‘Happy anniversary, ma cherie. I cannot believe that we have been married for four years.’ As Andre took a small velvet box from his pocket and made to rise from his chair to give it to her, she pressed him back into the seat.
‘Oh, thank you, Andre. But don’t get up, please.’
She took the box from him and when she sprang the lid she found a glittering diamond brooch in the shape of a leaf twinkling up at her.
‘Oh, darling, it’s beautiful,’ she gasped. She had many such trinkets now, although she didn’t often wear them, for Andre spoiled her shamelessly. ‘So that’s where you got Charlie to take you in such secrecy the other day,’ she scolded but there was a twinkle in her eye.
He shrugged. ‘You deserve it. I only wish I could take you out somewhere nice. It is so boring having to sit here,’ he grumbled.
‘Well, boring or not, the doctor said you were to have complete rest and I shall see that you do,’ she told him firmly as she tucked the rug across his knees; since he’d become ill, Andre tended to feel the cold more keenly. As her hand brushed his leg she had to stifle a little cry of distress as she felt his bones. He had lost so much weight that his clothes hung from his frame no matter how many tasty tit-bits she tempted him with. But it was his face that had changed the most. It was gaunt and his lips always had a frightening blue tinge to them.
The doctor called in weekly, just as he once had for Joseph, but there was little he could do apart from advise Andre to rest. His heart condition had worsened dramatically over the last few months, to the point that he could no longer actively take a part in the business. Thankfully that wasn’t a problem as Charlie and Reuben had everything running like clockwork. To cope with their rising trade, they now also owned another parlour in the borough of Weddington which was run by Dick Villiers, a friend of Charlie’s from the courtyards who was very dependable and capable. And so now Nessie found herself frequently running between the two businesses and dealing with the financial side of things and with that and her charitable works, she barely had a minute to herself. Not that she ever complained. She liked to be busy.
The year before she had purchased a run-down house just outside of town from Seth Grimshaw of all people, and after having it renovated, she had employed a teacher and set up her own little free school. When it had first opened she had feared that no one would ever use it but as word had spread the children had begun to attend and now it was full to capacity. Andre was more than happy to fund it, with two businesses doing well he could afford to and he knew how much pleasure it gave his wife.
He watched her now as she flitted across to the highly polished mahogany sideboard that took up one wall of their drawing room to return with a parcel for him.
‘And this is my anniversary present to you,’ she told him, watching with pleasure as he carefully unwrapped it. It was a beautiful book of poems with a fine-tooled leather cover. He sighed with pleasure as he flipped through the pages.
‘It is beautiful,’ he breathed, then sighed regretfully. ‘Once I dreamed of travelling the world but that is not going to happen now, is it?’
She forced a smile. ‘How do you know that? I’m hoping your health will improve when the weather gets warmer. We could perhaps take a little holiday then? Somewhere in this country for now. Reuben and Dick can manage without us for a few days.’
‘We shall see,’ he replied but deep down he feared it would never happen. He was gasping for breath if he took more than a few steps now, although he always tried to put on a brave face for Nessie. He knew how much she worried about him.
‘Anyway, I must be off to the shop at Weddington,’ she told him as she patted her hair into place in the mirror above the fireplace. ‘I promised Dick I would prepare some bills for him today but if you need anything while I’m gone just shout. Molly will be about and I shouldn’t be too long. You sit and relax and have a read of your book while I’m gone.’
Long after she had left, he sat staring thoughtfully at the door. She had been a good wife to him and he had never regretted marrying her for a minute, although he still missed Jean-Paul, who had been the love of his life. His life might have been very different had Jean-Paul lived but it hadn’t been meant to be. Strangely, the thought of dying didn’t frighten him now, for he hoped that when his time came they would be reunited. With a sigh he turned his attention to the book to while away the hours.
‘This came for you along wi’ all the other letters,’ Molly informed Nessie later that morning when she arrived back from Weddington. ‘It’s got a London postmark. Who do yer reckon it could be from?’
Nessie took it from her, her heart pounding. Oliver and Marcie were both in London but Nessie was almost afraid to hope that it might be from either of them. She ripped open the envelope and her heart leapt.
‘It’s from Marcie,’ she cried. She had longed for her sister to write to her for such a long while that she couldn’t wait to read it.
She gave a cry of delight as soon as she saw the signature at the bottom. Although she noticed that there was no return address even so she was thrilled to hear from her and her eyes began to greedily scan the page as she read aloud:
Dear Nessie,
I hope this letter finds you well, as I am. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to write but I’ve been very busy. I’m writing now to tell you that I’m about to be married and also about what has happened to me since I came to London.
