A Mother's Promise (48 page)

‘Oh, miss,’ Dorrie cried, clapping her hand to her mouth. ‘I am so sorry.’

‘Be silent, girl,’ Miss Heathcote snapped. ‘Speak when you are spoken to and not before.’

‘Are you happy here, Dorrie,’ Hetty demanded, ignoring Miss Heathcote’s frown. ‘If not you can come home with me. You do not have to stay here.’

‘I am quite happy here, miss. I got me brothers with me and we have a room all to ourselves with three good meals a day. She’s
not such a bad old stick when you get to know her.’

‘Praise indeed,’ Miss Heathcote said sarcastically. ‘You may go and get your supper, Dorrie. I shan’t need you again this evening.’

‘Ta, Miss Heathcote. I mean, thank you, ma’am.’

Hetty caught Dorrie by the hand as she was about to leave the room. ‘I will speak to you again soon. I need to be sure that this is what you want.’

‘It’s all right, miss, really it is. The servants have been ever so kind to us, and Cook’s taken quite a fancy to the boys. If she goes on feeding them up like she does, they’ll be fat as little pigs before long. They go to school every day and Miss Heathcote says she’s going to bring them up to be decent men and not scoundrels.’

Hetty smiled at that. ‘But you, Dorrie. What about you?’

‘Don’t worry about me, miss. I never expected much out of life. I thought we’d end up in the workhouse, not living in a blooming mansion.’

‘Supper, Dorrie,’ Miss Heathcote said firmly. ‘And you, Hetty, come here. We need to talk.’

Dorrie hurried from the room and Hetty returned to stand before Miss Heathcote.
‘Answer me one question, ma’am. Who was it who discovered that the books had been tampered with?’

‘It was Maitland at the bank, of course. You know very well that he deals with all my financial matters. When it became apparent that Dorrie was too young and inexperienced to handle the responsibility, Maitland sent two of his men to collect the monies and the ledgers for inspection.’

‘Would those men have been named Clench and Shipworthy by any chance?’

Miss Heathcote shrugged her thin shoulders. ‘I hardly know. I don’t deal with minions.’

Without waiting for permission, Hetty pulled up a chair and sat down. ‘Let me tell you about those men, and you will understand why I accuse them. If you will just give me a chance, I think I know how we can prove their guilt and my innocence.’

‘Very well, but I have yet to be convinced.’

An hour later, Hetty and George were travelling homeward in Miss Heathcote’s carriage. ‘I must say this is the way to travel,’ George said. ‘It beats a hansom cab hands down.’

Hetty slipped her hand through his arm and she smiled. ‘One day we’ll be rich enough to afford one of these, or maybe even one of those new-fangled motor cars.’

‘What’s all this “we” business, Hetty? I haven’t proposed to you yet.’

She couldn’t see his features clearly in the dim light, but Hetty knew that he was smiling. She cuddled up to him. ‘But you will, George. You love me – you said so.’

‘I do, but you risked everything for that fellow in America. I need to know that you love me as much or more.’

‘Then kiss me.’ Hetty closed her eyes as their lips met in a kiss that seemed to make time stand still, blotting out the past and promising so much in the future. ‘There,’ she whispered. ‘Does that prove anything to you?’

George released her gently. ‘I don’t want to be second best, Hetty. I don’t want just to be the “and Co.” any more. If you give yourself to me it has to be heart and soul. I can’t live with the ghost of an old love hovering in the background.’

Hetty moved away from him. ‘It’s not like that.’

‘I’m still here for you, and I’ll stand by you. Give yourself time to know your own heart.’

Choking back a sob of frustration, Hetty glared at him. ‘I love you truly. You are more important to me than making a success of the business, and I’ll prove it to you one way or another.’

His teeth flashed white in the gloom. ‘Stubborn and obstinate to the last, girl.’

‘I shan’t throw myself at you again,’ Hetty said stiffly. ‘But you might like to be present tomorrow at the shop in Artillery Lane to see Cyrus Clench get his just deserts.’

‘Of course I want to be there.’

‘Two o’clock, sharp. Don’t be late.’ Hetty glanced out of the window as the coachman drew the horses to a halt. ‘We’re home. No, don’t bother to see me in, George. Milton will do that.’

Hetty went into the house without a backward glance. She would not let George see that she was hurt by his attitude. Why wouldn’t he believe her? Were all men as stupid and stubborn? She followed Nora to the kitchen where Jane and Granny were waiting anxiously for news. Hetty barely had time to divest herself of her outer garments before they were clamouring to be told every single detail of her encounter with Miss Heathcote.

