Brilliance (13 page)

To Lisette’s annoyance the woman followed her upstairs and then stood with folded arms to watch her change out of her black shop attire into one of her own dresses. Without the whalebone corset, which she set aside, Lisette found that her dress was extremely tight and she had difficulty in fastening some buttons. A side glance in the cheval mirror showed her that now indeed she did look pregnant, but it was high time the baby gained room to grow.

Although throughout her packing Lisette kept a dignified silence, her cheeks flushed with anger as Mademoiselle Valverde took spiteful pleasure in checking everything she packed as if she were a possible thief as well as an unmarried mother-to-be. Then, taking up a valise in each hand, Lisette set off downstairs again. The thump of the woman’s footsteps followed her.

‘Never dare to come near this emporium again!’ Mademoiselle Valverde spat out as Lisette descended the outdoor steps into the street. The door was slammed after her.

Lisette did not linger, but took stock of her position as she walked away without a backward glance. It was a sunny, early September afternoon, the sky a clear blue, which in itself was an inducement to optimism and in any case she was not in the least despondent. The time had come to leave this town and start afresh. In her purse she had the two replies to her application for the position of housekeeper.

Now she would just turn up at these two addresses and hope for the best. If neither position was still available she could always look for some other domestic work in that area. She was not too proud to sweep and dust and scrub floors if it would ensure a roof over her head until she found something better suited to her abilities.

At the railway station she boarded a train where she sat down on one of the wooden seats. In the past she had only travelled in first class comfort, but those days had gone for the time being. Being alone in the carriage, she opened her purse and took out the false wedding ring. When she had put it on she spread her fingers wide and regarded it without expression. Now to the world she was the wife of a seaman.

After replacing her glove she fingered the ring for a moment or two through the soft leather before sitting back and letting her thoughts drift. Not for the first time she remembered Monsieur Lumière’s advice to look on change as an adventure. It was strange how his wise words had stayed with her throughout the years.

As the train began to move her thoughts continued to wander in a curiously contented way. Eventually the time would come when her grandmother’s house in Lyon was legally hers. She would find it full of memories and what a pleasure it would be to see the Lumière family again! Then an unhappy thought struck her. But it could not be the same, for she would be a social outcast with an illegitimate baby. No respectable home would receive her. Neither should she expect it to be otherwise.

Her thoughts turned to Daniel. He had been immensely kind to her throughout the time she had been with him. It could be said he had been too kind in that eventually he had comforted her with such ardour that she carried a child within her who would always remind her of him.

Until now she had not thought much about the baby, except as a terrible complication to her life. She had had no privacy in which to start preparing a layette, except for a few small garments she had purchased one day in the market and hidden away in a drawer. Mademoiselle Valverde had given a contemptuous snort when she had glimpsed them being packed. For the first time she began to wonder with real interest whether she would give birth to a boy or a girl. Thinking back to that passionate interlude in which Daniel had brought her soaring to such ecstasy she could only think that most surely she would have a son from those handsome and powerful loins.

Unexpectedly she caught her breath at the memory. Although she was no longer alone in the carriage the man reading a newspaper in the corner seat had not noticed and neither had the woman opposite her, who was fussing with a fractious child.

Other passengers came and went at various halts throughout the journey. Then she was at her destination and alighted on to the platform. She had decided to go first to the old gentleman’s address since the other was out of town. A porter took her baggage and led her to a waiting horse-drawn omnibus where the conductor confirmed that it went past the head of the street that she wanted. She stepped aboard. It would soon be getting dusk and she hoped her destination was not far away, because if she failed to get the position it would mean starting to look for somewhere to stay.

After about ten minutes of the omnibus picking up and putting down passengers it came to a halt again. ‘That’s the street you asked for, mademoiselle,’ the conductor said, pointing the way.

Halfway down the avenue of some very fine houses she came to the address for which she had been searching. Large double gates opened to the driveway of a grand mansion where lamplight glowed from several windows. She supposed she should go to a servants’ entrance, but she could not carry her heavy valises any longer. Taking a deep breath on the steps of the marble portico she rang the doorbell.

