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The door was opened by a parlourmaid wearing a neat black dress with a spotless white cap and apron. She looked Lottie up and down. ‘The tradesmen’s entrance is round the back, miss.’
‘I came to see Miss Nightingale,’ Lottie said boldly. ‘I understand she is interviewing nurses to travel with her to the Crimea.’
‘Miss Nightingale is at the Middlesex Hospital at present. She’s nursing cholera victims from the East End. You might catch her there, although I doubt if she’ll have time to see you.’
Lottie opened her mouth to speak, but the door was slammed in her face. She stood for a few moments, shocked by her reception, but not really surprised. She had not expected it to be easy, and she had not told anyone at The Swan where she was going. They would think her quite insane, and perhaps she was, but helping Gideon back to health and strength had given her a new purpose in life. It seemed quite natural to want to follow the young man who had made such an impression on her, and to be of service where it was desperately needed. She was now even more determined to see Miss Nightingale. She was familiar with the Middlesex Hospital, having been taken there with a suspected broken arm when she was much younger. It had turned out to be a bad sprain, needing no further treatment, but the grand building had made an indelible impression upon her. She set off for Mortimer Street.
It was a hot day and the stench from the Thames hung in a pall over the city. The river was said to be little more than an open sewer, and as London suffocated in the sweltering heat of August, the outbreak of cholera in Soho had caused many people to flee for safety. Lottie covered her nose and mouth with her hanky and quickened her pace.
The hospital waiting area was crowded, and the desk clerk was overworked and impatient. Despite Lottie’s entreaties, she was told that Miss Nightingale was too busy to see anyone, and the wards were closed to visitors, but Lottie was not prepared to give up easily. Her one day off a month was too precious to waste in a futile exercise, and she decided to wait. She did not have a plan in mind, but she had not come this far to give in at the first setback, or even the second.
She took a seat at the end of a row where she had a good view of the comings and goings. She was hot and thirsty, and as the hours went by her stomach cramped with hunger pains, but she had set her mind on having a word with the illustrious lady, although whether she would be able to pick her out amongst the nurses who flitted around like so many pale moths, was another matter. Somehow, Lottie was convinced that she would know Miss Nightingale the moment she saw her.
It was getting late. Even so, the seats in the waiting room were crowded with victims of accidents and muggings, and anxious mothers holding small children who were limp with fever. She knew she ought to be getting back to Gresham Street, and yet she was reluctant to give up. Then, she saw her. The slight woman, pale-faced with exhaustion, walked with her head held high, looking neither to her left nor her right.
Lottie leaped to her feet. ‘Miss Nightingale. It is you, isn’t it?’
Chapter Three (#ud960f709-5c08-5551-98ef-43269ff9918b)
‘If you’re unwell you must wait your turn. I’m off duty.’ The voice was cultured, but the tone was clipped and impatient.
‘No, I’m not ill.’ Lottie hurried after her. ‘Please could you spare me a moment of your time? I’ve waited here all day for a chance to speak to you.’
Florence stopped just short of the street door. She turned slowly, her face a pale oval in the light of a gas lamp. ‘What do you want of me?’
‘I’d dearly love to accompany you to the Crimea, Miss Nightingale.’
‘Are you a trained nurse?’
‘Not exactly.’
‘I’m sorry. I can’t help you.’ Florence was about to leave the building, but Lottie caught her by the sleeve.
‘Please give me a chance.’
Florence fixed Lottie with a piercing gaze, from which there was no escape. ‘You’re very young. How old are you?’
‘I’m twenty, Miss Nightingale. I’ll be twenty-one in January.’
‘I don’t consider anyone under twenty-three. If you want to be a nurse, you must train in a hospital here, at home. Now, allow me to go on my way.’
‘Is this person bothering you, Miss Nightingale?’ A uniformed porter hurried up to them, glaring at Lottie.
‘No, she was just making enquiries.’ Florence’s stern expression lightened into what was almost a smile. ‘What is your name, young lady?’
‘Charlotte Lane, ma’am.’
‘Good luck, Charlotte.’ Florence nodded to the porter and he held the door open for her.
Lottie watched spellbound as the small figure climbed into a waiting carriage.
‘You was lucky,’ the porter said tersely. ‘She could have had you thrown out.’
‘Yes, but she turned me down. I just wanted to do something useful.’
‘Go home, miss. It’s getting late and a young person like yourself shouldn’t be roaming the streets unaccompanied.’
Lottie was about to tell him she was quite capable of looking after herself, when she heard footsteps approaching. She turned to see Lieutenant Gillingham striding towards them.
‘It’s Lottie, isn’t it?’ He came to a halt beside her. ‘I thought I recognised you.’
‘Yes, sir.’ She bobbed a curtsey, out of habit rather than necessity. Even this far from the inn she had a sneaking feeling that Mrs Filby might be hiding around the next corner, watching her.