Next day the trap was set. Sammy had been sent round to Tipton’s Bank with a note for Clench, asking him to meet Hetty at the coffee shop at ten past two in the afternoon, when he would learn something to his advantage. Hetty was not at all certain that he would keep the appointment, but she had bargained on Clench’s insatiable greed. At five minutes before the hour, Miss Heathcote and Dorrie
arrived at the coffee shop and George escorted them into the cramped confines of the scullery, while Hetty stationed herself behind the counter. She was extremely nervous; so much depended upon Clench admitting his offences in the hearing of witnesses, and Miss Heathcote in particular.

The hands on the clock face barely seemed to move as Hetty waited. She tidied the counter which had been abandoned so hastily, and she placed fresh cloths on the tables. She had wound the clock and set it at the correct time according to George’s pocket watch, and now she watched it as the seconds ticked by and then the minutes. At quarter past two, Hetty was convinced that Clench was not coming, but just as she was about to lock up she saw his familiar figure scuttling along on the other side of the street. She straightened her apron and tried to appear calm, but in truth her legs were trembling so badly that she could not stand. She sat down at one of the tables, clasping her hands in front of her until her knuckles cracked; everything depended on the outcome of this encounter.

She looked up as the door opened and Clench burst in on a gust of cold air. ‘Good afternoon,’ she said coldly.

Clench took off his bowler hat and he glanced around the room. ‘Are we alone?’

‘As you can see.’ Hetty emphasised her words with a casual wave of her hand. ‘I wanted to talk to you in private, Mr Clench.’

‘It’s no use appealing to me better nature, Hetty, because I ain’t got one.’

‘I realised that a long time ago.’

‘Then what do you want? You said it was something to my advantage.’

‘I admit defeat, Mr Clench. You’ve been out for revenge against my family for a long time and I want it to stop now. You’ve won.’

Clench’s grin almost split his face in two as he sidled over to the table and sat down opposite her. ‘Well, now. Here’s a turn-up for the books.’

Hetty forced her cold lips into a smile. ‘Like the books that you fiddled in order to take money from the coffee shops? Is that what you mean?’

He threw back his head and guffawed. ‘That was Jasper’s idea, and it was one of his best. It was so easy to cream a tidy sum off each shop every week. We’ve got a nice little nest egg as a result, but I’ve still got a score to settle with you and yours, Hetty.’

‘That isn’t fair, Mr Clench. I’ve repaid you and you signed a note to that effect.’

‘I’ll say it was signed under duress.’ Clench bared his teeth in a lupine snarl. ‘I’ll take the coffee shop instead then. I’m sure the old
cripple will allow you to keep this one for old times’ sake. Just sign the lease over to me and we’ll call it quits.’

Hetty leapt to her feet. ‘Did you hear that, Miss Heathcote?’

Clench shot off his chair and backed towards the door, his face ashen. ‘You little bitch.’

‘I’ve heard quite enough, thank you,’ Miss Heathcote said, emerging from the scullery with George and Dorrie following close on her heels.

‘You can’t prove anything. I’ll deny it all in court.’ Clench made a grab for the doorknob and twisted it frantically, but it was held by Milton who had just arrived with two police-men.

‘You won’t get away with it this time,’ George said, crossing the floor and seizing Clench by the collar.

‘Don’t hit me again,’ Clench cried, cowering against the wall. ‘You broke me nose last time. I’ll sue you for common assault.’

‘Prove it, mate,’ George said, dragging him away from the door to allow the police and Milton to enter.

Miss Heathcote limped forward, supported by Dorrie. ‘Take this man away, Constable. Arrest him for embezzlement and also his accomplice, a man named Shipworthy who works at Tipton’s Bank.’

The elder constable pulled a pair of handcuffs from his belt and clipped them around Clench’s skinny wrists. ‘Are you pressing charges, ma’am?’

‘I most certainly am,’ Miss Heathcote said firmly. ‘And I’ll be happy to appear in court if necessary as a witness.’

‘Oo-er, ma’am,’ Dorrie said admiringly. ‘You are getting brave.’

‘I’ve always been brave,’ Miss Heathcote conceded. ‘But now I’m just a bit braver. Take him away, Constable. The sight of him makes me feel sick.’

Hetty watched as Clench was dragged from the shop still protesting his innocence. She was stunned by the sudden turn of events and amazed at Miss Heathcote’s unexpected show of resilience. She turned to her with a genuine smile of admiration. ‘Well done, ma’am. I didn’t think you had it in you.’