A serious-looking manservant in his fifties opened the door, his greyish hair so slicked back with Macassar oil that it shone like a billiard ball. ‘Mademoiselle?’ he inquired politely.

‘I’m Madame Decourt,’ Lisette replied, ‘and I hope I’m the new housekeeper.’

His expression lifted and he snatched up the handles of her luggage to swing it indoors. ‘Thank God for that! Come in. I’m Gerard, valet to Judge Oinville and nurse when needs be.’

She entered and looked about her at the spacious hall with its black and while tiled floor and a great crystal chandelier suspended from the ceiling. ‘I’m not expected,’ she warned.

‘On the contrary,’ he replied, having closed the door after her. ‘You were supposed to be here three days ago, but never mind about that. You’re here now.’

Immediately Lisette realized with an acute sense of disappointment that another housekeeper had already been appointed. ‘Then there’s some mistake. You’re expecting someone else. I haven’t even been interviewed yet.’

He sighed in exasperation and snapped questions at her as he ticked them off on his fingers. ‘Are you honest? Have you good references? Do you cook? Can you supervise? Is your bookkeeping accurate? Would you have plenty of patience with a cantankerous old man?’ Then after Lisette had answered all his questions in the affirmative, he gave a nod. ‘As far as I’m concerned you’re the new housekeeper even if you are in the family way. What’s your name?’

She told him, but continued to protest. ‘You have no authority to appoint me. I must see the lady of the house!’

‘There isn’t one, except Judge Oinville’s bitch of a daughter-in-law, who comes in once or twice a week to find fault and fling her orders about. The judge can’t abide her, because he knows she wants him gone in order to get hold of his money and this house and all its contents. I pity her husband, because he must have a hell of a life. Now I’ll present you to the judge.’

He turned on his heel to lead the way, but Lisette caught at his sleeve. ‘You really must understand that if another housekeeper is expected I can’t possibly take over!’

‘Don’t worry about it. It’s highly unlikely she’ll show up now. The departing housekeeper had recommended her, but perhaps also told her enough about your new employer to make her think twice about coming here and she has decided to stay away for ever. You probably won’t stay either, but at least give it a try.’

With trepidation Lisette followed him along a corridor and through a finely furnished salon where open glass doors led into a garden room. There she paused for Gerard to announce her.

‘Permit me to present the new housekeeper, monseigneur. Madame Lisette Decourt.’

Gerard stood aside for her to enter and then left. The garden room was large, but the warmth of the day had been captured and held. Oil lamps on elegant stands had been lit among the potted palms against the fading glow of the setting sun, which cast sparkles into a decanter and glasses on a silver tray placed on a side table. She had been expecting to see an ancient invalid from Gerard’s mention of being both valet and nurse, but a distinguished looking, white-bearded old gentleman, his hand resting on a gold-topped cane, sat comfortably in a cushioned wicker chair, a very lively look about him. He beckoned her nearer and regarded her keenly with steel-grey eyes. Then he grunted with satisfaction.

‘You are most welcome, Madame Decourt. Thank God you’re pretty! In fact, you’re quite a beauty. I can’t abide ugly women and they usually smell.’ He looked her up and down. ‘If my eyes don’t deceive me, you’re with child. Am I right?’

‘Yes, monseigneur,’ she answered firmly. ‘Does that make any difference?’

‘We’ll discuss that in a minute. So you’re here to take charge. Sit down opposite me.’ He continued to talk as she seated herself. ‘I warn you there won’t be much to eat until you get someone in the kitchen who knows how to cook. Gerard has been doing his best, but kitchen work is beneath his dignity. My daughter-in-law could have sent her fancy chef to prepare a meal or two for me, but she does not have a generous nature.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Lisette said. ‘Are there no servants other than Gerard in the house?’

‘They all walked out three days ago. A clean sweep to my mind! No servant ever stays long anyway, so it’s of no consequence. The menservants steal my cigars and gulp down my best wines and the silly women cry when I shout at them.’

Lisette caught her breath at his bluntness. ‘You’ll not shout at me, monseigneur!’ There was such a resounding threat in her voice that the old man’s bushy white brows shot up. ‘Neither would I allow pilfering all the time I’m in charge here! Is that understood?’

