Authors: Catherine Winchester
“
You all right, ma'am?” Mary asked, sticking her head out from the kitchen at the end of the hallway.
“
Yes, I'm fine, thank you. I've just had a little shock, that's all.” She knew that she had to pull herself together and face him, come what may.
She stood upright and smoothed the lines of her gown, although it was immaculate. She took a few deep breaths then quickly collected some unfinished sketches from her office and headed back through to the shop.
“
I just remembered some new designs that I've been working on,” she said as she re-entered the shop. “Since you are having trouble choosing, I thought that some of these might appeal.” She placed the sketches on the coffee table and smiled, although it felt tight and brittle.
“
You are a dear.” Lady Beaumont smiled. “Now, let me finally introduce you to my elusive son, Lucien Beaumont. Lucien, this is Miss Martha Aldercott.”
“
Very nice to meet you, Sir.” Martha curtsied.
As she looked up and finally met his eye she could see that he had recognised her.
“
And you, Miss... Aldercott was it?”
“
Yes.” She sat down in the chair that she had so recently vacated and given his impatience when he walked in she was surprised to see Lucien sit down beside his mother; but of course he would want to prolong her agony.
“
Miss Aldercott, I have heard a lot about you these last few years, it seems that your gloves are quite the desired item among my mother's friends and I must confess to owning a pair or two of your gloves myself.”
“
How lovely. I do hope you like them.”
“
Oh very much. Very much indeed.” She knew that warm, rich timbre of his voice very well; he was trying to charm her.
“
Oh, this is exquisite, isn't it?” Lady Beaumont said, handing a sketch to Lucien.
He took the sketch but didn't look at it, keeping his gaze fixed on Martha.
“
Yes, exquisite.”
Martha blushed and looked away, angry at herself for feeling even the slightest hint of pleasure at his praise.
“
You might try looking at the sketch before declaring your opinion,” she said pointedly.
If his mother noticed the jibe, she ignored it; Lucien just smiled, seemingly pleased to have annoyed her.
Martha felt as if she were in Hell as she sat before them and the million and one ways in which he might choose to expose her secret ran through her head, one by one, each one worse than its predecessor. She did her best to try and remain outwardly calm but she was unable to hide the signs completely, especially from one as observant as Lucien.
His eyes watched every movement that she made and he stared at her for so long that she began to feel very uncomfortable.
“
So tell me, how does a woman... such as yourself come to design gloves?” he asked.
“
It was my godfather's business,” she answered
“
Your godfather?”
“
Yes, I've told you about Gus Aldercott and his two godchildren, many times,” his mother said.
“
Two godchildren?” Lucien repeated. “I'm afraid I must have had my mind on other things. Perhaps you would be so good as to tell me the
tale
, Miss Aldercott.” He emphasised the word tale and Martha wanted to stand up and call his bluff; to shout and yell for the hardship that she and Hope had endured because of him but all the while that he did not tell her secret, she would not be the one to expose it.
“
Our parents died when I was sixteen, my mother died in childbirth and my father had passed away a few months prior. Mr Aldercott took us in and raised us as his own.”
Lucien smiled, obviously liking something about the story.
“
Mr Aldercott is your...?”
“
My godfather, and the closest thing
either
of us have to a real father.”
That made him scowl.
“
You are a very
lucky
woman.” His tone asked what she had done to earn such favours but she wasn't about to defend herself to this man.
“
I am; Gus has been very good to us.”
“
Very good,” Lady Beaumont chimed in. “Why Miss Aldercott even owns a quarter of the business.” Martha felt as though she were being sold to Lucien, her best features highlighted like a horse who is with foal so you get two for the price of one. What a bargain!
“
Does she now?” Lucien sounded thoughtful. “That is very generous of him.”
“
Believe me, I tried to refuse but he assured me that is what his children would have received, had they lived.”
Lucien frowned for a moment then smoothed his features.
“
I asked Miss Aldercott to the opera tomorrow evening but she says 'no'. Perhaps you can persuade her, Lucien.”
