Pru stood in the dock the next day. She looked over to the public gallery and saw Flora and Freddy. Freddy waved. He had a look of hope on his face. Eeh, lad, what have I brought you to?
But she wasn’t without hope herself. The lawyer who’d been to see her that morning had brought her a change of clothes, and had insisted that she be allowed to wash. When she was ready, he’d talked her through what was happening today. He’d managed to pull in some favours and had got a quick bail hearing for her.
She’d told him all that had happened and how she came to be in Abe’s clutches, and even who Freddy’s father was. He’d listened without comment, scribbling notes on a pad. Then he’d said that she was not to worry, he would sort everything for her. That is sommat to hope on, ain’t it?
‘All stand.’
Pru found herself compelled to look towards the bench. An old man walked in, bedecked in robes and a raggedy-looking wig.
What followed was a lot of talking, some whispering and what seemed like an argument between her lawyer and the judge, but most of it went over Pru’s head, as she found herself cocooned in another world from the proceedings. In this world she was enslaved to Abe. And she had flashes of Flora’s and Freddy’s father jumping in and out of her head, his mouth open in a laugh, his eyes like a mad man’s. Abe appeared as if he was the Devil, taunting Pru and telling her that she would hang for doing him in. Her body shuddered and she opened her mouth to scream, but a muffled sound came out, which was lost to her as she fell into a blackness that held no fear for her.
‘Pru . . . Aunt Pru.’
‘Ma, Ma, you’re free!’
The words came to her as if from a long distance away and spoken through a tunnel. Echoing. Bouncing off the pain in her head.
‘Aunt Pru, wake up. We love you. Aunt Pru!’
Opening her eyes, it seemed that she was in a world of white. ‘You’re in hospital, Aunt Pru. Don’t be afraid. We’re here. Me and Freddy. You’re all right. You have a fever. But it’s good news. You don’t have to go back to the cells. You can come back to Rowena’s with us, once you’re well, and until I can find us a new home. Oh, I’ve so much to tell you, Aunt Pru.’
‘A new home, lass?’
‘Yes. Just for now. You don’t want to go back to your house – not yet.’
No, she didn’t; not yet, not ever. But what would become of her school and the kids? She was so close to it becoming a recognized school. Pru’s head hurt again. ‘Eeh, me lad, and me Flora, I have to sleep.’
‘I’ll stay with you, Ma, you rest. I’ll be here when you wake. Only Flora has to go. She’s meeting her young man.’
‘Freddy! I told you, I barely know him. He – he’s just a friend.’
Pru couldn’t understand any of this, nor why they both seemed so unconcerned and cheerful. But something of what they’d said swam around in her tired brain. I’m free. Eeh, thank God. But for how long? Dear God, for how long?
As Flora walked towards Aunt Pru’s home, the nerves that she hadn’t had time to feel clenched at her insides now. She wished she could have contacted Cyrus and asked him to meet her elsewhere, but there hadn’t been time. He’d said he would be at the address she had given him between four and five o’clock.
As she approached the house, a figure moved out of the shadows. ‘Flora?’
For a moment she couldn’t answer. Then her voice came out, all squeaky, making her feel silly. ‘Yes, it’s me.’
‘Thank God. I thought you’d had me on a wild goose chase. I didn’t expect you to live in a house like this, and when I found it all closed up, I – I, well, I . . .’
She was close to Cyrus now, swimming once more in his deep, dark eyes. The reflection of the lamplight made them even more beautiful than she had remembered. She swallowed hard. ‘Well, I do live here. Did. Look, I can’t ask you in. I . . . There is such a lot to tell you. So much has happened. I don’t think you will want to know me, once you hear it all.’
‘That won’t happen.’ His low voice caused a reaction in her as if he’d taken a feather and run it along her spine.
‘Cyrus, can we go somewhere we can talk? I don’t know anywhere. I’ve been away from here for most of my life, and only stopped here with my Aunt Pru on odd weeks.’
‘Flora, you look troubled. When you say that a lot has happened, you don’t mean good things, I take it. Are you grieving? Have you lost loved ones? I – I don’t want to intrude. I . . . well, I just knew I had to see you again. Does that sound cheeky?’
‘No, it doesn’t. And no, I’m not grieving the death of a loved one through the war or anything, but I am sad and worried, and my life has taken a turn I never expected it to. It is a lot to unburden onto you, but I – I feel . . . I feel you are a friend, even though we only met the once.’ To her horror, the last word came out on a sob, and tears stung her eyes.
‘Flora, what is it? Look, come on. I have a cab waiting. I hoped you would let me take you to dinner.’
