Ha'Penny Schemes (Ivy Rose Series Book 4), page 15
“I was just thinking,” she said as she stepped back into the kitchen, “do you own the house next door now, Ria?” She couldn’t imagine the luxury of having a house to call your own.
“I don’t know. Maybe I do.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” said Ali as she sat down. “If I had a house of my own I’d never leave it – I’d find it hard even to step outside the door!”
“I don’t feel like that,” said Ria. “If the house is mine I don’t think I’d want to stay there all the time. I’ve always dreamed about travelling.”
“What?” Ivy said. “Like my brothers? Leave home and never look back?”
“No,” Ria said slowly. “I always dreamed of travelling – seeing the places I’ve read about – hearing the music I’ve dreamed about.” She was enjoying this time sitting and chatting with other women. She’d never done this before. “I’d like to see Paris, Rome, Vienna and then return home to plan the next adventure. I’d like to be able to leave my treasures in a place that was my own. Oh, I’m just thinking out loud!”
“Maybe you’re not.” Ivy shrugged. “Maybe you’ll be able to make your dreams come true.”
Ali listened to the others talking. What did she dream about? What did she want to do with her life?
“Well, at least sitting here talking about my dreams with you two is keeping my mind off my problems.” Ria smiled. “At times I feel full of the joys of spring for some reason and then I think about my poor mother and feel guilty.”
“You shouldn’t,” Ali said without thinking.
“Give yerself a kick in the arse,” Ivy added.
“I want to go shopping for new clothes.” Ria had told Ivy and Frank about her gold sovereigns. She’d insisted on giving them one each for her keep. “I mean no insult to the clothes you’ve given me, Ivy.”
“No insult taken – but if you want to go shopping for fancy clothes it’s my friend Ann Marie you need to talk to – she knows the best shops around Dublin.”
“Ann Marie’s in the family way, Ivy,” Ali reminded her.
“Doesn’t stop the woman being a devil around the shops.” Ivy grinned. “She’d enjoy herself showing Ria around.”
“Ali, any chance of you coming out here to give us a hand?” a male voice shouted from the back garden.
“Oops!” Ali jumped to her feet and spun away. “I forgot all about me brother Mike. He’ll kill me.” She almost ran from the room.
“Am I keeping you from your work, Ivy?” Ria didn’t want to get in the way.
“I’m being lazy, truth be told.” Ivy didn’t want to go outside and face the crowd of women who would want to know every detail of what was going on. They would expect her to have inside information. She really didn’t feel up to facing that. “Having Alison on hand is a luxury I truly enjoy. I feel guilty sometimes – then I look at her smiling face and kick myself in the arse.”
“I don’t think I’ve met Mike,” Ria said after a while.
Ivy stood to fetch more tea. They’d been sitting with empty cups in front of them for long enough. “There’s a whole shower of Connellys and every one a clever, bright individual. Lily Connelly can be proud of the children she’s raised.”
“Thanks.” Ria accepted the tea. “It’s lovely to sit and talk but I wanted to finish off those dresses I brought in.”
“Oh, you can do that later. Drink your tea and relax now.”
“I love the way you’ve added lace around the collar and cuffs to give the dresses a bit of a lift,” Ria said.
“I used to make the lace meself,” Ivy said. “I buy it on a roll now. I don’t think it looks as pretty but it’s a lot less work for me and I know what to charge for the finished garment.”
“You certainly seem to have a good business going.” Ria sipped her tea. “I never knew there was so much involved. I palled around with your Eamo for a while, you know. He never mentioned how busy you always are.”
“Eamo was never very interested in work.” Ivy didn’t know if she should mention that Eamo was back in Dublin. “He was more interested in the money it brought. He was quick to put his hand out for that.”
“I always thought you only made coppers.” Ria had listened to Eamo moan about his lot in life. She’d never heard him speak a word of praise of his sister. She wondered why.
