A Loving Family (17 page)

‘Allow me to treat you, young lady.' A burly man wearing a tweed suit and a mustard yellow waistcoat placed his arm around her waist. ‘Have something a little stronger than lemonade, my dear.'

She wriggled free. ‘No thank you, sir.'

He moved closer. ‘Come now. Don't play the innocent. Nice young women don't walk into public bars. You've come to earn a few pennies for your favours, no doubt.'

‘No such thing. I'm looking for my sister.' Stella realised that she had an audience and she turned to them. ‘She's called Belinda and she probably looks a bit like me, but she has fair hair and blue eyes. Has anyone seen a young girl of that description in the last week or two?'

‘No, but she can call on me any time.' A man at the back of the room tossed his cap up in the air in response to a ripple of laughter. ‘But you'll do, girl. I ain't fussy. Come here and I'll show you how friendly I can be.'

The men crowded in on her and she was caught in a press of warm bodies. She tried to back away but found her escape barred by grinning yokels. ‘Let's see some sport,' one of them said, licking his lips. ‘Who's going to have her first?'

‘Get away from her, you gibbering idiot. I saw her first.' The burly man made a grab for Stella but she kicked him on the shin and he released her with a yelp of pain.

‘You're all idiots,' she cried angrily. ‘I'm a respectable woman and I wouldn't touch any of you with the proverbial bargepole.'

‘Stella?' A familiar voice from the doorway silenced the crowd and everyone turned to stare at the newcomer. They parted to let him pass.

‘Bertie.' She uttered his name on a sob. ‘Take me out of here, please.'

He caught her by the hand. ‘If anyone lays a finger on this lady they'll have me to answer to.'

‘She should have said she was your bit of fluff, Hendy.' The burly man stepped aside. ‘A drink for my good friend, landlord.'

‘Not today, Harmer.' Bertie slapped him on the shoulder. ‘This lady is my friend and you'll apologise for your behaviour.'

Harmer's ruddy face deepened to a shade of puce. ‘Sorry, miss. You should have said you was here to meet my friend.'

Bertie tossed a coin on the counter. ‘Have a drink on me, Harmer, and be more respectful in future.' He dragged an unprotesting Stella outside into the street. ‘It seems I turned up at exactly the right moment. What the hell were you thinking of, Stella? And why are you here in Brentwood? I thought you'd gone to London to look for your ma.'

‘All I wanted was a glass of lemonade and something to eat.'

He hooked his arm around her shoulders. ‘We'll find a better class of hostelry and I'll see that you're fed and watered, my girl. Then you can tell me what's going on.'

She took deep breaths of the fresh country air. ‘I never had you down for a knight in shining armour, Bertie. But I'm very glad you turned up when you did.'

‘Come along, girl. Eat first, talk later. I could do with a drink after that. Harmer is a brute with his fists. I was lucky to get away without a broken nose.'

Fortified by a plate of mutton chops washed down with a glass of cider, Stella told Bertie everything. He waited until she stopped for breath. ‘If that isn't the damnedest thing I ever heard,' he said, chuckling. ‘You're searching for your little sister, and as luck would have it I think I know where she might be.'

She stared at him in disbelief. ‘You know where Belinda is?'

‘Bob spotted a girl in the marketplace last week who was so like you that he had the shock of his life. Anyway, he approached her and she told him her name was Belinda Barry.'

‘He found my sister!' Stella grabbed his arm. ‘Where is she now? Will you take me to her?'

‘By golly, you've got a good grip for a girl.' Bertie prised her fingers off his sleeve. ‘It's not as easy as that.'

‘Why not? What aren't you telling me, Bertie?'

‘She was with a group of nuns. Apparently they had found her wandering and had taken her to St Cecilia's.'

‘Thank God she's safe.' Stella breathed a sigh of relief. ‘I was imagining all sorts of terrible things that might have happened to her. Where is this convent? I'll go there and bring her home.'

Bertie shook his head. ‘She might not want to leave, Stella. She told Bob that she was a postulant. She had found peace and happiness in the convent and she wants to be a nun.'

‘But that's ridiculous. Belinda is only just sixteen, she's still a child. I must go to her and make her see sense.'

