A Place Called Home (24 page)

‘Pearl Sykes.' Froniga went down on her knees, dragging the unconscious woman to a sitting position. ‘Pearl.' She slapped her face and the sound ricocheted off the walls and ceiling. ‘Wake up.'

Lucy leaned closer. ‘Pearl, it's Lucy.'

‘Is this the one?' Froniga asked brusquely. ‘Is this your friend?'

Pearl's head lolled to one side and although her face was thinner and streaked with dirt, her hair matted and filthy, Lucy would have known her anywhere. This was a mere shadow of the plump, lively woman who had sold fish in the market, but it was definitely Pearl. She nodded. ‘Yes, it is.'

‘Give us a hand then.' Froniga heaved Pearl to her feet and somehow, between the two of them, they managed to get her out of the building. Looping her arms around their shoulders they marched her as far as Narrow Street. ‘What will you do with her?' Froniga asked curiously. ‘It's not likely you'll get much sense out of her in this state.'

‘She was good to me when I was a child,' Lucy said stoutly. ‘The least I can do is look after her until she's well again.'

‘It won't be easy. She depends on the stuff and she'll do anything to get it.'

‘I can't abandon her, and she might know what happened to Granny.'

‘Her brains will be addled by now.' Froniga allowed Pearl to slide to the ground as she stepped into the road to hail a hackney carriage, but it drove past them. ‘You won't see me again. I have to leave London for the sake of me health.'

‘Are you ill?'

Froniga gave her a pitying smile. ‘No, but I need to disappear for a while, if you get my meaning.'

‘But where will you go?'

‘My family used to travel with Charter's circus, although they're all dead and gone now. I'm Madame Froniga, the Romany fortune teller, when I choose to join them, and where better to hide than in a travelling show?'

Lucy was impressed. ‘I've never seen a circus or a travelling fair.'

‘They're in Essex at the moment. The last I heard they were in Chelmsford. That's where I'm going now.'

‘I'm sorry you're leaving, and I'm truly grateful for your help.' Lucy took her purse from her pocket and opened it, but there was only enough to pay her cab fare home. She felt obliged to show her appreciation even though Froniga had not asked for money. ‘I'm sorry. I haven't got enough to pay you for your trouble.'

‘Call it a favour. One day I might need your help.' Froniga was about to turn away when a shaft of sunlight pierced the clouds, catching Lucy's silver locket in its beam. Froniga reached out to touch it, closing her eyes. ‘Your grandmother is trying to tell me something. I feel her heart beating as strongly as my own.'

Lucy's breath hitched in her throat. ‘Where is she? I have to know.'

‘She's far away from here, but I can't see her clearly.'

‘Can you tell me more?'

‘She's fading away, but I'm certain that you'll find her very soon. Now I must go.' Froniga hailed another cab and this time it slowed down and came to a halt.

Lucy would have liked to question her further but getting Pearl into the cab was her main concern and they dragged her to her feet, manhandling her into the vehicle. Lucy climbed in after her, but when she turned to thank Froniga she had disappeared into the milling crowd of dockworkers.

Pearl was given a room on the top floor where, for her own safety, she was locked in day and night. Lucy would not have known how to handle her, but Hester had previous experience of such a case in one of the houses where she had worked in her youth. She had been an under parlour maid but had often been called upon to help the nurse who was hired to look after the eldest son: a young man who had fallen into bad company and become addicted to laudanum and opium. Hester did everything for Pearl, refusing to allow anyone into the room, including Lucy. It was frustrating, as she was desperate to question her, but Hester stood firm and Lucy was forced to bide her time.

She saw nothing of Piers, but Dora was now a regular visitor to Leman Street. She had overcome her dislike of the neighbourhood, and her fear of being set upon the moment she stepped from her carriage.

‘You've done wonders,' she said, gazing round the front parlour, which had benefited from a fresh coat of paint, a pair of curtains made from material bought in Petticoat Lane, and a slightly faded rug purchased from the pawnbroker further along the street. The furniture, also second hand, together with other day to day necessities, had taken a sizeable chunk out of the sum that Linus had given Lucy for the support of his children.

