Heaven Made (4 page)

Ford showed Mrs.
Tremaine to the foyer and helped her into her jacket.

"Until tomorrow,
then," he called shutting the door behind her.

Ford leaned against the
massive oak frame wondering for the hundredth time that day where in the world
his butler, and for that matter all of his servants were. He knew they existed.
From time to time he ran across one, dusting a banister or taking a cup of tea
in the kitchen. When he rang the appropriate bell, the relevant maid or footman
responded. But the devil take him, he could never remember which bell to ring,
so he usually just went to the kitchen in hopes that someone would be there to take
care of his request. Of course he didn't need much and since he spent most of
his time in his laboratory, whatever went on in the house was of little
interest to him. But things needed to change. He needed to be social again, if
only occasionally. Luella would expect it when she returned. He couldn’t become
a recluse simply because his mother was no longer there to manage his life.
Besides, he was looking forward to having Mrs. Sabrina Tremaine take over in
that respect. It would be pleasant to have a beautiful woman at his breakfast
table. Extremely enjoyable indeed.

****

Sabrina rushed through the city to the flat she was renting.
She couldn’t believe her good fortune. A position that paid well and in a grand
home. Alice would be safe from her uncle and Gerald would never be able to find
them. They would be secure and there would never again be a missed meal.
Knocking on the landlady’s door, Sabrina collected Alice and paid the rent due.
She had only a few shillings left. It wouldn’t have been enough to stay more
than another day or two. A sigh of relief escaped her as they made their way
upstairs to pack their meager belongings

"Get your things together, Alice. We’re moving uptown."

Alice produced her satchel, already packed and sat on the
bed to watch her mother fold dresses.

"That was fast," Sabrina said suspiciously. "Did
you ever unpack?"

"Papa told me this morning that we were moving out
today. So I packed before I went to Mrs. Johnson’s." Alice twirled a braid
as she stated what to her was apparently perfectly logical.

Sabrina was concerned. But she didn’t have time right now to
delve further into the mystery. She wanted to be safely ensconced within the
walls of Mr. Northcliffe’s home before sundown. So she bit her tongue,
determined to have a very long talk with her daughter about the finality of
dying. Of course, she didn’t want to upset the child, but really, this had to
stop. It was time for the two of them to move on with their lives.

There was a knock at the door just as Sabrina stuffed her
two other hats into the box she had been able to carry off when she and Alice
had fled. It would have been a shame to leave them all behind, no matter that
the new style of hats being the size of a platter made them quite cumbersome.
And besides, she might have need to look at least slightly fashionable in her
new position.

"Who is it," Sabrina called out, still wary that
Gerald might be looking for them.

"Cassiopeia Blakemore," the female voice replied. "I’ve
come to make sure all is in order with Mr. Northcliffe."

Opening the door, Sabrina smiled warmly at the woman who had
literally saved her and Alice from the streets.

"So, I take it that you’ll be moving into the big house
tonight?" Miss Blakemore asked, looking around the drab but clean accommodations.
"Everything worked out between you and Mr. Northcliffe?"

"Oh yes," Sabrina said, wishing she could offer
her guest something. "I don’t know how to thank you enough for the
placement, Miss Blakemore."

"No need for thanks, and please call me Cassie."
Cassiopeia answered. "Mr. Northcliffe paid his finder’s fee. We do quite
well, actually." Miss Blakemore hesitated. She looked only slightly
uncomfortable as she continued. "There is one little thing that I need to
let you know about the position and Mr. Northcliffe."

Sabrina’s heart sank. It must have showed on her face
because Cassiopeia rushed on to explain.

"Now don’t you worry, dear, it’s really very minor, and
you will only have to put up with the inconvenience for a week or two. Just
until Mr. Northcliffe realizes he can’t run that big house without you."
Cassie adjusted her fashionable broad brimmed hat that sported several large
blue bows and some artfully placed black netting, which she pushed back just
slightly so she could meet Sabrina’s eyes. "The thing is, I didn’t tell
Mr. Northcliffe that you have a child."

