Twisting his cap in his hands, Ben stared at the gentle-faced, fair-haired woman in front of him before saying, ‘Excuse me for bothering you, ma’am, but I was hoping to see Miss Constance. My sister, Flora, was the maid that set out on the voyage on the Titanic with her and perished when it sank.’
‘I think you had better sit down,’ Alex told him with a calmness she was far from feeling. Then turning to Patsy, she asked, ‘Would you bring a tray of tea in please, dear?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Patsy bobbed her knee and with a last glance at the handsome young stranger she disappeared back through the door.
‘I’m afraid there has been a terrible misunderstanding,’ she told him gently. ‘You see, it transpires that your sister didn’t perish aboard the Titanic. It was my niece that died.’
‘What!’ Ben’s mouth gaped. ‘Y-you mean that Flora is alive?’
Alex nodded and gave him a small smile. ‘She certainly is and we asked Mr Wainthrop, Constance’s solicitor in England, to inform your family of the fact.’
‘Oh, I see. I’m a sailor and I’ve been at sea, so I didn’t know,’ Ben explained as he tried to take in the news. ‘So … may I see her then?’
‘I’m afraid not, you see …’ Alex then went on to explain what had happened and when she had finished Ben shook his head.
‘So, do you have no idea where she might have gone?’
‘I’m afraid not, although I assure you we have tried very hard to find her.’ Alex sighed. ‘I don’t really believe that your sister tried to deceive us. She was terribly ill and in shock when she came here and quite possibly very scared. Perhaps the mere thought of telling us that Constance did not survive was too much for her. Or maybe she was worried that we’d turn her away and she’d be alone in a strange place. Poor girl, I think her deception got the better of her. She must have thought that she would be in trouble but I assure you she wasn’t,’ she said kindly.
Margaret entered the room just then and looked at Ben curiously.
‘So, who’s this?’ she asked rudely, eyeing Ben’s clothes dubiously. He looked to be working class although he was rather handsome.
‘This is Ben, Flora’s brother. He didn’t even know that she was still alive,’ Alex explained.
‘Huh!’ Margaret sneered. ‘Well, she’s gone now and good riddance to bad rubbish that’s what I say. She was a good little liar, I’ll say that for her, but she couldn’t keep up the pretence forever.’
‘My sister is not a liar,’ Ben retaliated, angry colour burning his cheeks.
‘Now please, let’s not let things get unpleasant,’ Alex urged and with a sneer Margaret turned on her heel and left the room.
‘I apologise for my stepdaughter,’ Alex told him hastily. ‘I’m afraid that she and Flora didn’t get on all that well during the time that Flora was here.’ She could have added that Margaret didn’t get on very well with anyone and was thoroughly spoiled by her father but thought better of it.
Ben’s back was as straight as a broom handle as he nodded. ‘I apologise for taking up your time,’ he said stiffly, although his heart was racing. Flora was alive! It was wonderful … incredible! Now all he had to do was find her.
‘It was no trouble at all,’ Alex assured him as Patsy reappeared with a tea tray. ‘Won’t you please stay for a cup of tea?’
‘Thank you but no. Now that I know Flora is here somewhere I must find her.’
‘When and if you do, please ask her to come and see me and let her know that she isn’t in any sort of trouble at all,’ Alex urged. ‘In fact, it will be my pleasure to pay her passage back to London if that’s what she wants.’ Her eyes strayed to the window and she looked concerned. ‘I do so hope you find her. It isn’t safe for a young girl to be out on the streets all alone. Good luck, Ben.’
‘Thank you.’ As Ben shook the proffered hand warmly he thought what a lovely, gentle lady she was. This was a right turn-up for the books and he was thrilled to learn that his sister hadn’t perished after all. Now there was yet one more reason to stay in New York; he had to find her. Even so, his elation was slightly marred by the fact that he hadn’t got a clue where to start looking. New York was a big city and he feared it might be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
With his head in a whirl he made his way back to the little room he was renting in one of the backstreets that ran alongside the docks. At least work would be easy to come by here. There was always a need for men to load and unload the boats and when he wasn’t working he could search for Flora. Meanwhile he could only pray that she was safe.
The next morning Jia Li appeared in the kitchen with reddened eyes but she found no sympathy from Colleen. She had made them all a pot of tea to share as she did each morning before they opened the café and now she asked, ‘Why ever did you send the poor laddie away wit’out tellin’ him the truth, girl? Sure, he must have t’ought you’d had your head turned by some other chap, so he must!’
‘I’m spoiled for any man now,’ Jia Li answered in a wobbly voice.
‘Why, I never heard such a lot of codswallop! What happened was none of your fault and Bai would have understood that if you’d only told him so. Now the poor lad must t’ink you don’t love him at all, so he must!’ Colleen said angrily.
Seeing how upset Jai Li was becoming again, Flora glanced at Colleen imploringly. ‘Go gentle on her now. She only did what she thought was for the best.’
‘Gentle indeed! Why she needs her head examining to let a good man walk away from her like that!’ Colleen shook her head as she slammed three mugs onto the scrubbed table, but all the same she did shut up as they all took a seat, although the atmosphere was so thick, Flora was sure she could have cut it with a knife.
