Cinderella Sister (13 page)

Nell pleaded with Grandpa and then with Aggie, and finally, casting her eyes heavenwards, she threw up her hands. ‘I give in,’ she said as the clock on St Peter’s church tower struck midday. ‘We’ll just have to leave them here and let the bailiffs deal with them.’

Lily sent a pleading look to Aggie. ‘Please come with us, Aggie. We won’t be in that place forever. We’ll start looking for something more suitable straight away, but we have to leave here. If you go, then Grandpa will have to give up as there’ll be no one to look after him.’

Aggie clenched her jaw and stared straight ahead. Her silence was more convincing than a hundred words.

‘Thank goodness Molly had to go to work,’ Lily said in a low voice. ‘She would probably chain herself to the railings outside and then we would have the police involved.’

Nell shook her head. ‘I haven’t got time for all this, Lily. We must make sure that Matt and the others have loaded everything we need on that rickety old cart. I just pray that it gets to Cock Hill before it collapses or one of the wheels drops off.’ She sighed heavily. ‘Mr Sadler offered to help, but I hope he doesn’t turn up. I wouldn’t want him to witness this spectacle. It would be so mortifying.’

Lily cocked her head on one side, instantly diverted. ‘I thought that Mr Sadler was a bit of an ogre, Nell. Does he fancy you?’

Nell’s cheeks reddened. ‘Of course not, Lily. What a thing to say. Mr Sadler is an excellent man, totally devoted to teaching underprivileged children and giving them a better start in life. He hardly knows that I exist, except for being an able assistant.’

‘Then he’s a fool,’ Aggie said darkly. ‘All men are numbskulls if you ask me.’

‘I didn’t,’ Nell said, surprising Lily with the sharpness of her tone. She whisked out of the room leaving Lily and Aggie staring after her.

‘Well,’ Lily said, packing the last of their crockery and cutlery into a tea chest, ‘it looks as if you will have to stay here on your own with Grandpa, Aggie. I’ll miss you, but you know best.’ Without waiting for an answer, she left the kitchen, making her way along the passage to stand outside her grandfather’s door. ‘Grandpa, can you hear me? It’s Lily.’

‘Go away, girl. I’m not leaving my house and that’s that.’

‘But Grandpa, you know they’ll send the bailiffs in and they’ll break the door down. They’ll drag you out, and Aggie too. It will be awful.’

‘They wouldn’t dare.’

Lily was quick to hear a tremulous note in her grandfather’s voice. ‘They would, Grandpa.’

‘I’m not going. They’ll have to carry me out in a wooden box. This is my home. I’ve earned the right to live out my life here. I was an important man once.’

Lily could hear the frailty in his voice but she recognised the stubborn tone. An idea occurred to her and she ran out through the open front door, almost barging
into Mark who was coming back to collect another load for the already groaning cart.

‘Hey, look out,’ he said, chuckling. ‘Where’s the fire?’

‘Very funny,’ Lily called over her shoulder. ‘This is a real emergency.’ She picked up her skirts and ran down the garden path and out into the street. There was just one person who might be able to persuade Grandpa Larkin to leave his old home, and she knew where to find him.

Lily found Bill Hawkins sitting in the taproom of the Prospect of Whitby, drinking a pint of porter.

‘Bill, I need your help,’ she said breathlessly.

He stood up, glancing anxiously round at the assemblage of dockers, sailors and warehousemen who had stopped drinking to stare curiously at Lily. ‘You shouldn’t be in a public house, Miss Lily. What would your grandpa say?’

‘It’s because of Grandpa that I’m here,’ Lily said urgently. ‘He won’t leave the house, Bill. He’s locked himself in his room and refuses to listen to anyone.’

He took her by the arm, propelling her through the crowded bar and out onto the quay wall. ‘I’ll come with you, but I doubt if there’s anything I can say or do that will make him change his mind. He’s a mite stubborn, if you’ll excuse me saying so.’

‘That’s putting it mildly, Bill. But if anyone can persuade him to change his mind, it’s you.’ Without waiting for his answer she raced on ahead, crossing the bridge over the dock entrance at a run and arriving home with her bonnet hanging by its ribbons and her hair falling loose around her shoulders. She came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Nell standing outside the front door in conversation with a tall man dressed all
in black. Although they had never been formally introduced, Lily had seen Mr Eugene Sadler, the headmaster of the Ragged School, on several occasions in the past, although only from a distance.