Sabrina sat down hard on the small bed. This couldn’t be
happening. She had no money left and this was her last hope. If this position
didn’t work out, she’d have to go crawling back to Gerald. A shudder wracked
her body at the thought. Before she knew what had happened, Cassie was sitting
on the bed next to her, folding her in a warm embrace.

"Oh, I’ve said it all wrong," she muttered under
her breath. "It’s going to be fine, dear. No worries at all. You just need
to keep little Alice out of sight."

"But what if he finds out? I’ll be let go for certain."
Sabrina buried her face in her hands. "I’m a terrible liar. And I don’t
think I should be deceiving my new employer before I even begin."

"No, no," Cassie said, giving Sabrina an emphatic
shake. "You don’t understand. Mr. Northcliffe adores children. He is
actually working on a cure for influenza. His own little sister died of the
terrible disease and he spends all of his free time working on it."

Sabrina looked up, hoping that this would be salvageable.
She needed this position, badly. "Then why do we need to hide Alice from
him."

"Papa says I should be very quiet and stay with the
other servants in our new home," Alice said from where she was sitting.

"Oh my," Cassie exclaimed. "She’s talking to
her father?"

Feeling the blush burning her neck from acute embarrassment at
her daughter’s fanciful imagination, Sabrina tried to come up with an
explanation for the more than odd comment. "She misses her father
terribly. I think it’s how she is coping with the loss."

"Actually," Cassie said, giving Sabrina’s shoulder
a reassuring squeeze. "I’ve heard of this. My neighbor, Madame Lou, is a
psychic. Sometimes I wander over to her tearoom to have my future told with her
cards, or tea leaves read, or just to talk about business. She’s really quite
brilliant, ahem, for an old crone, I mean. I remember her saying once that children,
especially children who have lost a parent, can sometimes communicate with the
dead."

"That’s…unbelievable," Sabrina said, looking at
her daughter who seemed unconcerned with the conversation. "You’re saying
Alice is actually talking to her father?"

"Well, not exactly." Cassie smiled at the young
girl. "She’s talking to his ghost or technically, his spirit."

"I don’t believe it." Sabrina stood up abruptly,
but then didn’t know what to do with herself. Should she finish packing? Or
resign herself to the fact that this position would never work out. And now
Miss Blakemore was trying to confuse her with this ludicrous story of her
daughter being able to talk to ghosts. This was all just too much.

"What am I going to do?" Sabrina cried, feeling
lost and confused. "I can’t possibly accept the position now. Miss
Blakemore, can you find me another job? And soon, please. I only have funds for
another day or two at most."

"Don’t be silly," Cassiopeia said with a wave of
her hand, dismissing Sabrina’s objections without a thought. "This is the
perfect position for you. And I promise that you won’t have to tell any falsehoods.
Mr. Northcliffe won’t even know Alice is in the house. Besides, you two will be
so preoccupied with each other and the running of that big old house that such
a thing will never even come up in conversation. It wouldn’t be proper anyway
for an employee to discuss their family matters with the master of the house.
Would it?"

"No, I suppose not." Sabrina still wasn’t entirely
convinced that this was a good idea. "What did you mean that Mr.
Northcliffe and I will be preoccupied with each other?"

"Did I say that?" Cassie asked placing a hand on
her chest and appearing as innocent as a young girl. "What I meant to say
was that you will be so busy getting the staff and the house running smoothly,
that you won’t have time for idle conversation with Mr. Northcliffe."

Sabrina nodded in agreement. That made more sense. But she
was still uncomfortable with the deception that she was about to embark upon.

"Now, let’s get your things packed and I’ll be sure to
check up on you in a few days and see how things are going. And if you ever
need someone to watch little Alice for a few hours or even overnight, my mother
and I would consider it a distinct pleasure." Cassie gave Alice a wink and
a smile.

"Oh yes, Mama," Alice exclaimed jumping up off the
bed. "Can I go stay with Cassie sometime? I want to talk to Madame Lou."

Cringing at the mention of the psychic, Sabrina wanted to
refuse Cassie’s kind offer. But Alice was obviously already excited at the
prospect, and there might be a time in the future when such a need would arise.

"Thank you, Miss Blakemore. You can’t imagine how
grateful I am for all you’ve done for Alice and myself." Sabrina reached
out her hands to the other woman.

