdrew quickly. ‘Oh, my goodness.’
‘What’s up?’ Aggie demanded.
‘It’s the press,’ Nell whispered. ‘They’re practically mobbing the place. We must keep out of sight and perhaps they’ll go away.’
The words had hardly left her lips when a loud rapping on the outer door made them all jump.
‘Open up. We know you’re there, Miss Lily Larkin. You was seen at the window. We just want a few words from you. Open up.’
Someone in the passageway was hammering on the door so loudly that the whole building seemed to shake. There was a breathless hush in the room as they stared helplessly at each other. Grandpa Larkin was the first to speak and he put down his teacup with a thud. ‘I’ll go and sort the buggers out. I ain’t having my breakfast spoiled by the likes of those rowdies.’ His bare feet made soft padding noises as he strode across the room with his nightcap askew. Nell just managed to catch him before he reached the landing.
‘You can’t go downstairs like that, Grandpa. What will they think?’
‘It doesn’t matter what they think. I won’t have this sort of behaviour.’
Lily hurried to Nell’s aid. ‘But Grandpa, supposing they take a photograph of you in your nightshirt, what would Bill and the others say if you were on the front page of the evening papers?’
He seemed to shrink inside his voluminous nightshirt like a candle flame extinguished under a snuffer. ‘They wouldn’t dare. I was a man of consequence.’
‘They’ve no consciences,’ Aggie said darkly. ‘They just want blood.’
‘Leave them to Matt.’ Nell slipped her arm around
her grandfather’s skinny shoulders. ‘He’ll soon put a stop to their little game.’ She nudged him gently out onto the landing. ‘Go and get dressed, Grandpa, and as soon as the newspaper men go away Lily will go to the shop and get fresh bread for your breakfast.’
He shot her a sideways glance. ‘And a jug of porter?’
Nell nodded her head. ‘All right. Just this once – after all, it is Christmas Eve.’ She helped him into the back bedroom.
Left alone on the landing, Lily stood at the top of the stairs listening to the din in the passage, but a new sound added to the reporters’ clamour: the clatter of booted feet and shouts from her brothers. There seemed to be a brief scuffle, with loud protests from the newsmen and a great deal of swearing on both sides, but the argument lasted less than a couple of minutes and appeared to end in retreat as the outer door opened and Matt strode in followed by Mark and Luke. They took the stairs two at a time and their faces were wreathed in triumphant grins.
‘Don’t go down there on any account, Lily,’ Matt said sternly. ‘They’ve left the alley but no doubt they’ll hang about in the street for a while yet.’
Mark yawned and rubbed his eyes. ‘I’m turning in as soon as I’ve had my breakfast and I guarantee I’ll be asleep before my head hits the pillow.’
‘It will soon be forgotten, ducks,’ Luke said, giving Lily an affectionate hug. ‘You’re not to worry.’
After what seemed like an eternity to Lily, who had been watching anxiously from the window, the crowd
on the pavement below began to disperse as the reporters, having apparently decided that their blockade was not working, gave up and slouched off. Having given Lily strict instructions not to venture outside on any account, Nell and Aggie took the opportunity to slip out of the building unnoticed and Lily was left to do the housework while they went to market. Matt, Mark and Luke had retired to bed, and, to Lily’s relief, Grandpa had eventually ceased complaining about his meagre breakfast and was snoozing in the chair by the window. She busied herself with the chores, but she had of necessity to go out into the back yard to empty the night soil from the chamber pots and to fetch water and coal. This entailed several trips and on the last, when she was hefting a heavy coal scuttle across the yard, she was accosted by Christian and Franklin, the reporter and photographer who had put her on the front page of the national newspapers.
‘Good morning, Miss Lily,’ Christian said, doffing his cap. ‘How does it feel to be famous?’
They had placed themselves strategically so that she could not get into the building, leaving her no alternative but to stop and talk to them. She put the heavy coal scuttle down, wiping her hands on her apron. ‘It will be forgotten by tomorrow, I’ve no doubt.’
