CHAPTER 40

Peasants are plucky people. They don’t run when the going gets rough. Come along, Lily; show them lace makers are made of sterner stuff.

As she heard her father’s words, strength flooded through her. She was proud to be a lace maker and had never been one to walk away when the going was tough, so why should she now? Squaring her shoulders, she stared back at the sewers and finishers.

‘I am not going anywhere,’ she announced. Judging by their astonished reaction, they’d obviously not been expecting her to bite back. As one, they turned to Maria.

‘You’re not wanted here, country bumpkin. Go back to Bransbeer where you belong,’ she snarled, her lips tightening into a mean slit.

‘But you don’t know anything about me,’ Lily said, trying to reason with them.

‘As if that matters. You took our Margaret’s job. We’ll not forgive you for that.’

‘Margaret’s not skilled enough to do this intricate work, as well you know, Maria,’ Mrs Bodney announced from the back of the room, where she’d slipped in unnoticed. ‘However, Lily is, and what’s more, she’s here to stay. If anyone has a problem with that, they can leave right now,’ she added, looking directly at Maria, who flushed as red as a rosehip. ‘Now, I want you all to welcome Lily.’ She paused, waiting until the old woman grudgingly mumbled some kind of greeting and the others, taking her lead, followed suit.

‘Remember, ladies, there’s never any excuse for being rude or offensive to anyone who’s trying to do their job,’ Mrs Bodney admonished, and Lily’s eyes widened at this pronouncement. Weren’t they her very words from the previous day? She had no time to dwell on the matter, though, for Mrs Bodney was clapping her hands.

‘Right, we’ve wasted enough time. I have sorted the exact number of sprigs required for assembly of the flounce, so follow me,’ she ordered, leading them into a light, airy room at the back of the house. ‘The designs I’m about to show you are confidential, so once you’ve seen them, you will be required to remain in this building until the sewing up is finished.’

‘But I’ve got to see to my mother,’ Maria declared. Lily gazed at the wizened old woman, whose face was as creased as a concertina, and couldn’t help wondering how ancient her mother was.

‘We’ve already discussed this, Maria,’ Mrs Bodney snapped. ‘When your cousin Margaret failed the sewing test, it was agreed she’d look after your mother whilst you stayed here.’ Turning to the rest of them she continued, ‘Before I show you the drawings, you must solemnly swear not to divulge to another living soul what you see in this room.’

‘Well, if we ain’t allowed out, we won’t be seeing anyone to tell, will we?’ Maria sniggered.

‘Right, that’s it. I’ve had enough of your obstreperous attitude, Maria. Pack your things and go.’

‘I was only—’ the other woman started to say, but Mrs Bodney was already calling for the housekeeper.

‘Mrs Staple, Maria has decided to leave, so please see that she packs her things and then escort her from the premises. Oh, and bring me a bell so I can ring for you in future. My voice is not used to all this shouting.’

If the housekeeper was surprised by these requests, she didn’t show it. Nodding politely, she followed the protesting Maria from the room. The others started to voice their objections, but Mrs Bodney held up her hand.

‘That’s quite enough. None of you is indispensable, so if you feel unable to comply with my terms, please leave now.’ She waited, studying them closely but no one moved. ‘Then be seated and I’ll show you what’s to be done,’ Mrs Bodney continued, spreading out a drawing on the table before them.

‘Now, this is how the flounce is to look when it’s assembled,’ she said, and they all leaned forward in their seats to see where her finger was pointing. ‘You are to lay out the sprigs according to the design pattern. When you’ve done that, call me. I will check everything’s in order before you proceed further.’ Then she swept from the room in a rustle of skirts.

‘Cor, she’s a bit of a tartar, isn’t she?’ whispered the plump girl who was sitting opposite Lily. Lily knew that Mrs Bodney’s tongue was really no sharper than a blunt bobbin, so she merely shrugged. Her recent experience in the workroom had taught her that a little fear was no bad thing.

When all the sprigs had been set out, Mrs Bodney was sent for. Anxiously they watched as she meticulously checked their work.

‘Right, ladies,’ she finally pronounced. ‘You may now begin to sew. As I have to account to the Queen’s Mistress of the Robes, all the materials have been weighed. There is no room for error.’ She eyed them seriously, waiting whilst her words sank in. ‘Work carefully and conscientiously. Remember, Her Majesty will soon be wearing what you are making here. Won’t that be something for you to tell your children and grandchildren?’ she smiled.