"You must call me Cassie, please," Cassiopeia
said, grasping Sabrina’s fingers and squeezing them with real friendship. "I
just know we are going to be good friends. I hope you will come take tea with
me sometime when you have a free afternoon. And of course you must bring Alice."

"We will," Sabrina said. "But you must come
by in a few days to make sure I haven’t been fired. I still am not certain I’ll
be able to hide Alice from Mr. Northcliffe."

"Don’t worry, Mama," Alice said after sitting back
down. "Papa told me that the cook at Mr. Northcliffe’s house loves little
girls and will make sure that I’m tucked away out of the master’s sight. And, Mr.
Northcliffe’s mama is a friend of Papa’s and she is very excited that we will
be moving in."

"There you go," Cassie said with a smile. "Everything
is going to work out just perfect."

The young woman seemed convinced that the wild imaginings of
an eight-year old child about her dead father were a perfectly acceptable form
of verification. Sabrina was not so easily swayed, but now was not the time to
say so. She owed Cassiopeia too much to be telling the woman that she might be
a little bit daft to believe such nonsense. Besides, it seemed to make Alice
happy that she had someone who could corroborate her story. And if nothing
else, Sabrina wanted Alice to be happy, so she held her tongue.

"Well, ladies," Cassie said moving to the door. "I
have another placement that I’m working on, so you two get yourselves across
town before it gets dark. I don’t want to have to be worrying about you.
Bye-bye!"

And she was gone like a wisp of smoke in a brisk wind. Sabrina
sighed with relief and a morsel of trepidation. She hoped Cassie was right and
Mr. Northcliffe wouldn’t ask any questions that would force her to deceive him
about Alice. There was only one way to find out. Finishing packing their meager
belongings, Sabrina pinned her wide brimmed hat, decidedly less fashionable
than Miss Blackmore’s as she was still in mourning, onto her upswept hair,
pulled on her gloves and took one last look around the sparse room. She
wouldn’t miss it, not even for a minute.

"Come, Alice," she said, trying to juggle her hat
box and Gladstone bag and hold out a hand to her daughter. "Time to go to
our new home."

"Yes," Alice said very seriously. "And as
soon as Ford’s mama straightens him out, it will be our home forever and ever."

"How did you know what Mr. Northcliffe’s Christian name
was?" Sabrina was certain she hadn’t mentioned it out loud, although she
had secretly been using the name to herself. "Never mind," Sabrina
quickly said. She didn’t want to hear Alice’s answer right now. Too much talk
of ghosts was going to give her nightmares, even if it didn’t seem to bother
her daughter.

Alice obediently took her mother’s hand, picked up her bag, and
they left without even a glance back. It was a long walk across town, but they
bore it with determination. After years of being driven around in fine
carriages, and motorcars, Alice didn’t once complain about the harsh turn their
life had taken over the last few weeks. So when they arrived at their
destination, there was an audible sigh of relief from them both. Sabrina
laughed as they made their way to the servant’s entrance. Alice let out a
giggle. They were starting over, but they were together and that was all that
mattered. Even if their circumstances had changed considerably, it was still
better than it had been even the day before.

"Here we are," Sabrina said, knocking on the door.
Five minutes went by and no one answered.

"Knock again, Mama," Alice said through chattering
teeth. The warmth they had created by the long walk was wearing off quickly.

Sabrina knocked again. This time, only two or three minutes
went by before they heard a noise on the other side of the door.

"Who’s there?" a voice called out from the other
side.

"Mrs. Tremaine," Sabrina said, hesitantly. "The
new—" she stopped abruptly. The new what? She wasn’t exactly the
housekeeper. Mr. Northcliffe had one of those already and they had never
discussed what her official title would be. She’d heard the term Lady Help,
bandied about, but it didn’t exactly roll off one’s tongue or sound quite
proper. The door swinging open saved her from having to come up with something
that sounded appropriate. A tall robust woman stood on the other side. She
looked Swedish, Sabrina thought, with white blond hair and light blue eyes. She
was probably in her forties and her kind face had laugh lines around her mouth
and crinkles at the corners of her eyes.