Sunlight on the Mersey (26 page)

When the dishes had been washed and put away and Rose had gone up to bed as she had a very early start next day, Kate decided to sound her friend out.

‘We all noticed that she called him “David”, Gwen, and it’s not like our Rose to forget her manners. I hope there’s nothing . . . going on there.’

Gwen frowned. ‘I know she thinks highly of him, Kate, and perhaps she’s even become . . . fond . . . of him but, in a sisterly sort of way. I think she feels sorry for him. I don’t think there is anything “going on”, as you put it. He’s in a wheelchair and still endures a lot of pain. I suppose her reading to him takes his mind off things.’

Kate nodded slowly. ‘Rose has always been . . . impressionable, always lived in a sort of dream world. She’s not as practical and down to earth as Iris and I don’t want her to get herself into a situation where she might get hurt. We’re working-class Liverpudlians, Gwen; he’s from a very different background. The “gentry” I suppose you’d call him, wealthy, well educated and waited on by servants all his life.’

‘I don’t think Rose is as impressionable as you think, Kate. She can be quite level-headed and she knows her place; even though she spends time with him she doesn’t shirk her chores. I wouldn’t worry too much about her. If Mona Mathews thought there was anything amiss, she’d certainly bring it to both my attention and Miss Olivia’s, I can assure you. Both Miss Olivia and Miss Elinore think highly of Rose, Mona told
me so herself. Now, you get a good night’s rest and stop worrying about Rose. You’re here to enjoy yourself and it’s her birthday tomorrow,’ Gwen finished firmly.

R
OSE WAS VERY SURPRISED
next day when after lunch she was summoned to David Rhys-Pritchard’s drawing room. The French doors were open wide, flooding the room with sunlight and giving an excellent view of the gardens where the big marquees were being erected. There were to be five of them, the usual four for the flower show and a fifth where the villagers and tenants who had been invited to Elinore’s engagement party would gather in the evening. A warm summer breeze wafted across the terrace and rustled gently through the thick green foliage of the surrounding trees. The stone urns, filled now with flowers, were a riot of colour as were the huge bushes of rhododendrons and hydrangeas that graced the shrub borders.

‘Come in, Rose,’ David instructed.

‘There’s a great deal of activity going on out there and don’t the flowers look magnificent? I just hope this glorious weather holds,’ Rose commented as she crossed the room towards him.

David turned away from the open doorway and moved back into the room, smiling at her. ‘So do I, Rose. Ellie is so looking forward to everything. I’ve not seen her so excited or so happy in years.’

Rose smiled back wondering why he had called for her. They had finished
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
and Miss Olivia had been too busy to find the time to go into Denbigh to look for another crime novel. In fact she was going to suggest that she go into Parry’s Bookshop on her next afternoon off.

‘Happy Birthday, Rose. I . . . I hope you like this.’ David held out a small package.

‘Oh! Thank . . . you!’ Rose replied, surprised and a little flustered. ‘How . . . how did you know?’ She felt the colour flooding her cheeks.

‘You told me your birthday was in June and I found out the exact date from Mrs Mathews,’ he replied, indicating that she should sit down. ‘Are you going to open it?’

Rose unwrapped the package to find it contained a slim box. ‘I didn’t expect . . . It’s very . . . kind of you . . . David,’ she stammered, not knowing what to say. Inside the box was a bookmark made of silver. From the top of the slender column was suspended an ornament delicately shaped in silver filigree as a fan, complete with a red silk tassel. Rose took it
out and examined it carefully; it was quite heavy. ‘Oh, it’s beautiful! But it’s
silver
! I . . . I’ve never had anything like this before in my life!’

‘I wanted to give you something to mark the occasion, Rose, but I wasn’t sure what you’d like. And then I noticed this in the silver collection and I thought it would be perfect as you enjoy reading so much. Pretty and useful,’ David informed her.

Rose was at a loss for words. He’d given her a very expensive gift and one from the family’s own collection of silver. She’d often seen Mr Lewis carefully cleaning the silver; no one else was allowed to do it. ‘From the . . . collection. Do you think . . .?’