‘What are you doing here on your own?’
The porter cleared his throat noisily. ‘I told her it was late for a young lady to be wandering the streets, sir.’
‘Yes, thank you. I know this lady and I’ll see her safely home.’
The porter muttered something as he stalked off to deal with a drunk who was swearing and threatening to punch a young doctor.
A sudden thought occurred to Lottie and she shivered. ‘It’s not Private Ellis, is it, sir? He hasn’t taken a turn for the worse?’
Gillingham smiled and shook his head. ‘As far as I know, Ellis is already back on duty and doing well. I was visiting a patient: my old nanny, God bless her. She’s very frail, but determined to make a full recovery, and she’s the only family I have left now.’ He proffered his arm. ‘Anyway, you must allow me to escort you home.’
‘I can find my own way back to Gresham Street, thank you all the same,’ Lottie said with as much dignity as she could muster.
‘I dare say you could, but I am headed that way, and we could share a cab.’
‘You’re going to The Swan?’
‘My colonel’s lady is arriving on the mail coach from Bath, and I’ve been detailed to meet her, which is why I took the opportunity to visit the hospital. I’ve booked two rooms for us at The Swan and we will travel on to Chatham in the morning.’
‘Oh, well, in that case, thank you.’ Lottie had been prepared to walk, but it was a hot night and there was a sense of unrest in the humid, foul-smelling air. A ride home would be more than welcome.
Gillingham ushered her outside onto the forecourt where a cab had just dropped off a fare. ‘The Swan with Two Necks, Gresham Street, cabby.’ He handed Lottie into the vehicle and climbed in after her. ‘Were you visiting someone in the hospital? It’s not the best place to be during a cholera epidemic.’
‘I wanted to speak to Miss Nightingale.’
‘By Jove, that’s a worthy ambition. Did you succeed?’
‘Yes, I spoke to her, although much good it did me.’
He settled back against the leather squabs. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘I want to go to the Crimea. I wanted to join her team of nurses.’
‘Really?’ He eyed her speculatively. ‘Did looking after Private Ellis have anything to do with your decision?’
‘I suppose it did, in a way. I realised that I could do better than waiting hand and foot on travellers at the inn. I was born into an army family, and spent my first six years in India. Talking to Private Ellis brought it all back to me, and suddenly it seemed the most natural thing in the world to want to do something worthwhile. Does that sound silly?’
‘No. It sounds like a brave move. It’s a pity nothing came of it.’
‘Yes, but I’m not giving up yet.’
They lapsed into silence as the cab tooled along the streets, which were much quieter now than they had been when Lottie set out that morning, and they arrived at the inn just as the mail coach from Bath was pulling into the stable yard.
Filby stepped out of the shadows and caught Lottie by the arm. ‘What sort of time do you call this? You was supposed to be back by seven sharp.’
‘I must take the blame for Lottie’s late return, sir,’ Gillingham said firmly. ‘It was entirely my fault.’
‘If you say so, sir.’ Filby cringed visibly. He waited until Gillingham had walked off to greet the colonel’s wife. ‘No good will come of you mixing with the military, you stupid girl. Soldiers and sailors are all the same when it comes to women. D’you get my meaning, you stupid little bitch?’
She wrenched free from his tight grasp. ‘It’s not like that. I met the lieutenant by pure chance.’
Filby caught her a stinging blow on the side of her face. ‘Don’t cheek me, miss.’
‘I say, was that really necessary?’ A silvery voice rang out across the stable yard as a young, fashionably dressed woman descended from the mail coach.
‘I’d leave it be, my lady,’ Gillingham said in a low voice.
‘No, Farrell, I won’t.’ She moved across the yard with the grace of a ballerina. ‘You, fellow with the leather apron.’ She addressed Filby, who stared at her, apparently dumbstruck by her beauty. ‘What do you mean by slapping the poor girl’s face? What could she have done to deserve such harsh treatment?’
‘Who are you, ma’am?’ Filby stuttered, puffing out his cheeks.
‘I am Lady Aurelia Dashwood, sir. And who may you be?’
Gillingham moved swiftly to her side. ‘This is Filby, my lady. He is the landlord.’
‘Landlord or no, what right have you to strike this young woman?’ Aurelia demanded angrily.
‘She is a maidservant, employed by me, my lady.’ Filby dropped his voice to a mere whisper. ‘Begging your pardon, ma’am.’
Lottie had an almost irresistible desire to giggle at the sight of Filby grovelling before the elegant lady. ‘I’ll get on with my work then, shall I, guv?’
‘Yes,’ Filby said with a vague wave of his hand, ‘and don’t let it happen again.’
Aurelia laid a gloved hand on Lottie’s shoulder. ‘What is your name?’
‘Lottie, my lady.’
‘Well, Lottie, my maid was taken ill at the start of the journey from Bath and I had to send her home. I need someone to help me with my toilette.’ She turned to Filby with a smile that would have melted the hardest heart. ‘I take it you have no objections, landlord?’
