The Royal Lacemaker (31 page)

‘Really?' asked Lily,
looking hopefully at the woman who'd become her friend over the past months.
‘But someone said it would require specialist treatment.'

‘No doubt they did, seeing as them
newfangled chemicals cost a week's wage. Want me to take this home and see to
it?' she asked, holding up the dress.

‘Oh, Mary, would you?'

‘Of course I will. It'll
take more than a bit of soup to beat me. I'll bring it in to work tomorrow
with me. Now I'd best get this lot home and fed,' she said as her family
swarmed around her, begging for their lunch. She looked at Lily closely. ‘You
look peaky, love. Why don't you come home and have a bite with us? Who knows,
you might even be the lucky one who finds a bit of pig in the broth,' she
laughed.

‘Thanks, Mary, but I'm not
really hungry.'

‘Broth not good enough now
you're eating fine food up at the manor, eh?' she said, laughing
again.

‘Of course it is. Anyway, I
didn't actually get anything to eat at the supper.'

Curiosity flashed in the other
woman's eyes but Lily was still feeling raw about Rupert's deception and
didn't wish to talk about it.

Giving a big yawn, she said,
‘Sorry, Mary, it was a very late night so I think I'll return to my room
and have a lie-down once I've finished washing this muck off the rest of my
clothes.'

‘That's
it, Lily, you get some rest whilst you can. Once you've got a family round
you, you'll find yourself lucky to have the time to draw breath, let alone
sleep,' Mary said cheerfully, heading down the lane with her brood following
after her. Lily was reminded of the song her mother used to sing about an old woman
who had so many children she didn't know what to do.

She sighed, for now it was she who
didn't know what to do. There was no way she could face Mr Mountsford again
without telling him a few home truths, and if she did that Mrs Bodney would be sure
to dismiss her.

Before the first streaks of grey were
lighting the eastern sky on Monday morning, Lily made her way to the workroom. As
there was no sign of her employer, she busied herself setting out the materials
ready for the day ahead. She couldn't help worrying in case Mary hadn't
been able to get the stain out of Mrs Bodney's dress. There was no way she
could afford to replace such quality, even on the money she was getting as overseer.
Fretting made her awkward and in her haste, she knocked over the tray of bobbins,
sending them clattering across the floor.

‘If there's one thing I
cannot abide it's noise, especially at this early hour, Lily Rose. It upsets
my equilibrium for the day ahead.'

‘Sorry, Mrs Bodney,' Lily
replied, cursing her clumsiness.

‘I would like to see all the lace
that's been made for our Queen,' Mrs Bodney requested, giving Lily a
penetrating look. Carefully, she set the sprigs out along the long table, whereupon
Mrs Bodney began counting and sorting them into various piles. Finally, she looked
at Lily in surprise.

‘Well, there's enough here
for the flounce and all the various trimmings, and almost sufficient for the veil.
The progress you've made on the Bertha collar is quite surprising,' she
pronounced.

Lily smiled but her relief was
short-lived for then her
employer announced, ‘I shall now
inspect the work for quality. However, there's no need for you to watch, you
can go back to your own work.'

Relieved to have something to focus on,
Lily picked up the bobbins, then sat at her pillow. Conscious of Mrs Bodney's
presence, she didn't dare look up when the others filed into the room,
although she could feel their curious stares, for their employer was seldom seen in
the workroom these days. Finally, when Mrs Bodney had finished holding the lace
sprigs up to the light she turned to Lily.

‘That's a good standard of
work. Before I go, did you have any luck with my dress?'

As Lily hesitated, Mary quickly cut in,
‘Do you mean this one, Mrs Bodney?' She held up the velveteen material.
‘I saw it on the table by the door when I came in and thought how beautiful it
is.'

Beaming, Mrs Bodney took the dress from
her and held it up to the light. Lily held her breath.

‘Well, Lily, it seems
there's little wrong with your laundering skills,' she finally
pronounced, looking surprised.

As their employer swept out of the room,
Lily shot Mary a grateful look.

‘Phew,' Emma said, ‘we
don't often see her ladyship in here, do we?'

‘No we don't, so I think
we'd best look busy in case she pops in again,' answered Mary, giving
Lily a meaningful look.

Nodding in agreement, Lily settled back
to her pillow, determined to put all other thoughts to the back of her mind.