‘Aren’t you going to help us to sew it up, then?’ asked one of the women.

‘Now, why would I have a dog and bark myself?’ Mrs Bodney asked, before sweeping out of the room. So now it was dogs, thought Lily, shaking her head. Cats in Bransbeer, dogs in Honiton – really, it was all quite beyond her!

Picking up her needle and thread, she started to sew. The others followed her lead, and the room fell silent as they concentrated on their work.

At noon, Mrs Bodney reappeared ringing a little bell and announcing, ‘Right, ladies, Mrs Staple has broth ready for you in the kitchen. Whilst you take your break, I’ll inspect the work you’ve been doing this morning.’

Lily stared at her employer in surprise. Not more food already? But to her amazement, when a steaming bowl was put before her she found she was hungry.

‘What’s Bransbeer like?’ asked the plump girl, who’d finished her meal in record time.

‘It’s a fishing hamlet by the sea,’ Lily answered. ‘What’s your name?’

‘Rosie.’

‘Yeah, dozy Rosie,’ chuckled the woman who was sitting next to her. ‘I’m Caroline, ducks. Sorry if we gave you a hard time earlier. Maria was that cross when Mrs Bodney told her you were to do the sewing up instead of her Margaret, she told us to ignore you.’

‘Yeah,’ Rosie chipped in, ‘she said, ignore the country bumpkin and she’ll go running home with her tail between her legs. You ain’t got a tail, have you?’ she asked, her eyes hopeful.

‘Don’t be daft, Rosie,’ Caroline chided before turning back to Lily and raising her eyebrows. ‘You can see how she got her name.’

‘Ah, but Rosie’s stitching is the finest here,’ Mrs Bodney announced, coming into the room. ‘Right, ladies, you’ve all done well this morning. Now I have some bad news, and some good news. The bad news is there is no one skilled enough to replace Maria. This means we will all have to work on later each evening to get the job finished in time.’ She waited for the groans to die down. ‘The good news is that you will be splitting her wage between you.’ Then, as they all cheered, she clapped her hands saying, ‘Right, ladies, back to work.’

All afternoon they sewed, but the ice had been broken and the atmosphere in the room was convivial. Before long Lily found herself relaxing to the rhythm of her stitching, happy to listen to the conversation going on around her. Clearly, the sewers had all known each other for some time.

As the shadows lengthened and their energy began to flag, silence descended. As Mrs Staple bustled in with candles and strikes, an enticing aroma wafted through the open door behind her. They all sniffed the air appreciatively.

‘I’ve just boiled a nice bit of bacon for your supper, dearies. Oh, and Mrs Bodney says you can finish at seven tonight, seeing as it’s your first day.’

They looked at each other in amazement. Bacon for supper?

‘Coo, we only gets that on high days and holidays,’ Caroline exclaimed.

‘I’ll be as round as a barrel if we keep eating like this,’ Rosie said, looking down at her ample figure and grimacing. They all giggled, and then, with the thought of a special supper to look forward to, set about their sewing with renewed vigour.

‘Oh bleeding Nora.’

They all looked up in surprise.

‘Whatever’s the matter, Christina?’ Caroline asked.

‘I’ve only gone and sewn this spray to me apron, haven’t I?’ she wailed.

Caroline went over to look, then groaned. ‘Cripes, you’ve made a right blooming mess of that. We’ll have to cut it off.’

‘Is there no other way?’ Christina asked, looking hopefully at Lily, who walked round the table and examined the flounce.

‘Take off your apron and I’ll see if we can prise it apart without damaging the lace,’ she said. But it was no use, the stitching was too tight. She shook her head. ‘We’ll need to cut it off, I’m afraid.’

‘Won’t that ruin the work?’ Christina asked, tears rolling down her cheeks.

‘It’s the only way of separating your apron from the rest of the flounce. Stand up,’ she said, snatching up scissors and deftly easing the stitching around the sprig.

‘Is there some problem?’ Mrs Bodney asked, appearing in the doorway.

Christina sank onto her stool but the others turned and looked at Lily expectantly.

‘Nothing we can’t sort out, Mrs Bodney,’ she said, forcing her lips into a smile.