‘I’d love that.’ Secretly she felt glad that she had dressed for such an event. Rowena had been allowed into Aunt Pru’s house to fetch clothes for them all. And Flora had been able to plan her outfit with care. She’d chosen her dark-blue coat, for warmth, and because it covered the outfit that wouldn’t have been appropriate for where she’d been today. But once it was discarded, she hoped Cyrus liked the ankle-length slim-fitting skirt with a matching jacket, which buttoned up to a pretty neckline and was in two layers: one that came to her hip with a slight flare, and a short, bolero-type top layer. The fabric was wool, but very finely woven, in a thin blue-and-white stripe.
His eyes told her he approved, once they reached the hotel where Cyrus was staying for his two-week leave and he removed her coat.
As they entered the dining room she felt warmth seep into her for the first time today. It had taken a while to get to the City of Westminster. The streets were crowded with carriages and buses, filling the air with dust. The smell of horse dung had been overpowering. And she’d felt sorry for the poor animals pulling all the vehicles, as they were steered this way and that way by angry, shouting coachmen, trying to avoid collisions.
The shops were a distraction, especially Harrods. It was lit up and glowed like gold in the dark. Flora had never shopped there, but she loved to see the hustle and bustle of those who did as they thronged its doors.
The Brompton Coach House and Inn offered a welcome respite from the busy London streets. ‘I stay here if my mother is away,’ Cyrus told Flora. ‘She often visits her sister in Switzerland. My aunt has a lung condition, so she lives there for the quality of the thin air.’ He pulled out a chair for her at an elegantly laid table in the corner of the room. ‘Elegant’ was a word she’d also use to describe the hotel.
‘What a nice place – I like it.’
‘That’s a good start then. Have you looked up at the ceilings? I find them fascinating and see something different in them every time.’
Flora looked upwards. Her eyes feasted on a collage of scenes from Roman times, depicted in the busy wallpaper that covered the ceiling. Carved cornices formed a border, making it appear as if a large framed picture hung above them. ‘Very interesting, and not what I expected, given the rest of the room. Though the columns in each corner really set it off.’
A waiter hovered around them. ‘Shall I order for you? I know what’s really good.’
Flora nodded her assent. She didn’t feel that she could have done so herself, judging by the huge menu cards and how she was feeling.
A confusion of emotions was attacking her. Was it just yesterday that her family finally got rid of her? And just hours since her darling Aunt Pru had collapsed under the strain of what was happening to her? And yet I feel the warmth of deep happiness drifting me along, as if I was made to be by Cyrus’s side. Had she only known him for an hour? It couldn’t be possible; she knew nothing about him, and yet she knew everything . . .
‘We’re having lamb chops. Ha, I know – such a huge menu, and I choose something we could have every day, but these chops are different. They trim them from the bone and they are cooked in the most delicious sauce. The meat melts in your mouth.’
‘Mmm, I’m convinced. Thank you.’
Cyrus laughed. His face lit up. Picking up the glass that the waiter had filled with a crisp white wine, he raised it to her. ‘Here’s to us.’
It seemed such a natural thing to reciprocate with ‘Us’.
His eyes held hers as they sipped. The churned emotions inside her settled into one – one that gave her a deep love for this man. After a moment she broke the spell. ‘I think getting to know one another might be a good idea.’
‘Me, too. I want to know everything about you. Especially as I’m going to make you my wife.’
Flora’s heart pounded happiness through her body as she asked, ‘Can it really happen like this? Is it possible that one look can seal a lifetime?’
‘I think so. No, I know so, as the moment I looked into your eyes, Flora, I knew.’
‘So did I.’
Cyrus’s hand reached out to her and took hers. The touch tingled through Flora. Nothing in her objected to, or questioned, the way she felt. And that feeling seized her whole being as he lifted her hand to his lips. His eyes were telling her of his love for her.
Smiling, she gently took her hand away. And, trying to lighten the moment, she said, ‘I’ll start by interrogating you.’ His laughter shivered through her as, taking a deep breath, she asked, ‘So, you stay here when your mother isn’t at home, but where is home?’
‘In Bexleyheath.’
From that beginning, Flora was astounded by the coincidences to her life that followed, as she discovered that Cyrus had been to the same school as her brothers and – this almost seemed a coincidence too far – had studied and loved music, only he played the violin, not the piano. ‘My mother couldn’t afford to send me to the school, or for extra music tuition, but my grandfather – my father’s father – left a sum for my schooling and a monthly allowance for me. She told me that his one stipulation was that I was encouraged to learn and to love music. You see, my father was killed in the Boer War when I was five, and his father died within a year. I have a picture of them together with my gran, who died before both of them. I’ll show it to you one day. I would have loved to have known both of them, but will forever be grateful to my grandfather for taking care of me. My mother, though a handsome woman, never married again, but she manages well. She was left a legacy from her own parents. So, you see, I am not much of a catch financially. Though I do hope to take up a career in banking once the war is over – if I don’t get taken on by a well-paying orchestra.’
