Chapter 5: Reunited — Spring 1858

After some inquiry, Charles and his faithful Winslow found a boarding house close to the St. Croix where the landlady, a matronly woman, promised to host Paulina for the next days and to obtain proper clothing for her. Paying her an advance and giving Paulina twelve guineas of spending money for proper clothes and toiletries, Charles then headed back to his club where he regained his equilibrium in a tub full of hot, soapy water.

Contrary to his original plans, he was back at the boarding house in the next morning, asking to see Paulina. He was in for a surprise when she showed in the sitting room not five minutes later. Gone was the grime, gone was the unkempt hair, gone the ragtag clothing. Instead, Charles saw an attractive young woman with fine features. Her hair was freshly washed and it shone like burnished copper, even though it was arranged in a bun at the back of her head. Her neck was long and graceful, and if her carriage had been less apprehensive she would have cut a fine figure in the white blouse and light blue, domed skirt she wore. The wrists that protruded from the frilly sleeves were frightfully thin, though, and her face showed that she was in dire need of nourishment. On the spur of the moment, Charles made a decision.

“I am glad to see you dressed to becomingly. I came by to ask you for your company whilst I attend to some business. I would also hope that you would join me for the noon meal?”

She swallowed heavily. “Am I a fitting companion for you?”

“I trust that your original upbringing will stand you in good stead when meeting people?”

She inhaled deeply. “As who shall I accompany you?”

“As my daughter-in-law’s sister and my house guest. You may want to stiffen your spine, Paulina. Nobody will beat you whilst you are in my company.”

She stood taller then, but she looked dubious. “It’s not easy when you’ve been beaten down for years. What if I meet one of the men who frequented the Watkins?”

“They’ll not recognise you. I hardly did, and I asked Mrs. Weatherley to spruce you up. Anyway, who of those men will want to reveal his own patronage of that disreputable place? I certainly wouldn’t. You will be quite safe with me. Besides, I have to feed you properly, or your poor sister will have fits upon seeing you.”

It turned out that the landlady had also found a medium length cape for Paulina and given the breezy weather, she donned it when she accompanied Charles. They set out from the boarding house in Charles’s own coach, driven by Mr. Winslow, and they quickly reached their first destination, a jeweller’s shop. Charles made a show of selecting a present for Suzanne, finally and under Paulina’s reluctant advice settling on a sterling silver broach. She blushed deeply when Charles doubled the order and presented her with the duplicate. Much to her embarrassment, he also had her fitted for a plain, gold wedding band.

“You will need a few items of jewellery,” he advised her when they left the store. “Most of all, you needed the wedding band.”

She was puzzled. “But why?”

He nodded. “Your long absence can only be explained, if not excused, by an ill-advised marriage or a marriage under duress. What was the name of that first rascal, the innkeeper?”

“Faulkes, Julius Faulkes.”

“Well, then, let me extemporise. You are Mrs. Faulkes, or better, the widow Faulkes, for your unloved husband died from a rotten tooth, or better, he drowned whilst returning from gambling. He left you the tavern which sold for enough money to cover the rascal’s gambling debts and to pay for your way to London where you tried to trace your sister after visiting Maidstone in vain. We met quite by chance whilst taking a stroll along Pall Mall. I first took you for your sister of course, asking you why you had followed me to London, but after some confusion we cleared up the matter. Naturally, I offered to convey you to your sister.”

To say that Paulina was dumbfounded was an understatement. “You want me to pose as a widow?”

“Yes, but not a recent one. It took you almost a year to find a buyer for the rundown tavern you inherited, and then some time to reach London. For a part of your meagre funds you purchased new clothing when your mourning year ended. We shall have to settle on an exact date for your husband’s death and develop the story of how the late Julius Faulkes coerced you into marriage.”

“What if Suzanne sets her mind to looking into my story?”

“Why would she? He’s dead, after all and you’ll be reunited with her. It is no problem to obtain a money order in your name from some banking house in Kent to lend credibility to your story.”

Paulina stared at him incredulously. “Why are you doing this for me?”

“To make your sister, my late son’s wife, happy, for she misses her husband and her sister fiercely. I cannot give her back her husband, but fate has given me the opportunity to return her sister to her. I also trust that you will not say anything about the nature of our first meeting. I should hate for her to know of my lack of judgement and gentlemanly conduct.”

