The Emperor (43 page)

Héloïse intervened, placing her hand on the servant's
arm to restrain her. 'The child is hurt, you know. Look, her head is cut. I'm afraid she must have caught it on some part of my carriage.'

‘Don't you worry about that, ma'am,' said the servant. ‘She's as tough as they come.' And she resumed hauling on the thin arm.

‘
No, please don't do that. Let me convey her — and you —
in my carriage. Where have you come from?'

‘
Lord Burlington's school, ma'am, the girls' charity
school in Boyle Street, just over yonder. It's only a step,
ma'am, you mustn't trouble. This naughty girl climbed out
of a window and ran away. She's forever doing it. Lucky I spotted her this time, for it was the Watch brought her back before.'

‘
I will take you there now, both of you. I wish to speak to
your headmistress. You see, I think I know this child.’

The servant stared. 'Do you, ma'am? Why, I thought I heard you speaking Dutch to her. Mrs Webb is the matron,
ma'am, and she'll be pleased to see to you, I'm sure.' Her
eyes had taken in the rich attire and the coat of arms on the
coach. No doubt, Héloïse reflected, such schools were
.always in need of wealthy patrons. She addressed a few
words of explanation to the coachman and footman, and
then turned to the red-haired child.

‘
Don't be afraid,' she said in French. 'Come with me
now. I am your friend.' There was no knowing if she under
stood or not, for she only stared in fright and defiance.
Héloïse reflected that she had been only four years old when
she left France, and now perhaps understood only German.
But what had happened to her since her father took her
away from her uncle's house in Leipzig? Where was he, and where was her brother Karellie? The footman had put down
the steps now, and she urged the child into the carriage,
keeping a gentle but wary hand on her arm. That was
another question — why had she run away? Did they ill-treat
her? The servant mounted gingerly and sat on the very edge
of the seat, the steps were put up and the door closed, and they lurched away.

In a well-furnished study in the plain but handsome
school building, Héloïse was received with great deference by Mrs Webb. She seemed a respectable woman, quietly
 
spoken, with sharp, intelligent eyes, and a conscientious
frown between her brows. The child was seated in a corner,
the servant keeping guard over her, and Mrs Webb told her story.

‘The school is not an orphan asylum, my lady. It was
founded to educate the daughters of poor people of the
parish, but from time to time we take on girls in difficult circumstances, at the request of our patrons. It was Lady Winchcomb who brought this little girl here. She was the
survivor of a shipwreck - a fishing boat went aground on the
Goodwin Sands - and she had been taken to a sailor's home
in which Lady Winchcomb also has an interest. It was obviously not a suitable place for her, and so her ladyship asked
us to take her in.'

‘When was this?' Héloïse asked.

‘Only last autumn, ma'am.' She glanced at the child and sighed. 'The Trustees weren't too happy about it, my lady, because the child speaks no English.'

‘
She does not seem to understand French either,' Héloïse
said. 'Have you tried speaking to her in German?’

Mrs Webb looked offended. 'No-one here speaks.
German, my lady.'

‘And you say she keeps running away? Why is that?'

‘
I cannot tell you, my lady. She has never been ill-treated.
How do you come to know her, may I ask?'

‘
I was a great friend of her mother, in Paris, from the
time she was born. Her name is Mathilde Nordubois -'

‘
Yes, my lady, that's what we call her. Matilda Nortiboys.
So it is the same child - I don't suppose there could be two with a name like that.'

‘
Her mother was killed in the Revolution,' Héloïse
continued, ignoring the interruption. 'I escaped, bringing Mathilde and her younger brother and sister with me. But
our ship, too, foundered, and we were separated. I heard
later that she had been rescued and taken to her uncle in Germany, and later still that her father had taken her away from there. But you know that news is not reliable in war
time. How could she have come to be on a fishing-boat?
And where is her brother Karellie?’

The child gave a low cry, and started up, staring at
Héloïse with enormous eyes. 'Karellie!' she cried, and added
something incomprehensible in German. Héloïse shook her
head and smiled apologetically, and to her surprise the little
girl said very slowly in awkward French, with a very odd
accent, 'Where is my brother? You have news of my brother
Karellie?’

Héloïse shook her head.
'Non, ma thére.
So you speak French, do you?'

‘A little. I understand - not speak well.'

‘Was Karellie with you in the ship?'

‘Yes. But the lady took me away. I must find him.'

‘Wait a little. I will ask.' She turned to Mrs Webb and reverted to English. 'I can solve your problem for you. She runs away to look for her brother. Do you know what has become of him? She says he was with her in the boat.’

Mrs Webb shook her head. ‘No, my lady. I never heard
of a brother. Lady Winchcomb never mentioned one.
Perhaps her brother was sent to a boys' school of the same sort. There are several boys' charity schools in London.’

Héloïse leaned forward and clasped her hands before her
on the desk. 'Madame, I have a request to make of you -
that you let me take the child with me. I wish to adopt her and bring her up as my own.'

‘Well, I don't know -'

‘
I promised her mother, you see, that if anything
happened to her, I would take care of her children. I failed,
through no fault of my own - but here is a chance to keep
my promise. You must agree that she would be better off in a private home than in your school, though I'm sure you do your best for the children.'

‘
I'm sorry, my lady, but it is not for me to decide. It
would have to be put to the Trustees - and Lady Winch-
comb, of course. I don't know what they would say. I mean
- I beg your pardon, my lady, but do we know who you
are?’