‘Ah, such is fame,’ Franklin mused.
‘But you have an interesting history,’ Christian said slyly. ‘I’ve done a bit of sleuthing, Miss Lily, and I’ve unearthed some fascinating facts about your family.’
Lily shivered as a tingle ran up her spine, but she
held her head high, feigning ignorance. ‘I don’t know what that could be, gentlemen. Now if you’d be kind enough to let me pass, I’ve got things to do.’
Christian folded his arms across his chest. ‘This is all a bit of a comedown for your lot, isn’t it, miss? I mean, your grandpa was the dockmaster for many years, living in that big house on the waterfront, and now you’re stuck here in a couple of rented rooms above a tobacconist’s shop. Not what you’re used to, is it?’
‘It’s just temporary,’ Lily said, attempting to sound confident. ‘We’re looking for something more suitable, but my brothers have to be near the fire station.’
‘Yes, that leads me to another point. What did your brothers say when you bowled up in the middle of that huge conflagration? I can imagine that they were not best pleased; after all, you are just a girl. How old are you, miss?’
Lily decided that she did not like Christian with his mean ferret-face and insolent sneer. She looked round for a means of escape and saw that Franklin was setting up his camera. It was pointing directly at her. She picked up the coal scuttle. ‘That’s none of your business, sir. Now please let me pass. I’ve nothing more to say to you.’
‘We can’t let you go without giving us another picture, and I’d like to know how your mother will feel when she sees her daughter’s face on the front page. I understand that she ran off with her art teacher, and she’s now living in what might be called an unconventional style. You must have been quite a little girl
when she abandoned you. How did you feel about that?’
‘I’ve nothing to say.’ Lily heard her voice break with emotion despite her attempts to remain calm. She must not let them see how much their callous snooping hurt and upset her.
‘Look this way, miss.’
She turned her head to look at Franklin but when she realised he was about to take her picture she raised her hands to cover her face. ‘I don’t want this. Please go away and leave me alone.’
‘Not a chance, ducks,’ Christian said with a throaty chuckle. ‘I’m not letting this story go. Is it true that your mother’s lover is a famous artist now and keeps company with Mr Dante Gabriel Rossetti and the rest of the Brotherhood?’
‘I don’t know anything. Please let me pass. I want to go indoors.’
‘You heard her.’ Gabriel’s voice reverberated off the walls in the narrow confines of the alley. He strode up to Franklin, snatching the cloth from the camera and tossing it onto the ground. ‘Miss Larkin doesn’t want her photograph taken, thanks, mate. Now push off.’
Christian took a menacing step towards him. ‘You damage that valuable piece of equipment and you’ll have to pay for it, cully.’
‘You’re trespassing,’ Gabriel countered. ‘And you’re not welcome here. You heard the lady; she has nothing to say.’
Christian made a move towards him but Gabriel gave
him a shove that caught him off balance and sent him toppling onto the cobblestones.
‘I’ll have you in court for assault,’ Christian roared, scrambling to his feet.
Ignoring him, Gabriel took the coal scuttle from Lily’s hand. When they were safely inside he closed the door. ‘Are you all right, Lily?’
It was only then that she realised she was trembling from head to foot but she nodded her head. ‘Th-thank you. I’m fine.’
He eyed her with a quizzical smile. ‘And now you’re famous. That was a very brave thing you did last night.’
She mounted the stairs ahead of him. ‘You’ve seen the papers?’
‘I could hardly miss the story. You were headline news. Lily in the Flames – what a title for a photograph, or better still an oil painting – I wish I’d thought of it.’ He followed her up the narrow flight of stairs, hesitating in the doorway of the living room. ‘May I come in for a moment?’
‘Yes, of course.’ She was relieved to see that Grandpa still slept soundly and had not been disturbed by the rumpus outside. She watched as Gabriel placed the scuttle in the grate and she was suddenly embarrassed by her humble surroundings. She clasped her hands tightly in front of her as she tried to think of something to say.