“I supported four men with the money I made from me round.” Ivy had never really known how much money she took in on a given day. Her da had always been there to remove every copper coin from her hand when she stepped in the door. It had come as a shock to her to find, after his death, that her round was a nice little earner.
“Frank tells me you sell dressed dolls too.” Ria had been astonished when Frank told her of the many business ventures this woman had going. “And he said you sell his dollhouses too. They’re beautiful.”
“Frank is an artist.” Ivy laughed. “He blushes when I call him that. What the man can produce from bits of wood he picks up down the docks is a marvel to me.”
The two women sat and chatted while the noise of Ivy’s business went on outdoors. The police investigation was well underway in the house next door but neither woman mentioned it. Today had been a day of shocks and discoveries. The two women were escaping from the reality of the life going on around them. It wouldn’t last but, while it did, they were determined to enjoy it.
Chapter 24
“Does your husband know you have absconded with his horse?” a gentle cultured voice asked. “They hang horse thieves, you know.”
“Mrs Winthrop!” Ivy grinned at the tall raw-boned woman standing on the path. The steel-grey colour of the woman’s long dress matched the hair pulled back in a headache-inducing bun. She presented a severe figure but the smile on her face gave the lie to her appearance. “I’m only borrowing Rosie.” She curled her bare toes in the grass verge.
“It is such a wonderful day – full of the promise of summer – I can see why you’d be tempted to play truant.” Augustina Winthrop enjoyed the picture Ivy presented. The dark-haired, violet-eyed beauty in her black skirt and beautifully embroidered white cashmere jumper, leading the black horse, backlit by the gently travelling water of the Grand Canal, was a vision of loveliness.
“Have you been to see Ann Marie?” Ivy’s eyes travelled to the house sitting in its own grounds across the canal.
“I have indeed,” Augustina smiled. “Mother and baby are doing very well.” She’d been surprised by the lady, expecting a bedridden attention-demanding whiner. She’d instead been presented with a dynamic female with no intention of taking to her bed. She’d been ashamed of her own assumption. “Sending young Catherine to her was inspired thinking, Ivy.” She’d delivered Catherine O’Malley and several of her siblings.
“Catherine seems to be settling in well.” Ivy pulled Rosie off the towpath to allow a horse pulling a barge to pass. She waved to the people on board while Rosie calmly ate the daisy-dotted green grass.
“She’s a very pleasant young girl and seems willing to learn.” Augustina decided to enjoy the day. A young lad would be sent running for her if she was needed. She took a large linen handkerchief from her pocket and covered the top of a dusty granite block standing upright in the grass with it before sitting.
With the horse on a long lead-rein Ivy sat on the grass beside the block. Both women stared at the water of the canal.
“You’ve been married almost a year, Ivy,” Augustina said carefully. “Are you concerned that you’re not with child?”
Ivy raised her eyes and stared into the older woman’s pale-brown eyes. “Not in the least.”
“I’ve known you since you were a small child, Ivy.” Augustina was feeling her way. “I delivered you and your brothers.” She took a deep breath, ashamed at her own cowardice. “Ivy, it’s providential that I have met you today. You see, I have not only been to see Ann Marie. Father Leary demanded to see me.”
Ivy shrugged. “Rather you than me.”
“Don’t make light of this, Ivy.” Augustina put a blue-veined hand on Ivy’s shoulder and shook it gently. She had no liking for the Parish Priest but had sense enough to know the man was dangerous – a rabid animal. “I was questioned about ways you might be doing the devil’s work in preventing conception.”
“Jesus!” Ivy prayed. “Wouldn’t you think, with all the work the man has to do as Parish Priest, he’d have better things to do with his time?”
“I don’t know how to put into words what I observed today.” Augustina had been terrified. The man was unhealthily fixated on Ivy just as he’d been on her mother. It wasn’t as a man of God he’d questioned her – the mere mention of Ivy had brought an increase in his breathing – he’d been visibly sweating. “Father Leary said his parishioner Mrs Purcell had brought her concerns to him.”
