The Best of Sisters (40 page)

‘When I got back I found that Mr Brandon had been drowning his sorrows, so to speak. He never even noticed I’d gone. Him and the religious gent what was preaching against the evils of drink was the best of pals. Laughing and joking together they was, and both as drunk as lords.’

She thanked him again and walked on towards the offices of Miller and Son. Her anger at Brandon was now fuelled by the knowledge that he had got Arthur drunk, undoing all the good work done by Mr Booth and his wife at the mission. She marched into the outer office, bypassing the anxious clerk, and headed straight for Brandon’s door. She went in without knocking.

Brandon was slumped over his desk with his head resting on his arms. He looked up, staring at her with bleary, bloodshot eyes.

‘I want a few words with you, mister,’ Eliza said, standing before him, arms akimbo, ready for a fight.

‘Not now, please. I’m a sick man.’

‘You deserve to have a bad head and I hope it hurts like a dozen navvies with pickaxes hammering inside your worthless skull.’

Closing his eyes, Brandon raised his hands to clutch his forehead. ‘It does. And worse.’

‘Good.’ Eliza reached across the desk and pulled his hands away from his face. ‘Now you listen to me, Mr Brandon Miller. You said it was going to be a business meeting. You never said it was going to be funny business.’

Brandon’s mouth twisted into a smile and then he winced. ‘Don’t make me laugh, Eliza. It hurts.’

She slapped his cheek with the flat of her hand. ‘And I hope that hurt too. You are a despicable, lying cheat. You treated me like a common whore and you got poor Arthur drunk. That man had given up the booze until you tempted him.’

‘You little bitch.’ Brandon clutched his cheek, staring up at her in disbelief. He got slowly to his feet, swaying slightly. ‘You’d better watch your manners, miss.’

‘Or what?’ Eliza demanded, facing him squarely.

‘Or I’ll foreclose on your loan and you’ll lose your livelihood. You’ll be glad then of men like
Brigham Stone when they offer you money for your services.’

Eliza raised her hand to strike him again, but Brandon caught her by the wrist. ‘You came from the gutter, Eliza. I can send you straight back to it. So don’t cross me, my dear.’

Although his words struck her like cold steel, Eliza met his eyes without blinking. ‘We’ll see what your father has to say about that.’

A fleeting expression of doubt flickered in Brandon’s eyes. ‘Leave my father out of this. You’re dealing with me now.’

Eliza broke free of his grasp. ‘The higher a monkey climbs,’ she said, repeating something she had once overheard when a group of sailors were chatting together in the shop, ‘the more you can see of his arse!’

The look of shock on Brandon’s face would have been laughable, if Eliza had been in the mood for mirth, but her whole future and that of her family was wavering in the balance. She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She headed straight for Aaron’s office, almost colliding with him as he was about to leave. He eyed her in some surprise. ‘My dear Eliza. Whatever is the matter?’

She could hear Brandon’s footsteps approaching and she clutched Aaron’s arm. ‘I need to speak with you, sir. In private.’

Aaron frowned. ‘I’m in a hurry. Won’t it wait?’

‘No, sir. I need to speak to you now.’

‘Then you’d better come into my office.’

Aaron held the door for her and was about to close it when Brandon pushed past him. ‘This concerns me, Father.’

‘Very well, but I haven’t got all day.’ Aaron sighed audibly and went to sit behind his desk.

‘I don’t want him here,’ Eliza protested, jerking her head in Brandon’s direction. ‘What I have to say is for your ears only, Mr Miller.’

‘I’m a busy man and I don’t want to listen to tales of petty squabbles.’

Elbowing Eliza out of the way, Brandon leaned his hands on the desk. ‘Father, I’m sorry to say that we were mistaken in our assessment of Miss Bragg’s character.’

She stared at him, momentarily lost for words.

‘Explain yourself, Brandon.’ Aaron sat back in his chair, folding his arms and staring from one to the other.

‘That’s not right,’ Eliza cried, finding her voice, although it sounded high-pitched and strange even to her own ears. ‘He tried to force hisself on me, Mr Miller. He took me to dinner in a pub with a private room …’

‘So that we could discuss business,’ Brandon interjected smoothly. ‘The rebuilding of the chandlery is complete and I wanted to find out when Eliza intended to purchase the stock. Then
I discovered that she had used the funds we issued for her own purposes and she was demanding more.’

Unable to believe her ears, Eliza gripped the back of a chair. ‘That’s a lie.’

‘And, Father, she offered me certain favours if I were to agree to her demands.’

