The stresses and strains of the previous week and the warmth of the room had taken their toll on Amy, and suddenly to her horror she had to suppress a yawn, which did not go unnoticed by the mistress.
‘Are you tired, my dear?’ Mrs Forrester asked solicitously.
Amy flushed. ‘I am a little,’ she admitted.
Josephine was immediately contrite. ‘It was thoughtless of us to ask you to call this evening,’ she apologised. ‘I should have realised how tired you must be, with all the rushing backwards and forwards you’ve been doing.’
‘It’s quite all right, really,’ Amy insisted. ‘But I ought to be getting home now.’
Josephine stared out of the window at the snowy night. ‘Why don’t you sleep here tonight, to save you going out into the cold again? Lily could prepare you a room in no time at all.’
‘No, thank you all the same,’ Amy said. ‘I really do appreciate the offer, but if I don’t go home my gran will be up all night worrying about me. She never settles until I am back safe and sound.’
‘Of course – but at least let me have the carriage prepared for you. It really is the most appalling night.’
Again, Amy shook her head, smiling gratefully at the mistress. ‘I’d rather walk, really. I am used to walking.’
Josephine sighed. She could well see why her mother-in-law had thought so highly of this young woman, which brought her thoughts back to the reason why she had asked Amy to call.
‘The reason I asked you to come is because I have something for you,’ she said as she looked towards her husband. When he nodded, she crossed to a highly polished sideboard standing to the side of one of the long sash-cord windows. Opening one of the drawers, she withdrew a long slim velvet box and returning to where Amy still sat, she placed it in her hands.
‘Some days ago, following one of your visits, my mother-in-law gave this to me with explicit instructions that I was to pass it on to you, should anything happen to her.’
Amy was puzzled and more than a little embarrassed as she turned the box over in her hands until the master ordered, ‘Open it, my dear. I assure you it isn’t going to bite you.’
Obediently, Amy opened the lid and her mouth fell open as the colour drained from her face. ‘I … I don’t understand,’ she murmured as her questioning eyes sought theirs.
‘Mother wanted you to have it.’ Samuel’s voice was gentle as she stared down at the sparkling emerald and diamond necklace. It was the same one that the old lady had once allowed her to wear for the theatre trip in London.
‘I … I really can’t accept this,’ Amy said, but Mr Forrester wagged his finger at her sternly.
‘Oh yes, you can, young lady. I don’t know if you are aware of this but our daughter, Jessica, left home many years ago. My mother always intended her to have this one day, but unfortunately despite all our attempts to find Jessica we have never succeeded.’ His eyes clouded as his mind slipped away into the past but then he composed himself. Coughing to clear the lump that had formed in his throat he went on huskily, ‘My mother doted on Jessica and I know that, like my wife and me, she never got over her leaving us as she did. But then you came into her life and brightened her days again. This gift was left for you with all her love. So … are you going to refuse one of her last wishes?’
Amy stared at him speechlessly. She had declared to Molly only hours before that she was sure that there was not another single tear left in her but now they came, fast and furious, flooding down her cheeks. She had never thought to own an item of jewellery like this in her whole lifetime, and yet had it been a cheap trinket she would have treasured it equally as much.
‘Th … thank you.’ The words seemed so inadequate for such a gift but they were all she could think of to say.
When Amy showed the necklace to Molly later that evening the old woman’s eyes almost popped out of her head.
‘Good God above!’ she choked. ‘Why … it’s
beautiful
.’
The pair sat in silence admiring the glittering jewels as Molly’s mind raced.
Poor Amy had had a rare old week of it, there was no mistake about it. And just before her birthday too! Her thoughts moved on to the other little velvet box that was now tucked beneath her mattress. Somehow it didn’t seem the right time now to give Amy her mother’s locket. It was bound to stir her emotions more than they already were, and Molly felt that the poor girl had far more than her fair share of them to deal with right now.
She had waited this long to give it to her, so happen it wouldn’t hurt to wait for just a while longer. And so with her mind made up, Molly sought in her head for what to buy her as an alternative.
As the carriage that would take her to the station rattled down the lane towards them, Molly pulled Amy into a warm hug and smiled at her tenderly. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night then, darlin’ – an’ don’t forget, keep your chin up. Every cloud has a silver linin’, you’ll see.’
