by Dilly Court
The Ellie May was late returning, and she had missed the tide. Rosina had spent two long hours pacing the stoop and scanning the river for the red-brown sails. When she saw them at last, she knew that they would have to wait until the next high tide to bring them up to the wharf to unload. She blamed herself for not accompanying them on their trip. She had been well aware that Caddie was not strong enough to cope unaided with the heavy work. It had taken the two of them to hoist and lower the mainsail, and although they had both become reasonably proficient with the tiller, there were times when only Pip had the skill required to guide them through the busy waterway or to steer the vessel alongside. They had lost a day's pay, but it would be worth it if she could secure Walter's release from prison.
Every day after that, Rosina went out on the Ellie May, working twice as hard as she had before, if that were possible. She had put the wheels in motion and now she knew that she had to trust Septimus to be professional, and the Smilies to keep him sober enough to do his work. She could only hope that Roland had received her message and that he would return to London in time for the trial.
On the day that Walter was due in court, Rosina put on her lamentably shabby gown and bonnet and, having told Caddie and Pip to treat it as a well-earned holiday, she took a hansom cab to the Old Bailey. She found a seat in the public gallery and sat down to wait with her heart beating a tattoo against her ribs and her palms sweating. If she had hoped that Walter's case would be heard first, she was doomed to disappointment. One after another the accused shuffled into the dock to hear the charges brought against them. The lawyers for the defence battled it out with the prosecution and the judge and jury listened with varying degrees of patience. After a recess for luncheon, Rosina's nerves were stretched as taut as violin strings. She was becoming more and more nervous as the afternoon wore on, and could have wept with relief when Walter's case was finally called. She leaned over the balcony to get a better look and her heart was wrenched at the sight of him. He was pale and even thinner than before, but he held his head up high as he promised to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
The charge was read out, accusing him of stealing the diamond ring belonging to the Gostellow family, to which he put in a plea of not guilty. Rosina held her breath as Septimus stepped forward; she prayed silently that he was sober enough to conduct the case. He looked impressive in his wig and gown, and, thanks to Gladys, remarkably clean. His speech was not slurred and he put the facts clearly and succinctly to the jury, calling on his first witness, Mr Harry Gostellow.
Rosina's knuckles whitened as she watched Harry take the witness stand. She saw him glance upwards and it was only then that she realised that Sukey was seated in the gallery, next to her father. Rosina listened intently as Septimus outlined the facts in the case, going carefully through the events which had led up to the moment when she had thrown the ring at Harry, although he did not mention her by name. She would have been more than willing to appear as a witness, but Septimus had obviously decided that this was unnecessary. She glanced at Sukey in an attempt to read her expression, but she kept her eyes downcast, giving nothing away. Rosina dragged her attention back to Septimus, who had produced the ring and had given it to the clerk of the court to pass on to Harry for examination.
'Is this the ring in question, Mr Gostellow?' Septimus asked in a loud, clear voice, which echoed round the courtroom.
Harry looked at it closely and then handed it back to the clerk. 'It is.'
'Can you be quite certain of that, sir?'
'It is engraved with my mother's initials. There can be no mistaking that this is the ring belonging to my family.'
'Which was retrieved by Mr Roland Rivers, who intended to hold it in safe keeping for you?'
'I object, your honour.' The prosecuting lawyer rose to his feet. 'My learned friend is leading the witness.'
'Objection sustained.' The judge glared at Septimus.
He did not seem abashed. 'I have no further questions, my lord. But I would like to call my next witness.'
The judge turned to the prosecuting lawyer. 'Do you wish to question this witness?'
'No, my lord.'
'Then you may call the next witness.'
'Call Mr Roland Rivers.' The cry was repeated throughout the courtroom.
Rosina covered her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from crying out. She had not received a reply to the letter she had sent to Roland, and had virtually given up hope of his return to London for the trial. She could hardly believe her eyes when he entered the room and strolled towards the witness stand. She sat on the edge of her seat as he was sworn in. He answered calmly and clearly when questioned by the lawyer for the prosecution, and he admitted that the lady in question, whose name he did not want to bring before the public, had been mistaken in assuming that he had proposed marriage and that the ring did, in fact, belong to the Gostellow family.
At this point, Ham Barnum rose to his feet with a mighty roar, pointing a shaking finger at Roland. 'You, sir, are a cad and a bounder. You toyed with my innocent daughter's affections and have ruined her reputation.'
The judge brought his gavel down hard. 'Be silent, sir. Or I will have you removed from the public gallery.'
'This is a travesty of justice. Even if the accused is not guilty of stealing the ring, I am certain he is the river pirate who stole from my vessel.'
