Cinderella Sister (27 page)

‘Are you certain that Ma doesn’t mind me having it?’ Lily ventured, swallowing the last morsel of toast and jam. ‘There looks to be years of wear left in that gown.’

Prissy snipped the thread with a satisfied smile. She held up the garment for Lily to see. ‘That ain’t half bad even if I say so meself. I was used to making clothes for the family so doing a few tucks ain’t nothing to me.’

‘You’re very clever,’ Lily acknowledged. ‘I was never very good with a needle, whereas my sister Nell can darn so that you can hardly tell the difference and Molly is good at trimming bonnets. The only thing I’m passably good at is drawing.’

‘Then you’re an artist like your ma,’ Prissy said with a wise nod of her head. ‘I could tell you was an artist by the shape of your hands. I may not be educated like you but I got an eye for things.’

Lily put the tray aside, wiping her lips on the linen table napkin. ‘I’d best get up then if the dress is ready. I’m not used to idling about in bed.’

Prissy rose from the chair and laid the dress out on the foot of the bed. ‘Well, miss, there’s nothing doing in this house until midday at least. The master might get up earlier but the missis sometimes don’t rise until mid-afternoon. It all depends on how much they’ve drunk or if they’ve been at the laudanum or that other stuff – chloral or whatever it’s called.’

‘What are you saying, Prissy?’

‘Nothing, miss. Maybe I was mistaken. Cook says that all them artistic types drink too much and take drugs, but I can see you don’t know nothing about it and I should learn to keep me mouth shut. Talking too much is me big failing, so Cook says. I’m sorry, miss.’

Lily swung her legs over the side of the bed. ‘I must get dressed now, Prissy. I have things to do and I must speak to my mother as soon as she is up and about. You will tell me when she wakes, won’t you?’

‘Of course I will. I’ll see that you’re all right, miss. You can trust me.’

Lily fingered the cotton lawn chemise that Prissy had selected for her and a pair of stays that looked brand new. She found it almost impossible to believe than anyone could possess such fine garments and not wear them. Prissy laced the stays, tugging hard and exclaiming with pride at the smallness of Lily’s waist.

‘Them fine ladies will be green with envy when they see you,’ she said triumphantly. ‘A hand’s span, that’s
what you got, miss. I shall have to take the other gowns in several inches if they’re to fit.’

‘No, I can’t take any more of my mother’s clothes,’ Lily said firmly. ‘This gown is far too fine for me but I must wear something, and as my old clothes are thrown out I’ve little choice.’ She gazed into the pier glass as Prissy endeavoured to fasten the tiny buttons down the back of the pale green silk gown. The sight that met her eyes was astounding and at first she thought she was looking at a stranger.

Prissy looked over her shoulder and grinned. ‘It’s true, miss. Fine feathers make fine birds as my mum used to say. You look every inch a lady and that colour don’t half suit you. Mrs Stone, the mistress’s dressmaker, calls it reseda. It’s all the rage, so she said, and it matches your eyes a treat.’

Lily gulped and swallowed hard. That creature was not her. She was masquerading as a young lady when it was far from the truth. Molly would enjoy such a farce but she felt uncomfortable and desperately out of place. Her discomfiture seemed to have bypassed Prissy who was bursting with pride, as if she had created a princess out of a common street girl.

‘Now all I got to do is find you a pair of shoes that fit and you’re fit to be presented to the Queen,’ Prissy said proudly. ‘I’ll show you downstairs to the morning parlour, miss. That’s what Cook told me that young ladies do. They sit in the parlour and wait for callers, although I don’t suppose anyone knows you’re here apart from Mr Gabriel. Anyway, I’m sure he’ll be round soon and then you can plan your day. I feel quite excited for you.’

‘Thank you, Prissy.’ Lily could think of nothing else to say.

The feeling of unreality persisted and continued even as she perched on the edge of a chair by the fire in the morning parlour. She felt ill at ease, as if waiting for something cataclysmic to happen although she knew not what it might be. She kept looking at the ormolu clock which was part of an ornate garniture on the mantelshelf, but the hands seemed to be stuck at half past nine. Nell would be teaching her pupils and Molly was probably up to her elbows in dye at the workshop. Matt, Mark and Luke would be asleep, having been on duty all night, and Aggie would be setting off to market, leaving Grandpa ensconced in his chair and gazing out at the street scene below. They all had their lives, but hers had been snatched from her by a cruel twist of fate. She wriggled her toes, hoping that Prissy would find a pair of stout boots so that she could walk round to Gabriel’s lodging house. She could think of no one else who might be able to help her out of her present dilemma. One thing about which she was certain was that she could not remain in Keppel Street. Ma’s lifestyle was not one into which she fitted with ease. Everard was a kind man but she could not expect him to support her as he might a daughter. She must find a way in which to earn her own living. It was not going to be easy.

