Page 8 of Not Quite a Lady
A deep, serious voice echoed in her memory.Find yourself a new fiancé…And with the memory came the inner stirring that she experienced every time she thought of those broad shoulders, the calm strength, the deep grey eyes of her rescuer.
The door opening to admit Blake with the chocolate pot also admitted a faint rumour of noise that seemed to be coming from the street, despite the distance from the front door to the rear breakfast parlour.
‘Blake, what on earth is that racket outside?’
‘I was just coming to ask you, Miss France. Have you ordered any coals?’
‘Coals?’ What was the man talking about. ‘Blake, Mrs Oakman orders the coals, I do not.’
‘I know, ma’am. But she says she hasn’t and there are threecoalmen all saying you wrote and ordered four hundredweight of best sea coal to be delivered this morning.’
‘Well, I did not. There has obviously been a mistake. Send them away at once.’
‘Yes, ma’am. What about the fishmongers and the milkmaids?’
‘What fishmongers and milkmaids? And what is Fakenham doing, for goodness sake?’
‘Arguing with them, ma’am.’ The footman was looking increasingly unhappy as the sound of the elderly butler’s voice, raised in a controlled shout, reached them.
‘There’s the carters too, with the root vegetables. And the pianoforte. The man with the pianoforte is none too pleased about being jostled by the coalmen, Miss France.’
The sound of the front door slamming cut off the worst of the noise. ‘Ask Fakenham to come in here please.’
Lily threw down her napkin and got to her feet as her highly superior butler appeared, red-faced and spluttering. ‘Fakenham, whatever is going on outside?’
‘I have no idea, Miss France.’ The man pulled himself together with a visible effort. ‘The street is a mass of tradesmen, all, so far as I can gather, insistent that they received orders to deliver goods here or to attend upon you.’
‘Well, send them away.’
‘Miss France–’
A heavy knocking sent him hurrying back down the hall. Lily followed, then slipped into the front drawing room and drew aside the drapes just enough to peek out.
The steps were occupied by four soberly-clad men, each clutching a tall hat wreathed in black gauze. Behind them a black vehicle carried a magnificent coffin.
At least Fakenham’s denials appeared to have some effect upon them. As one, they bowed stiffly and made their way downthe steps, only to be swept up in the rush as half a dozen sturdy men jostled past the coffin brake to deposit wooden boxes on the steps.
‘No! We havenotordered any Madeira wine.’
Lily stepped back, utterly confused. It was a scene of bedlam. Behind the coffin brake several post-chaises were manoeuvring amidst a crowd of delivery men, none of whom seemed backward in expressing their opinions of each other’s right to be there, the quality of their produce or what they thought of Fakenham’s denials.
A small coterie of women battered their way through the mob, wielding hat boxes with lethal determination, and gained the front steps.
‘Lily, is it a riot? What a racket!’ Her aunt’s voice behind her was a shriek.
‘I have no idea. But at least you can see it too – I was beginning to think I had run mad and was hallucinating.’
Aunt Herrick sank into the nearest chair, fanning herself, her satin-sheathed bosom heaved alarmingly.
‘Go back upstairs, Aunt. Go to one of the back bedchambers where it will be quiet.’
‘It is the Revolution! We’ll be murdered in our beds! Those wretched mill workers have infected the London mob with their dreadful continental ideas.’
‘I doubt we are being besieged by a mob of revolutionary tradespeople armed with coal and carrots. I will send for the constables,’ Lily said, tugging the bell pull with more calm than she felt.
‘Blake, find Mrs Herrick’s woman and see she helps her to her chamber and stays with her. Then send Percy and Smith to assist Mr Fakenham and you run round to the Marlborough Street office and request as many men as possible to come at once.’
She twitched back the curtain and winced. A man had arrivedwith a moth-eaten bear on a chain. It was, at least, clearing a space in the road, although the group of burly chairmen seemed prepared to dispute the ground.
