Retribution

by Beverley Elphick

  Back to Beth. I wanted desperately to know what had happened and bit by bit Martha had told Mrs. Makepiece that the boy Coad had appeared one morning and asked Martha and Chalky to take her in as their own, as a niece or relative. In return, he would stay nearby and labour for Chalky White in order to be close by his half-sister, whose keep he would pay for.

  Chalky was not keen on the idea, knowing that the elder Coad might object to losing Job Coad’s labour on the family farm, but he didn’t like the Coads and it suited him to best them. Martha was desperate to have the child, if only for a short while, and when Chalky finally agreed, providing no-one else knew, Martha saw it as a rare act of kindness to her. They knew nothing of Beth’s background, only that she was the boy’s half-sister, and they chose not to enquire further. Their cottage was remote and visitors were not encouraged. The boy knew about them and their isolated manner of living because it was his job to deliver the smugglers’ bounty to them until it was safe to transport up to London.

  Once a month Chalky would walk or get a cart ride to Lewes or Uckfield to buy stores and it was following one such trip, a good month after the child came to them, that he heard the gossip about Beth, her mother and the Elwoods. He came home to Martha and said that the girl had to be hidden down in the smugglers’ cellar. She could come up once it was dark or if the boy Coad was around, but at all other times she was to be imprisoned in the makeshift secret room which was well-hidden and its whereabouts unknown, even to the smugglers. At this point he began to regret sheltering Beth, but it was too late. None of us had found the cache because it was outside, and we had only searched the cottage and a woodshed.

  Martha had done her best to comfort the frightened, tearful child, spending a great deal of time down in the cellar trying to play with her or, when Beth wouldn’t play, just sitting with her and doing her sewing. Over time, Beth appeared to forget what it was that made her unhappy and she was allowed above ground more and more, usually when Chalky was in a distant part of the forest. Martha began to believe that she had a child of her own at last.

  Then everything changed when the two elder Coad brothers first came looking for their missing brother and the brat. Martha, as instructed, swore to them that they hadn’t seen him nor the child. They searched the house but couldn’t find anything. The brothers left but had seemed suspicious and it was just a few weeks later that the Elwoods’ search party arrived. Fortunately for Martha, on both occasions Beth was quickly hidden and threatened with a slap if she made a noise.

  ‘Did they beat her?’ I interrupted. ‘Please God, they didn’t beat her?’

  Martha had said not, but Beth did witness White getting drunk and laying into his wife. She was becoming withdrawn and, with such violence handed out, she had learnt not to cry. Martha had tried to say that Beth was happy with her, that she would sometimes take her into the woods to find food and enjoy the warm sunshine; and I do believe she thought she was being a good mother to her. Anyway, after the Elwoods’ search party called, Chalky began to mutter that having the child was more trouble than she was worth, particularly as the boy Coad had disappeared, and with him the money that he had promised for Beth’s upkeep. Then the Coad brothers turned up again, even more certain that their brother and the child were somewhere about.

  Martha was afraid. Chalky had threatened to take Beth into the forest and leave her there.

  I cried. ‘He surely wouldn’t have done that?’

  ‘Well, Martha thought he would,’ said Mrs. Makepiece. ‘When he came home from a visit to market, he had been drinking and started using his fists on Martha and threatening the child. She begged him to leave Beth be. He continued to drink and broke into a bottle of rum. Finally, he told Martha to fetch the child. No need to wrap her warm, the sooner she got cold, the quicker she would die. He found a length of rope and started to drag Beth out of the door.

  Beth must have been terrified and I felt faint just hearing this terrible story. Mrs. Makepiece continued, ‘Beth ran away from him but tripped on a tree root. It was when he reached down to pick her up that Martha ran at him with his own axe. He never saw nor wondered at her coming when she smashed the blade into his head.’

  I was deeply shocked. ‘I can’t believe that he would be so wicked,’ I exclaimed. ‘For Beth to witness such things is even worse than when poor Wilf was shot.’

  ‘But that’s not all, my dear,’ she said, giving me a look.

  ‘The reason Chalky did not see Martha coming at him was because he was looking into the forest where a strange-looking woman had appeared and was leaping over the ground towards him.’

  I gasped. ‘Job! Dressed in Cilla’s clothes?’

  ‘Aye,’ she said. ‘Job apparently picked Beth up and then took her into the house where he washed her face and hands as tenderly as could be.’

  Later Job had dragged Chalky’s body to a wood pile, covered it in sacking and dropped a few logs on top. They barricaded themselves in the house in case the brothers came by again. The next morning, before dawn, Job and Martha took it in turns to carry Beth back to South Farm because they both knew they couldn’t keep her any longer and it was time to give her back. They travelled through the woods and finally over the Downs and were fortunate not be spotted. Job was able to follow a route that was more direct than the one used by horse and cart, but still it was a long way for tender feet.

  ‘When Martha was walking down to the house,’ I asked, ‘was Job nearby, watching?’

  ‘Aye.’

  ‘Do you think Job killed Chalky and not Martha?’

  ‘No, Martha was adamant that she killed him on her own, in defence of Beth and herself.’