As if they were aware
of the undercurrents going on around them, the ladies worked diligently for the rest
of the morning, so that when it was time for their nuncheon Lily looked up in
surprise.

‘Are you coming outside,
Lily?' Mary asked, stopping by her chair.

‘No, I don't think so.
There's still so much to do,' she said.

‘Well, I think you should.
You're still looking right peaky. What's up, our Lil? You can tell
me.'

‘Oh, Mary, I've really made
a mess of things.' The other woman perched on the chair beside her, waiting
for her to continue. ‘Not only did I get soup on Mrs Bodney's gown, I
ran away from the squire's supper dance as well.'

‘Don't see that's
anything to fret over. Besides, Mrs Bodney's dress came up a dream.'

‘Mary, I can't thank you
enough for dealing with that. How much do I owe you?'

‘Love a duck, you don't owe
me nothing. Why, only last year that lovely mother of yours, God rest her soul, sent
over a bottle of the violet syrup she'd made especially for my little one.
Stopped her colic just like that, it did,' she said, snapping her fingers.
‘The old man and me got the best night's sleep we'd had in ages,
so call it square, eh?'

‘You're so kind,
Mary,' Lily said, ‘and after I made you fall, as well.'

‘Oh, get away with you. Now, why
don't you tell me what's really grieving you?' the older woman
said, looking at her with knowing eyes.

Unable to keep it to herself any longer,
Lily told her
about Mr Mountsford's attentions, the boots
with cherry stitching and the blue velvet slippers.

‘I would never have accepted them
if I'd known he was betrothed to another,' she finally declared.

Mary sat silently looking at her for a
long moment. ‘Look, Lily,' she finally said. ‘It's like I
told you once before. Fine feathers don't make a fine fellow.'

‘But Mrs Bodney told me it was a
good way to better myself.'

‘Better yourself than what? And
who's to say she's right?' Mary asked.

‘What do you mean?' Lily
asked, puzzled.

‘You're doing fine as you
are. It's what you feel here that matters,' Mary declared, thumping her
heart. ‘It's what feels right, Lily, not what looks right. We
don't all have ideas above our station like Mrs Bodney, thanks heavens,'
she said, shaking her head. ‘That woman's got more airs than the
weather. Now you ring that bell for the end of break, or you really will have the
dragon breathing down your neck.'

‘Indeed you will, Mary,' Mrs
Bodney said, appearing in the doorway and making them jump.

Flushing, Lily snatched up the bell and
rang it vigorously. The ladies filed back indoors, clearly curious as to why their
boss was in the workroom for the second time that day. Mrs Bodney nodded to
them.

‘Continue the good work,
ladies,' she instructed before turning to Lily and saying, ‘Lady
Clinsden called by earlier. She was impressed by the way my dress had been restored
and would like to know what you used.'

Lily racked her brains. What was it Mary
had said she
was going to use? Luckily her friend had seen her
predicament and was mouthing the answer behind Mrs Bodney's back.

‘Wur dash,' she stuttered,
trying to read Mary's lips.

‘Wurdash. Thank you, I'll
pass that on to her ladyship. I'm sure her maid will know where some can be
purchased. Now, everyone, back to work and, Lily, I'll see you in my parlour
later.' As she swept out of the room, Mary shook her head and laughed.

‘Oh my, that's a good one.
She might be a fine businesswoman but she's clearly no housekeeper.'

As peals of laughter rang around the
room, Lily joined in, feeling she was one of them again. Settling down to her work,
she thought about Mary's earlier comments, and the image of a man with blond
wavy hair and cheeky grin they'd conjured up. Her heart felt heavy. Tom
obviously didn't care much for her for he hadn't been in touch for weeks
now. In fact, nobody seemed to know of his whereabouts. Seemingly, he'd
vanished into thin air.

Before she knew it, the sun, which was
setting noticeably earlier in the day lately, had disappeared, leaving them
struggling to work in the shadow-filled room.

‘I can't see a blooming
thing,' Nell exclaimed. ‘I've reworked this bit twice and
it's still not right. We need candles, Lily, or we'll have to go
home.'

Privately she agreed, but the thought of
her meeting with Mrs Bodney was already filling her with dread without having to ask
for what she knew would be regarded as an extra expense, despite her
employer's pledge to look after their eyes. Still, it stood to reason the
ladies couldn't be expected to work if they couldn't see.