Nell turned and frowned as she took in Lily’s dishevelled state. ‘Where have you been, Lily? I thought you were looking after Grandpa.’

Lily glanced curiously at Mr Sadler, who was observing her with such a grave expression on his chiselled features that he reminded her of a parson about to deliver a sermon. ‘I went to fetch Bill. He’s the only one that Grandpa might listen to.’

Bill had caught up with her by now and he took off his cap, acknowledging Nell with a respectful inclination of his head. ‘Miss Nell.’

‘I would be very grateful if you would try to make Grandpa see sense, Bill,’ Nell said with a tight little smile.

‘I’ll have a word with him, but the guvner has a mind of his own, miss.’ Bill gave Mr Sadler a curt nod and disappeared into the house.

Nell turned to her companion. ‘Mr Sadler, may I introduce you to my youngest sister, Lily?’

Mr Sadler doffed his top hat. ‘How do you do, Miss Lily?’

‘Very well, sir.’ Slightly in awe of the stern-faced schoolmaster, Lily bobbed a curtsey.

‘Will you excuse us a moment, Mr Sadler?’ Nell said, taking Lily by the arm.

‘Certainly, Miss Larkin.’

Nell drew Lily into the porch, speaking in a low
urgent voice. ‘Mr Sadler closed the school early so that he could come here and talk to Grandpa. I’m so embarrassed and now I feel a complete fool. You should have waited here for me.’

‘That’s not fair. You said the schoolmaster might not turn up.’ Lily shot a curious look at Mr Sadler’s stern profile. ‘Why has he come anyway? He doesn’t know Grandpa.’

‘Mr Sadler is a well-respected man, and he has some standing in the community.’ Nell glanced anxiously over her shoulder. ‘I don’t know what to say to him.’

Lily followed her gaze and was struck once again by Mr Sadler’s imposing appearance. The top hat made him look at least a foot taller than he was, and his erect carriage and serious demeanour would impress anyone. She was fired by a sudden inspiration. ‘Why not ask your Mr Sadler to have a word with Aggie? If anyone can persuade her to be reasonable, I’m sure it would be your schoolmaster. He could easily be a preacher and you know how Aggie respects men of the cloth.’

Nell’s eyes brightened. ‘I’ll speak to him now. Wait here and don’t say anything to anyone. You have a habit of putting your foot in it.’

Half an hour later, Aggie and Grandpa were seated in Mr Sadler’s dog cart and Bill was loading a wagon with Grandpa’s bed and personal belongings. Mr Sadler handed Nell up onto the driver’s seat and he turned to Lily, who was standing at his side. ‘Are you travelling with us, Miss Larkin?’

She looked up into his grey eyes and was surprised by the warmth of his smile which softened the severe lines of his angular face, and the firm set of his lips. He was younger than she had at first supposed, and really quite human, she thought. She shook her head. ‘Thank you, no, Mr Sadler. I’d better check everything in the house and make certain that nothing important has been left behind.’

He hesitated for a moment, as if struggling with a natural reticence. ‘I am truly sorry to see you and your family put to so much trouble. If there is anything I can do to help …’ His voice trailed off and a dull flush spread upwards from his starched white collar to flood his pale cheeks with colour. He cleared his throat and climbed up beside Nell, taking the whip and flicking it expertly just above the horse’s ear. ‘Trot on, Socrates.’

‘Socrates! What an inspiring name for a horse.’

Nell’s words floated to Lily on the stiff breeze as the vehicle lurched forward, picking up speed as the horse moved from a sedate walk to a brisk trot. Matt’s friend who had kindly supplied the wagon urged his sturdy carthorse into action and drove off slowly, following the schoolmaster’s vehicle. Lily watched the last of their belongings disappearing along Labour in Vain Street with a feeling of deep sadness. Part of her life had ended on this day, and what the future held was a matter of conjecture.

‘Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Lily?’

She spun round having quite forgotten that Bill was standing behind her, cap in hand, and looking so downcast that she wanted to hug him. ‘You must come to
Cock Hill and visit Grandpa just as you’ve always done,’ she said, smiling up at him. ‘You are his only link with the past now, Bill, and he would miss you dreadfully if he didn’t see you as often.’

A slow grin illuminated Bill’s craggy features. ‘D’you really think so?’

Lily laid her hand on his arm. ‘You were the only person he would listen to today, Bill. Grandpa would still be locked in his room if it wasn’t for you. I don’t know what you said to him, but it worked.’

‘It was between us men, Miss Lily. I’m sad to see the guvner leave his home, but I’m happy I was able to help.’