‘It's not the sort of life that would suit me,' Bertie said, grinning. ‘I'd make a rotten monk and they'd soon kick me out of the monastery, but maybe it's right for your sister.'

‘No, I can't believe that. I think Ma was raised as a Catholic but we were never a religious family. Belinda must have been desperate.'

‘Maybe,' he said doubtfully. ‘But we're all different. Just look at me and my brother: he's a good solid dependable sort of chap and I'm – well, I'm just me. Not much of a fellow compared to Pa and Bob.'

She laid her hand over his as it rested on the tabletop. ‘You're a good chap at heart, Bertie. But I must see Belinda and tell her that she has me to look after her now. Where is this convent?'

‘I'm the last one to know where to find a place like that. Ask me the names of the hostelries in the area and I'll be able to oblige, but when it comes to religion I'm at a loss.'

‘What am I to do? I must see her, but I have to return to London tonight.'

‘I'll take you home and you can have a word with Bob. He can tell you more about his conversation with Belinda.' He rose to his feet, holding out his hand. ‘Come on, Stella. I left the pony and trap in the marketplace.'

The farmhouse kitchen was warm and welcoming. Mr Hendy's face was a picture of surprise and delight as he leapt up from his chair by the fire. ‘Stella, my dear. What a wonderful surprise. Have you come home to stay?' He gave her a brief hug and then released her, clearing his throat in embarrassment. ‘I'm sorry to be so forward, but it's good to see you again.'

‘Bertie saved me from a nasty situation, Mr Hendy.'

‘You usually bring me bad tidings, son,' Hendy said, chuckling. ‘But this time you've done yourself proud.'

‘You never saw me as a hero, did you, Pa?'

‘That's not what springs to mind.' Hendy turned to Stella with an anxious smile. ‘Are you in some kind of trouble, Stella?'

She shook her head. ‘I thought I'd traced my sister to a farm in Mountnessing, only to be told that she'd been sent packing quite recently. I thought she might have headed for the nearest big town, and so I walked to Brentwood. That's where Bertie found me.'

Hendy nodded to his son. ‘You'd best fetch your brother. He's around somewhere.'

‘I'm here, Pa.' Bob strode into the kitchen. ‘I saw Bertie driving up the lane with Stella at his side and I came as quickly as I could.'

‘I told her your news,' Bertie said gloomily. ‘I suppose my part in this is done. As always my elder brother takes centre stage.'

‘That's not so. If you hadn't turned up when you did I can't bear to think what might have happened,' Stella said hastily. ‘You were wonderful, Bertie, and I won't forget what you did for me.'

‘What's all this?' Bob looked from one to the other.

‘Bertie saved me from an awkward situation, but that's not important now. He tells me that you've found my sister.' Stella grasped both his hands in hers. ‘Tell me about her, Bob. Did she look well?'

‘She looked so like you that I thought you'd come back to us. It was only when I got closer that I realised my mistake.' Bob grasped her hand. ‘You're not going to leave us again, are you?'

She stared down at their interlocked fingers, and for a moment she could not tell which was which. She looked up and the expression in his eyes warmed her heart, but she was alarmed by its intensity. She realised with a sense of shock that this was a man who truly loved her. His emotions were laid bare for all to see, but the moment of pleasure was mixed with guilt and dimmed by the knowledge that for her it was not the same. ‘Will you tell me about Belinda?' she said, withdrawing her hand gently. ‘What did she say exactly? How did she seem?'

‘Sit down, son,' Mr Hendy said, rising to his feet. ‘I'll finish up outside and your idle good-for-nothing brother can help me.' He took the sting out of his words with a smile.

‘This is the day he likes me,' Bertie said, pulling a face. ‘All right, Pa. I'll help you as soon as I've stabled the horse.'

‘I can't believe I'm here,' Stella said as the door closed on them. She pulled up a chair and sat down. ‘It feels like coming home, but I'm afraid I can't stay long.'

‘Why not? What have you found in London to keep you from those who love you? And we all do, Stella,' he added hastily. ‘You became part of the family from the first day you walked into our lives.'