‘No, my lady.’ Filby bowed from the waist. ‘Of course not. If there is anything you need, you have only to ask.’
Gillingham glanced at the luggage that was piling up on the cobblestones. ‘Is this all yours, my lady?’
‘Of course it is, Farrell. Have you ever known me to travel light?’ Aurelia laughed and tossed her head. The feathers in her dashing straw bonnet waved and danced, and her golden ringlets bobbed with each movement of her head.
Lottie could only stare at her, entranced. She had never seen anyone as lovely or as lively and spirited as the colonel’s wife. ‘I’ll see that the lady’s baggage is taken to her bedchamber,’ she volunteered. ‘Which room is hers, guv?’
‘Why, you silly girl, the best in the house, of course.’ Filby seemed to recover from his daze and he strode into the middle of the yard. ‘Jem, where are you, boy? Take the lady’s luggage to room ten.’ He bowed to Aurelia, keeping his head bent low as if addressing royalty. ‘Lottie will show you to your room, my lady. If there is anything we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.’
Lottie eyed him with distaste. If the silly man bowed any lower he would be in danger of falling flat on his face. She picked up a couple of bandboxes, leaving Jem to bring the heavy items. ‘If you would come this way, my lady …’
‘I’ll see you at supper, Farrell.’ Aurelia patted him on the cheek as she walked past. ‘I’m extremely hungry, so I hope there is something tasty on the bill of fare.’
Gillingham clicked his heels together, staring straight ahead. ‘Wouldn’t you rather dine in the privacy of your room, my lady?’ He lowered his voice. ‘The clientele here might not be to your liking.’
‘Nonsense, Farrell. I’m sure I’ll find it most entertaining.’ Aurelia moved on, pausing to give Jem the benefit of her sparkling smile. ‘What is your name?’
He straightened up, shifting from one foot to the other. ‘Jem, my lady.’
‘Well, thank you for your services, Jem.’
Lottie watched in awe as Lady Aurelia charmed the guard and the coachman who had brought her this far. It seemed she had a smile and a kind word for everyone; Lottie was impressed, and close to falling under her ladyship’s spell. She led the way to number ten, which was the biggest and the best room they had to offer. Even so, as she opened the door and ushered Aurelia inside, Lottie had the feeling that the room, although reasonably clean and comfortable, was not what such a grand lady might expect. An apology tingled on the tip of her tongue as she lit the lamps, but Aurelia uttered a cry of delight.
‘A four-poster bed, how delightful, and such a pretty coverlet.’ She untied her bonnet and laid it on a chair, while she unbuttoned her silk mantle. ‘Charming, utterly charming.’
‘I’m afraid it’s not what you’re used to, my lady.’
Aurelia’s violet-blue eyes danced with amusement. ‘You obviously have no idea what sort of life a soldier’s wife leads. I’ve slept in bivouacs in the most frightful conditions of rain, ice and snow, or blistering heat, not to mention vermin and wildlife of all sorts. There was even a bear who visited camp in Canada. So you see, Lottie, this is luxury indeed, but only for one night as we travel on tomorrow.’ She breathed a sigh of relief as she laid her jacket on the chair. ‘It’s very hot. I think we might have a storm tonight.’
‘It would clear the air.’ Lottie moved to open the door and Jem struggled in, laden with cases, a valise and two carpetbags, which he set down on the floor. ‘There’s still a small trunk, my lady. Shall I bring that too?’
Aurelia cast an eye over the luggage. ‘It would be better stored somewhere until the morning, if you would be so kind, Jem?’
His cheeks flushed bright red and he grinned sheepishly. ‘Of course, my lady. It’s no trouble at all.’
‘Wait a moment, please.’ Aurelia opened her reticule and took out a coin, which she pressed into his hand. ‘Thank you, Jem. That will be all for now.’
He backed out of the room, still grinning.
‘What a charming young man.’ Aurelia cast a curious glance at Lottie. ‘And good-looking too – is he your sweetheart?’
‘Certainly not.’ Lottie had not meant to speak so sharply. ‘I’m sorry, my lady, but Jem is more like a brother to me. You might say we grew up together.’
‘Really? How interesting. You must have been very young when you began working here.’
‘I was twelve, my lady.’
‘And this is what you wanted to do, is it?’
‘I didn’t have any choice in the matter.’
‘I suppose not. One is inclined to forget how hard life is for most people.’ Aurelia sighed, shaking her head. ‘I don’t think I’ll change for dinner, but I would like to wash the dust of the road off before I go down to dine.’ She slanted a curious look in Lottie’s direction. ‘Can you dress hair, Lottie?’
‘I’ve practised on May and Ruth; they’re the other chambermaids. We do it for each other if and when we get a free moment, which isn’t often. It’s always busy here.’
