by Dilly Court
'Of course she should,' Edward said, beaming. 'My girl deserves only the best. I'll not argue with that, Harry.'
'I hate to leave you at this propitious moment in our lives, my angel,' Harry said, kissing Rosina's hand, 'but I must go back to the office now. I need to talk money with my father, who keeps a rather tight hold on the purse strings, but I'm sure I won't have any trouble in persuading him to finance the repairs to our boat.'
'But I thought that was all settled?' Rosina stared at him, appalled. It had never occurred to her that Harry's father might not agree to his plan.
'As good as, my darling.' Harry kissed her on the tip of her nose. 'It's man's talk, and you mustn't bother your beautiful head with sordid money matters.'
'Quite right,' Edward said, nodding in agreement. 'I have every faith in you, my boy.'
Harry smiled as he picked up his top hat and kid gloves. 'I'll go now, but I'll return as soon as I can.' He was about to leave the room, but he paused in the doorway. 'There's just one thing though, Captain. If we're to merge the businesses, we won't be needing the services of your clerk, Brown. Have I your permission to tell him so?'
'But that's not fair,' Rosina cried. 'You can't do that to Walter. He's a good and loyal employee.'
'My love, this is between the captain and me. It's not personal, it's just business.' Harry strolled over to Edward, lowering his voice. 'Have I your permission to give him notice, sir?'
'No,' Rosina cried. 'I won't allow it. Walter has stood by us throughout our troubles. Why, if it hadn't been for him calling in some debts, we wouldn't even have been able to afford Artie's funeral.'
'Debts?' Edward raised his eyebrows so that they almost disappeared into his hairline. 'What debts? I don't recall that we were owed any money.'
'I – I don't know. He didn't say.'
Harry patted her hand. 'I daresay you misunderstood him, my love.'
'I did not misunderstand him.' Rosina stamped her foot. They were both regarding her with affection and amusement, as if she were a precocious child who had interrupted an adult conversation.
'There were no outstanding debts,' Edward reiterated patiently.
'And if there were no debts to be collected,' Harry said, frowning, 'the question is – how did the fellow come by such a large amount of money? Could it be that he has been feathering his own nest all these years, Captain? Have you ever checked the accounts, sir?'
'That is monstrous.' Rosina stared at him aghast. 'Harry, how can you accuse Walter of dishonesty?'
'My darling, I did not. I merely suggested that it might behove your papa to look into his business matters a little more closely.' Harry turned to Edward with an urbane smile. 'Or perhaps you would like me to do it for you, Captain?'
'Papa!' Rosina held her hands out to him. 'This is madness.'
Edward tugged at his beard and the frown lines deepened on his forehead. 'I trusted Walter implicitly. Perhaps I should have been more particular when it came to checking his work.'
'It would have been so easy for a person in his position of trust to alter a set of figures here and there, and to keep back monies for himself.' Harry folded his arms across his chest, eyeing Edward severely. 'I think we both know what has been going on, sir. Have I your permission to sack the scoundrel?'
'No, Papa. Please think again,' Rosina cried in desperation. 'At least give Walter a chance to defend himself.'
'You are too generous, Rosie. You have your mother's loving and trusting nature, and therefore you are very easily taken in by an unscrupulous rogue.' Edward pushed her away gently. His breathing was becoming laboured, and he clutched his throat.
'Papa, are you unwell?' Alarmed by his sudden pallor, Rosina laid her hand on his shoulder. 'Shall I fetch the doctor?'
'He needs rest, my love.' Harry said calmly. 'Don't worry, sir. Leave everything to me.'
Rosina cast him a furious glance. 'You take too much on yourself, Harry. Papa hasn't agreed to this injustice.' She turned back to her father. 'Please, Papa. Don't allow this to happen. Let Walter speak for himself before you judge him so unfairly.'
Edward rose slowly to his feet. 'Hush, daughter. You don't know what you're talking about. This is men's business, and I've been a fool, taken in by young Walter's pleasant manner and quiet ways. I took him on out of the goodness of my heart, knowing nothing of his background, and asking no questions. This is how he's repaid me.'
'Quite right, sir. He has betrayed your trust. How else could a mere clerk come to have such a large sum of money?'
'Certainly not from the meagre salary that I can afford to pay him.'
'Then have I your permission to send him off without a character?'
Rosina clutched her father's hand. 'Papa, no!'
Edward drew his hand away, silencing her with a stern look. He turned to Harry, nodding his head. 'Sack him, Harry. Tell him that I never want to see his face again. And he should think himself lucky that I don't put the matter in the hands of the police.'