They drank their tea in silence and as Jia Li began to prepare the pans for frying bacon and sausages, Colleen and Flora went into the café to open up. Within minutes of turning the sign on the door they were too busy to think of anything but serving the customers that flooded in. It was mid-morning by the time they had a lull and the sink was piled high with dirty pots and pans.
‘I shall be able to buy this place in no time if trade continues as it is,’ Flora told them optimistically that evening as they sat together eating their supper. The till had been ringing all day and now at last she was making a very healthy sum. They were opening an hour later each night now to cope with the factory women who called in to have their dishes filled on their way home from work, and it was proving to be very profitable indeed. Such a workload didn’t give any of them much time for a social life, although that suited Flora, who preferred to keep her mind distracted. ‘I reckon I ought to be thinking of applying for some more workers to relieve the pair of you,’ she suggested.
‘And why would you be t’inking o’ doing that?’ Colleen raised her eyebrow.
‘So that you and Jia Li could have a little more time to yourselves, of course.’
‘Huh! I’m quite happy with t’ings as they are, thank you very much,’ Colleen told her abruptly. ‘Though as Jia Li gets a bit bigger she might need to cut her hours down a little. Till then let’s just leave t’ings as they are, shall we?’
When Jia Li nodded in agreement, Flora shrugged. If they were happy then so was she, or at least as happy as she could be. More and more, recently, her thoughts returned to home and her family, and Jamie, which was why she needed to be on the go all the time. While she was busy she didn’t have much time to think. It was only as she lay in bed each night before sleep claimed her that she cursed herself for a fool. When Constance had first suggested that she should go to New York with her, Flora had thought it was going to be some big, glamorous adventure but look how it had turned out. Still, she supposed she was lucky that she hadn’t perished with her young mistress and now she would just have to make the best of things, so whenever she got homesick or wondered what Jamie might be doing she found herself something to do.
By mid-August the heat was almost unbearable. Outside the tar on the roads began to melt and Flora had to leave the café door open otherwise the place was too hot to work in. Jia Li was finding it particularly uncomfortable as she was finding these early months of pregnancy exhausting and she was still being sick, but she battled on bravely despite the fact that Flora and Colleen repeatedly asked her to take a rest. Most days, by the time they turned the sign on the door to ‘Closed’, she was dead on her feet, but she never complained. However, the girls did insist that she keep her doctor’s appointments to ensure that all was well, although as yet she hadn’t bought a single thing in readiness for when the baby came. She just wanted to get the birth over with and she hadn’t allowed herself to think beyond that.
Dora Casey still called in to see them when she collected the rent and was shocked at how well the place was doing, and it was during one of these visits that she informed Flora, ‘The place next door is up for rent. Did you know? It’d make a fine extension to this place if you could afford to take it on.’
Flora’s ears pricked up. She was still saving every penny she could but perhaps it would be worth investing in the property next door if she could afford the rent on it. For a start, it would give them all more living space, which would be very welcome, especially after the baby had been born.
‘Do you know who owns it?’ she asked.
Dora nodded as she lifted the glass of home-made lemonade and took a sip. ‘It’s Barker and Dodds Lettin’ Agency in Manhattan.’ She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and adjusted the little hat that sat at a coquettish angle on her hair. ‘I ain’t got a clue what rent they’ll be askin’ but don’t let ’em take advantage of you if you decide to go ahead. The place is even worse than this one was when you took it on so theys should just be grateful to get anything for it.’
Flora nodded thoughtfully as she glanced around the crowded little café. ‘I might just pay them a visit and make a few enquiries,’ she said musingly but then another customer approached the counter and she was busy serving again.
‘So, what do you think of the idea?’ she asked Colleen and Jia Li that evening as they sat out in the back yard. They’d taken to eating their supper out there as it was far too clammy to sit in the kitchen.
‘Hmm.’ Colleen pursed her lips. ‘I dare say it’s worth a visit to the agents but goodness knows what state it’ll be in if the outside is anything to go by. All the windows are boarded up so you can’t even glimpse inside it an’ the paint’s all but peeled away from the door.’
Even so they all agreed it might be worth looking into so for the first time in months, the following day during a lull in customers, Flora set off for Manhattan. It felt strange to be out in the busy streets again and she kept glancing nervously about. The last thing she needed was to bump into Alex or Margaret, or worse still, Toby. She often wondered how he had reacted when she ran away without paying him the money he had demanded and dreaded ever having to see him again.
At last she found the building she was looking for and stood for a moment studying the properties they had for rent in their window. This street was a far cry from the one they lived in with smart shops and well-dressed women bustling up and down the busy pavements and Flora suddenly felt very dowdy. The properties in the window were all far beyond what she could afford and there was no sign of the one she had come to enquire about. But then she supposed that now she was here she had nothing to lose, so after taking a deep breath and smoothing down the smart skirt she had borrowed from Colleen she entered the shop, setting the little bell above the door tinkling merrily.