Amy nodded as disentangling herself from her gran’s arms she lifted her small valise and pecked Molly on the cheek.
‘Take care, Gran,’ she said. ‘I’ll be home before you know it and then we can have a nice quiet Christmas together, eh?’
Molly stood in the cottage doorway, her shawl pulled tightly about her as she watched Amy climb into the coach and watched it rumble away.
Mr Forrester took her valise from her and as Amy settled back in her seat, she saw that Adam was accompanying them too. But at least there was no sign of Eugenie, which made her wonder if the rumours that Nancy had told her on her last visit to London were true. According to the maid, Adam was being forced to sell the smart townhouse in Holland Park because of his wife’s extravagant spending. Now that Amy came to think about it, he had certainly been staying at Mr Forrester’s London residence a lot lately, leaving Eugenie at Forrester’s Folly, not that his wife seemed at all happy with the arrangement. Still, Amy supposed that their domestic life was nothing to do with her at the end of the day and she stared through the carriage window, wondering what Mr Harvey had summoned her and the master for.
Heavy snow on the train lines delayed their journey by almost two hours, and by the time they arrived in London it was already well into the afternoon. The light was quickly fading from the day, so they headed straight for
Josephine’s Millinery
, instructing the coachman to wait for them outside.
As they entered the warm interior, Mr Harvey hurried forward and shook Mr Forrester’s hand as he offered his sincere condolences on the master’s bereavement.
‘Your mother was a most remarkable lady, sir,’ he told him solemnly and Mr Forrester’s face stiffened as he nodded in agreement, the pain of her loss still very raw.
‘You are quite right, George. She certainly was and I appreciate your kind words. But I have to tell you, Amy and I have just had an intolerably long journey due to the atrocious weather conditions and as I am sure you haven’t asked us to come all this way just to tell me that, perhaps you could inform me what was so important that you requested both our presences?’
Mr Harvey was instantly apologetic. ‘Of course, sir. But first let me put the Closed sign on the door and then we can speak without interruption.’ He bustled away to lock the door and turn the sign, then, crossing back to them he cleared his throat noisilly, wondering where to begin. Eventually he eyed them both nervously and wrung his hands together as he began, ‘As you are aware. I have long been interested in the Paris designs – and I have even been able to get some of our own designs in a couple of the smaller shops there. It is common knowledge that some of the most favoured hat designs in the world originate from the larger Paris fashion houses. That is why I always ensure that I have the very latest magazines available for my clients to browse through, should they so wish. Anyway, many months ago, our late mistress visited me and put to me an idea that had long been forming in her mind.’
Mr Harvey cleared his throat and went on: ‘As we are all aware, she had great faith in Amy’s designs and felt that in Amy we had found our jewel in the crown, so to speak. Mrs Forrester firmly believed in following her instincts – which were that some of Amy’s designs by far outshone the Paris ones. And so, some time ago, she took it upon herself to contact one of the most famous fashion houses in Paris. The House of Laroque. She personally wrote to Monsieur Laroque himself and forwarded to him a small selection of Amy’s sketches, asking for his opinion of them. Some time later, Monsieur Laroque replied to Mrs Forrester expressing his interest in the designs and requesting that she send more of the same, plus some of the finished articles, at her earliest opportunity.’
Here, Mr Harvey paused to catch his breath before going on, ‘At this particular time, the dear lady’s health was failing and so she left the matter in my hands. I was only too delighted to follow her instructions to the letter and sent Monsieur Laroque a further selection of Amy’s best-selling designs, both bonnets and gowns as he had requested. And the outcome of this latest correspondence is what I have here.’
Barely able to contain his excitement now he quickly delved into the pocket of his exquisitely embroidered waistcoat and withdrew an envelope of the finest quality, heavily covered in foreign stamps.
By now, both Mr Forrester and Amy were watching his every move raptly and Mr Harvey beamed at his captive audience. ‘I apologise if up to now my actions have appeared rather underhanded, but I always had great faith in the late Mrs Forrester when she felt something, as she always referred to it, “in her water”. I believe in this instance you will both agree that her reactions have paid off. She has left to you, my dear Miss Ernshaw, a rare legacy indeed, for I have here a personal invitation from Monsieur Laroque himself, requesting that you both visit him in Paris to discuss the designs as soon as you can.’