Chapter Eleven
'Harry, wait.' Rosina ran downstairs after him, but he ignored her pleas to stop. He strode into the office and slammed the door. She threw herself against it but the key rasped in the lock. She beat on it with her hands. 'Let me in. Please don't do this. Walter, make him let me in.'
'Whatever is going on?' Bertha emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. 'Good heavens, girl. Is the house on fire?'
Ignoring her, Rosina continued to hammer on the door. 'Harry! Walter! Let me in.'
'Stop that.' Bertha pulled her away and dragged her, protesting loudly, down the hall and into the kitchen. 'Calm yourself, Rosie. What's upset you so?'
'It's awful, Bebe.' Rosina paced the floor, wringing her hands. 'I don't know how it happened, but suddenly they think that Walter is to blame for everything. Harry has convinced Papa that Walter has been stealing money from him, and he's going to send him off without a character. Oh, Bebe, it's so unfair. Walter has done nothing wrong.'
'Can you be sure of that, ducks? He did come up with a fair old sum of money for poor Arthur's funeral. I don't wonder that the men folk think it's a bit odd.'
'Not you too! Has everyone gone mad?'
Taking her by the shoulders, Bertha guided Rosina to a chair and made her sit down. 'Now, listen to me, my girl. Sometimes you've got to let other people make the decisions. Your pa may be a stubborn old man, but he's not stupid, and Harry Gostellow is no fool.'
'I know that, but to accuse poor Walter . . .'
'If Walter is innocent, then it will all come out. Your Harry is a fine young man, and he's well off. Be thankful that you've hooked a rich husband, Rosie.'
'What?' Rosina stared at her, shocked into forgetting Walter's plight. 'H-how did you know that I had accepted Harry's proposal?'
Bertha dropped her gaze. 'Well, I . . .'
'You were eavesdropping again.' Springing to her feet, Rosina pushed her away. 'How could you, Bebe?'
'Don't get on your high horse with me, young lady. I brought you up from a baby, remember?
It was me who wiped your snotty nose when you was a nipper, and me who sat up all night with you when you had the measles, mumps and scarlet fever. You wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for your Bebe.'
'I know, and I'm sorry. But you really shouldn't listen at keyholes.'
'And how else am I to know what's going on in this house?'
'It doesn't matter now. I must find out what's happening.' Rosina made for the door but Bertha jumped up with amazing agility for a big woman, and she barred her way.
'Leave it to Harry. Ain't you just got yourself engaged to him? Wait until you got that golden wedding band on your finger afore you begin setting him to rights.'
In spite of everything, Rosina could not suppress a gurgle of laughter. 'Bebe, you are a wicked woman.'
'No, ducks. I'm just sensible and I knows what men are like. You got to handle them right if you wants them to do as you say.'
'I just want Walter t
o be treated fairly.'
'If he ain't guilty, then he's got nothing to worry about.' Bertha put her arm around Rosina's shoulders. 'If you marry young Gostellow you'll save us all from the workhouse.
You won't get another chance like this, Rosie. There's not many girls from Black Eagle Wharf what could do better, not even young Susan Barnum.'
The mention of Sukey's name sent a cold shudder down Rosina's spine. Sukey had been sweet on Harry: she would not take kindly to the news of the engagement. If only there was a way to see her before she heard about it from someone else.
'That's a good girl,' Bertha said, stroking Rosina's cheek. 'I knew you'd see sense, just as your mama did all those years ago.'
Rosina stared at her, momentarily forgetting everything else. 'What do you mean?'
'I – er – well, nothing.'
'You can't leave it like that. Tell me what you meant, Bebe.'
Bertha slumped down on a chair with a sigh. 'I suppose it doesn't matter if I tell you now. It was a long time ago.'
'Tell me what?'
'Well, your mama was a lovely girl, sweet and good-natured, but she liked her own way. She fell head over heels in love with a man, and it was almost the ruin of her.'
'Do you mean Captain Barnum? Papa has told me about him, but he didn't say that she loved him.'
Bertha nodded. 'She really did love him, Rosie. Oh, I know your papa likes to believe that Ham Barnum was completely to blame, but I think he genuinely loved her too. They were going to elope, but it all went wrong.'
'But Papa said that he was entirely to blame.'
'It was put about, by your grandpa, that Ham was the villain of the piece. That he took Ellie to Southend for his own pleasure, not caring about her reputation. But that wasn't quite true. Your ma was desperate to be with him, and she didn't care a jot for what other people thought.'
'And Captain Barnum really loved her?'
