The Royal Lacemaker (37 page)

They gasped in surprise.

‘Oh, yes, I could see what was
wrong even then. However, I'm a fair woman and you've all put in a good
day's work so I desisted. Judging from the empty plates, I take it that,
despite your predicament, you all enjoyed your meal?'

A murmur of appreciation ran round the
kitchen.

‘Well, that's something. Now
the question is, what are we going to do about the flounce?'

The room fell silent and once again the
ladies turned to look at Lily.

‘Surely it's not too bad,
Mrs Bodney?' she ventured. ‘I've got my pillow and bobbins
upstairs.'

‘But, no thread and, of course,
the patterns for the sprigs have been destroyed,' Mrs Bodney continued.
‘Now, that seems to me, to be about as bad as it can get.'

The room fell silent and once again,
they turned to Lily. ‘I notice you all seem to be looking to my lace maker,
Lily, for leadership,' Mrs Bodney remarked. ‘And amazingly, despite the
poor reception you sewers gave her this morning, she appears to have accepted the
role.'

The sewers squirmed in their seats,
looking uncomfortable.

‘Lily, from now on, you are in
charge. The rest of you
can retire to your beds and get a good
night's sleep. Lily, come with me,' their employer ordered as, with a
swish of skirts, she left the room.

‘You aren't going to be in
trouble, are you? Only I'll come with you if you want,' Caroline
offered.

‘That's kind of you but
I'm sure it'll be all right,' Lily answered. Wishing she felt as
confident as she sounded, she hurried after Mrs Bodney.

Nervously, Lily approached the table
where the flounce was laid out but, to her surprise, Mrs Bodney looked up and
smiled.

‘Sit down, Lily,' she said,
patting the stool beside her. ‘I'm afraid I need your expertise before I
can allow you to go to bed.' With a smile, she held up a replacement sprig for
the flounce. Lily gasped and Mrs Bodney raised her eyebrows. ‘Do you honestly
think I'd have travelled all this way without bringing a few spares with
me?' she asked.

‘But you said all the thread had
been weighed,' Lily replied, shaking her head.

‘And so it has, including that
necessary for a few extra sprigs in case of any accidents. You always have to think
ahead in business, Lily. You'd do well to remember that.'

‘So I've not got to make any
more, then?' Lily said with relief, for she was feeling very tired.

‘Indeed not. However, I need you
to attach this tonight. With only a short time left to complete the commission, we
can't afford to get behind schedule,' she said, handing Lily a needle
that was already threaded.

Stifling a yawn, Lily began her
task.

‘Of course, we mustn't let
the others know we have spare sprigs, or they could become careless,' said Mrs
Bodney, pushing the flash closer to Lily, so that its bowl of water reflected added
light from the candle onto her work. Not
only had the room grown
dark, it was cold too. ‘Tomorrow I'll ask Mrs Staple to light us a
fire,' she added as Lily shivered. ‘I hadn't expected us to be
working this late tonight. However, it does give me the opportunity to tell you that
I'm really pleased with the way you handled the sewers today.'

Having been sure she was in for a
dressing-down, Lily looked up from her stitching in surprise.

‘As well as being an accomplished
lace maker, we can now add sewer and finisher to your testimonials.'

‘Will that make any
difference?' Lily asked.

‘Indeed it will. From now on you
can command a higher wage,' Mrs Bodney said and, seeing Lily's look of
surprise, she smiled. ‘Yes, it was always my intention to pay you the same
rate as the sewers and finishers, Lily. Not that you will be paid that now, of
course.'

‘Why not? I work just as hard as
them,' she protested.

‘But now you are their overseer.
Expecting the same pay indeed,' Mrs Bodney said, waving her hands
dismissively. ‘Fiddlesticks. You will be paid a suitably enhanced rate.
Really, Lily, if you are to succeed in business you will have to learn to negotiate.
Still, the humble lace maker now earns more than the skilled sewers and
finishers,' she said, chuckling so that Lily stared at her in amazement.

‘Oh, yes, I heard what they said
about you. Now what was I saying? Ah, yes, you have good leadership skills, Lily.
The ladies like and respect you. That's a rare combination. Now, when
you've had regular reading and writing tuition, you'll have the makings
of a fine businesswoman. Wouldn't you like to run your own concern?'

‘As I said before, Mrs Bodney,
there's no chance of that happening.'

