When Day is Done Read online

Kate was astounded, but to give herself time to think she said, ‘I think I’ll make another pot of tea,’ and walked away.

  She remembered Mrs Holland saying ‘one for a toy and the other for a skivvy’. Could it be true that Aunt Mildred was going to use her for the other maid? But what about school? She would have to go to school until she was thirteen at least.

  I don’t like school, and I wouldn’t mind leaving, she thought, but if I did I wouldn’t be able to see Rosie every day. She comforted herself by remembering that she had only been allowed to stay off school to look after Mama, and because Mama had charmed the School Board man when he called. I’m not going to worry about it, she decided. I’m sure I’ll have to go to school and be able to see Rosie.

  She took a loaf from the crock and cut three thick slices of bread and spread them with jam. For herself she would not have dared, although she was hungry, but the knowledge that Mrs Molesworth and probably Martha were starving gave her courage. The bread and tea were consumed within minutes, which was fortunate, as a little later Mildred returned, her mouth set like a rat trap and her eyes glittering with temper.

  Mrs Molesworth had retreated hastily and Mildred said to Martha, ‘So you’re here, are you?’

  Martha seemed too nervous to answer, standing humbly before Mildred, so Kate said helpfully, ‘She’s been waiting a long time, Aunt.’

  ‘Mind your own business and go and find something to do,’ snapped Mildred. Kate did as she was told, wondering what had upset her aunt and resenting her dismissal.

  She found Mrs Molesworth lurking in the hall. ‘Gorra right cob on, hasn’t she?’ the woman whispered. ‘Beattie must’ve got the better of her.’ Then she added hastily, ‘Don’t take no notice of me, girl. I’m always talking outa turn.’

  They could hear Mildred saying loudly, ‘All right, I’ll give you a trial and see how you shape. Can you stay now?’

  ‘Yes, ma’am,’ Martha said eagerly, and for the rest of the day she rushed from one job to another.

  There was less for Kate to do now, but as she passed through the hall from the dining room she had the pleasure of meeting Henry Barnes. He smiled at her and said cheerfully, ‘Hallo, Kate. You look brighter today.’

  She beamed at him. ‘I am,’ she said shyly, and he replied, ‘Good. Good. Keep it up.’ She had to restrain her smiles while she was helping Mildred in the kitchen, as her aunt still looked so grim, but in her mind she went over and over the few words she’d exchanged with him. Mrs Molesworth had gone, so there was no opportunity to ask her more about him, or about her mother’s family.

  She was less tired when she went to bed than on the previous night, and she lay awake for a while thinking happily about the kindness of Henry Barnes, and that she would see Rose the next day, then after that every day at school. She fell asleep at last with a smile on her face, little knowing the shock that awaited her the next day.

  Chapter Two

  A few miles away across the city, at Greenfields, Beattie’s home, Rose had lain awake for a long time on the night of the funeral after Essy had put her to bed in the large double bed in the guest room. ‘Madam’s having a room done up for you,’ the maid told her, ‘but it’s not ready yet.’ Rose’s lip trembled and Essy said briskly, ‘Now don’t cry. You’re a very lucky girl, coming to live here with your auntie. You’ll have the best of everything.’

  When she had tucked the bedclothes around Rose and gone away, Rose could let her tears flow unchecked. If only Kate was with her. Why couldn’t she have come here? There was plenty of room in this big house and in this bed. Her tears fell faster as she thought of her sister with her grim Aunt Mildred. And Kate was so soft, so easily hurt. Born to be put upon, Rose had heard one neighbour say to another. She had always felt older than her sister although she was two years younger. Better able to stand up for herself.

  Yet she realised now how much she had relied on Kate. Like last night, when they had been taken to say goodbye to their mother as she lay in her coffin, and suddenly Rose had realised that Mama really was dead. She had cried because sometimes she had been unkind to Mama, but Kate, who was crying too, had held her and comforted her. Aunt Beattie, who was with them, had said, ‘Don’t be sad, girls. Mama is with Jesus now.’

  Rose was glad she had cried, but really, she had thought, it would be better now without Mama and with just her and Kate. They could do as they liked without having to keep Mama company because she couldn’t bear to be left alone. Neither of them had imagined that they could be taken from their home and separated forever.

  The pillow was wet with Rose’s tears but the feather bed was soft and the room warm, and soon Rose fell asleep.