I’m sorry for the way I ran away leaving you to care for George and Joseph, I hope you’ll forgive me but I needed to get away from everything that had happened. I hope you’ll understand. It was very hard when I first arrived here, as within hours of arriving I was robbed – every single penny of the hundred pounds was stolen and I didn’t even have enough money to catch the train home. Luckily a woman who worked at a theatre took pity on me when she saw me crying and walking the streets and gave me a home. I then joined the dancers at the theatre where she worked and eventually I became a singer in the music halls.
Last year I met my future husband. I don’t know that you’d approve of him. He’s much older than me and a widower but he treats me like a queen and I know he’ll look after me. He’s very rich so I’ll never have to worry about earning a living again and once I move into his lovely town house I’ll have servants to wait on me. He paid for me to have elocution lessons and for a teacher to help me improve my reading and writing as I’m sure you will have noticed. It sounds selfish, I know, but you more than anyone know that I’ve always been that way inclined and I am fond of him in my own way. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I am all right. Perhaps one day we will meet again but until then know that I think of you all often. Give my love to Reuben and Maria,
Much love
Marcie xx
‘Well I never,’ Molly muttered, amazed. ‘Sounds like she’s dropped on her feet. What do you make of that?’
Nessie stared down at the letter in her hand. She had married Andre for security for herself and the children, so how could she condemn Marcie for doing the same thing now? She was clearly doing what she thought was in her best interests. And her handwriting had certainly improved while she had been away.
‘I’m just grateful to know that she’s safe,’ Nessie answered eventually, then she rushed off to show Andre the letter.
When she was visiting George the following week, Connie said casually, ‘Oliver’s coming home for a couple of days next week … and he’s bringing a young lady with him for us to meet.’ She watched closely for Nessie’s reaction.
Nessie felt the colour drain from her face but she managed to smile as she answered, ‘How lovely. He must be keen on her if he’s bringing her here to meet you all.’
‘Aye.’ Connie nodded. ‘I reckon they’ve been walking out together on and off for a while now. Sylvia her name is. Her father owns a tea import company an’ he’s quite rich, from what I can gather.’
‘Then I wish them both every happiness,’ Nessie forced herself to say, while inside she was crying. But then I’m just being selfish, she scolded herself. She had made her decision when she had agreed to marry Andre, so it was only right and proper that Oliver should find happiness elsewhere. The thought of him in another woman’s arms still hurt terribly though, and for the rest of the visit it was all she could do to concentrate on what Connie was saying.
‘I, er … I won’t come next week,’ she told Connie as she was leaving. ‘You’ll be busy entertaining Oliver and his young lady.’
‘All right, pet. If you think it’s for the best.’ Connie wasn’t fooled for a minute, but there was nothing to be done about it, so all she could do was hope that her son would find happiness elsewhere.
On the way home, Nessie called in to see Mrs Hewitt whose cheerful chatter could usually put her in a happy mood but today even that didn’t work. Mrs Hewitt happily bragged about her beloved Zillah, who had recently brought a bagful of clothes that the lady she worked for had given her. ‘I shall be able to cut ’em down an’ make some lovely skirts an’ blouses out of ’em,’ she chuckled gleefully, but half of what she said went in one ear and out of the other and Nessie was glad when she could leave.
As Nessie approached the funeral parlour a short while later she was surprised to see Dr Peek’s carriage outside and she hurried her steps.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked Molly as she burst through the door.
‘It’s Andre. He had a funny turn a while ago so I got Charlie to run fer the doctor. I hope I did right?’
‘Of course.’ Nessie hurried into their drawing room to find the doctor just closing his bag.
‘Is he all right?’ Nessie asked, trying hard to keep the panic from her voice. Andre was leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed. His face was ashen and his lips even bluer than usual and he looked absolutely dreadful.
‘Perhaps I could have a word outside?’
She nodded and hastily followed Dr Peek out into the parlour where he shook his head gravely. ‘I fear he has had a seizure of some sort and his heart rate is very erratic.’
‘B-but he will recover?’
The doctor shrugged. ‘It’s hard to tell. All you can do is keep him as quiet as possible and make sure he takes the pills I have left with him.’
Guilt washed through her like icy water. She had spent the afternoon thinking of Oliver when her husband needed her!
The second the doctor had left after promising to return the next day, she shot back to Andre’s side and took his hand.
‘I don’t know, I can’t leave you alone for a minute,’ she teased but when he opened his eyes to look at her he saw that she was fighting to hold back tears.
‘I think,’ he said quietly, ‘that it is almost my time.’
‘Don’t say that!’ The tears were flowing now as she kissed his hand. ‘You’ll get better. You have to.’