At that moment it would have been hard to decide who was the more shocked of the two people standing in front of him. Mr Forrester’s mouth gaped slackly open and his eyes bulged, whilst the colour drained from Amy’s face. They both stood there in dumbfounded silence for some minutes and then slowly a large smile spread across Mr Forrester’s face, while Amy’s eyes filled with tears at this last act of kindness from her late mistress. Just as Mr Harvey had said, this was a rare legacy indeed, for the old woman’s faith in her was about to make her wildest dream come true. She was going to Paris, the most fashionable city in the world.
The last few weeks had been hectic, with Amy rushed off her feet preparing for the trip, sometimes sketching late into the night. She had spent her twenty-first birthday quietly at home with Molly. But now in less than an hour Mr Forrester’s coach would be coming to collect her and she would be gone on the first stage of the long journey ahead of her.
Josephine Forrester had thoughtfully provided a large trunk, and it was this that Amy was fussing over now.
‘Oh, I’m sure I will have forgotten something,’ she fretted.
Molly sighed loudly. ‘You’ve got everything in there except the kitchen sink, so for God’s sake close it up and be done with it, else you’ll still be here this time next week.’
Amy strapped it up obediently. She was so excited that she had hardly slept a wink the night before, but no one would have known it, for she was positively glowing. Molly looked back at her with pride. Amy was wearing a fine cord day suit, cinched in at the waist, with billowing skirts and a tight-fitted jacket trimmed with black velvet buttons and braid. The outfit showed off her trim figure to perfection. She had brushed her hair until it shone and now it was secured neatly on the back of her head in an elegant chignon. The soft brown suit matched the colour of her eyes exactly and Molly thought that she could easily have been taken for gentry, for she looked sophisticated and graceful.
So much had happened in such a short time that Molly had barely had time to take it all in, and now a mixture of emotions were rushing through her. First and foremost was excitement at the adventure that Amy was about to embark upon because to Molly, who had never set foot outside her hometown, Paris sounded like the other side of the world. But there was also a measure of apprehension. The thought of Amy sailing across the sea was terrifying and she had lain in bed night after night for weeks with pictures of sinking ships flashing in front of her eyes.
Could Molly have known it, Amy was apprehensive too at the thought of leaving her gran alone for so long, although she had done everything within her power to ensure that Molly had everything she needed. The coalhouse was full to bursting, the larder was stocked with as much food as she could cram into it and the money jar on the mantelpiece was full to overflowing. Yet still she was anxious.
‘Now are you quite, quite sure that there’s nothing I’ve forgotten to get for you, Gran?’ she asked for the umpteenth time that morning.
Molly raised her eyes to the rafters that criss-crossed the low ceiling. ‘Yes, love, I’m quite sure,’ she said, biting back a hasty retort. They had so little time left now that she did not want them to spend their last few minutes fratching.
‘Now don’t forget, Mary will be bringing the twins to see you tomorrow,’ Amy told her yet again. ‘And Toby’s going to call in at least twice a day to fill the coal scuttle. If you should need anything at all in between, Bessie is there for you day or night.’
As she stared into Molly’s eyes, which were dangerously shiny with unshed tears, she realised that she was rambling on and stopped abruptly.
‘Sorry, Gran … I think I must be a bit nervous.’ Suddenly they were in each other’s arms. ‘Oh Gran, I’m going to miss you
so
much,’ Amy choked. ‘
Please
promise me that you’ll take good care of yourself. I don’t know how I would bear it if I didn’t have you.’
‘Shush now,’ Molly soothed as she held the girl to her. ‘It should be me worrying about you, madam, gallivantin’ off halfway across the world. But I know Mr and Mrs Forrester will take good care of you, and this is the chance of a lifetime. You must grasp it with both hands and make the most of it. This is what the old mistress wanted for you, God bless her soul, and if she’s where I think she is, then you can bet there will be a very happy, proud angel smiling down on you today, and make no mistake.’