The Unseen(44)

‘Emma is devout. Should you wish to wear a cross of Jesus, you also may. I hope you are not comparing our Lord God to Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst?’ He smiled. Cat tried hard to keep her face straight, but could not prevent the corners of her mouth from twitching.

‘Certainly not. For if God were a woman, we would certainly not have to fight so hard for basic social justices,’ she said.

‘If God were a woman! If God were a woman!’ The Gentleman laughed. ‘Catherine, you are a card, you really are. I should never have taught you to read. It’s true that in women, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!’ he chortled. Cat stopped smiling, and resumed her steely stare. The Gentleman fell silent for a while. ‘And with your mother’s glare, to boot. Begone the pair of you, about your work.’ He dismissed them with a wave of his hand. ‘Let me hear no more about it.’ Cat turned to go, rousing Tess with a tug on her hand. The girl seemed to have fallen into a trance. ‘Wait, Catherine – here. Read these, if you please. Perhaps we shall turn you into a thoughtful socialist, rather than a scurrilous suffragette,’ The Gentleman said, passing her a selection of pamphlets printed by The Fabian Society. Cat took them eagerly, and read the front of the uppermost: Tract No. 144 – Machinery: its Masters and its Servants. The Gentleman knew her love of reading – it was he who had fostered it.

‘Thank you, sir,’ she said, genuinely pleased. He gave her a vague pat on the shoulder, and turned away.

Once they were back below stairs, Tess let out a massive sigh, as if she’d held her breath for the entire interview.

‘Oh, sweet Lord, I thought we were out on the streets, so I did!’ she cried.

‘Don’t be silly – I told you we wouldn’t be, didn’t I?’ Cat said, taking her by the tops of her arms, giving her a little shake. Tess wiped tears of relief from her eyes, and smiled.

‘I don’t know how you have the nerve to speak to him the way you do, I really don’t! I thought I would die of fright!’

‘You don’t know? Can’t you guess?’ Cat asked, solemnly.

‘Guess what, Cat? What do you mean?’ Tess asked, bewildered. Over her friend’s shoulder, Cat saw Mrs Heddingly hovering in the dark doorway of her room. The housekeeper watched her with a censorious look on her face.

‘Never mind. Come on, we’d better get back to it,’ she said. After this incident, they did not go canvassing again for a couple of weeks. And when they did start again, they made sure that they were well away from any of the shops Barnie visited for his fags or matches.


Hester finds Cat at the top of the cellar stairs, frozen, quite lost in reverie. Her stillness is unnerving, and for a moment Hester hesitates, unsure how to proceed. At last she clears her throat pointedly, and sees the girl jump.

‘Ah, Cat. I wonder if you would be good enough to see me in the parlour?’ she says, and retreats with the dark-haired girl following behind.

‘Madam?’ Cat says, coming to stand in front of her, hands hanging loose at her sides. Hester wishes she would clasp them either in front or behind her, but she does not know how to phrase such a request. It just seems so unnatural to leave them hanging in that way. As though she expects to have to use them in sudden violence.

‘Cat.’ Hester smiles. ‘Now, I have had some mild complaints from Mrs Bell, that you do not always show her the proper respect— No, please, do let me finish,’ she says, when Cat seems poised to speak. ‘Obviously it has taken you a while to settle in here, and that’s only to be expected after … what you have experienced. I quizzed Mrs Bell quite closely about your day-to-day work and she can find no fault in it. And I have to say, if Sophie Bell can find no fault in your work, then there can be no fault to find!’

‘That woman hates me,’ Cat says, flatly.

‘Well! I’m sure she doesn’t! If she is hard with you, well, then it’s because she cares a great deal that things should be done in the correct way … Anyway. The vicar and I are quite happy with your work, and more than happy to have you continue here, but I must ask that you show Mrs Bell the respect due to one in her position – she is, after all, the housekeeper here; and she has been with me for several years now. It simply will not do to antagonise her,’ Hester finishes. Cat gazes at her steadily, and says nothing, which Hester hopes is acquiescence. ‘Well, that’s settled then. Here, Cat – I made this for you. A little welcoming present to help you decorate your room.’ She hands Cat the cross-stitch embroidery in its frame. Cat looks at it in silence for a moment, and when she raises her head again her eyes are bright with emotion.