The Royal Lacemaker (18 page)

Lily shuddered, thinking that was an
experience she never, ever wished to repeat. Nor was she likely to now. She had no
home and no mode of transport either.

‘Go on, Lily, up you go.
I'll get Tilda to bring you a tray of food and a candle. Get a good
night's sleep and make an early start in the morning. We have a deadline and,
as overseer, it is your duty to ensure that it's met.' She picked up her
bell to summon the maid and Lily knew she'd been dismissed.

The little room was sparsely furnished
but neat as a pin, with a bed set under the window and a washstand in the corner. As
she put her things down on the bed, her feet hit the chamber pot beneath it, sending
out a ring. Lily smiled; no rushing outside to the thunder box for her tonight.
Carefully, she untied the parcel her aunt had given her. Inside there was a change
of petticoat and stockings, her mother's Bible and a letter. For long moments
she sat looking at it, her fingers tracing the outline of the words that meant
nothing to her. She recognized the writing as Aunt Elizabeth's, for sometimes
they'd received a letter by the stagecoach from her, but, of course, it had
been Rob who'd read it out to them.

Frustrated by her lack of learning, she
put it aside, wondering if she really would be able to learn her letters. Perhaps
Mary would read it to her in the morning, she thought yawning, grateful that her
friend was one of the few ladies she worked with who knew their letters, having been
to the local charity school.

It had been a long, eventful day and all
she wanted was to curl up and go to sleep. The wind had risen and was howling around
the cottage like a banshee. It felt more like January than June, she thought,
shivering in the gathering gloom. Her stomach growled and she hoped Tilda would soon
arrive with the promised food.

A thundering on the
front door downstairs, made her jump. She heard a man's angry voice followed
by muffled whispering and then all went quiet again, but her nerves were shattered
by the events of the day and it was some minutes before her heartbeat returned to
normal. She sat in the darkness thinking back over Mrs Bodney's revelation.
That the figure in the veil had been Abigail surprised her, but she could remember
her mother telling her that people resorted to desperate measures when hunger
knocked at their door.

Her musing was interrupted by Tilda
arriving with the promised candle and tray of food, and Lily's mouth watered
as the aroma of chicken broth wafted temptingly towards her. She smiled her
thanks.

‘Gosh, there was a right old
argument out there earlier. Picky Pike—'

‘Thank you, Tilda,' Lily
said firmly, ignoring the maid's disappointed look. Clearly the girl was
longing to chat, and whilst Lily was curious to know what the earlier outburst had
been about, she knew Mrs Bodney deplored gossip. Besides, it was hours since
she'd eaten, and her insides were gnawing like rats in a grain store.

She sat on the bed, supping the broth
and listening to the rain lashing against the window, as the wind soughed down the
chimney. She thought of Tom out in his boat and prayed he'd be safe, and that
her aunt and brother had found somewhere comfortable to shelter for the night.
Finally, supper finished, her eyelids began to droop. Undressing quickly, she
climbed under the cover and blew out the candle. Lying down, she breathed in the
wonderful scent of lavender that fragranced the bed linen and
smiled. When she and Tom were married and had a place of their own, she was going
to collect wild flowers and dry them. Then their room would smell as sweet as the
countryside too.

To her surprise, although she was
comfortable she didn't fall asleep immediately. The noises of the night seemed
unusually loud in the darkness and they unsettled her. She could hear the pounding
of the waves and the push and drag of the shingle, a boat being hauled across the
pebbles. Then a hoot sounded close by. Her ears picked out the sound of muffled
hooves on the cobbles and she turned to face the wall. Shivering in the darkness,
she was convinced she'd never sleep. But eventually everything went quiet and
she felt her body relaxing under the warm coverlet.

Waking to the pale light of dawn, Lily
jumped out of bed determined to make an early start. While Mrs Bodney had been good
about the time she had missed yesterday, the fact remained that the work still
needed to be done. Quickly dressing, she rinsed her face with water from the ewer
then tiptoed downstairs with her pot, letting herself out into the early morning
air.

