Hope - Lesley Pearse [129]
‘Test her pluck by asking her!’ Abel barked at him. ‘If she’s prepared to do that, I’ll find her a softer billet later.’
Bennett knew how his uncle’s mind worked. He wasn’t one for charity, and he was suspicious and narrow-minded. He probably thought Bennett was sweet on the girl, and his demand would probably make her run off, which was almost certainly what he hoped for. But Bennett didn’t think she would flee; her innate kindness would make her want to help those poor souls.
He half-closed his eyes, visualizing the filthy, overcrowded wards at St Peter’s which reeked of the most hideous suffering. She’d had more than her share of misery already, was it fair to give her more? To ask her to risk her young life for the dubious honour of maybe later being promoted to nursing some wealthy old crone who wouldn’t value her. Surely it would be better to let her go and find work on a farm? She might find love and happiness there.
But he recalled the proud way she’d stood up to Abel, her face as beautiful as a spring morning, and he knew he wanted some way of holding her in his life.
Chapter Fourteen
Hope stopped on the turn of the stairs, transfixed by her reflected image in the long mirror in front of her.
She couldn’t remember ever seeing herself in a full-length mirror since she was a child and used to play with Rufus at Briargate. She had of course looked at her face in a hand mirror daily, and caught sight of herself reflected in shop windows, but the latter images were never clear, and she always averted her eyes as she didn’t want to be reminded of her ragged and unkempt state.
But here in front of her now was the girl she had ached to be for so long. Her hair was neatly plaited and wound around her head. The dress Alice the housekeeper had given her was a maid’s dress, navy-blue with white collar and cuffs, and she wore polished boots. If she lifted the dress an inch or two above her ankles she saw the lace on the hem of a cotton petticoat and black stockings.
She couldn’t thank Alice enough for this transformation which had been achieved in such a kindly, diplomatic manner that Hope hadn’t even felt embarrassed. Alice said the clothes and boots belonged to a maid who had left to get married some years earlier and they were too small for anyone else.
It was this small size that surprised Hope most of all. She had never realized she was so slender. But then, her old dress had been Nell’s and it was so loose her real shape was hidden. Alice had remarked on her tiny waist, and laughingly said that all the Clifton ladies would be jealous of it. She’d also said Hope had beautiful hair and eyes, and that she understood why Dr Meadows had been so concerned about her when he found she had left Lewins Mead.
It was wonderful to feel respectable again, but to know that she’d made enough of an impression on the doctor for him to worry about her gave her a warm glow inside. She wasn’t even scared that she had to go back into the drawing room and see whether Dr Cunningham had decided if he would give her nursing work. The wash in hot water, her nails scrubbed and cut and the new clothes made her feel she could deal with anything he might say to her.
Alice said his bark was worse than his bite, but that was because he’d lost both his wife and his baby son. She added that the best way of dealing with his rudeness was to answer him back. ‘He likes a bit of spirit,’ was how Alice put it.
Well, Hope felt spirited now. She wasn’t entirely sure about becoming a nurse, but washing and feeding old ladies was certainly better than working on a farm, or selling flowers or kindling. She was also indebted to Dr Meadows for giving her a chance. So she didn’t intend to let him down.
She moved on up the stairs, but as she approached the drawing-room door, she heard raised voices and wondered if they were arguing