Chapter 24 #3
‘Let’s go.’ She opened the door, checked the corridor was empty and sent Sally and Bella out. Ruth was still rummaging under the bedclothes.
‘My shawl. I can’t go without it. It’s real silk.’
‘Nobody cares about your scarf,’ Jenny snapped, grasping her by the arm and pulling her upright. But Ruth pulled against her and ran back to a box beside the bed, grabbing hold of a handful of gold and red cloth. She turned to the older woman.
‘Good luck, Victoriana.’
Jenny took Ruth firmly by the arm and pulled her into the corridor. She could still hear Miriam in the room at the far end, talking loudly.
‘He said if I came here, there would be men who could get me started on the stage. Where are they? I haven’t given up my dreams, you know, even though I’m thirty!’
Madam Annie’s reply was too quiet for Jenny to make out, but Miriam responded loudly.
‘Yes, I said thirty! But I don’t look it, and I don’t see why that should stop me.’
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jenny couldn’t help but smile as a huge rush of love enfolded her. Nothing should stop Miriam getting what she wanted. She pushed Ruth towards the door into the street.
‘All right, no need to shove,’ Ruth grumbled.
Jenny suppressed the urge to give her a slap round the backside.
Had she been as infuriating at that age?
She wasn’t sure, but she felt a pang of pity for nice, mild-mannered Mr Parry, who was going to have to deal with the repercussions of this.
If he had any sense, he’d get down on bended knees to beg Gwen to go with him.
Sally and Bella were standing a short distance from the bakery, being comforted by Gwen.
Beside Jenny, Ruth was blinking as if she hadn’t seen daylight for a long time.
Mr Parry, who was watching the door, tensed as soon as he saw her, his demeanour changing, and he ran across the road, narrowly avoiding a dray carrying barrels.
Reaching Ruth, he picked her up in his arms.
‘Oh, my darling Ruth!’
Ruth’s face crumpled, and the bravado she’d shown inside the brothel disappeared.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung on while he murmured reassurances.
Jenny’s eyes filled with tears. Uncle Conrad had never once held her or consoled her over the death of her parents, or over any other matter.
How empty of affection her life had been.
‘Two men went into the barber’s shop just before the girls came out,’ Gwen said urgently.
‘I wedged the door,’ Jenny said. She turned back. If the men realised there was a problem and came in through the front door, they’d see the peg and sound the alarm.
‘Take them to the cab. I’ll go and fetch Miriam,’ she said.
She hurried back inside the coffee house, where Miriam was still talking.
‘I’ll have the law on the lot of you for deception,’ she was saying loudly.
Jenny drew a deep breath and gave a loud whistle, then ducked back outside and almost out of sight. She peered around the corner, and seconds later, the coffee-house door opened and Madam Annie came out, Miriam behind her.
‘I’ve changed my mind,’ Miriam said haughtily, pushing past the old woman. ‘Tell your husband the next time he asks for a quick leg-shaker I’ll expect payment up front!’
She stormed away, tossing the scarf over her shoulder and leaving Madam Annie standing in the doorway, looking furious.
Miriam didn’t look back or stop walking until she had reached the corner where Jenny and the hansom cab were waiting.
They both clambered inside. Mr Parry called to the driver, and they lurched off.
There was barely any space with three extra passengers and Jenny and Miriam tumbled together, pressed up against the side.
Miriam grinned at her, her eyes glowing.
‘That was fun. I think I should go on the stage after all. I hope that horrible woman tears her husband’s ears off if she thinks we’ve had a quick roll together.’
Jenny laughed. ‘You were wonderful!’ she said. Despite her intention not to, she put her arm around Miriam’s waist. It was crowded enough that the gesture would pass unremarked.
The cab returned Jenny home first. Miriam gave her a peck on the cheek as she climbed out. ‘Come and find me tomorrow. And talk to your uncle if you can.’
Mr Parry looked at Jenny over the top of Ruth’s head.
The girl had fallen asleep leaning against him, and Bella against her.
‘Don’t be afraid of silence, Miss Rosewood,’ he told her.
‘It will be as uncomfortable for your uncle as it is for you – and if he has something to conceal then it will gnaw on his conscience, while yours will be at ease. Tell him you have an agent and that might do the trick.’
‘Thank you.’
Jenny looked at Gwen who gave her a slight smile, her eyes a little watery, her face creased with worry.
Jenny wanted to embrace her and tell her that everything would be all right, but she honestly wasn’t sure it would be.
She stepped away from the cab and watched it go, sending up a prayer that Mr Parry would be as understanding as Gwen deserved him to be.