‘To tell you the truth all this has left me a bit short of money,' Lucy admitted, pouring tea from the chipped but otherwise perfectly usable china teapot, another purchase from the market. ‘I must find some respectable lodgers who can be relied upon to pay their way and supplement my income.'

‘I suppose you could advertise in the newspapers,' Dora said doubtfully. ‘But anybody could reply, and it might prove difficult to check their references.'

‘I know. I've thought about nothing else. Even though Bertie has a job he doesn't earn very much, and I think that I ought to seek a position somewhere, but I don't know what I could do.'

‘I'd love to help you, but I've spent all my dress allowance.' Dora stared into her teacup, frowning. ‘If only you'd married Piers, you would at least have had a roof over your head.'

Lucy smiled ruefully. ‘I can't imagine Piers adopting my cousins, let alone Sid and Essie. Then there's Hester, not to mention Bedwin, who's too old and frail to find another position. How would they manage without me?'

‘And you've taken on Pearl.' Dora shook her head. ‘You've created a home for waifs and strays, and now you have to find a way to support them all. I don't envy you your task, Lucy.'

‘Pearl is recovering slowly, and Carlos visits her at least once a week. They cheer each other up, according to Hester. I'm only allowed to see Pearl briefly, but I'm told that she's showing signs of recovery.'

‘But Pearl doesn't know where you might find Eva.'

Lucy bowed her head. ‘She hasn't seen her for years. It seems that my grandmother has vanished into thin air.'

‘Like a conjuror's trick.' Dora sipped her tea. ‘I'm sorry, Lucy. I know it's no joke, but perhaps you ought to stop thinking about her and concentrate on looking after yourself.' She placed her cup and saucer on the table. ‘I know you don't want to hear this, but Piers still loves you. You only have to say the word and he'll come running. He's never got over you.'

‘But I don't love him,' Lucy said softly. ‘I'm sorry, Dora. I know he's your brother and you're fond of him, but I can't forget how he let me down when I needed him most.'

‘He knows he made a mistake, and he's genuinely sorry.'

‘Maybe, but I like being independent, even though I've very little money. I'll find a way to make things better for all of us, you'll see.'

‘What about Bramwell? Does he support his nephew and nieces?'

‘He gave me what he could, and promised more when he received his pay. I trust Bram and I know he'll do his best for us.'

Dora glanced out of the window. ‘My carriage has arrived. I have to go, but I'll come again next week. Or perhaps you'd like to come shopping with me? It would be fun to go out together again.'

‘I can't afford to spend money on fripperies. It's not like the old days; you and I live in different worlds now.' Lucy stood up to embrace her friend as she prepared to leave. ‘Don't worry about me, and please don't repeat any of this to Piers. I don't want him to get the wrong impression. There really is no hope for us.'

‘I won't say a word, but I wish you'd reconsider.'

‘There's no chance of that.' Lucy saw her to the door and watched her climb into the carriage, assisted by the footman. The coachman drove off, taking Dora back to the world of wealth and privilege, leaving Lucy to wonder how she was going to feed her family after paying for the urgent repairs to the roof. She returned to the parlour and set about writing an advertisement for a respectable lodger, but although it seemed like a logical step she was wary. With young and vulnerable children to care for and only a boy and a frail old man to protect them, the thought of having complete strangers living in the place she called home was daunting.

She was still sitting there, chewing the end of her pencil, when the door opened and Pearl walked into the room. Lucy leapt to her feet. ‘What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting.'

Pearl sank down in the nearest chair. ‘I'm a bit weak on me pins, but I'm not an invalid.'

‘Hester was supposed to be looking after you.'

Pearl grinned. ‘She forgot to lock the door, if that's what you mean. She remembered she had bread in the oven and she was off like a shot.'

‘How are you feeling?' Lucy asked nervously.

‘I'm not going to rush out to the nearest opium den, if that's what you're thinking. I promise you I'm done with that stuff forever.'

‘I'm so glad, if only for your sake, Pearl.'

‘I dunno why you went to all the trouble of saving me, but I am grateful. I was a poor wretch and now I've got to prove you were right. I won't let you down, Lucy.'

‘It was Froniga who found you, and it was only by chance that I met her. I was looking for you because I thought you might know what happened to my grandmother.'