  She slept dreamlessly until she was awakened by Essy drawing back the curtains. ‘Oh, you’re awake,’ the maid said. ‘I looked in last night but you were fast asleep. Been crying for your poor mother, too. Don’t fret, love, she’s in Heaven with Jesus now.’

  ‘That’s what Aunt Beattie said,’ Rose replied, looking about her at the massive mahogany wardrobe and dressing table and the marble-topped washstand where Essy was pouring hot water into a flowered bowl. ‘I was really crying for Kate,’ she added truthfully.

  ‘Aye, well, don’t worry about Kate. She’ll be kept too busy to fret, if I know your Aunt Mildred,’ said Essy. ‘I’ve put your clothes out, so get washed and dressed as quick as you can. I’ve got a lot to do today.’

  ‘You’re going to our house, aren’t you?’ Rose said eagerly. ‘Can I come with you?’

  ‘Oh, no, love. You’ll have to keep madam company. That’s what you’re here for,’ said Essy, and she bustled away telling Rose to go to the dining room as soon as possible as her aunt would be waiting for her.

  Beattie was seated at the head of a long table, and as soon as Rose had greeted her and sat down, a slim, dark-haired parlourmaid brought in a tureen of porridge, which Beattie served.

  ‘I didn’t know you had another maid, Auntie,’ Rose whispered as the girl left.

  ‘Yes, Jane,’ said Beattie. ‘And there’s Annie, and Mrs Phillips the cook, and Maud in the kitchen. Essy’s my mainstay, though.’

  As soon as the porridge was eaten, Jane brought in eggs and bacon, then a pot of China tea. Rose pulled a face at the unfamiliar taste of the tea, but Beattie told her that only China tea was served in her house. ‘Your Uncle Arthur was a tea importer and he insisted on the best,’ she said, so Rose drank the tea without further protest.

  After breakfast Beattie moved to a comfortable chair beside the morning-room fire, and Rose sat on a footstool beside her. Beattie told her to bring her the parcel which lay on the sofa, then put it back into the child’s arms. ‘There, Rose, open it. It’s a dolly I’ve bought for you, and Essy made the clothes.’ Rose opened the parcel and stared at the doll, not attempting to lift it from the box, and her aunt said rather peevishly, ‘Well, don’t you like it?’

  ‘Oh yes, Auntie, it’s beautiful. Thank you very much,’ Rose said hastily, lifting the doll from the box. It had a pretty china face, with blue eyes and long fair curls, and was dressed in a blue coat and bonnet with shoes and socks on its feet.

  Just then Essy bustled in wearing her hat and coat, and said officiously, ‘There, isn’t madam kind to give you such a beautiful doll? What do you say?’

  ‘Thank you, Auntie,’ Rose said again, obediently, and Essy began to remove the doll’s coat to show an embroidered dress, but Beattie coughed and glanced at the clock and the maid said hastily, ‘I’ll get off then, madam. Is there anything I can do for you before I go?’

  Beattie looked down at the dog basket which lay beside her chair. ‘You can straighten Wang’s blanket. I don’t think he’s comfortable,’ she said.

  Essy dropped to her knees and lifted a tiny pug dog from the basket. He snapped at her as she placed him gently on the carpet. He snapped at her again as she smoothed his fleecy blue blanket, and again as she lifted him back into the basket, and Rose was amazed that neither her aunt nor Essy scolded th
e dog. He’d better not snap at me, she thought.

  When Essy had gone, she undressed and dressed the doll several times, handling it gingerly. She felt that it was not really a proper doll, one to be played with like her rag doll, Belinda. Mama had made Belinda, and Rose felt tearful when she thought of her. She hoped that Essy would bring the doll and her books from the house. She would know they were Rose’s books because two of them were school prizes with her name in them.

  Beattie had picked up some fancywork but it lay idle in her hand and she seemed to be dozing. Rose stood up and Beattie instantly opened her eyes. ‘Can I play in the garden, please, Auntie?’ Rose asked, but Beattie shook her head.

  ‘No, dear, it’s too cold,’ she said.

  ‘But I could run around to keep warm,’ Rose protested.

  Beattie appeared shocked. ‘Run around,’ she echoed. ‘Oh, no, dear, it would be most unsuitable. Your poor mama only just laid in her grave.’

  Rose felt ashamed that she had appeared to forget her mother’s death, and her eyes filled with tears, but fortunately just then the clock chimed eleven and Jane appeared with sherry and fruit cake, and a glass of wine and water for Rose.