Aaron sat forward, leaning his elbows on the desk and staring at Eliza. ‘Is this true?’

‘No, sir. It’s a pack of lies. He tried to have his way with me and I only just managed to get away. If Arthur Little and Mary hadn’t come into the pub preaching against the evils of drink, I – I can’t bear to think what might have happened.’ Eliza broke off on a sob as tears of anger flowed freely from her eyes.

‘See how she protests and cries.’ Brandon curled his lip. ‘She’s nothing more than a common whore and an actress to boot.’

‘Take that back,’ Eliza cried, fisting her hand. ‘I’m neither of them things and you never give me the money to buy stock.’

Brandon caught her by the wrist. ‘See how she does it, sir? She fooled us both into thinking she was a sweet and innocent young thing, but she’s just a scheming hussy.’

‘I gave you the benefit of the doubt on a previous occasion, Eliza.’ Aaron’s eyes were bleak as he stood up slowly. ‘I trusted you, Eliza. I thought you were so like your mother,
but I can see now that I was wrong.’

Pushing Brandon aside, she held her hands out to Aaron. ‘I’ve done nothing wrong. I swear to you that I never had any money from Brandon. Not a single penny.’

‘She lies, father. Didn’t Brigham Stone warn you about her, but you chose to believe Eliza over your old friend?’

‘You’ve struck me to the heart, Eliza,’ Aaron said, walking slowly round the desk to face her. ‘I treated you like my own daughter and you’ve betrayed my trust.’

‘No, sir. No. I’m telling you, I never done nothing wrong. It’s your precious son what’s lying.’

‘You deceitful trollop,’ Brandon said, scowling. ‘You’re only making matters worse for yourself. Shall I call a constable and have her arrested, Father?’

Aaron shook his head. ‘Eliza, the money means nothing to me. If you were in dire need, you only had to ask me and I would have given you anything you wanted. You’ve hurt me more than I can say. I helped you because of my love for your mother but you’ve shamed her memory. No!’ He held up his hand as Eliza opened her mouth to argue. ‘Don’t say another word. Brandon, instruct my solicitor to foreclose on the loan.’

‘But, sir. The chandlery – it’s mine.’

‘Not any longer,’ Aaron said, walking to the door. ‘From this moment on, it belongs to Miller and Son.’

As the door closed on his father, Brandon perched on the desk, eyeing Eliza with a triumphant smile. ‘You see what happens when you cross a Miller, Eliza. If you had been obliging you would still own the chandlery.’

She drew herself up to her full height. She was not going to let Brandon see her despair. ‘I’d rather starve than let you have your way with me.’

His eyes narrowed and he drew back his head like snake about to strike. ‘I’m sure that can be arranged. In fact the cost of rebuilding the shop is greater than the value of the land on which it stands. I shall instruct our solicitor to seize all your assets, including your house.’

‘I don’t own the house in Hemp Yard. It’s rented.’

‘But you do own the house in Bird Street. Don’t look so surprised, Eliza. I made enquires at the outset of our dealings, just in case things didn’t work out as planned.’

Eliza’s hand flew to her throat: she was going to be sick or faint. ‘You can’t do that.’

‘My dear girl, I can. And I will send the bailiffs round to your aunt’s house too. You could have had everything, but I’ll see you end up with nothing. Unless—’

‘You don’t frighten me,’ Eliza lied valiantly. ‘There’s nothing more you can take off me.’

‘No, but I have a fancy for your little sister. I’m sure she’ll be more obliging than you, especially when she learns that her job is at stake.’

‘You bastard! If you touch a hair off Millie’s head, I’ll kill you with me own bare hands.’

‘I’d enjoy wrestling with you, Eliza. But I think you know who would win.’

‘You are an unspeakable rat. No, worse than a rat. I can’t think of a word that describes you, Brandon.’ Eliza slammed out of the office and ran all the way to the Millers’ mansion. She hammered on the door of the servants’ entrance, and when a slightly bemused boot boy answered her frantic summons, she pushed past him. After arguing with a kitchen maid and almost coming to blows with the irate cook, Eliza was about to be ejected by a burly footman when the butler came upon the scene.

‘I want to see Miss Turner,’ Eliza said, pausing in her struggle with the footman. ‘Please, mister. It’s urgent.’

‘Get the creature out of here.’ The cook lobbed a soup ladle at Eliza but her aim was somewhat off and it hit the footman in the face. He yelped with pain and brought his hands up to cover his bleeding nose.

