The Forgotten Family (22 page)

‘Now, I must go, but thank you for talking to me. I’ll be back as soon as I can. It might be a few days, though.’

She was about to get into the cab when Hilda called. ‘Queenie!’

She turned.

‘I did love you – all of you, but I did what I had to. We was in a terrible mess …’ Hilda shrugged helplessly. ‘How many of them have you found?’

After instructing the driver to wait, she walked back to Hilda. ‘Make me a cup of tea and I’ll tell you all about them.’

‘Where is she?’ Albert was storming around the house looking for his daughter.

‘Mrs Palmer!’ Josh called for his housekeeper, and as soon as she appeared, asked, ‘Have you seen Miss Warrender?’

‘She went out, sir. I saw her getting into a cab about two hours ago.’

Albert came down the stairs, stopping by the housekeeper, concern on his face. ‘Who was she with?’

‘She was alone, sir, and she didn’t leave a message to say where she was going, or how long she would be.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Palmer.’ Josh dismissed the housekeeper.

‘What the devil does she think she’s doing?’ Albert was furious – and very worried. ‘She shouldn’t be wandering around London on her own.’

‘Perhaps she became tired of waiting for us and has gone to visit Augusta and James,’ Josh suggested.

‘I’ll go there at once.’

‘Ah, there’s no need, Albert.’ Josh was looking out of the window. ‘She’s just getting out of a cab.’

Relief swept through Albert as he stood beside his friend, quickly replaced by anger. She looked totally unconcerned. He turned on his heel and strode into the hall. When she entered the house and smiled at him, his fury erupted.

‘In the library,’ he ordered. ‘At once!’

She did as instructed; she faced him, feet slightly apart as she braced herself for the storm she knew was coming. Once again her impulsive nature had got her into trouble. Why didn’t she ever stop to think before acting?

‘How could you have been so thoughtless? You should not have left this house without saying where you were going, or without a companion. Where have you been?’

She removed the crumpled letter from her purse and held it out to her father. ‘I went to see what the Bonners knew about Harry.’

Albert couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and speechless for a moment, he took the paper from her. He knew what it was because Joshua had shown it to him yesterday, but they had dismissed it as useless. ‘This is disgraceful, Eleanor. You have been going through Joshua’s private papers. I’m ashamed that my daughter has acted in such a disrespectful way.’

‘But I didn’t—’

‘Be quiet!’ He saw the colour drain from her face, but he was too appalled to let it touch him.

‘Let me explain, Father.’ Seeing that he was not in any mood to listen, she rushed to Joshua who had just entered the room, eyes wide with distress. ‘There were papers on the floor, all screwed up. I was putting them in the waste bin when I saw the name—’

‘That’s no excuse.’ Albert was incandescent with rage, and no excuse would suffice for what she had done. ‘We are guests in this house, and you have shamed both of us. You had no right to read it. The Bonners are only after money. They don’t know where Harry is, do they?’

‘No, but they might have. We can’t let any chance slip by. We must follow every lead, even if it does seem unlikely.’ Her mouth was set in a determined line now. What she had done was wrong, but nothing would ever stop her from finding Harry. Nothing!

‘You will not tell us what we should do.’ He looked at her through narrowed eyes. She didn’t understand what she had done. Well, he would have to deal very severely with her. It made him go cold when he thought of the danger she had put herself in. ‘I have been too lenient with you, Eleanor, but after this act of folly, things will change. Your desire to find your siblings was fraught with danger, but I have helped at every stage. Tracing Harry has become an obsession with you, and I will have no more of it. The newspaper advertisement will be withdrawn immediately.’

She gasped in distress and it went right through him, but he was determined to make her understand that she couldn’t do just what came into her head. He continued. ‘You must be content with the brothers and sisters we
have found. The search ends
now
, and I will not have it mentioned again.’

‘Oh, no, Father,’ she pleaded. ‘I am sorry to have distressed you, but please don’t do this.’

‘I’ve said all I am going to on the subject. You obviously cannot be trusted to conduct yourself properly, so we shall return home immediately. Go and pack your things. We will leave within the hour.’

She left the room without a word, closing the door softly behind her.