‘Rose, it is
my
collection and I want you to have this as a birthday gift,’ he said quietly.

It
was
a beautiful and useful gift, she thought. ‘I’ll treasure it, David, I really will,’ she promised shyly.

He smiled at her. ‘But I hope you’ll use it as well.’

She nodded. ‘I will.’

‘And are you looking forward to the party?’ he asked to change the subject for he could see she was a little uncomfortable. He hadn’t intended to embarrass her.

Rose carefully replaced the bookmark in the box. ‘Oh, I am! I can’t remember the last time I went to a party. In fact I’ve never been to anything quite as . . . grand,’ she replied. The only party she had been to in her life was the street party that had been held to celebrate the end of the war and she wasn’t going to bring that up. ‘And I’m sure Miss Elinore will
look absolutely gorgeous,’ she enthused for the dressmaker had visited the house on several occasions. Miss Olivia had engaged agency staff from Llandudno to help out and the cold buffet for the tenants and servants was being provided and served by caterers: no expense was being spared. She’d been delighted when Mrs Mathews had informed her that when the family dinner was over, she, Nancy, Nora and Beryl could join the villagers in the marquee for the rest of the evening. A musical quartet had been engaged to play for the family and guests in the Grand Drawing Room and some local musicians would play in the marquee.

‘I’m sure she will too and it will be a busy time for everyone. I saw Miss Roberts here this morning,’ he informed her, thinking of the day he’d first seen her when she’d accompanied the postmistress here, almost a year ago now.

‘She was coming about the show. My mam is resting today, she’s tired after the journey but thankfully she arrived safe and sound.’ Rose got to her feet; she still had plenty of work to do.

‘Then she will be coming with Miss Roberts to the party, I presume?’ David enquired, thinking he would like to meet her mother.

Rose nodded. ‘Aunty Gwen told her last night and she was very surprised but delighted. I’d better get back now, David, and thank you again for such a truly beautiful gift.’

‘I wanted to give you something special, Rose,’ he said, wishing she could stay but knowing that there were other demands upon her time. Olivia had instructed that the whole
house be cleaned from top to bottom and rooms were now being prepared for the guests.

Rose smiled. ‘It’s the most beautiful and
special
thing I’ve ever owned, David, you are so . . . kind and generous to me.’

‘You are my friend and you are very special to me, Rose. I mean that.’

‘Thank you, that means . . . a lot to me, David,’ Rose stammered before turning and leaving the room in some haste, her heart beating in an odd jerky kind of way.

Outside in the hallway she leaned against the wall, her cheeks flushed. He had said she was ‘special’ and he’d gone out of his way to find out when her birthday was and had given her a beautiful gift, one he had put some considerable thought into choosing, to say nothing of its value. They were growing closer and she had become fond of him, but . . . but was that wise? She had been fond of Jimmy Harper once and that had only led to heartache. Hearing Nancy’s voice on the stairs she pulled herself together. She had no intention of telling Nancy or anyone else of David Rhys-Pritchard’s birthday gift.

The flower show that year seemed to have attracted more interest than usual, Gwen thought as she and Kate got ready for Elinore Rhys-Pritchard’s engagement party. It had been quite an exhausting few days for the weather had held and the heat in the marquees had been stifling – to the detriment of the flowers and vegetables, which had to be frequently sprayed with water – but the increased crowds and added interest very
probably had been generated by the forthcoming event. Neither of them had seen Rose during the day but they would see her this evening, she’d assured Kate. They were going to Plas Idris with Bob and his family and they were all looking forward to it.

‘Doesn’t it look . . . splendid and very big!’Kate commented as they walked up the drive and the house came into view. ‘I don’t think I could ever get used to a house
that
size, even though our Rose seems to have. I’d keep getting lost.’

Dusk had barely begun to fall yet lights blazed from almost every window and little coloured lanterns had been strung between the branches of the trees and shrubs. The front door stood wide open allowing glimpses of huge vases and urns of flowers in the spacious hallway. From inside the house strains of music and laughter could be heard.