“Honest to God,” Ivy dropped her head to her bent knees, “with all the suffering and want in the world, wouldn’t you think the pair of them would have something better to do?”
“We shouldn’t be seen chatting on friendly terms.” Augustina stood. She removed her handkerchief from the block, shaking it vigorously before returning it to her pocket. “I’m not brave, Ivy. I wish I were.” She had read about the women fighting for women’s liberty. She corresponded with public figures supporting what they called birth control. She sent money but never dared to express her opinions aloud. She could not face public persecution as those brave women did. Just then she saw a familiar figure strolling from The Lane. “I believe your husband wants his horse back.” She laughed and walked on.
She greeted Jem politely as she passed him.
She’d done everything she could for the moment. But she would keep watch. Ivy Murphy held out the hand of help to others without spouting religious fervour all around. She’d been a blessing to Augustina’s friend and mentor Granny Grunt. In the old woman’s memory, Augustina would watch over Ivy.
“Mrs Ryan, you’ve stolen my horse again.” Jem stepped onto the grass verge and dropped onto the grass beside Ivy. He had to take a moment to push Rosie’s big head out of his face. The horse was demanding her own share of attention.
“She gets bored standing in her stall all day.” Ivy dropped her head to Jem’s shoulder for a moment. She’d discuss what Mrs Winthrop had mentioned but not now. It was a beautiful day and she refused to spoil it. “Want to go for a walk with me?”
“I’ll feel a right eejit taking a horse for a walk.” Jem jumped to his feet and held out his hand. “Where’s your shoes?” He looked around the grass.
“In the house where they belong.” Ivy allowed Jem to pull her to her feet. “I wanted to feel the earth under my feet.”
She walked on with her man and his horse. She took a deep breath of the refreshing air. She wouldn’t borrow trouble. It would find her soon enough.
Augustina Winthrop’s house was only steps from the tunnel leading from the Grand Canal. She was inside her own home now and still thinking of Ivy. She looked around the house that had been her home all of her life. She tried to help the women in her care. There were times when she was discouraged as she welcomed babies into a miserable existence. How many times had she wished she had someone to discuss her hopes and sorrows with? It seemed to her she’d been a coward all her life. Her mother and two older sisters had died in childbed. They were too narrow for easy births. She’d studied and learned all she could so she could help other women. She hadn’t dared marry herself. She had no wish to die young.
“Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself and put the kettle on, you old fool!”
Apart from the knocking on the front door when someone needed her service, her voice was the only sound ever heard in this house. She had briefly thought of asking Frank Wilson about changing the house from a private home to a boarding house, as he had done. The thought of strangers underfoot was not something she could countenance, however.
“There is only one way to fight the might of the Catholic Church.” Augustina was still fretting about Ivy. “Money.”
“Ivy, are you about?”
The cultured voice of Ann Marie broke into Ivy’s dreams.
“There’s no rest for the wicked, it seems.” Ivy had just put her head down for a nap. She’d been tired after her morning out in the fresh air. She didn’t feel refreshed. What time was it?
“I’m coming!” she yelled.
She didn’t want anyone coming in here and seeing the state of the place. She’d be the talk of the wash house – nothing worse than a dirty housekeeper.
“Someone put the kettle on! I’m spitting feathers!”
“When are you not?” Ann Marie shouted back.
“Good morning.” Ivy – bootlaces flapping, yawning hugely – entered the kitchen from her bedroom.
“It’s closer to evening.” Ann Marie, pregnant belly pushed proudly out from her body, sat at the kitchen table while her companion Catherine O’Malley took care of making tea.
“What are you two doing here?” Ivy didn’t have to be polite. She hadn’t been expecting them.
“Gracious as always.” Ann Marie smirked.
“I haven’t had a cup of tea yet, madam, so you be careful how you talk to me.” Ivy almost collapsed into the chair across the table from Ann Marie. She knew she could rely on Catherine to make a decent pot of tea. “Seriously, what brings you here?” Thank God for Ali and Mike. The place was shining and she could hear the brother and sister talking outside.