‘I think we
should call it a day, ladies. You may cover your work and leave.' The early
reprieve sent ripples of excitement round the room and there was a scraping of
chairs as they shot to their feet, eager to be on their way.

‘Be sure to be back at first
light, though,' she called after them, but all she heard was their faint
laughter as they made their way down the path. Peering around, she realized it was
too dark to check the afternoon's work. Knowing she had no excuse to dally,
she smoothed down her dress and made her way to the parlour.

‘You've finished work
earlier than usual. I suppose the ladies are asking for candles to work by
now?' Mrs Bodney said, looking up from the ledger she was working on. As
always, her employer's shrewdness took Lily by surprise.

‘Oh, don't look like that,
Lily. I'm not the ogre you all seem to think. I'd like to provide them
but it's a business I run here, and cost has to be balanced against profit.
However, now it's autumn, the hours of daylight are growing shorter and the
work is on schedule so the ladies may continue to leave at this time. Of course,
their wages will be adjusted accordingly, so see that they are informed.'

Lily nodded, but her mind was busy
working out by how much her own wages would be cut. Mrs Bodney's voice cut
through her reverie.

‘The reason Lady Clinsden called
to see me earlier was because she was concerned about you. She hoped her revelation
about Rupert hadn't upset you too much.'

‘I'm grateful for her
concern, but I won't give up my principles for anyone. I'm sorry if
I've let you down, though,' she said. There was silence as her employer
studied her for a long moment.

‘No, Lily, it is
I who should apologize. I should have been aware you thought Rupert was offering
something he wasn't. Clearly you are not the sort of woman who is prepared to
compromise her standards for the sake of a few luxuries and I admire you for that.
I'm sure you will not be taken in again.'

‘No, I will not,' Lily
stated, with feeling.

‘Well, I must continue entering
the details of materials used to date in the ledger, so I'll bid you good
evening.'

Lily took some bread, cheese and an
apple up to her room, where she ate by moonlight and, positioning her paper under
the skylight, practised her letters.

There was uproar in the workroom the
next morning when Lily explained that working hours were being curtailed for the
rest of the contract.

‘The stingy old bat could at least
provide us with a few candles and we could all bring our flashes,' Cora
moaned. ‘It's all right for her; she's got pots of
money.'

‘The stingy old bat could indeed
provide you with a few candles and flashes as well,' Mrs Bodney said,
appearing in the doorway and making them jump. ‘However, if I did that, your
work would be finished in less than a month. Do I take it you already have other
employment lined up?' she asked, staring at Cora, who at least had the grace
to blush.

Everyone knew demand for pillow lace was
waning rapidly, and with machine-made lace proving more economical, work was going
to be harder than ever to come by. After her conversation with Mrs Bodney the
previous evening, Lily had tossed and turned most of the night
wondering where she was going to go, and what she was going to do when the
Queen's lace was finished. Realizing Mrs Bodney was still speaking, she tried
to concentrate.

‘And as for the rest of your
statement, Cora, I have worked long and hard to get where I am today. You would do
well to remember that if I hadn't earned a good reputation I wouldn't
have secured this commission from the Queen, and you, young lady, wouldn't
have had employment these past few months.' With that, she swept out of the
room leaving a sombre little workforce behind her.

As the hours crept slowly by, the mood
in the workroom grew ever more sober. Each was lost in her own thoughts, knowing
they all would soon be at the mercy of any job they might be lucky enough to come
by. Lily was torn between wishing the long day over, and dreading finding out when
she would have to leave. Never had she felt so alone. If only Tom was here to
confide in, she thought.

Finally, the afternoon dragged to a
close and it was with relief that the ladies tidied away their things. The huge pile
of finished sprigs on the large dresser stood as testament to their hard work, yet
served also to highlight the fact that the commission was almost fulfilled.

A knock on the door jolted Lily from her
musing.

‘Mrs Bodney is waiting to see
you,' the maid announced.

‘Thank you, Tilda,' she
said, automatically smoothing down her dress before hurrying through to the
parlour.

‘I trust all went well today and
the ladies have agreed to their new conditions?'

‘Yes, although they are concerned
as to their future.'

Mrs Bodney nodded,
then handed her a letter.

‘This was delivered earlier. Well,
go on, open it,' she urged, as Lily stood gazing down at it.