He loped off in the direction of the wharf, leaving Lily alone on the pavement outside the house. She went indoors, making for her bedroom where she took her drawing materials and sketches from beneath her bed, the only one left in the room as the other two had been dismantled and taken to Cock Hill. Tonight she would have to sleep top to toe with Molly and she was not looking forward to that. She tucked her treasured possessions into an old pillowcase that she had kept for the purpose. Taking one last look around the room that she had shared with her sisters for so many years, she went outside onto the landing, closing the door behind her.

She paused at the top of the stairs. The only sounds she could hear were the echoes in her head from long ago. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine the faint strains of Ma playing the piano and Pa’s deep baritone rendition of a popular song. Ma’s tinkling laughter
had filled the house with joy, but her tears and tantrums had also left their mark. Lily remembered only too well the raised voices and bitter quarrels. There had been good times as well as hardships, and then Armand had come into their lives. Handsome, helpless and excitingly foreign, he had charmed them all. Lily sighed as she made her way down the curved staircase for the last time. Would they ever see him again? He had promised to return, but circumstances and a domineering father might prevent him from keeping his word. She must allow him to fade into the realm of her dreams. There was nothing for it but to get on with the business of living in the tough world of the East End outside the protective shell of the dockmaster’s house. From now on their lives would be quite different and undoubtedly much harder.

With the bulging pillowcase tucked beneath her arm, Lily left the home of her childhood and turned the key in the lock.

She arrived outside the tobacconist’s shop to find Matt, Mark and Mr Sadler unloading crates, cardboard boxes and the parts of Grandpa’s dismantled iron bedstead from the wagon. There was no sign of Nell, Grandpa or Aggie.

Matt thrust one of the smaller boxes into her hands. ‘Where’ve you been, Lil? We need all the help we can get.’

She opened her mouth to explain but Mr Sadler took the box from her, frowning at Matt. ‘That’s too heavy for a girl. Allow me, Miss Larkin.’ He balanced the
cardboard box on top of a crate containing crockery and hefted it into his arms. ‘Perhaps you would be kind enough to lead the way?’

‘Thank you,’ Lily said with a grateful smile. In his shirtsleeves, Mr Sadler looked much more approachable. She led him along the narrow passage to the door, which had been wedged open for easy access. They found Nell upstairs in the main living room on her hands and knees in front of the grate coaxing flames from damp kindling and small nuggets of coal, while Grandpa and Aggie sat like bookends on either side of the window that overlooked the street.

‘I’m not staying here,’ Grandpa muttered. ‘This is no place for a family like ours. We’re used to better things.’

‘Whose fault is it that we’re in this pickle?’ Aggie demanded. ‘As I see it, old man, it was you who threw the letters from the dock company into the fire. Shame on you.’

‘Don’t speak to me like that, you old besom. You’re forgetting your place, missis.’

‘It’s miss as you well know, and if I’m a servant I should expect to receive a wage for my labours. You haven’t paid me anything for five years.’

‘You get your bed and board, don’t you? You have clothes on your back and shoes on your feet. You’d be out begging on the streets if we didn’t look after you.’

Aggie thrust her chin out like an angry bulldog. ‘Look after me? I’ll have you know, old man, that I could get a position anywhere. There are folk crying out for a good cook-general.’

‘Well, they wouldn’t get one with you. Your pastry is like lead and your stews taste like dishwater.’

Nell sprang to her feet. ‘Stop it, both of you. I won’t stand for this childish behaviour. You’re both old enough to know better.’

‘Ahem.’ Mr Sadler cleared his throat. ‘Where would you like me to put these things, Miss Larkin?’

Nell spun round and her cheeks reddened with a blush. ‘Oh, Mr Sadler, I didn’t see you standing there, and you really shouldn’t be carrying that heavy crate. My brothers ought to be doing the heavy work.’

He set his load down on the floor. ‘It’s nothing, Miss Larkin. I’m only too glad to be of assistance.’

Nell brushed a strand of hair back from her forehead, leaving a streak of soot on her pale skin. ‘I’d offer you a cup of tea, but I’m afraid it will be some time before the kettle boils.’

He regarded her with a solemn expression. ‘If I might make a suggestion, Miss Larkin?’

‘Please do, Mr Sadler.’

‘I’m not normally a drinking man, but perhaps a jug of hot buttered rum might help to alleviate the winter chills.’ He turned to Grandpa Larkin. ‘What do you say, sir?’