  I sat with Mrs. Makepiece and we talked for a long time about the secretive world and ways of smugglers and the people who help them or just turn a blind eye when they were about.

  ***

  I went to the gaol but wasn’t admitted as Martha had been sent to Horsham to await the full force of the law for murdering Chalky Mark White and aiding and abetting the kidnap of a child. The constable lost no time in telling me that I would be required to give evidence at some point in the future, as well as the Elwoods and Billy-alone.

  There had been no sighting of Job Coad and I hoped he was safe and well away from Lewes. If I could find him, I would thank him from the bottom of my heart for looking after Beth for me. I wondered if she would ever be able to tell us anything about what had happened to her; but other than mentioning ‘Jo’ on a regular basis, and always with a smile, she was not aware of the turmoil that surrounded her. She seemed happy to be back with us, and Freddie was a godsend in bringing her out of herself, but I still worried. This was the second horrifying event in her young life and who knew what repercussions there might be? In fact, it was the third event: the first being her birth and near-death when Becca, her natural mother, had put her in a reed cradle and floated her down the river to a new life. How I wished that Becca was still here with us. None of the horrible events that have dogged us since would have occurred. I watched Beth closely and, though quiet when Freddie wasn’t around, she seemed to have settled back into the household at South Farm with no fearful memories. But, who knows what children think or what effect their experience has on their later life? I prayed that my lovely girl was content with being back in her home. Perhaps she saw the previous months as an inexplicable event of the sort that grown-ups arrange. It was I that clung to her rather than that she clung to me, and I felt I had to be very careful not to draw attention to the events in the near past. I think it is her personality to be a sunny child and not to dwell on anything too much. I thanked God for that but remained watchful.

  The first few days after her return were filled with wonder as we settled back into our mother-child closeness. I gave her a lot more cuddles and kisses and felt real anxiety when she was not at my side, but gradually the household returned to normal and I began my duties as governess aga
in.

  One unexpected thing happened when I took Beth to call on Mrs. Campbell and Charlotte. I was much surprised to find them gone from The White Hart. A note was left for me saying that they were gone to Brighthelmstone where they had taken lodgings in the same house as Prickship! The note asked that I call upon them when my own personal troubles were resolved. There was a direction.

  I talked about it to Cecilia at the same time as when, finally, I told her all that happened to me from the moment I was kidnapped to when I met Dr. Grieve. I didn’t tell her about the renewal of our friendship and closeness nor why we had separated in the first place. After all, she didn’t even know that there had been a connection between us. I couldn’t quite bring myself to put into words what I felt about it all. I could see that she was curious and had looked most surprised when my new clothes arrived from the London tailor, but she didn’t pry and was obviously waiting for me to tell her. I felt guilty, but if I talked about it and nothing happened, by which I mean if Dr. Grieve didn’t come back for me, then I would be more able to cope with the humiliation and pain I would feel.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Tuesday night about nine o’clock as a Gentlewoman and her daughter were coming over Moorfields, they were attacked by three fellows, who took from them what money they had, as likewise their bonnets and cloaks; and afterwards, upon one of the fellows attempting Rudeness of the young woman, the mother screamed out, whereupon the other two fell upon her, and by a blow they gave her struck out one of her eyes but some persons immediately coming to their assistance the villains made off.

  Sussex Weekly Advertiser and Lewes Journal 1750/1806

  At last Dr. Grieve returned. A short note arrived at South Farm, asking me to visit, alone, the following day. I said nothing to anyone. I had learned from my mistakes. I wouldn’t rush in, I wouldn’t assume; I would just be me, but a me that showed nothing but dignified restraint. I was firmly resolved on this.

  I asked Cecilia if I could leave the children with Mary-Jane as I had errands to run in Lewes and I wanted to call on Mrs. Makepiece. She suspected nothing and smiled her agreement. Dressing carefully, I put on my new clothes which I then covered with the cloak I had been wearing when I returned to Lewes. No-one had asked where it had come from or who had paid for it. I asked one of the boys to saddle Flossy, and once mounted, I turned out of the yard going towards I knew not what.

  The house welcomed me: its many windows, bright with sunshine, glinted down on me. I had missed it so. I knew the Jenkins were away and was not surprised when Dr. Grieve opened the door to me himself. He was dressed in plain, light-coloured breeches with a very smart military-style coat. Once we were in the drawing room, he took my hand and pressed it to his lips. For a moment, I wanted to fling myself at him, but I didn’t.

  ‘Esther, my dear, how are you and Beth?’ he asked. ‘You look very well, and I can see that being back in Lewes has suited you.’

  I took a deep breath and asked if we could go into the garden as I felt a little unsteady and the fresh air would revive me. He nodded his agreement and we made our way across the grass. I looked up at him out of the corner of my eye but could discern no clue as to how our conversation would go. Carefully he handed me up some steps towards a stone slab seat; it was cold and lightly covered in moss, but the freshness of the air was invigorating.

  ‘Dr. Crabbe and his wife, have they gone?’ I asked, as I sat down, picking my way towards a conversation that might mean so much to me and Beth.