Paulina looked around on the street. There were too many passers-by for what she intended to do, and she settled for pressing Charles’s hand fiercely.

“Never shall I willingly cause you embarrassment or hurt. You are my saviour, Sir Charles. I only fear for my past to become known. This would cause embarrassment for you and even more so for Suzanne.”

Charles shrugged. “I cannot see how. When I regard you now, wearing decent clothes, with your face clean and your hair well groomed, I can hardly reconcile you with the image you presented in that wretched place. This effect will only become stronger if you will fill out a little. Besides, we are not moving much in society and the chances of one of my neighbours having visited the Watkins are negligible. If you still feel insecure a few months hence, we can find a way for you to leave England, perhaps for one of the more civilised colonies.”

She pressed his hand again. “You are much too good for a wretched woman such as I am. I do look forward to seeing my sister again and to meet my niece.”

“Shall we find a tea parlour then to rest a little before we continue?”

She gave him a tentative smile. “Oh dear! That certainly sounds different from the invitations I am used to receive.”

“Think not of those men anymore, I beg you. And please, try to forget that I was one of them.”

“You were never one of them. Drunk as you were, you spoke kindly to me and you were gentle. You must believe me when I state that this was not the rule for me. I am skinny and tall. I attracted quite a few patrons whose enjoyment came from treating me roughly and even cruelly.”

Charles shook his head. “Words fail me to express the feeling of shame that men, Englishmen even, would treat a helpless girl cruelly. I ascribed such behaviour to the heathens, but not to civilised men.”

She sadly shook her head. “You should be dismayed to learn how many Englishmen must pray to foreign deities.”

He shook himself out of his feeling of shame. “Enough of such topics, my dear Mrs. Faulkes! Let us find a place to rest.”

He raised his walking stick and Winslow who had followed them drew up with the coach.

“The St. Croix!” Charles ordered, suddenly feeling reckless. The old Marquis had long ago opened one of the dining halls to accompanying ladies, and this was where Charles decided to enjoy a mid-day dinner.

Once arrived, he made certain however, that Captain Duncan was not at the club before he led Paulina to the smaller, downstairs dining room. It being shortly after 1 p.m. three of the tables were occupied by couples, but none of them were known to Charles. They settled at a corner table away from the other members. Still, Paulina was nervous.

“Would you like to try their excellent entrecôte? We could have green beans and butter fried potatoes along with it.”

She nodded quite shyly. “I would love that.”

Charles signalled the head waiter. “Emile, we shall have the entrecôte with green beans and fried potatoes.”

“Very well, Sir Charles. May I suggest ze ‘42 Bordeaux to go along wiz it?”

“Excellent, Emile!”

“Very well, Sir Charles. A small entrecôte for ze lady?”

The look of disappointment on Paulina’s face was almost funny and Charles hastened to reject this idea.

“No, I believe Mrs. Faulkes will be up to the challenge.”

Emile withdrew then and Charles smiled at his guest.

“You have not seen the size of their entrecôte, my dear.”

She smiled back at him. “You have yet to see me eat.”

“True that, my dear. I stand warned.”

They both drank sparingly of the wine that was soon served and Charles explained the workings of the St. Croix to Paulina. She listened with interest and even began to ask questions when their dinner arrived. Paulina cast a look at the sizeable entrecôte on her plate and sighed.

“I shall persevere or die in the trying.”

Charles had to laugh, secretly impressed by the dry wit his young protégé displayed.

“My dear Mrs. Faulkes, your valour in the face of such hopeless odds is recognised.”

In the end, she emptied her plate, not even leaving enough to save a starving mouse. Yet she was having a hard time of it to be sure. Charles knew the antidote to over eating though and ordered two balloon glasses of apple brandy — Calvados — from Normandy, to help them with their digestion. That and the bottle of fine Bordeaux wine they had shared put Paulina in a decidedly merry mood, and Charles had his hands full with conveying her back to her quarters.