He smiled. Suddenly he was so tired that he just wanted to sleep. ‘You have been the best of wives,’ he told her softly as his eyes fluttered shut. Nessie quickly tucked a blanket around him and for the rest of the afternoon she stayed close to his side watching him rest.
Reuben was reluctant to leave her at the end of the working day but she waved his worries aside saying, ‘You get off home to Maria. If I need anyone Charlie and Molly are only next door and I’m quite capable of looking after my own husband.’
After he left Nessie settled down next to Andre. He’d been asleep for hours but she knew that sleep was a good cure for all ills so she was reluctant to wake him. Eventually she slept too, waking in the early hours with a crick in her neck and feeling cold.
Andre was still fast asleep so she tiptoed to the kitchen to make them both a cup of hot milk. She decided she would try to get him upstairs to bed where he would be more comfortable when he’d drunk it.
‘Come on, sleepy head,’ she said cheerfully some minutes later when she returned with their drinks. The light from the oil lamp was shining on his face and he looked so peaceful that it seemed a shame to wake him.
‘Andre.’ She shook his arm gently and as his head lolled to the side the terrible truth hit her like a blow. He had slipped away peacefully in his sleep.
‘Oh, Andre.’ Dropping to her knees she flung her arms about him and held him tight as she sobbed bitterly. She was still there an hour later when Molly appeared in her long nightgown with a shawl tight about her shoulders.
For some reason she had found it hard to sleep and she had felt the need to check on her friend. With a sinking heart, she realised why.
‘Come away, pet,’ she crooned, placing her arm about Nessie’s shaking shoulders. ‘There’s no more you can do for him now. He’s gone to a better place, God rest his soul.’
The church was packed to capacity for Andre’s funeral and Nessie was touched to see how many people had attended. Throughout the service she sat as if in a daze, twisting the ruby and diamond ring round and round her finger as she thought back to the day he had given it to her. She had written to his parents immediately following his death telling them the bad news, but she had no way of even knowing if they had received the letter as yet, so the funeral had had to go ahead without them there. She hoped that his mother would forgive her. She knew how much Jewel had loved him.
When the service was over they made their way to the churchyard and Nessie stood numbly as the coffin was lowered into the ground. The words the vicar was reciting went over her head. She felt as if she was locked away in a little world where nothing and no one could touch her. She hoped the feeling would last, for in this little world, the all-enveloping pain she had felt when she realised he had gone could not touch her. She was vaguely aware that Reuben had his arm tightly about her waist, almost as if he feared she might slip into the grave with her husband. And she was also dimly aware that Connie Dorsey was there … and Oliver. At any other time this would have given her pleasure but not today. Today her thoughts were centred solely on the kind man who had turned her life around and saved her and her family from the workhouse. At last it was over and the mourners began to move away, leaving the gravediggers, who were standing with their shovels ready in the shadow of the church.
She glanced up at the sky as Reuben led her towards the lychgate. It seemed wrong that anyone should be buried on such a beautiful day with the winter sun shining so brightly, she thought miserably. And then there was the wake to be got through. Molly had organised it at the same hotel where she and Andre had had their wedding breakfast. She sat there as people came to her in a constant stream to offer their condolences and at last, when Reuben could see that she’d had enough, he ordered the carriage to be brought to the door and took her home. Even then the dreadful day wasn’t over, for she had to sit and listen to Andre’s solicitor read the will.
There were only Reuben, Molly and Charlie present as he slowly began and Nessie was pleased to hear that Andre had remembered each of them with a goodly sum of money.
‘And finally, to my wife, Nessie Chevalier, who has been a loyal and loving companion, I leave both of my businesses, any monies in the bank and all my worldly possessions with all my love and thanks to her.’
Reuben beamed. ‘You’re rich, gel,’ he crowed and she could hardly take it in. Even in death, it seemed that Andre had wanted her to be secure. That realisation caused the dam to break and her tears finally came in great sobs that shook her body and Reuben placed his arms comfortingly about her.
‘Wh-what shall I do without him?’ she queried tremulously and Reuben lifted her chin and stared into her eyes.
‘You’ll do exactly what he would have wanted. You’ll grieve for him then you’ll make the best of your life, otherwise you’ll be letting him down.’
She nodded, knowing that he was right. But oh, it was going to be very hard.
Christmas came and went and despite many invitations Nessie chose to spend it alone as a mark of respect. It was a sad time for her as she grieved for her husband, but slowly she began to recover and two months after Andre’s death she handed the new business in Weddington over to Reuben, whose eyes almost popped out of his head when she gave him the deeds.
‘I want to,’ she insisted. ‘Both the businesses are thriving and I want you to have it.’
‘Are you quite sure?’ Reuben was shocked but she merely nodded. ‘Yes, I have far more than I need with just this business here,’ she assured him and he was humbly grateful.