The hands on the clock face seemed not to have moved at all. Lily rose to her feet and listened, but the inexorable tick-tock assured her that time had not come to a standstill. She paced the floor anxiously. Should she ring
the bell for Prissy? It seemed a bit of a liberty to do so in someone else’s house. She waited for another five minutes and then, in desperation, she was about to tug the embroidered bell-pull when the door flew open and Prissy burst into the room, her rosy cheeks a deeper shade of pink and her eyes sparkling with excitement. ‘Oh, miss. You’ve got visitors. A pretty young lady and a handsome foreign gentleman with a limp. Shall I let them in?’

Lily was out through the door before Prissy had finished her sentence. She ran down the carpeted passage to the entrance hall to fling her arms around her sister. ‘Oh, Molly, has Matt forgiven me? Have you come to take me home?’

‘No, he hasn’t, and I haven’t come to take you home. For heaven’s sake, Lily, let me go,’ Molly cried, pushing her away. ‘You’re crushing me.’

Lily took a step backwards, her elation evaporating. Molly’s expression was not encouraging. ‘How did you know where to find me?’

‘I remembered the address on that card Gabriel gave you. We went to his lodgings and asked him where you were living.’ Molly cast an envious glance around the spacious entrance hall with its opulent crystal chandeliers, gilded furniture and the richly carpeted staircase sweeping upwards in an elegant arc. ‘You’re not exactly out on the streets, are you?’

Prissy stepped forward holding her hands out to Armand. ‘Give us your hat and coat, sir, and I’ll hang it on the peg.’

His worried expression melted into an amused smile as he took off his hat and gloves, handing them to Prissy while he divested himself of his overcoat. ‘
Merci, mademoiselle
.’

‘Well I never did,’ Prissy murmured, bobbing a curtsey. ‘A foreigner.’

‘We’re not staying,’ Molly said, frowning. ‘It seems
we had a wasted journey, and to think that I was actually feeling sorry for you, Lily.’

‘I’m glad you came.’ Lily managed a tremulous smile. ‘I didn’t want things to turn out this way.’

‘Shall I take your things then, miss?’ Prissy asked, seemingly unabashed by Molly’s sharp tone. ‘You won’t feel the benefit when you go out into the cold.’

‘When I want your opinion I’ll ask for it,’ Molly snapped. ‘Go about your business, girl.’

Lily felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she saw Prissy’s bottom lip tremble ominously. ‘Thank you, Prissy. I’m sure my sister didn’t mean to raise her voice to you.’

‘You’re too soft,’ Molly muttered. ‘Give the girl an inch and she’ll take a mile.’

Armand took Lily’s hand and raised it to his lips. ‘We are relieved to find you in such comfortable circumstances, Mademoiselle Lily. Molly was worried about you.’

‘Unnecessarily, it seems,’ Molly said with an irritated toss of her head. ‘I wouldn’t have come here if Luke hadn’t convinced me that you would be huddled in a doorway, freezing to death. He didn’t think that Ma would take you in, but obviously he was wrong.’ She looked Lily up and down with a disapproving frown. ‘It didn’t take you long to get your feet under the table. I doubt if she’d make me as welcome, let alone dress me up like some fancy doll. You were always her favourite.’

‘That’s just not true,’ Lily protested. ‘I think Ma is genuinely sorry that she left us, and I’m sure she would be overjoyed to see you.’

‘I haven’t got your cheek. I work hard to earn my living. I don’t play with paints and paper and pretend to be an artist. Maybe Matt was right when he said you were the cause of all our troubles.’ Molly slipped her hand through the crook of Armand’s arm. ‘I think we’d best leave now, Armand. We’ve done our duty.’

‘Come, come, that’s not fair, Molly,
ma chérie
,’ Armand said gently. ‘Lily is here because she had no other choice. I feel responsible in some way for that.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. How could it possibly be your fault?’

‘My father is a man of passion. He allowed his admiration for so beautiful a young lady to carry him away, and for that I am ashamed and regretful.’

