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Chapter Ten
“That will suffice!”
Sharply spoken and accompanied by a glare, Mrs. Taylor’s words silenced the laughter and commentary from the other two maids in the carriage.
But Molly knew that Jenny and Sue were still laughing at her on the inside; the glances they shot her and each other were bursting with it.
Whatwasn’tclear to Molly was whether their amusement at her looking out the window for Frederick was good-natured or meant to ridicule.
They might simply find it charmingly entertaining to see her giddy at the sight of her admirer. But perhaps they found it comical for her to be courted at all—let alone by a handsome man in a respectable trade. Surely she was old and frumpy to these downstairs maids, who were no more than girls.
The housekeeper’s scorn for their chortling and elbowing each other was enough for Molly. While their behavior was confusing to her, regardless of the girls’ motivations, she wouldn’t let them bother her.
Oh, no—not when she was looking forward to this visit to Covent Garden Market. The outing was special enough with its purpose—purchasing greenery and food to celebrate Christmas—and even more so because Frederick was along.
He rode in the wagon with the other men, sitting next to the driver Luffie, while Thomas, Alvin, another footman, Daniel, and two pages huddled in the wagon bed. The drivers of the carriage and wagon tried to remain together during the hour’s drive to Covent Garden, no small feat in the busy roads where vehicles of all kinds constantly weaved and sought to overtake each other.
Even after Mrs. Taylor’s reprimand of Jenny and Sue, the mood in the carriage remained cheerful. This visit to the market in anticipation of Christmas was one of several, with all the servants eventually accompanying the housekeeper to some market or other.
Before departing, Molly and the other servants had lined up outside the mews house to await Mrs. Taylor. Frederick had stood off to the side, looking warm in his stately overcoat and top hat.
Holding her hands in front of her, chin up, Mrs. Taylor had addressed everyone before they were allowed to load into the vehicles.
“We are under Lady Clara’s strictest orders to enjoy the festivities of Christmas! Though Mr. and Mrs. Robertson are not in residence, we are to decorate and rejoice, and so we shall. Nonetheless”—she sniffed—“mind your comportment at the market. Be merrywithoutcavorting! Return to our departure pointpunctually!”
“Yes, Mrs. Taylor,” they replied in unison, Thomas’s voice unduly louder than the others’.
Molly had specially asked the housekeeper to include the lad on this outing, knowing he’d never been to Covent Garden Market. For all the boy’s life-hardened conduct at times, she saw glimmers of the child within and hoped that he could delight in the festivities at the busy market.
“Even more clogged than usual,” Mrs. Taylor observed after assessing out the window of the carriage.
They had come to a standstill on Russell Street near the elegant seventeenth-century piazza whose style was inspired by the architect’s travels to Paris and Tuscany, complete with covered, arched arcades that allowed for pleasant walks no matter the weather.
The market at Covent Garden was so popular that it spilled out of the main neoclassical building and onto the surrounding cobbled streets and alleys. Vendors peddled wares not just from fixed stalls but from roving carts, bellowing and shouting over each other to attract customers.
When at last they reached a safe place to disembark, a thrill rushed through Molly at the thought of wandering the neighborhood with Frederick. The wagon pulled up several minutes after their carriage, and though Molly had been confident it would arrive, she let out a sigh of relief even so.
“Good day again, Molly,” said Frederick.
She clutched her practical woolen cape.He looks upon me with the same favor as when I wore the fine cape to the concert! “Good day again, Frederick.”
Assembled near the edge of the crowds, Thomas’s eyes shifted uneasily as he scanned the area where all of London rubbed shoulders no matter their class. “Beware the pickpockets, Mrs. Taylor. I can spot ffem everywhere!”
The housekeeper’s gloved hand, already covering the household purse attached to her waist under her cape, tightened. She drew her cape closed more fully, even as she ordered the pages to escort Jenny and Sue.
“Alvin and Daniel, you’re with me. Thomas…” she paused, looking from the footmen to the pages, all holding baskets to carry the eventual purchases.
Frederick stepped over to Mrs. Taylor, conferring quietly, and after a brisk nod, she announced, “Thomas, you’ll stay close to Mr. Vogel and Molly.”
Molly shared a surprised, joyful look with the boy, who immediately moved to her side.
“Thank you,” she murmured to Frederick when he rejoined her, offering his elbow. It touched her that no matter how much they’d expected this time together, he’d be so thoughtful as to include the boy.
Freed to explore the market, they all broke off into their groups and dispersed in different directions. Mrs. Taylor would purchase the boughs and garlands for decorating, as well as the oranges and nuts that would be gifted to all the staff, and she and the footmen headed straight away to hunt those down.
Seeing Thomas’s careful surveillance of their surroundings, Molly wondered whether her arranging his inclusion today had been wise. “What do you say, Thomas? Should you have preferred a quieter market?”
He came to a stop, his straw-colored hair falling over his eyes, but even so, she’d seen how incredulous they looked. “No, miss! I'd much ravver be `ere than the meat market!”