‘You were all so kind to me, but I told you from the start how it was. All I've thought about is finding my own family. I only discovered yesterday that Ma had left Freddie and Belinda in the workhouse with a promise to return, but she never did. My brother joined the Navy and my little sister was sent into service.' She took a deep breath. ‘You know where she is, Bertie told me so.'

‘She's just like you.' Bob took a seat beside her. ‘I saw this group of nuns in the market and paid no attention to them, until one of them turned round and my heart nearly stopped. I had to go over and speak to her, even though the nuns tried to turn me away.'

‘What did she say?'

‘She told me her name and she seemed astonished to think that I knew you.'

‘Was she pleased?' Stella's pulses were racing as she waited for his response.

‘I'd say surprised more than pleased.'

‘She didn't think I'd deserted her, did she?'

‘I had hardly any time to talk to her, Stella. The nuns were hovering around us and trying to distract her. I don't think they wanted her to speak to someone like me.'

‘Did she tell you anything about herself?'

‘She said that she'd been falsely accused of stealing from her employers and had been turned out without a character. She'd been wandering the streets for two days before one of the sisters found her and took her back to the convent. She said she was happy and had discovered her true calling.'

‘I can't believe that. She couldn't have been with the nuns for long enough to make such a decision.'

‘She seemed to know her own mind.'

‘I can't accept that. Not without speaking to her first.' Stella's voice broke on a sob. ‘Why didn't you let me know you'd found her, Bob?'

‘You promised to let me know your address in London but I'd not had a word, so how could I tell you?'

‘I'm sorry. It's true I didn't give you a thought, and that was very wrong of me. It's just that everything has been so complicated and I've barely had time to think of anything other than looking for my family.'

‘You've made new friends and found a different way of life.'

It was a statement rather than a question. ‘It's not like that, Bob.'

‘You're back in London where you belong. There's no place for a countryman like me in your life. I suppose it was bound to happen.'

‘That's not true, Bob. I need your friendship more than ever.'

‘You say that, but you only came here because you happened to meet Bertie.'

‘Everything is topsy-turvy. I can't think about anything other than finding my sister, but I'm very glad to be here amongst true friends. You must believe that.' She glanced at the range where a pan was bubbling, but the smell was hardly appetising. ‘Is that one of your new housekeeper's concoctions?'

‘No, she didn't suit after all. We found her dead drunk in the dairy with an empty flagon of cider in her hand. Pa sacked her on the spot and we had to call on Mrs Spriggs as the last resort, but at least she's reliable.'

‘Let me see if I can rescue it. Perhaps a few herbs will make it more palatable.'

‘I'm not sure that even you can rescue one of Ma Spriggs' disasters.' Bob leaned back in his chair. ‘I could take you to the convent tomorrow if you'll stay here tonight. It's too late to go there now.'

She stood up and unhooked a bunch of dried sage and another of parsley from one of the oak beams. ‘Would you really? Is it far from here?'

‘Not too far, and yes, of course I will.'

The convent was situated on the outskirts of the town, surrounded by a high brick wall and safeguarded from the outside world by tall iron gates. The original house had been built by a rich wool merchant at the end of the seventeenth century but had, so Bob said as they drove up to it, been almost derelict when the nuns had taken it over thirty years previously. He reined in the pony and leapt from his seat to ring the bell. Its loud peals caused a chatter of starlings to rise up in a cloud from the surrounding beech trees, and somewhere in the distance a dog barked.

After what seemed like an interminable wait a grey-clad figure emerged from the house and glided across the gravel drive to stand by the gates. Stella could not hear what she said to Bob but he replied in a low voice, turned his head in her direction and pointed. She smiled hopefully, and was rewarded by the click of a key in the padlock and the grate of rusty hinges as the gates swung open.

Bob climbed back onto the driver's seat and encouraged the pony to walk on. ‘We're in,' he said as the animal ambled towards the main entrance. ‘I thought at first she was going to send us away, but I managed to persuade her.'

‘Using your male charms to dazzle the poor creature, I suppose.' Stella chuckled. ‘I don't suppose they allow many men inside the convent grounds, and certainly not into the building itself.'