Page 40 of Murder at Madame Chambon's
“That’s right, Miss Liza.Keep looking this way.And pull your little bruvver closer to yer.And the other one.You boys at the back, don’t move and….”
Lily watched Archie, half hidden by the large camera on a tripod he was operating, bark directions at Liza and her brothers and sisters, clustered together in the cobbled slum lane, the three girls wearing the fancy hats and bonnets they’d made for their most esteemed clients that week.
“Finished!You can relax, now!”
The family group broke apart while Archie emerged from beneath the black cloth, hurrying to quickly transfer the plate to his portable darkroom for development.
“Very good work, all of you!”Lily clapped her hands, then pulled the thick, woolen muffler up around her lower face as she prepared to return to the thronged streets.“You’re a remarkable family and you have a remarkable sister, don’t you, boys?Thank you, Liza,” she added as the boys scuffed their leather boots on the cobbles and the little girls smiled shyly.
It had been an illuminating afternoon, interviewing Liza, whose tale of success in this poverty-stricken part of London would serve as a reminder of what was possible to readers in the next edition of Manners & Morals.
Archie finished packing away his equipment, meeting his employer at the end of the laneway.“Reckon that’ll get the subscribers opening their pocket books, m’lady.What a grand idea for ’em to contribute to your fund to pay for a better education for one of them younger girls.”
Lily smiled happily.“Even old Mr.McTavish wasn’t dead against the idea by the time Hamish had explained the benefits of appealing to the godly and altruistic inclination of his readers.And Liza does have the right blend of innocence and industry in the way you’ve been able to portray her.”Then some of her enthusiasm drained away.“Sadly, it’s the girls who are not blessed with charm or loveliness, but who work just as hard who fare worse in this cruel world.Not all of the equally deserving poor have Liza’s pretty face,” she said.
“Violets for a ha’penny!”cried a nearby street vendor.“Oo’ll buy me sweet violets!”
Squashing her old bonnet onto her head so that it covered as much of her face as possible, Lily hurried to keep pace with Archie, who struggled with his equipment through the dense push of bodies weaving through Covent Garden.“What did you think, Archie?”Liza felt her old energy returning and wanted his opinion.“Old Mr.McTavish will only allow this column if it’s a story of hope and inspiration for our more fortunate readers who too readily dismiss the concerns of the poor and write them off as lazy.But I want our subscribers to read between the lines and realize that even the most hardworking poor females of this world—unless they have brothers who contribute to the household expenses—are barely able to survive on their wages.”
“Reckon that be right, m’lady.”Archie had stopped, waiting for her to keep up.He flashed his wry, iconic smile at her over his shoulder.“That Miss Liza is very lucky she has three obedient big bruvvers wot’s sworn off drink and that the little ‘uns are the girls.Ain’t no way the young woman wouldna ‘ad to sell more ‘n just her bonnets if she didn’t have bruvvers helping to pay the bills.”
Lily sighed as they continued in lock step.“Hamish says the public are not yet ready for the stories I want to tell, but that I must be patient.While his father is still alive and owns the magazine, he has to tread carefully, and I understand that.”
Archie was panting with the exertion of lugging his equipment when they reached the pavement opposite her husband’s editorial offices.
“I won’t come in, of course,” said Lily, indicating her dress, which was that of a poor woman.It served as a disguise and a protection, but she knew Hamish was concerned about his father’s reaction if the old man discovered Lily participated in researching their stories.
She craned her neck to look up at the three-storied building that housed the magazine.Hamish would be upstairs, but it was possible his father might have dropped by.
She was about to turn away to hire a hackney to take her home when Archie said suddenly, “That’s Lord Bellingham on the pavement, looking like he don’t know whether to open the door and go up the stairs.He’s turning back, ma’am.You might want to talk to ‘im—” He broke off suddenly, adding with a note of embarrassment, “Me an’ yer ‘usband ‘ad a word with him last night to put him off ideas of marryin’ Miss Tarot.It’s possible we might have done it a bit brown.”
“What?”
“Or made a hash of it, come to that.”
“Good Lord, Archie, you didn’t make her out to be a consorting with a den of thieves, I hope.Remember, it’s her reputation I’m trying to protect, not destroy.”
“Course m’lady.But no man likes to be told to look into his beloved’s past or origins like we ‘ad to tell him to do.Gets ‘em a bit hot under the collar and defensive-like—”
Lily cut him off.“Lord Bellingham!”she hailed him with a wave and a smile as she crossed the road.“What a pleasant surprise.”
For a moment he stared at her in bemusement and Lily realized that, speaking in her cultured tones, she must have appeared an anomaly in her garb of patched cotton skirts she’d bought at a secondhand barrow, and her faded blouse and old muffler.
In fact, he clearly didn’t recognize her until she introduced herself and then his eyes widened, and a blush suffused his face.
“Lady Bradden.”
As he seemed not to know what else to say, Lily seized the advantage.“You are here to see my husband?He spoke to you last night, I believe.I’m not sure if he’s in his office, but perhaps I could assist.Allow me to apologize for my state of dress.I’ve been with Archie, our photographer, interviewing a young bonnet maker in Seven Dials whom I didn’t want to overwhelm with silks and laces.”She smiled wryly, nevertheless feeling a twinge of trepidation as to what Hamish and Archie might have told the gloomy looking young man before her.
Archie’s words had discomposed her.Hamish was compassionate and discreet.Lily had no concerns that he’d not done his job well but if Lord Bellingham was back here to take issue with what had been said, then perhaps Archie had gone overboard in fulfilling his directive to dissuade Lord Bellingham from pursuing his interest in Miss Tarot.
For a long moment, the young man regarded Lily before transferring his gaze to Archie, whom he now addressed.
“Surely you could not imagine that I’d not be back?”he demanded.There was a look of pain about his eyes.“Mr.McTavish told me everything he needed to … to make me champion the woman I love.”Swinging round to look at Lily, he added, “I beg your pardon, Lady Bradden.”Then, taking another clearly painful breath, he added, “You were kind enough to hope Miss Tarot had sufficient friends since she’s so recently in London.Well, I am her greatest friend, and admirer.If there is something you think I need to know, please tell me plainly.Otherwise, I plan to make ours the grandest wedding of the season.”
Lily’s mouth dropped open.She started to speak, but stopped as Archie, hunched over by the weight of his photographic equipment, sent her a sidelong look then slunk off through the door and up the stairs to the editorial offices.
Lord Bellingham sucked in a breath, saying softly, “So, thereissomething?”