The gale from the night before had blown
itself out, and a watery, white sun was peeping from behind the cliff. Looking down
to the harbour she was relieved to see Tom's lugger pulled up on the beach.
Hastily she cleaned her pot into the brook and then scurried back indoors.

The peace of the empty workroom was balm
to her spirit, and she set about her work with renewed vigour. She had almost
completed a sprig when the ladies began to arrive.

‘We was glad to
hear you was acquitted yesterday,' Mary said, settling onto her stool.

‘Thank you. I can't deny
I'm relieved to be proved innocent but now I shall have to work like ten men
to make up for the time lost.'

But she'd no sooner bent back over
her pillow, than Tilda appeared.

‘Mrs Bodney wishes to see you in
the parlour, Lily.' Fighting down a sigh at the interruption, and hoping
nothing was wrong, she followed the little maid out of the room. Mrs Bodney was
sitting in her chair looking as fresh as an oxeye daisy and Lily smoothed down her
apron, hoping she looked neater than she felt.

‘Good morning, Mrs Bodney,'
she said, looking anxiously across at the other woman.

‘I trust you slept well,
Lily?' her employer asked.

‘Yes, thank you.'

‘I see you made an early start
this morning,' she said, smiling.

‘Well, it was only fair I should
catch up on some of the work I missed yesterday.'

‘Yes. However, you cannot work for
long on an empty stomach, so we shall break our fast together,' Mrs Bodney
said, motioning for Lily to help herself to toast from the silver rack that was set
on the table. Then she passed her a dainty cup of strong tea. Lily was so thirsty,
she couldn't help thinking longingly of the large mugs they'd supped
their morning drinks from back at the cottage. Remembering the previous meal
she'd eaten here, she carefully cut her toast into quarters, making herself
nibble as daintily as she could manage. She was concentrating so hard that it
was some moments before she realized Mrs Bodney was speaking.

‘Honestly, Lily, I don't
believe you've heard a word I've said. I was outlining my plans for
bringing all the workers together. Yesterday, I negotiated a deal with Agent Pike.
Those premises of his are ideal for us to use.'

Lily stared at her employer. The thought
that someone could do a deal with the agent astounded her.

‘However, he's a greedy
man,' her employer continued. ‘He came knocking on my door last night,
demanding I increase my offer. Much to his chagrin, I refused. A deal's a
deal, as I hastened to point out to him.' She grinned delightedly and Lily
found herself smiling back.

She couldn't help marvelling at
her employer's nerve, for although the journeyman had sold most of her lace to
the agent, there'd been times when Lily had had to deal with him herself, and
she knew how difficult he could be. He wasn't known as Picky Pike for
nothing.

‘Did he object?' Lily
couldn't help asking.

‘Don't worry, even Pike will
come to his senses. He won't turn down the opportunity to make a bit of extra
money. As I told him, a little bit of something is better than a lot of
nothing,' said Mrs Bodney, chuckling. ‘He has until first thing Monday
to accept what I'm offering or I'll find other premises.' Lily
shook her head but her employer hadn't finished. ‘Time is ticking by at
an alarming rate and I need your total concentration on our Queen's lace, so
until things are settled, you may continue to sleep in my spare room.'

‘Oh, thank you, Mrs Bodney. That
really is kind of you. I can't tell you how relieved I am,' Lily
exclaimed for she'd
wondered when she'd have the time
to seek somewhere to stay.

‘However, I really can't
have you being seen in a dress that has more creases than the wise woman's
forehead, so please ensure you smarten yourself up before returning to the workroom.
It will do my reputation no good whatsoever to have my overseer parading around like
a crumpled clod. I myself have business to attend to elsewhere so will see you here
first thing on Monday morning. We will break our fast together and see what has
transpired in the meantime. Do you have any plans for the Sabbath?'