‘Defeatist
talk,' she retorted, waving her hands in the air again. ‘You have a good
brain and your lace making skills are second to none. Tell me, Lily, what exactly do
you intend to do with your life?'

‘Well, I never really thought
further than this job and marrying Tom,' she answered, her brow creasing.

Mrs Bodney stared at her with owl-wise
eyes. ‘Well, perhaps you should. Life doesn't just happen, you
know.'

‘It's different for you, Mrs
Bodney. I mean nothing worries you, does it?' Lily said seriously.

‘Surprising as it might seem, some
things do. I've had to work incredibly hard to establish my reputation, and
without it, I would never have won the commission to make the lace for our
Queen's wedding dress.'

‘I bet you loved going to the
palace, Mrs Bodney.'

‘I was petrified when I heard I
was to be presented to Her Majesty,' she whispered. Lily looked at her
sceptically and her employer leaned closer towards her. ‘If you promise not to
tell anyone, I'll let you into a secret.'

‘Tell a lie and hope to
die,' Lily said, crossing herself.

‘Yes, well, whilst I was waiting
to be received by our Queen, I was so nervous that I fainted clean away,' her
employer said, laughing.

‘Oh, Mrs Bodney, you
didn't!' Lily exclaimed, her eyes wide.

‘Yes, I'm afraid I did. The
staff at the palace treated me so kindly that by the time I was announced, I'd
completely recovered. Do you understand what I'm saying, Lily?' Mrs
Bodney asked.

‘Yes, that even you are
human,' she giggled.

‘Indeed,' Mrs Bodney said
seriously. ‘However, the
reason for sharing my experience is
to demonstrate that we can influence the direction we wish our life to take. If
I'd let my nerves get the better of me by running away, as I was sorely
tempted, I wouldn't have received the commission I'd worked so hard to
earn.'

‘Yes, but I don't see how
that affects me. I'm not going to the palace, now am I?' Lily retorted,
rolling her eyes.

‘Maybe not, but you could aspire
to running your own concern.'

Not sure how to answer, Lily bent her
head over her work and resumed stitching. To start a business you needed money, even
she knew that.

‘Lily, the first hurdle in the
business world is making contacts. The next is winning contracts, or commissions.
Now it seems to me you've already managed the first two.'

Lily stopped sewing and stared at her
employer. ‘I'm not sure I understand what you mean.'

‘Your contact is Lady Clinsden and
she is commissioning you to make lace for her,' Mrs Bodney said, shaking her
head at something so obvious.

‘Oh,' Lily murmured,
thinking there must be more to it than that, but not wishing to appear completely
stupid. She bent her head back over her work and continued sewing.

A few minutes later, she put in the last
stitch and carefully finished off.

‘There, all done, Mrs
Bodney,' she said, holding out the flounce.

Her employer moved closer to the light
of the candle, inspecting her stitching closely.

‘Well done.
That's as neat as any trained sewer or finisher. You've done a good
day's work, Lily, so I'll tidy up here and you can away to your bed.
Good night.'

‘Good night, Mrs Bodney,'
she answered, stifling a yawn as she left the room. It had indeed been a long
day.

Ten days later, they were sitting in
the kitchen eating their midday broth and enjoying a break from their sewing, when
Lily looked up to see Rosie staring at her.

‘Is something wrong,
Rosie?'

‘I was just wondering if you was a
nun, Lily,' the girl said frowning.

‘Really, Rosie, that's a
stupid thing to come out with, even for you,' admonished Caroline.

‘Well, it's just that you
always wears black, Lily, and nuns do that, don't they?'

‘That's because I'm in
mourning for my mother,' Lily said, noticing for the first time that the
others were dressed in an array of light blues and greens. ‘However,
it's almost six months since she died, and when we finish our work here, I
intend to visit the draper in Sidmouth and purchase some brightly coloured
material.'

‘Cor, you must have pots of money.
Can I come with you?'

‘For heaven's sake, Rosie,
shut up and eat,' Caroline said, raising her eyebrows at Lily. ‘Well,
now the flounce is finished, what's next to stitch up?' she asked.

But just then Mrs Staple came in, wiping
her hands on her overall.

‘Lily, Mrs Bodney says
you're to go through to the front room. You have a visitor.'

Her heart flipped.
Could Tom have found out where she was working?

‘See, I said she was rich. Did you
see that pearl she wears in her cap?' she heard Rosie say as she hurried down
the hallway. Smothering a smile, Lily's hand automatically touched the hat pin
Mrs Bodney had loaned her. How Tom would laugh if he heard her being referred to as
rich.