“
Oh, I'm certain that Miss Aldercott cannot be persuaded into anything that she does not want to do, Mother.”
“
But you hardly know her,” his mother argued.
“
You are right, of course but I once tried to tell a woman what to do and it did not end very well for either of us.”
Lady Beaumont looked up at him, slightly perplexed, then quickly returned to the sketches that she was perusing.
Was that his form of an apology, Martha wondered? If so, it was probably the worse apology that she had ever heard.
Mary came in from the kitchen then and curtseyed to their visitors.
“
I'm sorry to disturb you, ma'am, but this note was just delivered for you at the back door.”
Martha opened the piece of paper and read the note.
'I thought that you might need an excuse, ma'am. Mary'
Mary was growing quite a wise head on her shoulders but Martha wouldn't run away like a coward. Society might condemn her but in her own mind at least, she knew that Lucien was the one who bore the majority of the blame.
“
Thank you, Mary,” Martha handed the note back. “I believe it can wait until we are finished.”
“
Yes, ma'am.” Mary curtseyed once again and left.
“
Nothing serious, I hope?” Lucien asked.
“
No, just a note from the workshop, that's all.”
Lady Beaumont really was taking an interminable amount of time to pick out a few glove designs, and then a miracle happened as Lucien stood up.
“
I'll wait in the carriage, Mother, I think my presence is just holding you up.”
“
Nonsense, darling, I need your advice.”
“
Your taste is impeccable, you have no need of my untrained eye.” Without any further argument he turned and left the shop and Martha breathed a sigh of relief.
Lady Beaumont very quickly chose six designs, sighing that she shouldn't keep Lucien waiting and then she left.
Martha saw her to the door and then as soon as she was alone she collapsed into one of the armchairs. Mary came through moments after the door had closed.
“
Do you want some tea, Ma'am?”
“
Yes thank you, Mary, that would be very nice.”
Mary took the old tea things with her as she left and reappeared not long after with a fresh pot.
“
Thank you for your quick thinking with the note,” Martha said. “That was very inventive of you. Would you like to join me?”
Mary said that she would and went to fetch another cup.
Martha sat forward to pour the tea and the bell above the door rang once again; this time Lucien stood there alone.
Chapter Twelve
“
Did your mother
'accidentally'
leave something behind?” Martha asked.
“
No. I made an excuse that I had forgotten an errand and had the driver drop me off at the corner,” Lucien explained.
Martha had a slightly defeated air about her as she nodded. Mary returned with a second tea cup then and looked from Martha to Lucien.
“
Mary, take the rest of the day off, would you?”
“
You sure, ma'am?”
“
Quite sure. Lord Beaumont and I have some important matters to discuss.”
Mary didn't need telling again.
“
Sit,” Martha told Lucien once they were alone, which he duly did. “I suppose I know why you are here and my answer is 'no'.”
“
You don't even know the question.”
“
Any question you ask me would elicit a negative response.”
“
You said you had a sister,” he said.
“
Our daughter,” she confirmed the unasked question.
“
Can I see her?”
“
No.”
Lucien looked sad at that answer but Martha reminded herself that she had fallen for his act before.
“
Will you tell me her name at least?”
“
Hope,” she said, knowing that it wouldn't take much for him to find that out for himself.
“
What's she like?”
Although she knew that she shouldn't answer lest she increase his interest, she couldn't stop herself.
“
She takes after you in her looks but is very reserved and shy in her manner, though she becomes more confident with each passing day.”
“
Does she know about me?”
“
She doesn't even know about me.”
“
But she thinks Mr Aldercott is her father?”
“
No, she calls him Uncle Gus.”
Lucien went quiet for a few moments and stared into the depths of the fire.
“
Just get it over with quickly,” Martha finally said, unable to bear the silence.
“
Get what over with?” he asked.
“
My ruination. I do not want Gus to be hurt any more than necessary.”
“
Gus? What do I care for him?”
