The Ribbon Weaver

Chapter Seventeen



Knowing how much the elderly mistress had come to mean to Amy, it hurt Molly to see the girl so low, and she fussed and fretted over her all afternoon. The wisdom of age had taught Molly that for now, no words of comfort she could offer would ease Amy’s pain; for now all she could do was be there for her. But it had also taught her that time was a great healer.

Amy sat staring morosely into the fire until the late afternoon gave way to evening and it was time to return to The Folly. For once, Molly raised no objections as Amy put on her warm outdoor clothes, although she did think it strange that the Forresters would want to see her on the evening of the funeral. Amy herself felt that no amount of warm clothes could warm her, for her heart was chilled.

Molly saw her off at the door with a kiss and then hurried back to the warmth of the fireside and settled down to wait for her return, her heart heavy for the girl.

As Amy approached The Folly it was ablaze with lights and seemed to shine like a beacon into the darkness. In the hallway she found the housekeeper and the maids rushing to and fro as they put the house back to rights following the endless stream of visitors. Lily stopped to divest Amy of her hat and coat and the thick shawl that Molly had insisted she should wear across her head and shoulders, and Amy then hurried towards the drawing room.

Mrs and Mrs Forrester were sitting either side of a blazing fire both dressed in mourning, and Amy was relieved to see that there was no sign of the obnoxious Eugenie. Although Josephine’s eyes were red and swollen from weeping she gave Amy a smile and held her hand out to her.

‘Thank you for attending the service today, my dear,’ she told her once Amy was seated sedately on the chaise longue between them. ‘I am sure Mother-in-law would have wanted you to be there. She had come to think a great deal of you.’

Unsure of how to answer, Amy simply inclined her head, deeply touched at the kindness of these two dear people.

‘It was a fine service, don’t you think?’ the master enquired.

Amy nodded quickly in agreement. ‘Yes, sir. Indeed it was.’

‘Well, perhaps now we should think of getting back to some sort of normality. My mother would not have wished us all to sink into the doldrums. She had very high hopes for your designs, as she was fond of telling you, and yesterday I received a letter from Mr Harvey asking if we could both visit him in London at our earliest convenience. Now that the funeral is over I thought perhaps the day after tomorrow might be a good time to go. Would that be convenient for you, Amy?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Amy replied without hesitation. She would be glad to get back to work because then she would have something else to think about, other than what she considered to be their mutual loss. Even so, she was curious as to why Mr Harvey should wish to see them both together, as for some time now she had been travelling to and from London alone, if and when she was needed. She also wondered if this was why Mr and Mrs Forrester had wished to see her this evening, but as she was soon to discover, they had sent for her for a totally different reason.

The stresses and strains of the previous week and the warmth of the room had taken their toll on Amy, and suddenly to her horror she had to suppress a yawn, which did not go unnoticed by the mistress.

‘Are you tired, my dear?’ Mrs Forrester asked solicitously.

Amy flushed. ‘I am a little,’ she admitted.

Josephine was immediately contrite. ‘It was thoughtless of us to ask you to call this evening,’ she apologised. ‘I should have realised how tired you must be, with all the rushing backwards and forwards you’ve been doing.’

‘It’s quite all right, really,’ Amy insisted. ‘But I ought to be getting home now.’

Josephine stared out of the window at the snowy night. ‘Why don’t you sleep here tonight, to save you going out into the cold again? Lily could prepare you a room in no time at all.’

‘No, thank you all the same,’ Amy said. ‘I really do appreciate the offer, but if I don’t go home my gran will be up all night worrying about me. She never settles until I am back safe and sound.’

‘Of course – but at least let me have the carriage prepared for you. It really is the most appalling night.’

Again, Amy shook her head, smiling gratefully at the mistress. ‘I’d rather walk, really. I am used to walking.’

Josephine sighed. She could well see why her mother-in-law had thought so highly of this young woman, which brought her thoughts back to the reason why she had asked Amy to call.