‘There’s no need for you to leave, Albert. I’m sure she had no intention of prying into private correspondence,’ Joshua said. ‘Aren’t you being rather harsh?’

‘No.’ Albert expelled a shaky breath. ‘She has no sense of fear or caution, and that is my fault for protecting her too much. But it’s a lesson she must learn, and quickly.’

‘At least stay for lunch.’

‘Thank you, Josh, but we’ll leave at once. We were to have dined with Augusta this evening. Please convey my apologies and say that we’ve had to return home unexpectedly.’

Without calling for a maid to help her, Ellie began stuffing clothes into her cases, hands shaking too badly to bother folding them. Her father’s anger had never been directed towards her with such ferocity before. He hadn’t given her a chance to explain, and that was unprecedented in her experience. She had always been able to talk freely to him, but not this time. He was absolutely furious. Of course, she had acted without thinking – again. That wasn’t unusual
though. Her father usually made allowances, accepting her ways with wry humour. He wasn’t laughing this time.

She had to sit on the case to close it, crushing the expensive gowns, but she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was that she had made her father so angry that he was giving up the search for Harry. Wiping her hand across her eyes to remove the moisture gathering there, she sat on the edge of the bed, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. She wasn’t going to cry, that would only infuriate him more. But she longed to tell him about her talk with Hilda. It had given her a completely different side of the story. The spectre of the workhouse drove those people to desperate actions.

‘Eleanor!’

The sound of her father’s voice had her leaping off the bed and dragging her luggage to the door. A footman met her on the landing, taking everything from her.

Holding tightly to the banister in case she tripped, for her legs were none too steady, Ellie made her way down to her father. She was going to have to be careful what she said, because he was still very angry.

When he stepped outside to supervise the loading of the carriage, Ellie gazed at Joshua. When she spoke her voice was husky with distress. ‘I apologise for causing this unpleasantness in your house. What I did was wrong, but I did not go through your private papers. I would never do such a thing.’ She reached out and touched his arm, silently imploring for understanding. ‘I was picking up the papers from the floor when I saw the name Bonner.’

Joshua covered her hand with his own, about to say something, when her father returned.

‘Come along, Eleanor, or we shall miss the next train. I hope you have had the decency to apologise for your unacceptable conduct?’

‘I have, Father.’

‘And I have accepted her explanation, Albert. I’m sure Eleanor meant no harm or disrespect.’

Ellie gave him a tremulous smile, grateful for his kindness. Then she hurried out to the waiting carriage. Leaving early in disgrace was not what she had envisioned for this trip, and on the short journey to the station, she began to fret. She had promised to return to Whitechapel with some money. How was she going to do that now?

It was a relief when dawn arrived the next day, for Ellie had not been able to sleep. She was sure she had heard every tick of the clock on her mantle during the seemingly endless night. She’d had plenty of time to think as she’d stared into the darkness, and she could understand her father’s anger. It had been wrong of her to read that letter, and thoughtless to take off without telling anyone where she was going. She was very stupid at times!

She had never been on bad terms with her father, and it was heartbreaking for her. She prayed he was in a better mood this morning, and would allow her to explain, and apologise properly. She would do that before breakfast.

His study door was open, and she tapped on it, waiting for permission to enter. ‘Good morning,’ she said as soon as he looked up, edging her way into the room and standing just inside the door. She had forgotten to put on her shoes, so she curled her toes into the thick carpet, trying to stop
her legs from shaking. ‘I apologise for making you angry, Father. I acted without thinking, and I am so very sorry to have caused you distress.’

‘I’m glad to hear that you’ve realised what you have done. I want your promise that you will never do anything like that again.’

‘I promise.’

When he merely nodded, she took a deep breath and stepped up to the desk. He still looked very displeased with her. ‘I’ll work extra hard to make amends. What would you like me to do today?’

‘You are confined to the house, so find yourself something useful to do.’

That prospect held no appeal, she would rather clean out the stables.  ‘But I always have tasks to do around the estate.’

‘I will be taking care of everything in the future. This is a large house and you will see that it is run efficiently.’

‘But our housekeeper, Mrs Butler, does that already. She would hate me getting under her feet all day. She’s excellent at her job.’