  ‘For my health,’ Beattie explained as she sipped the sherry and slowly ate two slices of the fruit cake.

  Rose disliked the taste of the wine and water but decided that it was better to pretend to like it. She felt that she had already offended by disliking the China tea and suggesting running around the garden. If only Kate was here to tell her what to do, she thought.

  Beattie smiled indolently at her niece. ‘Talk to me, dear,’ she said, but Rose, usually such a chatterbox, could think of nothing to say. She looked around desperately, hastily swallowing some fruit cake, and noticed a large framed daguerreotype on the wall of a severe-looking man with a bushy beard. ‘Was that Uncle Arthur?’ she asked.

  ‘Oh, no, Rose, that was my father, your grandfather, Thomas Edwin Parry,’ said Beattie. ‘A fine, upright man he was, respected by everyone.’

  ‘When did he die?’ asked Rose.

  ‘A long time ago, dear. Soon after I was married. And my dear mother died a year later of a broken heart.’

  ‘Like Mama,’ said Rose, but the conversation seemed to require too much effort from Beattie and she only said, ‘Ring for Jane, dear.’ She had drunk two glasses of sherry, and after the tray was removed, although she picked up her embroidery frame, her eyes soon closed.

  Rose looked about her, wondering what she could do. She was already bored by dressing and undressing the doll, so she went to kneel by the dog’s basket, but Wang slept as soundly as his mistress. Rose stood up and wandered around the room. She looked at the photographs and trinkets on the occasional table, and at the huge aspidistra on a stand, and she wondered what Kate was doing now.

  If only her sister was here! Dare she ask her aunt if Kate could come to live with them? She knew the answer. Rose was a bright, intelligent girl, and young as she was, she had already realised the reality of her situation and knew that the request would be refused.

  Beattie slept on, and Rose slipped out of the room and went to the lavatory, then spent some time in the bathroom, washing her hands and examining the large bath with its mahogany surround and china taps. She went along the landing and peeped into the room which she thought would be hers, as it was newly decorated with rose-sprigged wallpaper, but she heard someone in her aunt’s bedroom and ran downstairs quickly.

  Beattie opened her eyes when she came back into the room, and Rose said hastily, ‘I’ve just been to the lavatory, Auntie.’ Her aunt examined the embroidery frame and inserted a few stitches without replying, but when Rose said, ‘Mama taught us to knit and I was knitting a scarf. Will Essy bring my knitting from home?’ Beattie looked irritated.

  ‘This is your home now, dear, and you’re my little girl. Why don’t you play with your dolly?’ she said. With a sigh, Rose picked up the doll again and nursed it.

  Luncheon was served to them at one o’clock, and afterwards they sat in the drawing room. Beattie nursed Wang instead of the embroidery frame, but otherwise the afternoon was the same as the morning and Rose felt that it would never end. She had never sat still for so long before except in school, and there she had interesting lessons and things to do. Inevitably her thoughts turned to happy days at home and to Kate, and tears filled her eyes and dropped on to her hands, unnoticed by her aunt until Rose gave a loud sob. Beattie held out her arms. ‘Come to Auntie, dearest,’ she said.

  Rose went to her and put her arms around her aunt’s neck for comfort, and Beattie wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. ‘Don’t cry, child,’ she said. ‘Your mama is with Jesus now and free from pain.’

  ‘But I want Katie,’ Rose wailed, and Beattie tut-tutted.

  ‘You’ll see your sister tomorrow when she comes to tea with Aunt Mildred,’ she said. ‘And I’ve got a treat for you on Monday.’ Rose swallowed and blinked away her tears, and Beattie went on, ‘I’m going to take you to town and buy you a lot of new clothes. Of course you’ll be in mourning for a year, but you can still have nice black dresses. You’ll like that, won’t you?’

  ‘Oh yes, Auntie. Thank you,’ Rose said. She laid her cheek against Beattie’s, and Beattie looked pleased. ‘There now, dear,’ she said. ‘Ring for Jane.’

  When Jane appeared she looked with concern at the signs of Rose’s tears, and when Beattie told her to take Wang for his walk, the maid asked if Rose could come too. ‘Wang could get used to Miss Rose and Miss Rose could get used to him, madam,’ she said.

  To Rose’s relief, Beattie agreed.

  ‘See that Miss Rose wraps up warmly, Jane,’ she ordered. ‘And bring Wang’s coat to me.’