‘Yes,' Lily replied.
‘Tom and I plan to take my little sister and her friend to the beach at Coombe
for a picnic.'

‘Good, good,' said her
employer, her mind already on other things. ‘Well, unless you require more tea
or toast, I suggest you make yourself respectable then get back to the workroom.
Remember, it's your responsibility to ensure the ladies stay on
schedule.'

Lily smiled as she watched Beth and
Harriet searching the beach for the brightest ribbons of seaweed. Tom had helped
them build a fairy castle out of the shiny pebbles and they were now decorating it
while Tom fetched water for the moat.

‘Hurry up, Tom,' they
squealed, as he stood in the shallows filling his pail. How happy and relaxed he
looked, Lily thought, leaning back against a rock and revelling in the warmth of the
sun on her skin. Tom duly obliged and emptied the water into the channel he'd
dug, then pretended to be outraged when it seeped through the stones and
disappeared. The girls dissolved into
peals of laughter and sent
him back to collect more. He was going to make a good father, she thought. Her
stomach growled and she realized the fresh air had sharpened her appetite.

‘Time to eat,' she called,
bending to spread out the picnic Mrs Goode had insisted on packing for them.

‘I'm really hungry,'
Beth said, running over.

‘Me too,' Harriet squealed,
joining her.

‘And me,' Tom said,
grinning.

‘Well, sit down,' Lily
answered, patting the horsehair blanket she'd spread out for them.

They fell on the delicious feast of
bread with pickled eggs, and silence descended. Lily glanced over at Tom and he
winked back. It was a long time since she'd felt so happy.

Food finished, Tom instigated a game of
hide-and-seek behind the rocks. The sound of the little girls' delighted
squeals of laughter when he found them echoed around the beach. All too soon,
though, the sun was lowering in the sky and it was time to pack up and make their
way home.

‘I've had the bestest time
ever, Tom,' Beth said, tucking her hand into his as they walked along the
track.

‘Me too, Tom,' Harriet
added, not to be outdone.

‘Then we'll just have to do
it again soon, won't we?' Tom said, grinning at Lily.

‘Ooh, yes, please,' they
chorused and then ran off. Pretending to be a monster from the deep, Tom spread out
his arms and chased after them along the path towards the cottage.

‘You look as though you've
had a good time,' Mrs Goode said, scooping up the girls in her arms.

‘We have, and
thank you for that delicious picnic, Mrs Goode,' Lily said.

‘Yes, those pickled eggs were the
best I've ever tasted. You must give Lily the recipe when we're
wed,' said Tom, rubbing his stomach appreciatively.

‘Glad you enjoyed them. And I must
say, I've enjoyed the rare treat of having a lazy few hours to meself,'
Mrs Goode said, beaming. ‘Would you like to come in for a drink?'

‘That's kind of you, Mrs
Goode, but we really must be getting back,' Tom said politely, as Lily stifled
a yawn. ‘As you can see, this one definitely needs her beauty
sleep.'

‘Cheek,' Lily retorted.
‘It's all this fresh air, and we still have the walk back to Bransbeer
so I guess we'd better get going.'

‘Yes, and I'd best find
those two rascals and get them ready for bed,' Mrs Goode said.

They said their goodbyes and made their
way back down the cliff path. The evening was balmy, with crickets chirping and the
birds swooping low to catch the rising ants.

‘If only we could have more days
like this, Tom,' said Lily, sighing contentedly.

‘We will, my love, we will,'
he said, kissing her gently on the cheek. ‘Mind you, when we've got
thirteen nippers of our own, I guess it'll take a bit of organizing,' he
added.

‘
Thirteen?
'

‘Well, got to keep you out of
mischief somehow, girl, haven't we?' he said, winking. ‘By the
way, I had a word with the carter about collecting your things from the barn next
time he's this way.'

‘That's
kind of you to arrange that, Tom. I was wondering how I'd get them to
Bransbeer. How much will it cost?'

‘For you, my sweetest love, not a
farthing.'