Héloïse smiled gently. 'Of course, you must satisfy yourselves that I am a fit person to take the child, but I beg
that you will put your enquiries in hand with all speed. I am
staying at present with my cousin, the Earl of Chelmsford, of whom, no doubt, you have heard.’

 
Mrs Webb's face cleared. 'But of course, my lady. His
lordship is one of our patrons. Indeed, his family have been patrons of the school since its beginning. I'm sure there will be no trouble about it, my lady. I shall write to the Trustees
first thing in the morning.'

‘
Thank you. And enquire too, if you will, about her
brother.' Héloïse stood up and picked up her muff. 'I shall
be grateful if you will act as quickly as possible in this
matter.' She turned to the child. ‘Mathilde, I am going now,'
she said in French, 'but I will come back, and then you shall
come and live with me in a proper house, and we will find your brother, and bring him to live with us too. Do you understand me?’

Oui, madame.'

‘
In the meantime you must stay here. I hope it will be
only a few days. You must not try to run away again.'
Mathilde looked doubtful. 'I promise I will come back. Do you promise you will not run away?’

Oui, madame,'
she said at last, with a little sigh.

*

It took two weeks for the Trustees of the school to meet and
discuss the case, and a further week for them to acquire Lady Winchcomb's approval for the transfer of custody. Neither the Trustees nor Lady Winchcomb knew anything about Mathilde's brother, however.

‘
He may have been rescued by different people and taken
elsewhere along the coast,' Charles said sympathetically. 'I
can put enquiries in hand for you, if you wish.'

‘Oh, if you please, Cousin Charles,' Héloïse said grate
fully. 'It is most important to me that I fulfil my promise to
Lotti, if I can.'

‘If it weren't for this damned war,' Charles complained,
‘we might have some hope of finding out where her father
is, and what she was doing on that boat.'

‘She may be able to tell me something of that, when I have a chance to talk to her at length,' Héloïse said.

‘You say she did not know you?' Roberta asked.

‘
I'm not sure. She did not seem to remember me, but she was
greatly shocked at the time. It may come back to her, in time.'

‘
Forgive me, my dear Héloïse, but do you really want to
take on the responsibility of this child? You know nothing
of her recent history. She may have a bad disposition. She may prove to be very troublesome,' Roberta said.

‘Oh no, I cannot believe it. Why, she is only nine years old, and the poor thing has gone through so much! I must
give her a home,' Héloïse said firmly. 'She will be no trouble.'

‘
I wonder,' Charles said with a wry smile.

*

Héloïse went back to the school several times while the enquiries were going on, to reassure Mathilde that she was not forgotten, and found out a little more of her story.

‘
We lived with Uncle Ernst and Aunt Anna, in a big
house in Leipzig,' she said in her hesitant French. 'That was
many years past. Then Papa took us away. We went to a
school in Antwerp. He said he would come back, but he
didn't come.'

‘Before Leipzig, do you remember where you lived?'
Héloïse asked. ‘Do you remember Paris?' She took her
head. ‘Do you remember the boat that took you from
France? You were with me, and Marie, and Karellie, and
baby Clothilde. Do you remember Clothilde?' Again the
shake of the head.

‘
I think I was in France once, because at the school they
say we are French, but I don't remember it.' She frowned. 'I
didn't like the school. They are not nice.'

‘And how did you come to leave the school?'

‘There was – ' She hesitated, seeking the words. ‘No money. And a letter. They say, "You go to England". Then the boat, and – ' She made a gesture expressive of catastrophe. 'In England they take me to a place and another place and the school. I ask for Karellie, and no-one knows.'

‘
When the boat was wrecked, in England, what happened
to him? Was he with you in the first place that you went to?'
But Mathilde only shook her head, seeming to have no
language for more detail. Héloïse thought that having been
in two disastrous shipwrecks in her short life had perhaps affected her memory, making her shut out the horror and tragedy.

At the end of February the day came when Héloïse was able to take her back with her to Chelmsford House. The
place, its size and the number of servants, awed the child to
the brink of tears, and it was Kithra who saved the day by
frisking up to her and nudging her in a friendly way, inviting
her to play. Marie took advantage of the moment to put an
arm round her shoulder and take her and the dog upstairs to
the nursery, where Bobbie's nurses were ready and eager for
an increase in their duties.

Viens avec moi, Mathilde, chèrie. Tu to rappelles de
moi?'

‘ Non, madame.’

Mais si! Je suis Marie. Je t'ai connue a Paris — ‘

Talking cheerfully she coaxed the child upstairs, and Charles smiled. 'It won't be long at that rate before she has learnt enough French for you to begin to teach her English.'

‘
Oh, but cousin, it is only to reassure her that we speak in
French. When she is settled, we shall speak English, of
course.'

‘
I know, I was only teasing you. Well, now I suppose we
had better put matters in hand to make her your legal ward. You are sure you want it?'

‘Why not?' said Héloïse.

‘
Because I believe you will soon have a child of your own
to care for,' Charles said gently. Héloïse blushed scarlet, and
he patted her arm. 'I did not mean to distress you, my dear. You know that I have always had your welfare at heart. I wish I could help you.'

‘
Oh please,' she begged, 'please don't tell Maman, or
James!'

‘
Of course not, if you don't wish me to. But they are
bound to know sooner or later, don't you think?'