‘Hmm,’ the other woman said doubtfully. ‘Well, when you’ve all finished what you are doing, make sure your work is covered. Supper is waiting for you in the kitchen.’

As Mrs Bodney disappeared, Christina stood up, turning to Lily in dismay.

‘Look, it’s hanging from me apron now. What shall I do?’

‘There’s only one thing for it. We’ll have to cut the sprig off. Stand still,’ she ordered, carefully cutting around the lace while leaving the apron intact. The sprig, however, was ruined.

‘Let’s cover up the work and go through to the kitchen,’ she said as the others hovered impatiently for their supper, despite the predicament.

‘Won’t we be one sprig short now?’ Caroline asked.

‘Oh, she’ll kill me when she finds out. All that work wasted,’ Christina wailed.

‘Look, it’s only the one sprig that’s actually ruined,’ said Lily, inspecting their work. ‘The rest of the flounce is fine.’

‘But she said she’d counted the sprigs and weighed the materials,’ Caroline said. ‘Oh, Christina, you are a clumsy oaf.’

‘Name calling’s not going to change anything. Let’s go and eat or Mrs Bodney will know something’s up,’ Lily said. But as she led the way through to the kitchen, she couldn’t help wondering what they were going to do.

Despite their predicament, the hot bacon and freshly baked bread laid out on the table proved too tempting to resist. Even Christina was tucking in as though she’d never seen such food before. Maybe she hadn’t, Lily thought. After all, she didn’t really know anything about these women she’d found herself amongst. Except now, it seemed, they were looking to her for direction.

As Lily ate she pondered their problem. They’d need to make another sprig, that much was evident. Typically, the designs on the flounce were larger than those on the veil. She had her pillow and bobbins upstairs, of course, for no self-respecting lace maker would ever travel without those. No, the problem was lack of thread. But Mrs Bodney had slipped back into the room and was addressing them.

‘Christina, please can you explain why you have threads hanging from your apron?’

‘I, erm, that is …’ she muttered, looking down at the table.

‘For heaven’s sake, answer me, girl. I am not an ogre. Has there been some mishap?’ Mrs Bodney demanded.

As one the sewers all turned to Lily.

‘There has been a slight one, Mrs Bodney. A sprig got joined to an extra piece of material by mistake.’

Mrs Bodney raised her eyebrows. ‘That much is evident. First I noticed the sprig missing from the flounce and then I saw the extra threads hanging from Christina’s apron. Well, it didn’t take a genius to work out what had happened, did it? What I want to know is, why wasn’t I told?’

The room fell silent as they stared down at their empty plates.

‘Well, I’ll tell you why,’ Mrs Bodney continued. ‘It was because you thought you wouldn’t get the special supper I’d laid on, and believe you me, when I came into the workroom and saw the state of the flounce, I was tempted to send you all to bed without any.’

They gasped in surprise.

‘Oh, yes, I could see what was wrong even then. However, I’m a fair woman and you’ve all put in a good day’s work so I desisted. Judging from the empty plates, I take it that, despite your predicament, you all enjoyed your meal?’

A murmur of appreciation ran round the kitchen.

‘Well, that’s something. Now the question is, what are we going to do about the flounce?’

The room fell silent and once again the ladies turned to look at Lily.

‘Surely it’s not too bad, Mrs Bodney?’ she ventured. ‘I’ve got my pillow and bobbins upstairs.’

‘But, no thread and, of course, the patterns for the sprigs have been destroyed,’ Mrs Bodney continued. ‘Now, that seems to me, to be about as bad as it can get.’

The room fell silent and once again, they turned to Lily. ‘I notice you all seem to be looking to my lace maker, Lily, for leadership,’ Mrs Bodney remarked. ‘And amazingly, despite the poor reception you sewers gave her this morning, she appears to have accepted the role.’

The sewers squirmed in their seats, looking uncomfortable.

‘Lily, from now on, you are in charge. The rest of you can retire to your beds and get a good night’s sleep. Lily, come with me,’ their employer ordered as, with a swish of skirts, she left the room.

‘You aren’t going to be in trouble, are you? Only I’ll come with you if you want,’ Caroline offered.

‘That’s kind of you but I’m sure it’ll be all right,’ Lily answered. Wishing she felt as confident as she sounded, she hurried after Mrs Bodney.