He had to make his excuses to the landlady, explaining that they met an acquaintance who quite ruthlessly coerced them into partaking of his liquid nourishments. In the end, he deposited Paulina safely in her room. He left almost immediately afterwards, not wanting to give a wrong impression. Almost, because a drunk Paulina gave him a smouldering kiss that left him incapacitated for a few minutes. He came to when he saw how she undressed on unsteady legs and he managed to tuck her under the sheets of her bed before she was fully naked.

Not feeling the drink that much, he resolved to make a few of the calls he had planned for the forenoon before returning to his club. He eschewed an evening meal, settling for a glass of brandy wine instead and going to bed early. His usually well ordered world had been in decided disarray for the last days and he lay awake for some time trying to make plans for the immediate future.

“This is Stepley Crossing. Over there, that’s St. Dunstan, and right next to it the new school house. Your sister insisted on having one, although I have a hard time convincing the tenants of the need to school their children.”

“That’s Suzanne,” Paulina smiled looking about. She was thawing considerably since leaving London. The green of the country side and the peasants they saw tending their fields seemed to have a soothing effect on her. “How far to Stepley Hall then?”

“A little over a half mile. You’ll be able to see it ... You can see it now, ahead and to the right, up on that little knoll.”

Paulina stretched her neck to look ahead. “It looks beautiful, Sir Charles.”

“It’s a bit old, but with the right care it’ll last another century,” Charles answered with no little pride in his voice. Over all those years of being a recluse he had at least kept his estate in good order.

The coach covered the distance quickly and then Winslow drove up to the front steps. It took only a minute for Boswell to appear on the steps followed by the two housemaids.

“Welcome home, Sir Charles,” she spoke with dignity. “I shall have the ... Good gracious! I swear I saw Mrs. Tolliver in the tearoom just minutes ago!”

She had regarded Paulina who was smiling shyly and she was flabbergasted.

“My dear Boswell, do not be alarmed. This is Mrs. Faulkes. She is indeed Mrs. Tolliver’s long lost twin sister. She will be our guest.”

“Dear me! I was afraid I might be seeing things, Sir Charles. Welcome, Mrs. Faulkes. I shall ready a guest room right away. Edna, take Mrs. Faulkes’s valise upstairs, but show her to the tea parlour first!”

“No need, Edna. I shall show my guest there in person,” Charles said quickly. He wanted to be present when the sisters would meet.

He offered his arm to Paulina who accepted the help with some reluctance. He led her up the steps and through the entrance hall to the back of the house where the tea parlour was facing the garden. There they found Suzanne sitting at the table and reading. Expecting her father in law, she turned on the chair, smiling in welcome. Seeing Paulina at Charles’s side however drove the blood from her face and left her mouth hanging open.

“My dear Mrs. Tolliver, I ask you not to be alarmed. By the greatest coincidence conceivable, I met your sister whilst strolling along the Mall in London. Naturally, I offered to bring her here so you and she may be reunited.”

“Hello, Susie,” Paulina offered anxiously.

“Polly! You ... you are alive! Oh, dear God! Where have you been all these years? How did you ... Oh my God! Why am I babbling? Sister, dearest, hug me!”

She was already standing and now she covered the distance to Paulina to wrap her into a violent hug. Paulina’s arms closed around Suzanne’s waist and squeezed her twin sister with little less urgency. So the two sisters, both almost mirror images of the other save for their dresses and for Paulina being thinner, stood for minutes, relishing in being reunited and weeping softly. Charles himself felt his eyes watering at the sight and the deep emotion it showed.

It was Suzanne who broke the embrace after some time. She never let go of her sister though, but rather held her by her shoulders and at arm’s length to regard her.

“Oh dear, you look almost starved, Polly. You must tell me all, but not now. Now you must meet somebody. Edna, please bring Miss Tolliver to the tea parlour!”

The servant appeared, curtseyed, and disappeared quickly, returning not a minute later with Alice in tow. At first, the girl was shocked at seeing her own mother together with an almost perfect replica in front of her.

“Mother?” she squeaked.

“I am she,” Suzanne said with a smile. “This is your aunt Paulina. I have finally found her again. Oh, dear! I didn’t, did I? It was your grandfather Charles who found her and brought her home.”

“She looks like you, Mother!” Alice blurted.

“Yes, darling. We are twins, almost alike each other. Will you please say ‘Hullo’ to your aunt?”