‘Is someone trying to catch you, then?’
They giggled. ‘Just letting my future wife know where she will stand. Unless, of course, she brings riches with her.’
It was as if the proposal was accepted and acceptable; she hadn’t questioned it, and didn’t want to – her only need was to confirm it. ‘I’m afraid I don’t, so we will just have to manage as best we can.’
Cyrus reached for her hand again, and for the first time showed his own surprise at how quickly everything was happening to them. ‘So you feel the same way? Really? Truly? You would marry me, after not knowing me for a day yet?’
‘I would. I know you are the one for me, Cyrus. I know very little about you, and yet I feel I have known you forever. It is as if you are the other half of me.’
His smile melted her. She wished so much they weren’t in a public place and that she could go into his arms and have him kiss her lips.
The waiter brought them back to reality, as he began to prepare the table.
‘Oh, I forgot to say. Besides the lamb, we are having a warming broth to start with. It’s made with beetroot and beef; it is delicious, but not filling.’
‘Thank you. It sounds lovely.’
‘So, Flora. What about you? I know something troubles you. Time to unburden yourself, if you think you know me well enough now.’
‘My story is difficult to understand. I can only tell you it exactly as it is. I hope it doesn’t put you off. I’m the daughter of a very wealthy man and a well-bred mother, and have two brothers who went to the same school as you. But I am an outcast, and I live with my half-brother and his mother, who is the most wonderful woman in the world, but at this moment stands accused of murder.’
Cyrus’s expression went from astonishment to bewilderment. She knew what she’d said was an extreme test for him, as it probably shattered the illusion he had of her being a girl of gentle birth, loved and cosseted, who had enough guts to go to war, but remained feminine and protected from the real world.
She waited for him to say something. Her heart clenched in a vice of uncertainty as to whether the happiness that had flooded it would seep away into a swamp of dissolution.
‘My God! Poor darling, that sounds horrific.’
The endearment helped. As did his tone of deep concern. ‘It is. But my aunt’s plight is the worst part of it all. Aunt Pru isn’t my real aunt.’ She explained their relationship. ‘It is a long story, but best told from the beginning. Are you ready to hear it? It isn’t easy telling, and it won’t be easy for you to feel the same about me, once you have heard it all.’
‘Nothing could make me feel differently about you, Flora. You have hit me like a bolt of lightning. You are me, and whatever you come wrapped up in, I will accept.’
They were eating their third course, of ‘berried pears’ – a lovely dish of poached pears topped with fresh berry compote – by the time Flora had finished telling her story and answering his questions. Throughout, Cyrus had shown his hurt at what she had been through, and now he reached for her hand. With the comfort it gave, she opened her heart to him. ‘I once visited the Trevi Fountain, Cyrus. It was at the end of my time studying music in Italy, and I wished to be loved and said that I was only seeking happiness. In you, I think I have found both. I know I still have to deal with Aunt Pru’s and my half-brother’s situation, but I feel strong enough now to do that. And as far as my family is concerned, I have given up seeking their love. And you have filled any remaining void inside me.’
‘My darling.’
The words sealed his loyalty to her and made them as one, as once more Cyrus kissed her hand. ‘So that is us, knowing the ins and outs of each other’s life, and now there is “us”, going forward from here. And we will make that future around music and the theatre. Do you like the theatre?’
‘Oh, I do. I love it. And Freddy, the half-brother I mentioned, does too. He plays the violin, like you, and we both love to compose music. I write pieces for the stage, too – musicals. No one has ever seen them, but when I can, I play the music from them and dream of the production.’
‘I do that, too! Darling, we were meant for each other, and I can’t wait to meet Freddy. We will keep our shared dream alive, and one day we will work towards it happening. But in the meantime, I have my posting orders. I’m to be second-in-command of our army in Artois, northern France. We are pushing the Germans back, but have suffered heavy losses.’
‘Oh no, I can’t bear it. I’ve only just found you.’ Neither of them had said the words, but they came to her now. ‘I love you, Cyrus. I can’t be without you.’
‘I feel the same, darling. I love you. I can’t understand it, or put any sense to it at all, but I love you so deeply it hurts. Will you marry me before I go? I only have ten days left of my leave. Please say you will marry me, Flora, my love.’
‘I will. I will, Cyrus. But when . . . where, and how?’
‘A lot of my fellow men have obtained special licences to marry. They only take forty-eight hours to arrange. We can do it on our own, or ask your aunt and half-brother. Do you know, I feel as though I know Freddy. I think I’ll ask him to be my best man, as all my friends are serving abroad.’