Slowly, she was beginning to return to her old self although she still missed Andre every single day and the long, lonely nights seemed never-ending. She had resumed her visits to George and they went a long way to cheering her up too. He was such a lovely little boy, clearly adored by the whole household from his grandparents right down to the cook who was forever baking him little treats.
‘You’ll have him as fat as a little pig,’ Connie would scold but Nessie noticed with a smile that she never took the treats off him.
The following month she resumed working at the soup kitchen and she found that keeping busy helped enormously. While she was busy she didn’t have time to think of anything else and slowly the hurt lessened and she was able to smile when she thought of all the kind things that Andre had done.
Then one day in late October the shop door opened and Nessie turned expecting to find a customer standing there, only to find herself face to face with her sister.
‘Marcie!’ She covered the distance between them in seconds, laughing and crying all at once. Marcie looked absolutely beautiful, like she had just stepped from the pages of a fashion magazine. She was dressed in a scarlet velvet gown trimmed with black braid that nipped in at the waist with a tiny peplum and then flowed into a full skirt and she was carrying a matching fur muff. The most elaborate bonnet that Nessie had ever seen decorated with feathers and flowers was perched at a jaunty angle on her head and she looked so stunning that she almost took Nessie’s breath away.
‘I heard what happened … to Andre,’ Marcie told her. ‘Or rather, James, my husband, did. I didn’t even know that you’d married him until James told me. He knows one of the businessmen who owns a ribbon factory in town and he told James about Andre’s passing last week while he was visiting London. I have to admit that I was surprised to hear you’d married him. I always thought you and Oliver Dorsey were sweet on each other. Anyway, I came as quickly as I could. I’m so sorry … for everything.’
‘It’s all right. But how long are you here for?’
‘Just tonight, I’m afraid,’ Marcie apologised. ‘James and I are having a dinner party for some of his business colleagues and their wives tomorrow so I have to catch the first train back to London in the morning.’
‘Ah well, it’s better than nothing.’ Nessie smiled properly for the first time since Andre had passed away. She had wondered if she would ever see her sister again so now she was grateful for even one night together.
Nessie hastily sent a message to Reuben and Maria inviting them to dinner. Maria, though, decided to stay home with their little one, tactfully allowing the siblings to have some time alone together, and the three of them spent the evening telling each other of all that had happened to them during their time apart.
After Reuben had left, Nessie and Marcie curled up on the sofa together. ‘And what about that loathsome Seth Grimshaw?’ Marcie asked.
Nessie giggled. ‘You’ll never believe it but he’s married! A widow got her hooks into him and he thought he was on to a good thing because she had her own house. But it seems the second he put a ring on her finger she turned into a shrew. From what I’ve heard, Seth Grimshaw is well and truly under the thumb now and daren’t say boo to a goose.’
Marcie almost choked she laughed so long. ‘Good, it’s no more than he deserves.’ And then her face became suddenly serious as she asked, ‘But what about you? What are you planning on doing with the rest of your life?’
Nessie blinked. ‘Why, I’ll be running the business of course.’
Marcie frowned. ‘But, Nessie … you’re still a young woman. Far too young to just settle for running a business. Was I wrong about you having feelings for Dr Dorsey?’
‘Not exactly,’ Nessie admitted. ‘But we were too far apart in class. He came from a wealthy family and then there was what happened between you and George. They would never have accepted me.’
‘But you’re a wealthy young woman in your own right now,’ Marcie pointed out. ‘Is there no chance?’
Nessie shook her head. ‘No, he’s walking out with a young lady from London now. Sylvia Beckett-Brown I believe her name is.’
‘How sad,’ Marcie commented but then brightening, she added, ‘But you never know, things have a habit of coming right in the end. Look at me, for instance; I openly admit I married James for money but now …’ she blushed prettily. ‘Well, he’s so kind to me I’ve come to love him and I couldn’t be happier.’
‘I’m glad.’ Nessie squeezed her hand. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Marcie anymore. She was the picture of health and glowing with happiness. Reuben and Maria were happy together too and looking forward to the birth of their second baby, which was another blessing, so she supposed that she had a lot to be thankful for.
Their parting the next morning was tearful. Reuben drove them to the station in the carriage and once he had deposited her bags in the guard’s van, Marcie pressed a piece of paper into Nessie’s hand.
‘It’s my address and when you’re not too busy, I insist you come to see us,’ she told her sister. ‘And you and Maria too, Reuben.’ Marcie and Reuben had made their peace the evening before. ‘From now on I want us to be a family again.’ She gave each of them a last kiss and boarded the train. Brother and sister had waited until the train pulled out of the station before heading home in high spirits.