'I will not warn you again, sir. Either be silent, or I will have you taken to the cells and charged with contempt of court.'
Ham subsided onto his seat, muttering beneath his breath. Sukey buried her face in her hands and her shoulders shook. If she could have reached her easily, Rosina would have rushed over to comfort her, but the gallery was packed and she could not move from her seat. She realised that the judge was speaking and she turned her attention to the bench.
'In view of the testimony of the last witness, I can only advise the jury that, with regard to the alleged theft of the diamond ring, there is no case to answer and therefore the only possible verdict must be not guilty.'
A subdued murmur rippled round the gallery and Rosina had to suppress the desire to shout with delight. She willed Walter to look up and see her, but he stood motionless in the dock. The jury were out for the briefest possible time. When the judge asked for their verdict, the foreman stood up and cleared his throat. 'Not guilty.'
It was all over and Rosina made her way as quickly as she could from the gallery to the public area outside the courtroom. When Roland emerged from the court she ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. 'Thank you, Roland. I didn't think you would return to England for the trial. Thank you, so much.'
He held her longer than was strictly necessary and the look of admiration in his eyes warmed her to the core. 'How could I refuse to help a lady in distress?'
'You are such a tease, but I do love you for coming to Walter's aid.'
'How I wish that were true, my dear,' Roland said with a rueful smile. 'He is free now and you have done your part. My offer still stands.'
She was torn between indignation and amusement. 'Don't you ever give up, Roland?'
'We would be so good together, you and I, Rosie.' He tightened his arms around her and bent his head to kiss her on the lips.
She tried to push him away but he held her even more tightly. 'Consider the life you could have in Rotterdam, my dear. And then compare it with the life you will have with him. I can give you everything except my name, but I will protect you and keep you for the rest of my days, if you will let me.'
A shout from behind them made Rosina twist round in Roland's arm. Walter was striding towards them and his face was contorted with rage. 'Let her go, Rivers.'
'Walter, please.' She broke away from Roland, holding her arms out to Walter. 'It's not what you think.'
He pushed her aside and grabbed Roland by the lapels of his jacket. 'You couldn't wait to get your hands on her, could you? I know your sort, Rivers.'
'Walter, stop this. You
don't understand.' Rosina made an ineffectual move to take him by the hand, but even as he shook her off she could feel him trembling with fury as he faced up to Roland.
'This is between him and me, Rosie.'
Roland dusted down his jacket with a fastidious flick of his hands. 'She is worthy of a better fellow than you, Brown.'
'At least my intentions are honourable,' Walter snarled. 'Can you say the same?'
'Walter.' Rosina thrust herself in between them. 'Roland came all the way from Holland to speak up for you. He could have stayed in Rotterdam, but he did not.'
'Come back with me, Rosie,' Roland said, taking her by the shoulders and gazing deeply into her eyes. 'I meant what I said. You've seen how I live, and you know that I am a man of my word.'
'What are you saying?' Walter dragged her from Roland's grasp. 'How do you know him so well, Rosie? What has been going on while I've been incarcerated in Newgate?'
Septimus pushed his way through the interested crowd of onlookers. 'Walter, this isn't the time or place to continue this conversation.'
Rosina laid her hand on Walter's arm. 'Please, Walter. Let me explain.'
'Explain what? What did you do to secure his promise to act as witness? I would rather die in prison than have you give yourself to a fellow like Rivers.'
Roland took a menacing step towards Walter. 'Take that back, Brown. This woman risked her life and her reputation to free you, and all you can do is accuse her of some imagined misdemeanour. Leave him, Rosie. Come away with me now.'
Walter fisted his hand but Septimus restrained him before he could land a punch. 'This is no good. Do you want to end up back in court, Walter?'
'Septimus is right,' Rosina said urgently. 'Please, let's leave here now. You are a free man, Walter. We can sort this out later.'
'He's not worth it, Rosie.' Roland held his hand out to her. 'Won't you reconsider your decision, my dear? I'm travelling back to Rotterdam tonight. We could return together.'
Rosina opened her mouth to refuse, but Walter turned to her with a tortured expression in his eyes. 'What happened between you two, Rosie? Did he take advantage of you? If he did, I'll kill him.'
'No, Walter. I swear that nothing untoward occurred.'
'She followed me all the way to Rotterdam to beg me to stand witness,' Roland said, curling his lip. 'She risked everything in order to save your neck. You ought to be down on your knees thanking her; not standing there haranguing her like a sanctimonious preacher.'
'Roland, don't,' Rosina cried desperately. 'You're only making things worse.' She turned to Walter with an attempt at a smile. 'It's true; I followed him to Holland to beg him to return with me, even though he was afraid of a breach of promise suit against him. When I left his house in Rotterdam . . .'
