that snotty-nosed wife o’ his got their own place in Holland Park, even though it’s a bit too close for comfort. She used to have me runnin’ around after ’er like a mad thing, an’ even then nothin’ I did fer her was ever right, silly mare.’
Cook nodded in agreement. ‘Yer right there, luv. All I can say is, God help the poor buggers she’s got workin’ fer her now. I doubt she’ll keep staff fer long, the way she carries on.’
‘I feel sorry fer Master Adam,’ Nancy said. ‘They reckon she’s spendin’ money on their house left right an’ centre. It’ll be a smaller version o’ Buck Palace at the rate she’s goin’ on.’
‘Then happen it’s time Adam put his foot down wi’ her,’ Cook said wisely, but none of them really thought that would happen, knowing Eugenie as they did.
That evening, when they had retired to bed, Amy and Nancy had their usual late-night chat.
Amy no longer shared the top landing with Nancy but at the old mistress’s insistence now had a room on the second floor, which was kept ready for her frequent visits at all times. For the past hour she had been listening with amusement to Nancy going on about Billy’s seemingly endless virtues, and now she was feeling comfortably sleepy and warm. The fire in the ornately tiled grate was burning brightly as the two young women chattered on, content in each other’s company.
‘When will yer be comin’ back again?’ Nancy asked eventually when they had caught up on all their gossip and she had run out of things to say about Billy.
‘Next week. The seamstresses have almost completed that new design I was telling you about and I have to come back for the client to have her final fitting. That’s why I’m calling into the shop on my way home tomorrow.’ She chuckled as she went on, ‘To be honest, I think the seamstresses will be glad when this one is finished. They’ve spent hours and hours working on it. Up to now they’ve stitched on five thousand pearls and sequins. I reckon the gown will be worthy of Queen Victoria herself, by the time it’s done.’
Nancy sighed dreamily as a picture of the beautiful dress Amy had described floated in front of her eyes.
‘If I ever ’ad a dress like that I don’t think I’d ever want to take it off,’ she stated, and the two girls then fell together laughing as they pictured Nancy cleaning out the grates and doing her household chores in it.
Amy was up with the lark the next morning and after eating one of Cook’s hearty breakfasts she kissed Cook and Nancy soundly and stepped out into the foggy London streets. As she climbed into the waiting carriage, she shuddered and pulled her coat more closely about her. For weeks, Molly had been saying that snow was on the way, and Amy could well believe it.
After her visits to the two shops she made it to Euston station in good time and settled comfortably into the train carriage, tucking her hands into the pretty fur muff that matched her bonnet. She had promised to visit the Forresters that evening, but first she wanted to go home and see her gran.
When she alighted at Trent Valley, Amy called into the grocer shop in the town to buy some treats for Molly for her tea then set off on her chilly walk home. It was almost four o’clock in the afternoon by now, and already the brightness had gone from the day. Frost was forming on the grass and little tufts of it stood erect like tiny sentinels as her feet crunched across it. Her breath was hanging on the air in front of her and by the time she entered the warmth of the cosy little kitchen her nose was red and her cheeks rosy.
‘My goodness, you look frozen through,’ Molly fussed as she heaved herself out of her old rocking chair. ‘Come over here and warm yourself by the fire while I get you a dish o’ nice hot stew. I’ve been waitin’ for you to get back afore I had mine. There ain’t much fun in eatin’ alone.’
After shrugging her arms out of her coat, Amy did as she was told and held her hands out to the welcoming blaze of the fire. Once she was warmed through, they sat together at the table to eat their meal while Amy told her gran all about