Gwen smiled and nodded. ‘Just like the old days, it is, Kate. It’s lovely to see the place looking so well again.’ She lowered her voice a little. ‘And the fact that two of her floral arrangements have pride of place in the Grand Drawing Room has made even Mrs Llewellyn-Jones quite bearable.’

There were many people making their way towards the marquee and they were joined by Bethan and her husband. Inside on long trestle tables covered with white cloths the ‘cold collation’ – as it was officially termed – was laid out.

‘That looks very appetising,’ Bethan said admiringly. ‘They certainly know how to give a party. Mind you, when I was a child the old master always held a ball for the tenants every year with no expense spared either.’

‘And we always had a wonderful time,’ Gwen added as Bob was despatched to obtain drinks for them.

‘Will we see the happy couple, do you think?’ Kate enquired. She’d never been to anything like this in her life before.

‘Oh, definitely,’ Gwen assured her firmly.

Half an hour later, when everyone had arrived and the entertainment was in full swing, Kate spotted Rose accompanied by three other young girls, all still in their respective uniforms. Kate waved and Rose detached herself from her companions.

‘Isn’t this just
wonderful
!’ Kate enthused, sipping a glass of sparkling wine. She had no intention of dancing but would be quite content to sit and watch and she was looking forward to the buffet.

‘If you think this is very grand, Mam, you should see them up at the house. Oh, the dresses and the jewellery and the gentlemen in evening suits . . . even we’ve got our best uniforms on.’ Rose smoothed down the black skirt of her dress and tweaked the lace edge of her white apron. ‘The house looks gorgeous too, everything polished up, flowers in every room and all the best china and crystal,’ she added. Her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks flushed from both excitement and the warmth of the evening.

‘We’re hoping to see the happy couple,’ Kate confided.

‘Miss Elinore had just gone up to fetch her silk wrap when Mrs Mathews said we could come and join in so she’ll be here any minute now,’ Rose informed them.

Gwen turned towards the open side of the marquee. ‘You were right, Rose, luv, here they come!’

Everyone broke into spontaneous clapping as Elinore entered, looking quite radiant. She was accompanied by her fiancé and followed by her sister, brother and two cousins.

Rose was very surprised to see Olivia and particularly David. She’d only expected Elinore and Ernest to put in an appearance.

‘Oh, doesn’t she look . . . gorgeous! There’s just no other word for it!’ Gwen exclaimed, thinking the girl had really blossomed. She had always been the prettier of the Rhys-Pritchard sisters but tonight she was radiant. Her light brown hair had been cut in a becoming bob and was encircled by a band of shell pink silk studded with pearls. Her matching silk dress had a skirt which floated in handkerchief points and a bodice heavily embroidered with seed pearls and silver bugle beads. She wore a necklace, earrings and bracelet of pearls and her eyes shone with obvious happiness.

‘And doesn’t Miss Olivia look well too,’ Kate added, thinking she’d never seen dresses like these before, except perhaps in the windows of Liverpool’s most expensive and exclusive shops. Olivia’s dress was of black crêpe de Chine and silk chiffon, embroidered with gold thread and beads. She still refused to have her hair cut but it was swept up elegantly and held in place by gold pins which were decorated with sprays of delicate gold flowers with tiny jewels for centres. Rose had already seen all this finery but she concurred with her mother and Gwen, thinking that David too looked splendid and quite
handsome in his black tailed evening suit and white waistcoat, shirt and bow tie. You hardly noticed the scar now, she thought and she, at least, barely noticed the wheelchair, she was so used to it.

The minister, Bethan’s husband Owen, took it upon himself to speak for everyone and he wished Elinore and Ernest every happiness and thanked them and David and Olivia for inviting everyone to share the auspicious occasion and with such magnificent hospitality. Then, when everyone went to shake their hands and offer their personal messages of congratulation, Gwen reached over and took Kate’s arm.