Christmas Child: an absolutely heartbreaking and emotional Victorian romance by Carol Rivers (classic english novels txt) 📕

Then the swirling of skirts and petticoats, laughter and gaiety. Ettie saw it all again, as motes of coal dust spun over the untidy, dishevelled room where the ashes were now spilled across the floorboards and Clara’s lovely cushions thrown carelessly on the rug.

A wave of emotion shuddered through her. She saw the dirty tumblers on the mantel. And yes, the empty bottle of green fairy.

How could she have allowed this chaos to happen?

She rested her head back on the chair trying to remember. A few vague images appeared; Lily’s rough hands pushing her along the passage, greedy fingers snatching the cigars from inside the glass cabinet. Lily’s voice becoming cold and harsh. Her taunting laughter at Lucas’s expense.

Ettie sat bolt upright. ‘The velvet blue cloths!’ she cried in horror. ‘Our most expensive cigars!’

In a wave of cold fear, Ettie recalled Lily’s parting words, ‘Foolish little soeur’.

Hurrying to the salon, Ettie pulled the blinds. As she had feared, daylight revealed the crumpled blue velvet cloths spread over the floor and the trampled remains of Lucas’s cigars.

Ettie held in a sob. What had happened to make Lily so angry? As if Ettie herself was the cause of Lily’s unhappiness.

‘What did I do to make it so?’ Ettie asked Rose, bending down to scoop up the broken fragments. ‘I thought Lily and Gwen were my friends.’

There was no response, of course. She collapsed on the stool, looking sadly at the empty glass cabinet; Lucas’s pride and joy. Why had Lily behaved so badly? It was as if she had changed into someone else before Ettie’s eyes.

It was then that another memory came back. And this, the worst of all. She jumped to her feet and ran over to the big brass till. Faintness overcame her as she saw the empty drawer.

Yesterday the till had been full of coins and notes folded carefully into the till’s compartments. Not a half penny of the thirty-five shillings remained.

Another, more terrible thought struck her. The chest behind the wooden panel! Had they discovered it? She hurried across to the shelf and pulling the lever, bent down and took the key from under the floorboard. Inside the cast iron chest, she found all the bags of money she had stored since Lucas had gone away.

Ettie couldn’t cry with relief although she dearly wanted to. What if, in her altered state of mind, she had given away her secret to Gwen and Lily? The consequences were too terrible to think about. Lily and Gwen had not come to celebrate her birthday. Or to bring her good things to eat, or to dance and sing with her as though they were true friends.

They had used the green fairy against her.

A painful sob lodged in her chest. Not only had Gwen and Lily betrayed her trust, but thieved from Lucas, too.

Chapter 24

Part Two

Reunited

March 1896

Davos, February 19th

‘My dear Ettie, thank you for your letter of the 27th January. To hear that all is well at the salon is a great relief. I congratulate and applaud you. Though perhaps you could have told me a little more, a few details to relish? However, this is just a minor point. Especially in the light of what has transpired in Switzerland. Wonderful news! The medical test has been passed! Clara’s blood is now healthy, rid of the opium and running through her veins without hinder. The substitute medicine has ceased. The kind nurses have ministered to Clara in every good way possible. Hence, she has put on a little weight and the milk diet has achieved a good, clear pallor. But before today, I could not have told you she had wholly improved in mind. I feared that despite the positive physical result she might remain depressed. The sanatoria physician, Professor Ruegg, assured me he would do his utmost to resolve her condition. But I saw that he, too, was a little dismayed. Clara’s moods had settled, but in a low way. Her counselling was tricky, to say the least. I have spent many hours with my dear wife under the shadow of the truly magnificent mountains. We have watched the sporting types in their gay attire and the climbing types, full of bravado. The rich and famous who arrive incognito, only to tire of not being recognized and adored and so reveal themselves on the slopes, with champagne and strawberries aplenty.

Davos has truly been an eye-opener. But my thoughts are mainly on my darling wife. I have come to investigate every sigh, every little nuance as I study her, hoping for improvement. So dear Ettie, can you imagine this scene just a few days ago? I was reading the English column of the Swiss paper, in particular, an article detailing our sovereign Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next year, when lo and behold, Professor Ruegg, a moustachioed man in his late fifties, and of a sombre bearing, appeared at Clara’s bedside after breakfast. “Good day to you, sir,” he says to me in his impeccable English! To Clara, he is almost exuberant! The man paces a few steps, then lets off the firework. And, the expression on Clara’s face is so totally unfamiliar that I hardly recognize her! For the rest of the day, Clara and I are dumfounded, overjoyed, elated, ecstatic, there’s no words to describe! For Ettie, my dear, dear Ettie, we are to have a child! After our years of disappointment, your benevolent God, the God you have such faith in, has blessed us. Dr Ruegg has agreed that Clara’s confinement will be conducted, as an exception, here at the sanatoria. An arduous journey back to England would not be advisable. Naturally, we shall extend our stay. Ettie, my pen trembles as I write … in the hopes that you will see your way to remaining my salon assistant until then? As faithfully and hopefully as ever, Lucas Benjamin.’

Ettie gulped a deep breath. She glanced up from the letter –