‘Then she’s the right person for you to learn from.’

Ellie could hardly believe her ears. Was her father taking away the job she loved doing? When she spoke, her voice shook. ‘Are you saying that I can’t help you any more?’

‘This episode has made me realise that it is more important for you to learn the responsibilities of a lady than roaming the estate all day.’

The expression on her father’s face warned her not to argue, but the disappointment was crushing and she
fought for control. This was harsh treatment indeed for her misdemeanour. ‘I might as well resume my lessons.’

‘Mr Rogers is busy preparing Philip for university. He will not have time to give you separate lessons, Eleanor.’

Her throat clogged with anger now. Even that was being denied her. She had apologised, truly sorry for her conduct, but he was punishing her in the worst possible way. If she stood here much longer she would cry like a baby, and she would
not
allow that to happen. Without saying a word, she turned and ran from the room.

Albert felt as if his heart would shatter as he watched his daughter leave, clearly very upset. He had hurt her so much by denying her the things she loved to do, but he felt it was necessary. She had no fear, no idea what danger she had put herself in. He blamed himself, of course. He should have been firmer with her as she had been growing up, but he had never been able to be angry with her. Until now. Now he had to steel himself to be harsh in order to make her see that she wasn’t a child any more. Growing up brought with it responsibilities, and she needed to see that it could be a dangerous world.

He stood up and walked over to the window expecting to see his daughter sitting by the pond, as she always did when she needed quiet, but she wasn’t there. Probably hurt too much to even seek out her favourite place. Running a hand over his eyes he realised just how drained he was feeling. He couldn’t punish her for long – he wasn’t that strong, or that cruel.

Oh, Mary, I miss your gentle presence. You would have
known how to deal with this. I’m out of my depth, allowing my emotions to rule me, and I’ve blown this incident out of all proportion. You would have merely scolded her, telling her not to do it again. Then you would have wanted to know every detail, and ended up laughing with her. I haven’t even asked her what happened in Whitechapel. I was very frightened when I discovered that she had left the house on her own. The thought of her wandering round London …

He shook his head as if trying to dislodge the memory. I am being unreasonable by hurting her like this, but I don’t know how else to handle it. She
must
learn caution.

He strode out of the house, heading for the stables. He’d go and torment Henry. His brother-in-law knew how to tolerate his volcanic moods. He faltered for a moment. He had never thought before that he might be lonely. But with Mary dead this past year, and Eleanor growing more independent, he had to admit that he was.

At the sound of her father leaving the house, Ellie leapt into action. She was devastated that she had made him so angry with her. This had never happened before, and her actions had been thoughtless many times in the past. She deserved his censure, but a severe telling off would have been sufficient, for she was indeed ashamed of herself. She had caused a great deal of worry, and now she would have to suffer the consequences. But she would not bother their housekeeper. Mrs Butler ran their household with quiet efficiency, and even her mother had never interfered with her routine.

Because of the restrictions now placed upon her, she had a problem. How was she going to get the money to Whitechapel? She had given her word, and it was important to her that her promise was not broken.

Taking a small wooden box from the dressing table drawer, she counted the money. She had four pounds, ten shillings and six pence, money she had saved to buy Christmas gifts, but it would have to be used now. Her father gave her an allowance to spend as she wished, but she doubted very much if he would give her any while she was in disgrace. Four pounds would be a great help to Hilda, and if used carefully, would keep them for quite some time, and give them a better Christmas.

Chewing her lip in concentration she rummaged in a bureau for a small beaded purse. It would be impossible for her to go to London, even if she asked permission to visit Pearl. And, anyway, she couldn’t deceive her father like that. But Ted could go. She needed to see him anyway to tell him what his mother had said. Ellie drew in a sharp breath. After talking to Hilda in that dingy scullery, she began to understand the frightening situation they had been in. It also explained their defensive attitude. Now Hilda had opened up she glimpsed the real woman, but there would never be the same affection in her heart that she held for the mother who had lovingly brought her up. However, she’d accepted that she was Queenie Bonner. And, as such, she must try to do something to ease the abject poverty of their lives. Also, her brothers and sisters must be told the real story of what had happened years ago. If only Harry had known, he might not have run away.