Brilliance (26 page)

She and Daniel had made their plans, although his disappointment was intense when she had refused to leave for England with him that day. Neither could she give him a definite date as to when she would join him.

‘I’ll lose you again!’ he had protested wildly.

‘No, you won’t.’ She had put a finger against his lips to calm him. ‘But I have commitments I must fulfil before I leave Lyon. There is the month’s notice I must give the Lumière management, the solo I’m to sing in the choral society concert next month and six weeks later I have the lead in a new play for the amateur dramatic society. I can’t let these people down.’ She had taken his anxious face between her hands. ‘Then I’ll come to you, but not to be idle.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’ll want to work. I can either do your bookkeeping or – if you buy one of these recently invented typewriting machines – I can type scripts for you. Anything as long as I’m useful to your projects.’

Neither of them had mentioned film acting again. He knew it was work she did not want. ‘There will be plenty to keep you occupied,’ he had promised. All that mattered to him was that she should be with him.

Leaving the window, Lisette removed her evening clothes and took a hot bath. Afterwards she packed, for although she and Michel were to have another day and night in Paris it would not be fair to him to stay any longer.

At eight thirty Michel came to take her down to breakfast. He was surprised to see her luggage standing ready. ‘What’s this?’ he asked. ‘We’re not leaving today.’

‘But I am, Michel,’ she replied quietly.

He turned pale in a burst of anger. ‘It’s that motion picture maker, isn’t it? He’s the reason!’

‘I think he has always been between us. Ever since I first met him. In a couple of months when I’m free of all my obligations I intend to join him in England.’

‘You can’t do that! You would be throwing away all you’ve wanted ever since you came back to Lyon.’

‘I realize now that Daniel was all I ever wanted.’

Michel accompanied her back to Lyon, but his attitude towards her was icy and both of them were silent most of the time. At her door he bowed very formally over her hand, but turned away without speaking. She knew he would never forgive her.

It was late March before Lisette had fulfilled all her obligations. The Lumières in their generous way gave a farewell party for her and other friends did the same. She received a number of gifts to take with her. To her surprise and pleasure Michel called on her with flowers two days before her departure.

‘I wanted to wish you well, Lisette.’

‘I’m so glad,’ she replied genuinely as she took the flowers from him. ‘Does this mean that we are still friends?’

‘Yes. It also means I’ll be waiting for you when you find that England is not the place for you.’

She shook her head. ‘I’ll be back to visit, that’s all.’

He smiled. ‘We’ll see. Time with tell.
Au revoir
, Lisette.’

On her last day in Lyon she went to the gates of the Bellecour house and stood looking through at it.

‘I’ll come back when you’re mine,’ she promised in a whisper. ‘You’ll always be my true home no matter where I go in the world.’

She did not want any of her friends to see her off on the train when the morning of her departure came, saying that she did not like farewells in railway stations. She had a special reason for wanting to depart alone, because unbeknown to anyone else she was not going direct to the coast as everyone supposed. Instead she took a ticket to the little town where she had given birth to her daughter. It had been Daniel’s suggestion that they should try to get some clue to their baby’s exact whereabouts. He had wanted to call on the convent himself, but she had thought it better that she should go there alone.

Memories flooded back as she lifted the heavy knocker on the convent door and banged it twice. A nun she had never seen before opened the door to her.

‘Yes, mademoiselle?’

‘I should like to see the abbess.’

‘For what purpose?’

‘It is a private matter.’

The nun narrowed her eyes. ‘She is at her devotions and cannot be disturbed. I can deal with anything you wish.’

‘No, thank you. I’ll wait.’

The nun stood aside for her. As Lisette entered she saw to her relief that Sister Delphine was passing through the hallway and called eagerly to her. Immediately the old nun smiled and came forward, recognizing her as she came nearer.

‘It’s Lisette! How are you, child?’

‘So glad to see you! I’m on my way to England, but I could not leave without coming to ask about my baby. Is there any news of her?’