“
You do not care for anyone but yourself, but on the basis that he saved mine and Hope's lives, I was hoping for a little compassion.”
“
Saved your lives?” he asked.
“
We were homeless and starving.”
“
I offered you money!”
“
No, you took away my only source of income and now you seek to ruin me again.”
“
How do you know what I want?”
“
Because I know you, Lucien. You are a spoiled rich boy who is used to having his every whim indulged and who reacts with anger when thwarted. You care nothing for those who your anger may hurt.”
“
That's not true,” he argued.
“
No?” she asked. “Then why, after you denied any responsibility for our daughter and renounced our relationship, do you feel that you can waltz in here and demand to know about her and our lives?”
“
Because I care!”
“
If you care for me at all, you will not hurt the man who was our salvation.”
“
You expect me to care about the feelings of your fancy-man?”
Martha reeled back in her chair as though she had been struck.
“
How dare you! Gus is a true gentleman and has never asked of me the things that you did, though in all honesty I would probably have given them freely for he is ten times the man that you are!”
She meant that. She loved Gus, truly she did but only as a father and a mentor. She had never considered him in romantic terms but had he asked, she would probably not have refused, not only because he had taken them in but because when they had first met he had seemed so very lonely. If she thought that being with her would ease some of his pain, she would have done that for him. Thankfully he had always seemed content to simply be a father figure to both her and to Hope.
Lucien relaxed a little.
“
Then why would he show such generosity to someone like you?” Lucien wanted to know.
“
And there it is again,
'someone like me'
. I am still just a housemaid to you, no more worthy of consideration than an animal.”
“
I didn't mean-”
“
I know exactly what you meant but I can assure you that not everyone in this world has the morals that you do. Some people actually value me for my heart, my mind and my talent.”
“
Oh, and how
talented
you were,” he fired back, his double meaning clear from his tone.
Martha gave a wry laugh.
“
Your mother was just telling me how much you had grown up in the past few years but I can see now that she was entirely wrong. To be honest, I'm surprised that you haven't found yourself a brainless wife just like her!”
Lucien clenched his jaw, clearly trying to rein in his temper. Finally he let out a long breath and seemed to visibly deflate.
“
You look lovely,” he said, which unsettled her slightly. “I have missed you every day since you left and not an hour goes by when I do not think of you.”
“
Then I am very sorry that the memory of me pains you but I think you must accept that my leaving was unavoidable.”
“
I have dreamed of this reunion so often but now that it is here, I find that it is not at all how I expected it to be.”
“
Did you think that I would beg you to help me? That I would fall into your arms, the grateful little servant girl, thankful to see her white Knight?”
He didn't rise to the bait.
“
I had not anticipated that you would be so well.”
“
Sorry to disappoint you.”
“
I'm not disappointed,” he said with the ghost of a smile on his lips. “You are the woman that I always knew you could become; poised, elegant, beautiful, respected. You have become the kind of woman that I could marry.”
He hadn't meant to say that last line out loud but he had been thinking it since he had first seen her again. He could tell immediately from the dark expression that came over her features that he had said the wrong thing.
“
You think I did this with you in mind?” She sounded incredulous. “How can you imagine that I have even the slightest interest in how you see me?”
“
Because we were in love!” he snapped.
“
I was in love; you were infatuated!”
“
I think you have that backwards, Martha. I am the one who has spent years pining after you while you clearly were more interested in social climbing than love.”
“
Having a short temper does not qualify as pining, Lucien; it's just you being the self-indulgent little brat that you are!”
Lucien did his best to let go of his anger once again. He really had done well reining in his temper over recent years but Martha just seemed to bring it out in him.
“
Believe it or not, I did not come back to fight with you,” he said. “I came back here to tell you that I still love you and to plead with you to be allowed to see my daughter.”
“
I'm sorry but I can't allow that.” Martha got to her feet. “Now if you will excuse me, I-”
Lucien stood up, stopping her speech.