‘The reason I asked you to come is because I have something for you,’ she said as she looked towards her husband. When he nodded, she crossed to a highly polished sideboard standing to the side of one of the long sash-cord windows. Opening one of the drawers, she withdrew a long slim velvet box and returning to where Amy still sat, she placed it in her hands.

‘Some days ago, following one of your visits, my mother-in-law gave this to me with explicit instructions that I was to pass it on to you, should anything happen to her.’

Amy was puzzled and more than a little embarrassed as she turned the box over in her hands until the master ordered, ‘Open it, my dear. I assure you it isn’t going to bite you.’

Obediently, Amy opened the lid and her mouth fell open as the colour drained from her face. ‘I … I don’t understand,’ she murmured as her questioning eyes sought theirs.

‘Mother wanted you to have it.’ Samuel’s voice was gentle as she stared down at the sparkling emerald and diamond necklace. It was the same one that the old lady had once allowed her to wear for the theatre trip in London.

‘I … I really can’t accept this,’ Amy said, but Mr Forrester wagged his finger at her sternly.

‘Oh yes, you can, young lady. I don’t know if you are aware of this but our daughter, Jessica, left home many years ago. My mother always intended her to have this one day, but unfortunately despite all our attempts to find Jessica we have never succeeded.’ His eyes clouded as his mind slipped away into the past but then he composed himself. Coughing to clear the lump that had formed in his throat he went on huskily, ‘My mother doted on Jessica and I know that, like my wife and me, she never got over her leaving us as she did. But then you came into her life and brightened her days again. This gift was left for you with all her love. So … are you going to refuse one of her last wishes?’

Amy stared at him speechlessly. She had declared to Molly only hours before that she was sure that there was not another single tear left in her but now they came, fast and furious, flooding down her cheeks. She had never thought to own an item of jewellery like this in her whole lifetime, and yet had it been a cheap trinket she would have treasured it equally as much.

‘Th … thank you.’ The words seemed so inadequate for such a gift but they were all she could think of to say.

When Amy showed the necklace to Molly later that evening the old woman’s eyes almost popped out of her head.

‘Good God above!’ she choked. ‘Why … it’s beautiful.’

The pair sat in silence admiring the glittering jewels as Molly’s mind raced.

Poor Amy had had a rare old week of it, there was no mistake about it. And just before her birthday too! Her thoughts moved on to the other little velvet box that was now tucked beneath her mattress. Somehow it didn’t seem the right time now to give Amy her mother’s locket. It was bound to stir her emotions more than they already were, and Molly felt that the poor girl had far more than her fair share of them to deal with right now.

She had waited this long to give it to her, so happen it wouldn’t hurt to wait for just a while longer. And so with her mind made up, Molly sought in her head for what to buy her as an alternative.

As the carriage that would take her to the station rattled down the lane towards them, Molly pulled Amy into a warm hug and smiled at her tenderly. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night then, darlin’ – an’ don’t forget, keep your chin up. Every cloud has a silver linin’, you’ll see.’

Amy nodded as disentangling herself from her gran’s arms she lifted her small valise and pecked Molly on the cheek.

‘Take care, Gran,’ she said. ‘I’ll be home before you know it and then we can have a nice quiet Christmas together, eh?’

Molly stood in the cottage doorway, her shawl pulled tightly about her as she watched Amy climb into the coach and watched it rumble away.

Mr Forrester took her valise from her and as Amy settled back in her seat, she saw that Adam was accompanying them too. But at least there was no sign of Eugenie, which made her wonder if the rumours that Nancy had told her on her last visit to London were true. According to the maid, Adam was being forced to sell the smart townhouse in Holland Park because of his wife’s extravagant spending. Now that Amy came to think about it, he had certainly been staying at Mr Forrester’s London residence a lot lately, leaving Eugenie at Forrester’s Folly, not that his wife seemed at all happy with the arrangement. Still, Amy supposed that their domestic life was nothing to do with her at the end of the day and she stared through the carriage window, wondering what Mr Harvey had summoned her and the master for.