Sister Delphine waved the other nun away, indicating that she herself would deal with this enquiry. They sat down together on the hall seat and she took hold of Lisette’s hand. ‘You were told at the time that when a baby is adopted from here there is no follow up as the responsibility of the convent is at an end. Be content in remembering that your daughter went to a good couple and take comfort from that. Do not torment yourself any further by cherishing false hopes of some enlightment.’

‘Has nothing been heard from Madame de Vincent? She seemed to have some knowledge of the couple who took my baby.’

‘We have never received a word from her.’ Sister Delphine patted Lisette’s hand, trying to comfort her, even though the young woman’s stark expression showed that she had seen her last hope destroyed.

With a heavy heart Lisette left the convent, trying to face the harsh fact that the child she kept in her heart and mind was lost to her for ever.

T
here was rough weather on the April day when Lisette crossed the Channel. She did not go below deck, wanting to see for the first time the white cliffs of Dover at close hand. If she still had doubts about her wisdom in leaving France, especially since she had only to wait until her twenty-first birthday in January next year to inherit the Bellecour house, she crushed them down. She wanted to be with Daniel whatever the cost to herself in homesickness, which she guessed would be inevitable.

As she sat in her deckchair, wrapped in a plaid rug that had been provided by one of the stewards, she watched other hardy passengers lurch their way along as they held on to the rails. She thought about the joyful letters from Daniel that she had received, many showing the haste with which they had been written as if he hardly had a moment to spare, which was probably the truth of it. He had given many successful cinematograph shows in London and elsewhere, receiving the same acclaim as had the Lumière films in Paris. Yet he was not alone in his venture. In the short time since that great Paris occasion many other operators had started making motion pictures and presenting the results, not only in England but also in the United States and many other parts of the world, even as far away as China. Some used Lumière cameras while others had similar inventions of their own. It was like a great flowering all over the globe.

When the steamer docked Lisette tucked the wind-blown strands of her hair back under her hat and then saw Daniel waving to her from the dockside. She was soon through the customs shed and in his arms.

‘Welcome, my love!’ he exclaimed happily after they had kissed. ‘These past weeks of waiting have seemed like for ever.’

‘It has been the same for me! But now I’m here to stay!’

They took their seats side by side on the train that would take them to London. Being on their own in the first class carriage he was able to ask the question that was uppermost in his mind.

‘Did you gain any news of our child?’

She shook her head sadly, her eyes stark, and told him all that had taken place. ‘It is as if a door has been slammed for ever in our lives,’ she concluded almost in a whisper.

He held her tightly in his arms. For the moment there was no need for words. Then the train began to move and they were on their way. At her wish they began to talk of other matters, filling in gaps that their letters had not covered in detail.

‘You wrote that you had some screaming from the women patrons at your shows, but you didn’t say what frightened them,’ she asked. ‘Was it a train as in the Lumière show?’

He shook his head, laughing. ‘No, my audience thought they were going to be drenched by an ocean wave! I took the sequence off the beach when a high tide was hurling spray all over the promenade! One woman in the audience shrieked even more piercingly than the rest and put up her umbrella!’

She laughed delightedly. ‘What else has happened since then? You promised me some good news about your productions when I arrived.’

‘Yes, after the first London show a music hall manager contacted me and now there’s a short programme of my films included in the programme every night. Not only is it profitable, but it’s brought me publicity and a demand for film programmes from other music halls. I have even had a fairground proprietor wanting to show my animated pictures in a side-show, so there’s another outlet for my comedies. At the studio we’re working all day when the light is good. I was right to choose the present site of my studio on the south coast, which really does average more hours of sunshine than anywhere else.’

‘You called the resort Hothampton in your letters, but I looked for it on several maps and could not find it.’

‘I was referring to the location of the studio. The patch of land there still has the name of Hothampton, which was for a short time the name of the resort before it reverted to its original name of Bognor, which I believe has Saxon origins. Some other movie makers have started up in Hove along the coast for the same reason of good weather. The whole industry has taken off like a rocket!’