A faint blush of pink tinted Miss Heathcote’s cheeks and she fluttered her silver eyelashes. ‘I have my moments, and this was one of them.’

George nodded enthusiastically. ‘That was well done. It was a stroke of genius sending your man for the cops, if you don’t mind me saying so.’

Miss Heathcote’s flush deepened, and at first Hetty thought she was going to put George in his place for being so forward, but she smiled
and nodded her head. ‘Thank you, young man. I don’t mind in the least. After all, it is only the truth.’

‘And now you know that I am innocent of any wrongdoing,’ Hetty said, eyeing Miss Heathcote warily.

‘Of course, and I am sorry that I doubted you in the first place. You are reinstated as from this moment with my blessing.’

George moved closer to Hetty. ‘You’ve got your business back, girl. I’m glad for your sake.’

Hetty met his solemn gaze and realised that she must make a choice which would affect both their lives. If she chose to accept Miss Heathcote’s offer she stood in danger of losing George. To reject it would mean beginning all over again. She must either follow her head, or her heart. She could not have it all. There was a moment of silence in the room, except for the inexorable ticking of the clock. Hetty looked from Miss Heathcote’s eager face to George’s guarded expression. He gave her an encouraging smile. ‘You must do what is best for you, Hetty. I won’t stand in your way.’

‘Thank you, but I know what I want more than anything in the world,’ she said softly. She turned to Miss Heathcote. ‘I’ve made wrong choices in the past and lived to regret them. I put everything I had into starting up
the coffee shops, but I know now that there are more important things in life than simply making money. I don’t want the business, Miss Heathcote. You see, I’m going to marry George, if he’ll have me.’ She turned to him, holding out her hand with a tentative smile. ‘Will you?’

He strode across the room to sweep her into an embrace that left her in no doubt of his answer. ‘My darling girl, of course I want to marry you. But are you sure about this?’

Hetty smiled into his eyes. ‘I am, George.

You are my life and always will be.’

Dorrie sniffed audibly and Miss Heathcote struggled to her feet. ‘This is madness. I’m offering you the chance to make a fortune and you are throwing it away for a man?’

Safe in the circle of George’s arms, Hetty nodded vehemently. ‘I’ll go back to my coffee stall in the market place. After all, Jane will be married by the end of the week and with another baby on the way she won’t have time to run the stall. George and I will work side by side and that is enough for me. I’ll sew pearl buttons on my clothes and be queen to his pearly king.’

‘I think that’s ever so lovely,’ Dorrie murmured with a catch in her voice.

‘You haven’t heard the end of this matter,’ Miss Heathcote said angrily. ‘Dorrie, open the door. We’re leaving.’

Hetty went to follow them but George restrained her with a loving hug. ‘Let her go, sweetheart. She’ll come round in time.’

‘Yes, I hope so,’ Hetty said with a sigh.

‘I love you,’ George said, gazing deeply into her eyes. ‘All I wanted was to know that you felt the same way about me. You’ve proved it, and if you want to call her back and tell the old girl that you’ve changed your mind, then that’s all right by me. I don’t want to rule you, Hetty. I just want you to be happy.’

She raised her hand to touch his cheek. ‘I know, but I’ve made my choice and I’ll stand by it. Let’s go home and tell the family.’

The only family member who was not delighted with their news was Granny. She made no secret of the fact that she considered Hetty to be doolally-tap for giving up the opportunity of a shining career in the catering trade. She liked George, she said grudgingly, but he was just a costermonger and Hetty could have had her pick of well-to-do businessmen or even a toff with a townhouse and a country estate. Nora told her not to be such a miserable old cow, and Jane was delighted at the prospect of having George as a brother-in-law. Tom slapped him on the back and added his sincere congratulations and Sammy and Eddie capered about the kitchen whooping for joy.
Picking up Natalia and giving her a cuddle, Hetty smiled to herself. What more could she want than all this? She had no doubts about her feelings for George. She could not even consider a life without him, but she was a little sad to think that the businesses she had been building were now going to fall into someone else’s hands. She hoped that Miss Heathcote would understand why she had chosen love over money, and that she would not sink back into her former hermit-like existence. Hetty made up her mind that once Jane’s wedding was over, she would go to Berkeley Square and make sure that Dorrie and the boys were content to remain there. In the meantime, she would go back to her old stall in Spitalfields market. That would be enough for her from now on.