‘Oh, he’d love that. And Aunt Pru can be my maid-of-honour. It will give her something to look forward to. And they can both be our witnesses.’
‘From what I’ve heard, your Aunt Pru needs some good news, but will she be well enough, as I’m planning on applying first thing in the morning for the licence? If all goes well, we can be married in two days’ time! Ha. I can’t believe it, and yet I can believe it, as it is so right that we seal our love in this way, as quickly as it came to us.’
Happiness flooded not just Flora’s heart, but her whole body, and with it came a trickle of excited anticipation. What would it be like to lie with Cyrus, to feel his arms around her, his hands touching her body, and to have him make her completely his? As if guessing her thoughts, his hand tightened on hers. ‘I think I will ask for the bill. I need to hold you, and I can’t do that here.’
Outside the cold air bit Flora’s cheeks, but couldn’t make a mark on her warm, glowing body. Gently pulling her into the shadows of the building, Cyrus took her in his arms. Had she ever thought herself at home anywhere in this world? Well, she knew now that she was mistaken, because here, close to Cyrus’s body, was her true home. She clung to him, and thrilled when his hand lifted her head and his breath touched her cheeks, like a light, warm breeze. As his lips touched hers, it was as if she was given life for the first time ever. And yet she couldn’t say that she was complete, as there was more that she needed from him. Her body cried out for him.
His whisper told her he felt the same. ‘Only two nights to wait, my darling.’
It seemed like a lifetime. ‘I wish it was now.’
He held her tightly, his groan telling her that he was fighting against making it so. But she didn’t want him to fight it. She wanted him to go against what she knew was his honourable nature, and take her to his room and make love to her.
Cyrus resisted. Taking control, he stepped back from her. ‘I’ll call a cab to take you home, darling. We must wait. We would regret it forever if we didn’t. Can I call for you tomorrow?’
‘We’ll meet somewhere – it will be easier. In the afternoon, as I have to look for a place to rent tomorrow. I have to get Freddy settled somewhere, and bring Aunt Pru back to it.’
‘Oh, yes, I forgot. You never said that Aunt Pru was in agreement with that – are you sure she wants to move?’
‘Yes, I’m sure. Initially we may have to go to a hotel. Rowena, who I told you about, is going to Pru’s house again, to pack up all our personal things. And then I’ll engage a removal firm to do the rest.’
‘Why not this hotel? That would be so convenient for our plans, too. We could arrange our wedding breakfast here. Then, my darling, you can move into my room on our wedding night.’ His arms enclosed her once more, and the flame that had become a burning ember relit inside her.
‘Yes.’ The word came out as a hoarse whisper, and could have meant so many things. She wanted to say yes to all that his body demanded of her.
‘Oh, Flora, you must go. You must. I’ll book you all in here from tomorrow.’
‘Thank you, darling. I’ll bring them along tomorrow afternoon. By then you should have our licence. Oh, Cyrus, I can’t believe all this is happening, but I know it is right that it should.’
He pecked her on the nose. ‘That’s my goodnight kiss. I dare not give you another proper one.’ He laughed as he pulled her out of the shadows and hailed a cab. ‘See you tomorrow, darling.’
What had been difficult to believe while she had been with Cyrus now became impossible, as the horse gave a snort and the cab moved away. The rush of traffic had slowed, and the streets had quietened of people, giving Flora a more relaxing ride home. During it she said over and over to herself: How can this be? What! No. Me – a married woman in two days . . . A giggle escaped her and she pulled her coat around her, as if to hug herself, as excitement zinged through her. Not one jot of doubt entered her, only the realization that the happiness she’d sought was about to be hers.
But then a group of soldiers came into view, heading for the station, and the thought of Cyrus going off to war hit Flora, and her heart seemed to deflate. How was she to bear it? Only one idea occurred, and that was to return to nursing. Only it must be here in London, as she needed to be able to care for Freddy and Pru. Dear Aunt Pru, what will the outcome be for you?
As her mind turned to the awful recent happenings, she wasn’t without hope. Henry Chamberlain had told them that he was going to work on bringing the charge down from murder to one of manslaughter, but then he hoped to go further and plead self-defence. ‘But,’ he’d warned, ‘the circumstances of the relationship between Abe Manning and your aunt will be a hindrance to whatever case I bring, as she will already be perceived as a sinner by the righteous lot that sit in judgement and usually make up a jury.’ He’d shaken his head and said that although he would do his best, Pru was to prepare herself for a prison term.
The thought of that marred Flora’s happiness, as it was a bitter pill, and one that was so undeserved.