She entered the drawing room to find it
was Aunt Elizabeth waiting to see her. Feeling awkward, she hesitated before
crossing the room and dutifully giving her a peck on the cheek. It was no good, no
matter how much she'd thought over her situation, she would always think of
the woman who'd brought her up as her mother.

‘Aunt Elizabeth, this is a
surprise,' Lily finally managed to say. ‘Is everything all right?'
She noticed now that her aunt was looking nervous.

‘Lily, please accept my apologies
for calling unannounced, but I wanted to see you and I also have some news to share
with you. I won't keep you long for I know you are busy and I am on the way to
Bransbeer. When I heard the stagecoach was stopping at Honiton it seemed opportune
to ask them to drop me off on the road to the coaching house.'

‘How did you know I was here, Aunt
Elizabeth?'

Her aunt looked at Mrs Bodney.

‘Lady Clinsden knew we were coming
here,' her employer answered.

‘Lady Clinsden? I don't
understand. And why are you going to Bransbeer? Is something wrong with Beth?'
Lily asked, relief rushing through her when her aunt shook her head.

Mrs Bodney rose to her
feet, smiling graciously. ‘If you'll excuse me, I have things I must
attend to. May I offer you some refreshment, Elizabeth?'

‘That's very kind, but on
this occasion I must decline. I have promised to be waiting outside for the
stagecoach, when the clock chimes the half-hour,' Lily's aunt said.

Smiling graciously, Mrs Bodney left the
room.

‘How are you, my dear?' Aunt
Elizabeth asked, turning towards Lily.

‘I'm fine, and you?'
she said quickly.

‘I was pleased to get your
response to my letter, Lily. I truly wanted to speak with you when I returned to
Coombe, but the opportunity never seemed right and then we had to make that sudden
departure …' Aunt Elizabeth said, trailing to a halt and looking
anxiously at Lily. ‘I'd understand if you didn't want anything to
do with me now,' she murmured, twisting her kerchief in her hands.

‘Oh, Aunt Elizabeth, of course I
do. I was shocked, of course, but then I realized it must have been difficult for
you in the olden days,' Lily said.

‘The olden days, eh?' her
aunt said, chuckling. ‘Well, one day this prehistoric woman will take you back
to her cave and explain everything.'

‘There's so much I want to
ask you,' Lily said, excitement bubbling up, despite herself.

‘I am grateful you wish to keep in
touch with me, Lily. Regrettably, I have but a short time to spend with you today.
However, I give you my solemn word that when next we meet, I will answer any
question you may care to ask.'

‘Oh,' Lily
said frowning. ‘That could be some time, with you being in Ilminster and
everything. How's Robert? Is he keeping well and does he like his new
trade?'

‘Lily, you always were one for
asking questions,' said her aunt, chuckling and relaxing back in her seat.
‘Robert is very well and sends his love. He is making great progress in his
apprenticeship and has the makings of a fine clock maker. It has increased his
confidence enormously. And he's made you something for your betrothal,'
she said, taking a parcel from her bag and handing it to Lily. ‘He sends this
with his very best wishes for your future and says nothing will keep him from
attending your wedding. And how is Tom? Does he mind you working in Honiton?'
she asked.

Lily stopped stroking the packaging
around the parcel and frowned. ‘He doesn't know I'm here, Auntie.
Mrs Bodney told me we were leaving Bransbeer only the night before and I had no time
to get a message to him. Always supposing I knew where he was.'

‘Do I sense trouble, Lily?'
Aunt Elizabeth asked, leaning forward and tentatively taking her hand.

‘Well, we did have
words …' Lily started, but she was interrupted by the clock on the mantel
chiming the half-hour. Glancing towards the window, her aunt got quickly to her
feet.

‘I'm so sorry, Lily, I must
go. I have an appointment to see Lady Clinsden and cannot miss the
stagecoach.'

‘Why are you seeing Lady
Clinsden?' Lily asked.

‘My dear, we've had such a
short time, I haven't even told you my news. Lady Clinsden wishes to open a
charity school for the children of lace makers. Although I love
my
brother dearly, he's set in his ways and doesn't need my help at all.
Anyway, Lady Clinsden sent me a communication asking if I could visit her. She seems
to think I could be of assistance. It would be wonderful to be working with children
again. As long as she finds me suitable, that is.'