‘I’m afraid they’ll be back,’ Gabriel said in a matter-of-fact voice. ‘The gentlemen of the press rarely live up to their name when they get the scent of a good story.’
‘You heard what they said then? About my mother, I mean.’
‘You mustn’t take it to heart, Lily. There are always two sides to every story and I don’t think your mother was entirely to blame for her actions.’
‘How do you know so much about my family?’ She was beginning to suspect that he knew more about her than she had thought possible.
‘What makes you think I do?’
‘Please don’t answer a question with another question.’ She realised that she had spoken sharply and she managed a rueful smile. ‘I didn’t mean to snap at you, Gabriel. It’s just that I’m so tired of everyone treating me like a child. If you know something about Ma, please tell me.’
‘Would you like to meet her, Lily?’
‘There you go again, asking another question.’
‘I do know her, as it happens, and she gave me a message for you.’
Lily’s legs gave way beneath her and she sat down heavily on the nearest chair. To be in the company of someone who knew her mother was as shocking as it was exciting. ‘She gave you a message for me?’
‘She would like to see you, Lily. I showed her your sketch and she was most impressed.’
‘I’m almost twenty, Gabriel. The last time I saw my mother I was just nine years old and now all of a sudden she wants to see me?’
‘She thought you might feel like that and she understands. She said she would leave it to you and abide
by your decision, but I can take you to her this minute, if you so wish.’
She shook her head, dazed by the sudden turn of events. ‘Did she really say she wanted to see me?’
‘She did, and I believe she was sincere.’
Lily pressed her hand to her brow as a multitude of conflicting emotions assailed her. When she was a child she had prayed for this moment, but suddenly and inexplicably she was afraid. ‘After all this time,’ she said softly. ‘Are you absolutely certain, Gabriel?’
‘I’m only passing on the message, Lily. I can see that you might not want to know her after what she did to you and your brothers and sisters, and I would understand if you said no.’
‘Did she say she wanted to see them too?’
‘No, Lily. Just you.’
Torn between the desire to see Ma again and loyalty to her family, Lily struggled with her conscience. ‘No,’ she said slowly. ‘It wouldn’t be fair on the others. If Ma doesn’t want to see my brothers and sisters I can’t go behind their backs. They would never forgive me, and I would never forgive myself. It would tear our family apart and there’s been enough heartache in the past.’
He took her hand and held it, his eyes searching her face. ‘Are you sure this is what you want?’
‘No, of course it isn’t.’ She snatched her hand away to dash angry tears from her cheeks. ‘Oh, I wish I’d never driven that stupid fire engine and had my picture plastered all over the front pages of the newspapers.’
‘You’re upset,’ Gabriel said gently. ‘I’ll go now and leave you to think about your decision. If you change your mind, let me know.’
‘I won’t. It would be very wrong of me to sneak off without telling the others. If Ma wants to see us again she must make the first move.’
‘I understand.’ He produced a silver case from his breast pocket and took out a gilt-edged visiting card. ‘But if you should change your mind, this is where you can contact me.’
She took the card and examined it closely. Printed in elegant copperplate, the address was in Gower Street, an area with which she was unfamiliar. ‘I don’t think I will ever have need of this, but thank you anyway. It was kind of you to come.’
‘Now you make me feel like a guest at a tea party. I hope we can still be friends.’
‘Of course.’
‘And there’s something I wanted to ask you.’
She was quick to hear the tentative note in his voice which sat at odds with his usual confident manner and she was intrigued. ‘Ask away.’
‘I mentioned it before and I was sincere in my offer. I’d like to take you on as my pupil. You have a great talent, Lily, and it would be a crime to suppress or ignore it.’
To be tutored by a professional would be a dream come true, but she was painfully aware that it was not for her. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t afford lessons. I can’t even afford to buy more paints to refill the box that Ma gave me all those years ago.’