Heavy snow on the train lines delayed their journey by almost two hours, and by the time they arrived in London it was already well into the afternoon. The light was quickly fading from the day, so they headed straight for Josephine’s Millinery, instructing the coachman to wait for them outside.

As they entered the warm interior, Mr Harvey hurried forward and shook Mr Forrester’s hand as he offered his sincere condolences on the master’s bereavement.

‘Your mother was a most remarkable lady, sir,’ he told him solemnly and Mr Forrester’s face stiffened as he nodded in agreement, the pain of her loss still very raw.

‘You are quite right, George. She certainly was and I appreciate your kind words. But I have to tell you, Amy and I have just had an intolerably long journey due to the atrocious weather conditions and as I am sure you haven’t asked us to come all this way just to tell me that, perhaps you could inform me what was so important that you requested both our presences?’

Mr Harvey was instantly apologetic. ‘Of course, sir. But first let me put the Closed sign on the door and then we can speak without interruption.’ He bustled away to lock the door and turn the sign, then, crossing back to them he cleared his throat noisilly, wondering where to begin. Eventually he eyed them both nervously and wrung his hands together as he began, ‘As you are aware. I have long been interested in the Paris designs – and I have even been able to get some of our own designs in a couple of the smaller shops there. It is common knowledge that some of the most favoured hat designs in the world originate from the larger Paris fashion houses. That is why I always ensure that I have the very latest magazines available for my clients to browse through, should they so wish. Anyway, many months ago, our late mistress visited me and put to me an idea that had long been forming in her mind.’

Mr Harvey cleared his throat and went on: ‘As we are all aware, she had great faith in Amy’s designs and felt that in Amy we had found our jewel in the crown, so to speak. Mrs Forrester firmly believed in following her instincts – which were that some of Amy’s designs by far outshone the Paris ones. And so, some time ago, she took it upon herself to contact one of the most famous fashion houses in Paris. The House of Laroque. She personally wrote to Monsieur Laroque himself and forwarded to him a small selection of Amy’s sketches, asking for his opinion of them. Some time later, Monsieur Laroque replied to Mrs Forrester expressing his interest in the designs and requesting that she send more of the same, plus some of the finished articles, at her earliest opportunity.’

Here, Mr Harvey paused to catch his breath before going on, ‘At this particular time, the dear lady’s health was failing and so she left the matter in my hands. I was only too delighted to follow her instructions to the letter and sent Monsieur Laroque a further selection of Amy’s best-selling designs, both bonnets and gowns as he had requested. And the outcome of this latest correspondence is what I have here.’

Barely able to contain his excitement now he quickly delved into the pocket of his exquisitely embroidered waistcoat and withdrew an envelope of the finest quality, heavily covered in foreign stamps.

By now, both Mr Forrester and Amy were watching his every move raptly and Mr Harvey beamed at his captive audience. ‘I apologise if up to now my actions have appeared rather underhanded, but I always had great faith in the late Mrs Forrester when she felt something, as she always referred to it, “in her water”. I believe in this instance you will both agree that her reactions have paid off. She has left to you, my dear Miss Ernshaw, a rare legacy indeed, for I have here a personal invitation from Monsieur Laroque himself, requesting that you both visit him in Paris to discuss the designs as soon as you can.’

At that moment it would have been hard to decide who was the more shocked of the two people standing in front of him. Mr Forrester’s mouth gaped slackly open and his eyes bulged, whilst the colour drained from Amy’s face. They both stood there in dumbfounded silence for some minutes and then slowly a large smile spread across Mr Forrester’s face, while Amy’s eyes filled with tears at this last act of kindness from her late mistress. Just as Mr Harvey had said, this was a rare legacy indeed, for the old woman’s faith in her was about to make her wildest dream come true. She was going to Paris, the most fashionable city in the world.