‘I know that already from the Lumières’ success. The brothers are sending their cameramen all over the world now to film foreign places and ceremonial events.’

‘That’s another praiseworthy move on their part! Patrons will love it. They’ll be seeing parts of the world that would never otherwise come their way in everyday life.’

Now and again as the train rattled along Lisette looked out of the window at the passing Kent countryside. There was a gentle, dewy look to it, for spring had taken hold with an abundance of wild flowers on the grassy banks on either side of the tracks and the many orchards held clouds of pink and white blossom.

When they arrived at smoky, noisy Victoria Station they took a cab to Brown’s Hotel where they stayed for a week. As she had hoped, Daniel took her to see the sights. They watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace where the absence of the Royal Standard showed that the elderly Queen was away. Daniel thought she was probably at Windsor Castle, but next year would be the Diamond Jubilee of her reign and he planned to take film of the event and Lisette would see her then.

‘I’ve already booked hotel accommodation for that time, because London will be jam-packed,’ he said.

He took Lisette to the Tower, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, various art galleries and on a riverboat trip to Hampton Court, all of which helped to satisfy some of Lisette’s eagerness in all she wanted to see. In the evenings they went to the theatres and the music halls, having supper at nightspots afterwards, and always making love passionately before sleeping, their arms about each other.

The week went by quickly and back at Victoria Station they took a train to the south coast. It was warm and sunny when they arrived at the resort where Daniel went to a nearby garage to collect his motorcar. He had left it there before leaving by train for Dover, not wanting to risk any engine trouble that could have delayed his meeting her. Although he had bought it new only six months before, the motorcar already showed signs of hard use with a number of dents and scratches on its otherwise gleaming paintwork. Lisette guessed it had been used many times for transporting cameras and tripods and other equipment. It took quite a lot of cranking up before the engine started, but then he leapt into the driving seat at Lisette’s side.

‘This is like being in the cart again,’ she said happily as they drove along, ‘although these seats have better padding. What happened to Prince? Where is he now?’

‘I found him a good home before I left France. He will be treated well to the end of his days.’

‘That’s good to know,’ she commented, remembering how hard Prince had been ridden that day when Daniel had been searching for her.

They were driving through the resort and he was taking a route that enabled her to see the charm of the many Georgian houses, which had been built by the founder of the town over a century before. Then they followed along by the promenade, where she saw the stretch of golden sands and the sea lying like a glittering throw of turquoise silk. She inhaled the clean salty air with pleasure. Beyond the resort they followed a country lane until he drew up outside a large thatched cottage that he had rented furnished for the time being.

‘What a dear old house!’ she exclaimed. ‘But where is the studio?’

‘It’s a short drive away. I’ll take you there tomorrow. Ah,’ he added as a youth in a yellow and black striped fustian jacket came hurrying from the cottage to unload the luggage, ‘this is Tom. When he’s not assisting in the house he helps out at the studio.’

‘Afternoon,
mad-e-mois-elle
.’ He had little idea how to pronounce the address correctly, but Lisette appreciated his effort and nodded to him with a smile. Then at Daniel’s side she entered the cottage.

‘Good afternoon, madam.’ The housekeeper, a pleasant-looking, neatly-dressed woman in a dark blue dress and white apron had been waiting in the oak-panelled hall to greet her. ‘I hope you had a good journey.’

‘Yes, thank you, Mrs Pierce.’

‘I’m sure you would like a cup of tea and some toasted crumpets too,’ the woman suggested, taking Lisette’s outdoor clothes. ‘I’ll bring them to the sitting room.’

Lisette did not often drink tea and had no idea what a crumpet was, but she was prepared to adjust herself to whatever came along in these new surroundings. There was a faint aroma of new paint, which caused her to guess that Daniel had had some refurbishment done in readiness for her coming. The sitting room was low-beamed, causing Daniel to dip his head in some areas, and the antique furniture was dark and well worn, but two comfortable looking wing chairs flanked the fireplace. She went across to sit in one of them and hold her hands to the flames of the logs burning brightly on the hearth, for the afternoon had cooled.