Eliza faced up to the butler. ‘I’m asking you nicely, mister. Let me see me sister. It’s a family
matter and I must see her now.’

‘Someone fetch Miss Turner.’ The butler sniffed, looking down his nose at Eliza. ‘I’ll have you know, young woman, this is a respectable house and we don’t allow such goings on.’

‘I ain’t budging without Millie.’ Eliza folded her arms across her chest.

‘If she leaves now then she don’t come back.’

She tossed her head. ‘No fear of that, mister.’

The sight of Freddie’s dog cart being held by a shivering boy at the corner of Hemp Yard made Eliza’s heart swell with relief. The barefoot child eyed her suspiciously, and seeing his mottled legs, covered with weeping sores and chilblains, she was moved to put her hand in her pocket. She had precious little money left but this boy’s bones were clearly visible beneath skin that had a sickly graveyard pallor. She placed a halfpenny in his hand and told him to go to the baker’s shop and buy some bread or a pie. As he scuttled off, Eliza handed the reins to Millie. ‘I want a private word with Freddie. I won’t be long.’

‘I wish you’d tell me what’s going on,’ Millie said, wrapping her shawl more tightly around her shoulders as rain began to fall from potbellied clouds.

‘I will, as soon as I’ve seen Freddie.’ Without waiting for a reply, Eliza hurried down the street and let herself into the house.

Dolly was laughing at something Freddie had said and, Eliza thought with a surge of gratitude, she almost looked like her old self. She paused on the threshold, meeting Freddie’s enquiring gaze with a wobbly smile. He had been kneeling beside Dolly and he rose slowly to his feet.

‘What’s the matter?’

His voice held a caress and he looked so achingly familiar and trustworthy that Eliza longed to seek comfort in his arms, but somehow she managed to exert her flagging self-control. ‘Freddie, I need to speak to you.’

‘Dr Freddie has been telling me all about Australia,’ Dolly said, smiling happily. ‘He’s made me up some special medicine and I feel better already.’

‘That’s splendid, Mum.’

‘We’re going there next week. Me and Freddie and your Uncle Ted are going on a ship to Australia and I’m going to see them funny hopping creatures, hankyroos they calls them.’ Dolly closed her eyes. ‘I’m fair wore out just at the thought of it, and now I’m going to have forty winks. You will tell Ted all about it when he comes in, won’t you, ducks?’

‘Yes, Mum.’ Eliza went over to the table and pulled out a chair. She sat down suddenly as her knees gave way beneath her. ‘Freddie, I’m in terrible trouble.’

He sat down beside her and held her hand.
‘Take your time, my love. Tell Freddie what’s bothering you.’

One look into his sympathetic eyes and the words came gushing from Eliza’s mouth in an unstoppable stream. She omitted nothing.

‘There’s only one thing for it, Liza,’ Freddie said, as she finished her story. ‘You’ll all have to come and live with us in Dark House Street.’

‘But we can’t do that. What would Daisy say?’

‘She’s a good-hearted woman when all is said and done. And she is your sister-in-law.’

The flash of relief that Eliza had felt at his offer of a home dissipated like morning mist as reality struck her. Daisy might have a heart as big as Australia thumping away beneath her ample breasts, but she had made it clear that she considered Freddie to be her private property. Eliza stared down at his tanned fingers twined around her small hand and she felt tears sting the back of her eyes. For all his experience of women, Freddie was as naïve as a baby when it came to understanding how the female mind worked. She lowered her eyes and squeezed his hand. ‘I don’t think that would do at all.’

‘Of course it would, my dear. The house is huge and there’s plenty of room for all of us.’

‘But, Freddie. What about your plans to be a proper doctor? You’ll need all your rooms for your clinic.’

‘Doctor?’ Freddie raised his eyebrows, as if
caught by surprise, and then he chuckled. ‘That was yesterday, poppet. I’ve given up that idea.’

‘But you had your heart set on it. You know you did.’

‘Circumstances change and a man has to change with them.’

‘Is it because of Daisy? Has she made you change your mind?’

Freddie shook his head. ‘It has nothing to do with Daisy. I’m considering my options, Liza.’

‘So what do you intend to do?’

Freddie seemed about to answer when Dolly stirred, muttered something unintelligible, and then subsided once more into a deep sleep. He jerked his head in her direction. ‘I helped put her in that state. I’m not proud of it, and God knows how many other poor souls I’ve sent in that direction with my nostrums based on laudanum. Doctoring isn’t for me – it was a pleasant dream that kept me from going mad in the outback, particularly when I was missing home – and you.’