Chapter 23
23
ELOISE
Fully prepared to play the long game, Eloise sat back as winter crawled into spring, noting with satisfaction that Daniel was proving his worth. He gained a small promotion in the February, after the foreman who oversaw the sole-making passed away unexpectedly. Her father was told by the factory manager that young Mr Thornbury was popular with the workers under his supervision, and their productivity had increased considerably, as her father wryly remarked that he was expecting the man to lead a revolution to overthrow him at any moment. But the truth was, as someone not born into great wealth himself, he was listening to his new foreman and instructing his manager to do the same. The company was faring well, their reputation for high-quality footwear was growing, and plans for expansion were well underway.
Daniel began to call at the house on occasion, often tasked with delivering contracts and papers to Mr Haughton, as he lived in the same village. He always came through the tradesman’s entrance at the back of the house and took the time and trouble to speak with the household staff. Aware that he was not yet the gentleman Eloise aspired for him to be, he clearly felt uncomfortable calling at the front door. But then this was his gift: he was a man able to exchange pleasantries with the poorly educated girl who worked in the scullery one minute, and discuss the benefits of installing Goodyear’s welting machines with her father in their upstairs drawing room the next.
It was during one such visit that Eloise finally had cause to believe she was winning the young man over, even though the evening ended in high drama. Daniel had requested to speak to Mr Haughton about the aforementioned machine – able to stitch the sole to the upper far more efficiently than by hand. The meeting was longer than their usual brief exchanges and conducted in her father’s study, but after the matters of business were concluded, Thornbury was offered a drink. Unlike her somewhat snooty mother, her father remembered his roots and was pleased with his foreman, doubtless recognising something of himself in the passionate and idealistic young man.
There was an unusually long wait for the servant bell to be answered and her mother was unable to hide her discomfort as Daniel sunk down onto the sofa next to her. He enquired politely after Mrs Haughton’s health and Eloise engaged him in a short discussion about the moral messages to be found in the works of Dickens.
Eventually the flustered housekeeper entered and apologised for the delay.
‘There is such a commotion in the kitchens, sir. The girls are hysterical as one of the barn cats they’ve formed an attachment to is outside the back door in great distress. We think it’s eaten something it shouldn’t have.’
Daniel leapt to his feet immediately. ‘The little black one, no doubt. I know how fond your staff have become of him; he’s quite the character. Do excuse me, Mrs Haughton. It’s possible I can be of some help.’
Impressed by his kindness, Eloise stood up and followed him downstairs, where they were met with quite the scene. The scullery maid was in tears and Daniel briefly put his arms around the poor child and asked the cook to apprise him of the facts.
‘We think it’s ingested a small amount of arsenic residue from a tray the gardener was using to put rat poison into roasted apples. Stupid man left it outside the back door instead of returning it to his locked shed. Ginny gave the cat some chopped liver on it earlier today?—’
‘I didn’t know it had been used for the rat poison,’ wailed the young girl.
Daniel bent to inspect the creature who was lying limp on a blanket in front of the range.
‘But he’s been sick?’
The cook nodded.
‘Then that’s good. It’s not the arsenic itself, but the quantity that kills and, hopefully, most of it is now out of his system.’
It was indeed the downfall of the rat, Eloise knew, not having the ability to vomit.
‘If he has only consumed a small amount, he may yet survive. Get some water into him and time will tell.’
He stood up and walked to the sink to rinse his hands, turning to Eloise as he dried them on a piece of towel.
‘Nasty stuff, arsenic. Whilst you ladies insist on swanning about in your delightful Scheele’s green ball gowns, we really should be following France and banning the pigment. Workers across the country are handling it daily to produce artificial flowers, fly papers, candles and fabrics, but evidence of the sickness it causes is mounting.’
Everyone knew that it was dangerous if ingested, but she had not thought wearing it was hazardous. She made a mental note to investigate this issue and thought she might ask Rose to check her wardrobe for anything in that colour. Time and time again, he made her feel ignorant of issues that she should be aware of, but she delighted in the fact that whilst she was helping advance his social status, he was adding to her education. What a match they would be with her money and his passion.
‘Thank you for coming down to look at the cat,’ Rose said. ‘It was a kindness.’
‘I’ve done nothing,’ he replied. ‘But I know how much you girls love that little scrap.’
Cook giggled at being referred to as a girl, and Daniel nodded at them all before returning upstairs to bid his employer goodnight.
A little while later, Eloise sat contentedly with her parents in the drawing room, flicking through Our Mutual Friend and reflecting that whilst money had the ability to corrupt, it also had the power to breach social barriers.
‘Yet again, I must own to being wrong about Mr Thornbury,’ her father said, pouring himself a large brandy. ‘His views are extreme but his heart is kind.’
‘Perhaps his opinions will soften over time?’ she offered. ‘He still has things to prove but a career and a family might take the edge off his fanaticism.’
‘Funnily enough, Cook is under the impression that he is forming an attraction,’ he said, smiling at his daughter.
‘I think so too,’ she agreed. ‘And you don’t mind? I know that you’ve had reservations about him in the past.’
‘Don’t misunderstand me, the fellow is still trouble, but he is trouble that I can control. And you?’ he asked. ‘You don’t mind either?’
‘Of course I don’t mind.’ She rolled her eyes. Her father said the strangest things sometimes.