“
I will not reveal our secret,” he said. “I learned my lesson the first time; in my haste to find you and bring you home, I lost you. I will not make that mistake again, Martha, but nor will I give up my efforts to be included in your and Hope's lives in whatever way you will allow.”
Martha looked into his eyes, wishing that the faith she had once had in him was still there. She wished that she could believe him, she wanted to but he had broken her trust and it was not easily mended.
“
I know that you have no reason to believe me; all I ask is for the opportunity to prove myself trustworthy.” He smiled and bowed to her. “Good day, Miss Aldercott.”
He left the shop, pausing briefly at the door to look back at her.
Martha stood rooted to the spot for a long while, unable to move as she considered what the implications might be. What if he did break his word and she was disgraced? Aldercott & Daughter would suffer. Such a scandal could ruin the company.
She and Hope could leave town now in the hopes that any scandal would be reduced if she severed her ties with Gus. That idea was very tempting but in the end she knew that Gus deserved to have his say. She loved him like a father and if he wanted her to stay, she would never leave him.
Regaining her mobility, she locked up the shop and hailed a hansom cab to take her home. Once there she gave the governess the rest of the day off and took Hope into the study with her. Hope wanted a story and so Martha got a volume of Family Friend Magazine out and picked one of Hope's favourite stories.
She held Hope on her lap as she read, tucking the girl's head under her chin. The words became blurred as she felt tears sting her eyes and her voice became choked. Hope noticed and sat up, putting a hand on her mothers cheek.
“
Why are you sad?” Hope asked.
Martha did her best to smile.
“
I'm not sad, sweetheart. I'm just thinking how very lucky I am to have you and wondering what I would do if I ever lost you.”
Hope put her arms around Martha's neck and held her tightly. In many middle class Victorian homes affection was discouraged but Martha had always encouraged kisses and cuddles when it came to Hope.
“
You won't lose me, Mar, I know my address.”
Martha held her tightly as her tears fell harder. Hope began rubbing her back in an imitation of the soothing action that Martha used on her when she was upset. Martha smiled at the attempt.
“
I love you, Hope. No matter what happens, always remember that I love you.”
“
I will.”
Martha heard the front door open and pulled away from Hope, retrieving her handkerchief and wiping at her eyes.
“
That must be Uncle Gus,” she said to Hope. “Why don't you go and meet him.”
Hope clambered off her lap and went out into the hall and Martha could hear their muffled voices as Gus greeted her. She went to stand by the window as he came in so that the maid who prepared his brandy wouldn't see her tears. He was home early, which she supposed wasn't surprising since the carriage driver would have told him that she was not at the shop as usual when he went to collect her at four o'clock. Gus set Hope down and asked the maid to take Hope to the nanny for a while, assuring her that he would pour his own drink this evening.
When the door was closed he went to the brandy decanter and poured two glasses.
“
What's wrong?” he asked, sitting on one of the chairs before the fire. Martha came and joined him and he handed her a glass which she accepted without question.
“
Lady Beaumont came in to the shop today... with her son.”
“
Hope's father?” he asked softly, for one never knew when ears might be listening.
Martha nodded.
“
Oh, my dear, I am sorry.” He didn't press her for details because he knew that she would open up in her own time.
“
He said that he would keep my secret this time and asked to see Hope.”
“
And how do you feel about that?”
“
I don't trust him.”
“
I understand your reticence but you haven't seen him in over six years, correct?”
She nodded.
“
Is it possible that he has learned from his mistakes?”
She was surprised by how much she wanted to believe that but she couldn't allow herself.
“
I can't trust him,” she insisted. “I...” she found it difficult to say what she wanted. “If you think the business would be at less risk, I'll go. I'll sign my share of the company back over to you and-”
“
No,” he said softly but firmly. “Martha, we are family now and families stand together through thick and thin. If we are to be disgraced, we will bear it together.”
“
Are you sure?”
“
I have never been more certain,” he said. “Besides, the gloves are not my only source of income, I have other investments as do you, so even if the worst should happen, we will not be ruined, only unemployed.”