‘I can see you’re a woman to rule the roost,’ he taunted in reply, enjoying himself. ‘Your husband must have a lot to put up with. Has he deserted you? Is that why you’re here?’

‘No. He’s at sea.’

‘At sea, is he?’ The old man’s quizzical smile puzzled her. ‘When do you expect him home on shore leave?’

‘Not for a long time. He has only just sailed.’

‘And when is your baby due?’

‘Next April.’

‘Then he’s unlikely to be back when you give birth. Tell me, does he even exist?’

Lisette turned ashen, all her pretence falling away, and she sat back in her chair, gripping the arms. ‘How did you know?’ she asked in total dismay.

‘I didn’t, but during my years in court I have had many a female in the dock, accused of some petty crime, who has made the well-worn pretence of being the wife or widow of a seaman to retain some shred of respectability.’

Lisette sprang her feet. ‘I’ll leave at once,’ she said shakily. ‘I apologize for trying to deceive you.’

‘Wait!’ the judge shouted, for she was already on her way. ‘Have I said I wanted you to go? I’m a judge of the law, not of morals, and there’s always two sides to everything. I’ve never believed that the woman should always be subject to censure and the man escape scot-free.’ Impatiently he thumped his stick. ‘For God’s sake, come back and sit down again, young woman!’

Slowly she resumed her seat, uncertain what was to come. ‘Am I to stay then?’

‘Why not? You haven’t come to scrub floors or carry heavy loads that might harm your condition. You’re here to give orders and manage my house efficiently. If you fail in that task I’ll tell you to go, but otherwise you’ll stay and be well paid for it. Then when the baby comes – providing you keep its bawling out of my hearing – you shall remain as my housekeeper for as long as it suits us both.’

She felt overwhelmed by his magnanimity and wanted to be completely honest with him. ‘There’s something else I have to tell you. Although I applied for this housekeeper’s position I’m not the one who was expected three days ago.’

He shook his head dismissively. ‘Who wants to employ someone who cannot even arrive on time? I don’t! So what does that matter now? I know a strong character when I see one and you’re not going to pawn my silver or drink yourself senseless as some have done before you.’ He shifted in his chair and waved a hand towards the decanter. ‘Pour me a stiff cognac and then see if you can find enough food in the kitchen to make me a hot dinner. I’m tired of Gerard’s cold collations.’

Lisette left the garden room almost in a daze that such good luck should have befallen her and found her way to the kitchen where Gerard was waiting for her. ‘Did all go well?’ he asked.

‘Yes, I’m here to stay.’

‘I thought you would be. I’ve put your luggage in the housekeeper’s apartment. ‘It’s just along the passage.’ He led the way, speaking to her over his shoulder. ‘How did you get on with the judge?’

‘I stood my ground when the need arose.’

‘That’s the way to deal with him. He is used to browbeating everyone as he did in his days in court and if everything doesn’t go as he likes it he roars with temper like an old bull.’ He opened a door. ‘Here are your rooms.’

The apartment consisted of a pleasantly furnished salon with a desk for her paperwork, a small dining alcove and a bedroom with an adjoining bathroom.

‘Everything is very clean and tidy,’ she commented, ‘seeing that the previous occupant left so abruptly.’

‘The daily woman who washes and polishes floors wasn’t here when the great bust-up took place and so she was not affected by it. So she put things to rights in here. Old Madeleine is an honest old soul and she’s been coming here for years. I’ll leave you now. You’ll find me in the kitchen.’

‘The judge has asked me to cook dinner for him this evening.’

‘Good! I shopped for a few items today. Make sure you cook enough for us too.’

‘I intend to do that.’

When she went to the kitchen Gerard showed her where to find an apron.

‘Why did you say earlier that you were both valet and nurse sometimes?’ she asked, tying the apron strings at her back in a bow.

Gerard perched on a stool in readiness to watch her at work. ‘The judge has an unsteady heart. He has suffered a couple of minor strokes and gets spells when he doesn’t feel well. Even though his son calls in the best of doctors and nurses at these times I’m the one he always wants in attendance. I’ve been with him for a long time and he trusts me.’