“I was dropping off rolls of film to Milo.” The street photographer was training Ann Marie in the use of her camera. “He has agreed to develop my photographs while I’m in this ‘interesting condition’ as my aunt refers to it.” She patted her bump gently.
“Ivy,” Catherine said, “I was wondering if you’d got any more frocks?” She put a cup of tea on the table in front of Ivy.
“I have, as a matter of fact.” Ivy turned her attention to Sadie’s niece. The change in the young girl was astonishing. She examined the drop-waist dress she’d sold to Catherine. “I must say, someone’s done a marvellous job of altering that dress.” She stood to examine the stitching in the flower-printed cotton dress she’d received on her rounds.
“I did it meself – me Aunty Sadie is teaching me to knit and sew.” Catherine was proud of her efforts. She didn’t mind turning around and letting Ivy have a good look at her work.
“I have more dresses – you’ll have to give me time to root them out though,” Ivy said. “In the meantime, why don’t you take tea and a few biscuits outside to Ali and Mike – stay and visit for a while?”
“I’ll do that right now.” Catherine wanted to see that Mike Connelly. She thought he was gorgeous. “I’ll ask Ali about a dress while I’m there, will I?”
“You do that,” Ivy said.
“Very smoothly done, Mrs Ryan,” Ann Marie said with a grimace as she sipped at the ever-present tea.
“I want to know how things are going with you. We haven’t been able to have a decent talk for ages.”
“I’m doing very well,” Ann Marie said. “Edward is a nervous wreck and if I listened to him I’d be a semi-invalid.”
“How is Catherine working out?” They really hadn’t had a chance to gossip lately.
“The girl is a work in progress.” Ann Marie said. “She has an incredible amount of knowledge on some things but is completely ignorant of others.” She ignored the tea in front of her and watched Ivy jump to refill her own cup. “Having Catherine around at this time is ideal. If I have worries she will invariably have some wise-woman advice for me – and my efforts to improve her lot in life takes my mind off my own situation.”
“Are you worried?” Ivy returned to the table and stared at her friend.
“No, in fact I’m quite excited. But it’s difficult for me watching Edward fret and worry. The poor man is terrified I’m going to die in childbed like his first wife.”
“There’s not much we can do to help, I’m afraid.”
Ann Marie started laughing. She laughed so much tears came to her eyes, steaming up her gold-rimmed glasses. She reached into the deep pocket of her navy-silk dress to remove her lace-trimmed handkerchief. “Oh dear,” she managed to mutter when she’d stopped laughing, “your Jem took my Edward to see a woman in The Lane with twenty living children. He wanted to show him childbed wasn’t necessarily dangerous – he frightened the life out of the poor man.”
“Mrs Riley.” Ivy nodded. “That poor woman is in a constant state of expectancy.”
The two women looked at each other and collapsed – and the sound of their shared laughter rang through the house.
Chapter 25
“Yer mother would go spare if she knew you were out on me rounds with me.” Ivy looked over at Ali. She was dressed in the old-fashioned clothing her mother had bought for her. It was strange to see her so dowdy – nowadays Ali cut a fashionable figure – she’d changed so much since she’d been working for Ivy.
“You need someone who knows about your round, Ivy.” Ali was having the time of her life. “If for whatever reason you can’t get out and about, you need someone to step in. I plan to be that someone.”
“You and Conn don’t plan to do away with me and Jem, do you?” Ivy pushed the goods in her pram down, getting ready for the next stop.
“Don’t tempt me!” Ali almost skipped. It was a beautiful day. They had survived the madness of Easter and now she was out in the fresh air with Ivy. All was right with her world.
“How much cash do we have left?” Ivy at one time had taken goods from servants and sold them on, keeping a percentage for herself. These days she bought the goods outright. She had the money. “I wasn’t expecting that piece of jewellery at the last place. That cut into me stash.” Ivy never knew what the servants might have for sale. It could be anything from hair ribbons to a trinket they’d been given by their employers.