  After a tartan coat had been tied on the dog and Rose had changed into her new boots and cape and hat, Jane led her through the kitchen. ‘We’ll go this way so that you can meet Mrs Phillips and Maud,’ she said.

  The kitchenmaid was not much taller than Rose, and had the worst squint that Rose had ever seen. She said nothing, only smiled showing broken teeth, but stout Mrs Phillips patted Rose’s cheek. ‘I’m sorry about your mam, love,’ she said. ‘But you’ll be all right here.’

  ‘The food is lovely, Mrs Phillips,’ Rose said.

  The cook looked gratified. Wang was sniffing round her and she pushed him away with her foot. ‘Take that heathenish creature out of my kitchen, Jane,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how you can bear to touch it.’

  Jane laughed, and they went into the garden, where Mr Phillips was tying up some Michaelmas daisies. ‘This is Miss Rose, Mr Phillips,’ said the maid.

  The man smiled. ‘I’ll be driving you to church tomorrow in the carriage,’ he said. ‘You’ll like that, won’t you?’

  ‘I didn’t know Auntie had a carriage,’ Rose exclaimed, her eyes wide, and Mr Phillips said hastily, ‘Don’t mention I said anything. Madam might want it to be a surprise for you.’ Rose assured him that she would say nothing, and she and Jane walked on round the extensive gardens until they came to a large orchard. Here Jane took off Wang’s lead, but he only waddled slowly in front of them and sniffed at one of the trees.

  ‘I’d love to run and jump about,’ Rose exclaimed, feeling ready to explode with pent-up energy.

  ‘Go on then,’ Jane said, but Rose told her that her aunt had said it was unsuitable as her mama had just died.

  ‘That’s only if people can see you,’ Jane said. ‘No one can see you here,’ so Rose went leaping away among the trees. When she came back looking flushed and happy, Jane had replaced Wang’s lead. ‘Why don’t you run a little way with Wang?’ she said. ‘Not far or fast. Just enough to give him some exercise and for you to cool down.’ Rose set off with the little dog, but the unaccustomed exercise made him pant so much that she soon came back to Jane.

  ‘Doesn’t he do this every day?’ she asked. ‘He’s far too fat, isn’t he?’

  ‘I think so,’ Jane said. ‘I’d make him take exercise but usually Essy walk
s him, only she’s busy today.’

  Rose instantly remembered where Essy was, and looked sad. ‘She’s gone to our house. I wish I could have stayed there with Katie,’ she said.

  Jane slipped an arm round her. ‘Never mind, love,’ she said. ‘You’ll soon settle down here, and madam will be very kind to you. It’s no use looking back. I’ve found that out.’

  Rose put her arm round Jane’s neck and kissed her. ‘I like you, Jane,’ she said. ‘Will you be my friend?’

  Jane smiled and hugged her. ‘I will, Miss Rose,’ she said. ‘But we mustn’t say anything to madam or Essy. You must always be very careful what you say to them in case you upset them, but you can say anything you like to me.’

  They went back to the house and Jane took off Wang’s coat and wiped his feet before restoring him to his mistress. Rose took off her outdoor clothes and changed her boots before returning to the drawing room. She felt much happier, partly because she now had a friend, and partly because she had rid herself of her frustrated energy. Beattie, however, seemed cross, glancing frequently at the clock and drumming her fingers on the arm of her chair. Finally she told Rose to ring for Jane.

  When Jane appeared, Beattie asked irritably, ‘Are there no messages from Miss Mills?’

  ‘Not yet, madam,’ Jane said soothingly, but Beattie still looked cross. ‘Very well. You may bring in tea now,’ she said.

  ‘Very good, madam.’

  Back in the kitchen, Jane told the cook that madam was asking for Essy and seemed annoyed. ‘She wants tea right away. Seems to be real ratty. Called Essy Miss Mills.’

  ‘But she can’t expect a house cleared in five minutes,’ Mrs Phillips exclaimed. ‘It’s a big job, closing a house. Essy won’t be in any mood for being scolded when she gets back.’

  ‘Madam will probably feel better when she’s had tea,’ Jane said. ‘Everything’s ready, isn’t it?’

  ‘Lucky it is, half an hour early,’ the cook grumbled, but Jane only smiled and took in the tea.

  Rose was amazed to see the variety of dainty sandwiches and small cakes, and tucked in heartily. Her aunt ate as much as she did, and her good temper seemed restored.