Pearl shook her head. ‘I wish I did. The last I saw of Eva she was with Abe.'

‘He was murdered. I heard that he was stabbed to death.'

‘Was he now? That doesn't surprise me. He was a bad lot.'

‘You don't think that she could have done it, do you?'

‘Not Eva. You ought to know her better than that. If she'd fallen out with him she would have up and left. She might have bashed him over the head with a frying pan, but she wouldn't have stuck a knife in his heart.' Pearl took a pack of Passing Cloud cigarettes from her pocket and struck a match, inhaling deeply. ‘A present from Carlos,' she said, exhaling with a satisfied sigh. ‘A girl's got to have some vices.'

Lucy smiled indulgently. It was good to see Pearl almost back to her old self. ‘Tell me about Granny and Abe. I never knew him.'

‘She kept you away from him and his crooked deals, but I think she really cared for the old sod in her own way, although Eva wasn't the faithful type. I'm sorry, Lucy, but it's the truth.'

‘Froniga said she could see Granny, but then she faded away. Do you think she really has got second sight?'

‘She found me, didn't she?'

‘Yes, that's true, but she's gone away and now I'll never know if she was telling the truth or not. I'm beginning to think I'll never find Granny or Ma.'

‘Maybe they don't want to be found. Have you thought of that? As far as Eva is concerned you're a grand lady. She wouldn't want to spoil your life by turning up on your doorstep.'

Lucy eyed her thoughtfully. ‘But if she knew the truth she would come home, wouldn't she?'

‘She might. It all depends on how she's situated now.' Pearl took another drag on her cigarette, exhaling through her nostrils. ‘If you get my meaning. She might have found another fancy man.'

Picking up her pencil, Lucy chose to ignore this last remark. ‘I'm going to finish off this advertisement and put it in the tobacconist's window. We'll take in lodgers and you're going to help me.'

‘Glad to be of service,' Pearl said, chuckling. ‘What are my duties?' She wriggled suggestively in her chair.

‘I've got a plan. I can't tell you yet, but you'll find out soon enough.'

HOPEFUL APPLICANTS QUEUED
outside the door. Bedwin was given the task of letting them in one at a time, dismissing those who looked too disreputable or were drunk. Hester ushered the prospective lodgers into the parlour, where they were interviewed by Lucy and Pearl. In the end they selected the three who were the least likely to cause trouble, all of whom were in employment. One of them, a balding middle-aged man wearing a shabby suit with leather elbow patches and down-at-heel shoes, worked as a clerk in one of the nearby shipping offices. He introduced himself as Gilbert Harker, admitting reluctantly when questioned about his reasons for needing a room that his wife had run off with the tally man. He could not afford to pay the rent on the home they had shared for twenty years, and his grown-up children had shown no inclination to take him in.

The second successful applicant was a shiny-faced boy whose crop of curly fair hair made him look even younger than his sixteen years. Cyril Aitken told them he was an orphan raised in the Foundling Hospital, and was apprenticed to a locksmith with a premises in Dock Street. Lucy would have given him a room for nothing, but Pearl intervened and they agreed to let him have one of the smallest attic rooms at a greatly reduced rent. Cyril's brown eyes shone with gratitude and he promised to do odd jobs around the house in order to make up the difference. Lucy could have hugged him, but she managed to control the urge and merely smiled and welcomed him into her home.

The last person they saw was Leonard Rossman, a Jewish immigrant who worked for a master tailor in Leman Street. His sad story of love and loss in his homeland made Lucy want to cry and even Pearl, who had heard many such hard-luck stories, had to wipe away a tear. Ever practical, Lucy went to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. She cut a thick slice from Hester's seed cake and put it on a plate. ‘The poor man needs building up,' she said when Hester protested.

Hester regarded her with overt disapproval. ‘We're supposed to be making money out of the lodgers. You won't pay the bills by treating them to afternoon tea.'

‘They're all guests as far as I'm concerned. You'll love them all when you get to know them,' Lucy said, smiling. ‘Leonard has promised to make curtains for us, and young Cyril is going to do odd jobs. We'll soon have an army of workers helping us to make this old house habitable. You'll see.'