'You stayed with him in his house?' Walter's face paled and he grasped her by the wrist. 'Tell me the truth, Rosie. What did you have to do to persuade a libertine like Rivers to speak out for me?'
She winced as his fingers dug into the flesh of her forearm. 'How dare you accuse me of wrongdoing? All I wanted was justice for you.'
'There he is, Constable.' Barnum pushed his way through the crowd, followed by a police officer. 'That is the man who stole from my vessel on two separate occasions. I want you to arrest Walter Brown on a charge of piracy.'
Chapter Twenty-three
Roland stood on the edge of the walkway, staring at the wooden shack with a look of disbelief and horror on his face. 'Rosie, tell me you don't live here – in this appalling slum.'
'I do live here, Roland. I wanted you to see this because you simply won't take no for an answer.'
His face creased with concern. 'But, my dear, this only proves how much you need my protection. Walter is back in jail, where he undoubtedly belongs, and if the case against him is proved, he will stay in prison for a very long time. Are you telling me that you will continue with this filthy trade, wasting your youth and beauty on a man who does not deserve you?'
Rosina followed his gaze, taking in the rotting wooden stilts on which the hut perched like a crippled stork: the haphazard way in which the planks of driftwood were nailed together, and the crazily angled tin chimney jutting out of the roof, dripping rust and belching smoke. She could hear the children's voices and laughter coming from inside and Bertha's deeper tones admonishing one of them for some minor infringement of her strict rules. Caddie had just come out onto the stoop to take the dry washing off a makeshift clothes line; she smiled when she saw Rosina and then her expression changed. 'Rosie? What's happened?' She glanced nervously at Roland. 'Where is Walter?'
Pip was shambling towards them from the direction of Duke's Shore Wharf, with his oddly disjointed gait giving him the appearance of a clumsily manipulated puppet. On hearing the anxious note in Caddie's voice, he quickened his pace into a jogging run. 'What's up?'
Rosina held up her hand. 'I'll tell you everything in just a minute.' She turned to Roland with an apologetic smile. 'This is why I won't accept your offer, Roland. My heart is here in Limehouse Hole. We may be living in a shack, but we are all together, and I will wait for Walter no matter how long it takes. I love him and he loves me.'
'He behaved like a madman today.'
'He was jealous of you.' She laid her hand on his arm. 'You are not only a man of wealth and standing, but you are a good man, or you would not have come all this way to speak up for Walter. I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart, but I cannot go with you. My life is here.'
'If that is your last word, then I fear I must accept it.' Roland took off his top hat and tucked it under his arm. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. 'I'll always have a special place in my heart for you, Rosie. If things were different I would have been proud to have you as my wife, but if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.'
She stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. 'I'll remember that, Roland. I hope you find happiness with your titled lady.'
His eyes darkened and the smile left his lips. For once in his life, he seemed bereft of words. He clicked his heels together and turned abruptly, striding back along the boardwalk towards the road where a hansom cab was waiting for him.
Caddie came hurrying towards Rosina. 'Was that Mr Rivers? Isn't he handsome, Rosie? And what an expensive rig-out he had on. We'd have to work for a year to earn enough to buy the jacket, let alone the trousers.'
'Trousers?' Pip came to a halt beside them and he clutched his sides, gasping for breath. 'That ain't no fit subject for a lady's lips, Caddie.'
'You silly boy,' Caddie said, laughing. 'Fetch us a kettle full of water from the river and we'll have a brew of tea while Rosie tells us everything. Is it good news then, dear? Though I'm afeared it might be on the bad side, seeing as how Walter ain't with you.'
Rosina linked her hand through Caddie's arm. 'I'll tell you everything when we're all together. It's complicated.'
Through sheer necessity, they were back on the barge next day, taking yet another load of rubbish downriver. When they had begun trading, the other watermen had laughed at the oddly assorted trio, and some had been openly hostile at the sight of two women working on the river. But gradually, with each trip, Rosina felt that they were beginning to earn respect. She hated the stench of the rubbish in the hold, the flies and the dust that irritated her eyes and filled her nostrils and mouth, but she kept her sights set on the money they would earn at the end of each voyage. In the hut, the rusty tin on the shelf was growing heavier each day with the money she saved out of her share of the payments from Gilks.
A week after the trial she found Septimus waiting for her on the wharf when they returned from the Medway. Leaving Pip and Caddie to make fast, she clambered up the ladder to meet him. 'Septimus, what news of Walter?'
He took off his hat, shaking his head. 'It's not good, I'm afraid.'