'In my opinion, yes. From what I saw then I'd say he was as much in love as any man could be. Anyway, they went off together telling everyone it was just a day trip. When they didn't return that evening, your grandpa and your dad went chasing after them, and they brought poor Ellie home next day in disgrace. Ham said he wanted to make an honest woman of her. Your grandpa didn't have much option but to agree, and the wedding was all set. Then it turned out that Ham was married after all. You know the rest.'
Rosina closed her eyes, trying to imagine her mother as a young woman hopelessly in love with the wrong man. It was not a difficult leap of imagination. 'So she married my papa.'
'Your pa had loved her for a long time, but she only had eyes for Ham. She was broken-hearted when she discovered the truth. I don't think she cared what happened to her then, but she knew that her reputation was ruined. She didn't have much of a choice but to accept your pa.'
'And my grandfather agreed to the match?'
'The scandal was out. Your grandpa would never have agreed to it in normal circumstances, but he knew very well that no respectable man would want to marry poor Ellie. I think it broke his heart to see his one and only daughter marry beneath her, but I think, in the end, she was happy enough with your pa.'
'And she died giving birth to me. I killed my poor mamma.'
Bertha grasped her hands so tightly that Rosina felt her knuckles crack. 'Don't never say that. Your ma died of the milk fever just a few days after you was born, but that weren't no fault of yours, and she loved you with all her heart. Do you know the first thing she said when she saw you? No, of course you don't. Well, she took one look at your little red face, and she said, "Oh, my beautiful little rose." She looks up at me with tears in her eyes and smiles. I never seen her so happy. "That's what we'll call her, Bertha," she says. "My little Rose. I'll call her Rosina after my grandmother, God rest her soul."' Bertha's eyes filled with tears and her voice broke on a sob.
Rosina was crying too, her heart wrung out with sympathy for the star-crossed lovers, and for her own lost love. He had called her his beautiful rose, using the same words that her mother had spoken all those years ago. The coincidence was almost too painful to bear. She laid her head against Bertha's shoulder and sobbed.
'What's wrong? What's happened?' Caddie rushed into the kitchen and fell down on her knees beside them. 'Why are you crying?'
Rosina wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. She rose unsteadily to her feet. 'It's all right, Caddie. Nothing for you to worry about. Bebe was just telling me about my mother. You see, I never knew her. And now I'm about to be married, Bertha was just telling me things I didn't know before.'
'Married?' Caddie's dull eyes lit with enthusiasm. 'You dark horse, Rosie. You never said nothing about getting married.'
Bertha wiped her eyes on the corner of her apron. 'Well, you know now. Miss Rosina is going to marry Mr Harry Gostellow. She's going to be a lady, so you be respectful, Caddie.'
'Bebe, no! Don't say things like that to Caddie. Nothing is going to change. We'll still be a family, and I'll be able to take care of you all.'
'I knew it was too good to last.' Caddie's face crumpled and tears ran down her cheeks. 'You'll marry him and me and the nippers will be cast out on the streets. It'll be the workhouse for us.'
'No one is going to the workhouse,' Rosina said firmly, rising to her feet. 'Not you, nor your babies, do you hear me, Caddie? If the Gostellows won't look after my family, then I won't marry their son.' She took a deep breath. Caddie and Bertha were staring at her open-mouthed. She tossed her head. 'I mean what I say and I'm going to begin by telling Harry so.' She left the room determined to speak firmly to him. She was still seething inwardly about his cavalier treatment of Walter, and that was another matter on which she meant to challenge him.
The office door was open but Walter was nowhere to be seen. Harry was standing behind the desk rifling through a sheaf of papers.
'Where is he?' Rosina demanded. 'And what are you doing, Harry? You've no right to go through my father's papers.'
'Sweetheart, I've just earned every right to take an interest in the company. Without my financial help, the company does not exist. Your father will be bankrupt in days if I don't step in and pay a few of these outstanding accounts.'
She felt her confidence dissipating like morning mist over the river. 'Outstanding accounts?'
'Sailmakers, chandlers, sackmakers – the list is almost endless. It seems that your friend Walter has been juggling their accounts for months; paying off a bit here and there, but never settling the whole amount. I hope that is enough to convince you of his dishonesty.'
'Th-there must be some other explanation, Harry. Did you give Walter a chance to defend himself?'
He came out from behind the desk and laid his hands on her shoulders. 'My darling, your loyalty is touching, but misplaced. Now, we'll have no more talk about Walter Brown. I want you to fetch your bonnet and shawl, and we'll go to Hatton Garden to buy that diamond ring I promised you.'
'Bother diamonds!' Rosina cried angrily. 'You're not my husband yet, Harry. And you had no right to treat Walter like a common criminal.'
'But he is a common criminal, my love.'
'That is unjust and untrue.' She turned on her heel and made to leave the room, but Harry caught her by the arm.