  ‘Yes. I wrote to him giving notice of my arrival and they left last week,’ he replied with a note of anger in his voice. ‘I am sorry to say I was misled about his abilities and even more so his attitude - but that is all in the past now and I am sure I can smooth over all the feathers he ruffled.’ He frowned, adding, ‘I will not be resuming my coroner’s duties for two months which will enable me to sort out the mess he has left behind.’

  ‘It wasn’t just me that he upset, then?’ I didn’t want to talk about them, in fact I couldn’t care less how he had upset everyone. I kicked at a pebble and tried to be patient. I could feel my fingers clenching and it was an effort to open them and make my hands lay still on my lap.

  ‘No,’ he replied. ‘It seems he trampled all over some of my most needy patients and his ability was more in his opinion than in fact. I have much to do to right matters.’ He turned and smiled broadly at me. ‘Enough of such a disagreeable man. Now, tell me all that has been going on since your return. I only got back last night and Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins had prior arrangements to be away, so I am completely in the dark as to the events surrounding your sudden re-appearance. Cecilia must have been delighted and Beth, why Beth must have missed you so, though I am sure the Elwoods did everything in their power to keep her settled and happy.’

  I took a deep breath and launched into my story, saying, ‘I have so much to tell you, and the first thing is that I was entirely wrong in my assumption that Beth had been returned to the Elwoods. She was kept, in secret, by people who wanted a child of their own, and if I had not come back when I did, then I think she might not have survived for much longer - the Coads were looking for her and they would have found her eventually.’

  Dr. Grieve looked so utterly confounded at my news that I paused for a moment, and when I resumed, my voice trembled. ‘Do you remember me telling you about the youngest Coad, Job, who seemed so different from his elder brothers? Well, it was him who saved Beth. He took her after the confusion of my kidnap and found a family who would keep her safe. She was so well hidden that repeated searches by us and by the Coad brothers failed to find her.’

  ‘Good God, you astonish me, Essie. Where is Beth now? I hope she is back at South Farm?’

  ‘Yes, she is,’ I continued. ‘Everything came to a climax with the pressure of us searching for her as well as Farmer Coad and his eldest sons, which is not to say that searches weren’t carried out before I came back. They were - to no avail - but then we had gained a bit of information that led us to rethink where she might be.’

  I explained about the note left by Job, Billy-alone finding it and Mrs. Makepiece’s suggestion of an isolated farm and its inhabitants. ‘A woodsman, his name was Chalky White, who had her hidden, decided she was too much trouble and was on the point of getting rid of her - murdering her - but his wife, Martha, who had loved and cared for Beth, couldn’t bear it and in the end, she took his own axe and killed him with it. Then, she and the boy Job, brought her back to South Farm.’

  It was hard to relate all that had happened as it felt like I was reliving the torment that had almost ripped me apart. His arm went around me and with that I broke down. I sobbed into his chest as he tightened his grip and stroked my hair. After a few minutes I pulled away slightly and looked up into his horrified eyes. I made an effort to explain how terrifying it was to suspect where she might be but not find her; how Pot found Job left for dead in the brooks, and I not knowing if he had given the knowledge of where Beth was up to his brothers.

  We sat for a long time in the garden as I told my story. The sun came out from behind the clouds and I stopped crying as I explained how badly the loss of me and Beth had affected Cecilia, how she had collapsed under the strain; and how Beth, though quiet, was now restored to us.

  Dr. Grieve had listened carefully and, with just the odd word, encouraged the terrible sequence of events from me. As I talked, everything came flooding back, all the emotion that I had suppressed in my efforts to cope with the possibility of never seeing Beth again and of being shipped to the other side of the world with little or no hope of returning. After I had finished, I felt the strain I had lived with for so long begin to drop away and a glimmer of hope that at last the events of the past months were done with and we could be happy again.

  At one point, I asked him, ‘Can you do anything for Martha? She is in Horsham gaol and it is not looking well for her. I know she did wrong, but there were ci
rcumstances that made her act as she did. She did what she felt was right in the end, as her husband was dragging Beth away from her. She is not a bad woman, though they are calling her a murderess.’

  ‘I will look into it,’ he replied. ‘Esther, your compassion towards this woman is a credit to you - not many would be so generous. I have good contacts in West Sussex and at the least I will try and ascertain how the authorities view it and then perhaps we can put forward some mitigating circumstances.’ He looked thoughtful, before asking, ‘What about the boy, Job? You say he has gone, disappeared. Could his brothers have taken him?’

  ‘No, I don’t think so. I think he returned Beth and then left the district, but I don’t know. So many of my thoughts and ideas have been wrong, just plain wrong. I am not sure I can trust myself anymore.’

  At the thought of the poor, lonely young lad, the tears started welling in my eyes again. But as we sat together, Dr. Grieve took both my hands in his and I was comforted and reassured.

  ‘My dear, I knew you to be a strong and resourceful woman - In fact, that is what drew me to you in the first place - but this tale is really quite unbelievable, and I deeply regret that my absence made things worse for you, and perhaps for the care of Wilf.’