‘You can’t blame yourself for anything your father did,’ Lily said, wishing that Armand had not raised the subject which was both embarrassing and painful to her. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’

‘I was a guest in your home, Lily. I brought the trouble to your door, so to speak, and now I wish to make amends.’ He winced as an awkward movement seemed to cause him pain from his injured leg.

‘Are you going to keep us standing in the hall?’ Molly demanded. ‘If we’re not leaving right away then you might ask us in. Anyway, Armand shouldn’t be putting too much strain on his bad leg.’

‘Yes, what am I thinking of?’ Lily turned to find Prissy taking her time arranging Armand’s coat on the hallstand as she listened to their exchanges with an expression of avid interest. ‘Would it be possible to bring some refreshments to the morning parlour,
Prissy? My sister and Monsieur Labrosse have come a long way to see me.’

‘You don’t ask her,’ Molly hissed. ‘She’s a servant. You give her orders.’

Prissy beamed at Lily. ‘That’s right, miss. I’m here to look after you. What shall it be? Sherry wine, tea or coffee perhaps?’

Lily was at a loss. She gazed helplessly at Armand, but Molly seemed determined to have her say. ‘We’d like coffee and cake. Be quick about it.’ She dismissed Prissy with an airy wave of her hand. ‘There, you see, that wasn’t too difficult, was it, Lily? You have to know how to handle servants or they’ll take advantage of you.’

‘Prissy has been very kind to me,’ Lily protested. ‘She’s a nice girl and I don’t think you should speak to her like that.’

‘Never mind her. I’m fed up with standing in this draughty hallway. Besides which I want to see more of Ma’s house since it’s probably the only chance I’ll ever get.’

Helpless in the face of her sister’s determination, Lily pointed in the general direction of the morning parlour. ‘The second doorway on your left.’

‘Come on then. Don’t stand there like a couple of wet ducks in a thunderstorm.’ Molly stalked off towards the morning parlour, pausing to examine one of the many oil paintings that adorned the walls, but apparently unimpressed, she moved on, entering the room without a backwards glance.

Armand hesitated. ‘Are you sure we will be welcome
in this house, Lily? I don’t want to make things difficult for you with your mama.’

‘She isn’t an ogre, Armand. Whatever Molly thinks, Mama has welcomed me as she would all her family. I believe she is truly sorry for the way things turned out. I’d like you to meet her and Everard too.’

‘I’m glad for your sake, and maybe good will come out of bad,’ he said softly. ‘You have broken the ice, as you English say, and perhaps because of it your family will now be reconciled.’

‘I do hope so, Armand. I can’t bear to think that I am unwelcome in my own home.’

Molly popped her head round the door. ‘What are you two going on about? Didn’t your ma ever tell you it’s rude to whisper, Armand Labrosse?’

Lily glanced anxiously at Armand and was relieved to see that he did not seem to have taken exception to Molly’s sharp words. He smiled indulgently. ‘The little briar rose is growing impatient. Come, Lily, lead me to the parlour and we will sit down and talk. I think I may have a solution to your problems.’

‘I heard what you said and I am not a briar rose,’ Molly said sulkily as they joined her in the morning parlour. She flounced over to a chair by the fire, throwing off her cape and sitting down to peel off her gloves. ‘I think it’s horrid of you to call me that, Armand. It makes me sound wild and full of thorns.’

‘It is part of your charm,
ma chérie
,’ Armand said smoothly. ‘But now if you will be patient for a few moments longer, I will tell you my plan.’ He paused as the door was pushed open and Prissy entered,
carrying a tray which she placed on a table by the window. ‘Coffee,’ she said importantly. ‘And some of Cook’s best Madeira cake.’ She glanced over her shoulder at Lily. ‘Shall I pour, miss?’

‘It’s all right, Prissy,’ Lily said, hurrying to rescue the heavy silver coffee pot held precariously in Prissy’s small hand. ‘I’ll do it, and thank you.’

‘No trouble, miss.’ Prissy shot a darkling look at Molly. ‘Let me know if she gets above herself and I’ll stand up for you. I met her sort afore.’

‘Yes, thank you,’ Lily said hastily. ‘I’ll ring if I need anything else.’

Prissy winked at her and sashayed slowly past Molly, eyeing her as if she had plenty to say but was holding her tongue with difficulty. She left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.

‘You must keep her at arm’s length,’ Molly said severely as Lily handed her a cup of coffee. ‘Put her firmly in her place.’

Pushed beyond endurance, Lily glared at her sister. ‘Since when did you know all about handling staff?’

‘Well, there’s Aggie. She’s a servant.’