by Dilly Court
‘Please don’t distress yourself,’ Irene murmured. ‘I am not very hungry.’
‘Bread and cheese will be more than welcome,’ Jim said firmly. ‘And some fruit or cake with a bottle of wine will go down nicely.’
‘Just this once won’t hurt, I suppose,’ Mrs Garnet said grudgingly. ‘But they were fine lamb collops, all gone to waste. Anyway, I’ve lit the fire in the breakfast parlour, sir. I’ll send your supper up as soon as it’s ready.’ She left them with a disapproving sniff, and stalked off in the direction of the baize door which led to the back stairs and the servants’ domain in the basement.
‘We’ll sit in the parlour, then, and eat in front of the fire,’ Jim said cheerfully. ‘It will be like the old days in the flat above the shop.’
Irene took off her bonnet and shawl, tossing them onto a hall chair. ‘Not quite, Jim. We had little enough to eat when Pa had been on a spree, and often sat before an empty grate for lack of coal and kindling.’
Jim led the way to a wainscoted room at the rear of the house where, as promised, a fire blazed up the chimney. They ate their meal sitting in front of it, toasting their toes and drinking wine. When Flossie had cleared the dishes, Jim smoked a cigar while Irene sipped coffee. ‘We’ll do very well here, I think, Renie,’ he said, tapping ash from the Havana into the grate. ‘I’m going out for a breath of air. You’ll be all right on your own, won’t you?’
Irene smiled. ‘Hardly on my own, Jim. There are three servants at my beck and call. I think I will enjoy living like a lady.’
He rose to his feet. ‘Good girl. I’ll see you in the morning, and then we will make a start on setting up in business. Get a good night’s sleep. You’ll need all your wits about you tomorrow.’ He strolled out of the parlour, leaving a trail of scented cigar smoke in his wake.
Irene put down her coffee cup and a quick glance at the marble clock on the mantelshelf told her that it was half past eight. Too early to think of going to bed, and yet too late to pay a call on Alice – or was it? She had become used to retiring early in Essex, but that was country living, and she was eager to see Alice again. She had so much to tell her that it could not wait until morning, and it was not far to Robin Hood Court. She could walk there in less than ten minutes.
She did not bother to inform Mrs Garnet that she was going out. Jim had given her a house key and she had been used to coming and going as she pleased from the shop in Wood Street. There was no difference now, she thought as she let herself out of the house, locking the door behind her and slipping the key into her reticule. She set off at a brisk pace, heading towards Cannon Street and continuing up Bread Street, crossing Cheapside and then turning into Milk Street.
There was still plenty of horse-drawn traffic clattering over the cobblestones, but fewer pedestrians were about at this time in the evening. Irene ignored the salacious offers from men lingering in pub doorways, and she hurried past them. She was out of breath by the time she reached the dark slit between tall buildings that led to Robin Hood Court, and for a moment her courage almost failed her. Vague scuffling sounds emanated from its gloomy depths that could have been caused by humans, or perhaps it was simply feral cats out hunting for food. She fixed her gaze on the glimmer of light at the end of the dark tunnel, and clutching her shawl a little tighter around her shoulders she entered the alleyway, treading softly. She was only halfway through when she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She quickened her pace to a trot and then a run, but whoever was following was drawing closer by the second. She was already short of breath and her heart was hammering against her ribcage. She slipped on the mossy cobblestones and would have fallen but for a pair of strong arms that encircled her like a band of steel.
Chapter Twenty
IRENE SCREAMED AND struggled in vain. ‘Let me go.’
‘Hold still. I won’t hurt you.’
She would have known that voice anywhere. ‘Inspector Kent, you frightened the life out of me.’
He released her instantly. ‘What in the blazes are you doing out alone after dark?’
She felt a sudden urge to laugh, although the situation was far from funny. ‘Is that all you have to say to me? Don’t you want to know where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing these past weeks?’
‘Come to the house. We can speak more easily indoors.’
‘Am I being arrested?’ Irene demanded as he took her by the arm and propelled her towards the moonlit court.
‘You wouldn’t find it so amusing if I had been one of the Sykes gang.’ His tone was ice cold and Irene subsided into silence as they approached the house. She waited while he searched his pockets for his keys.
‘I came to see Alice. I’ve been out of town for some time and I was anxious about her.’
‘And yet you couldn’t find time to write to her and let her know that you were safe and well?’
Irene was stung by his scathing tone even though there was some truth in his accusation. ‘I had to leave town in a hurry. I wanted to write, but I didn’t know what to say.’
‘She was worried about you. I don’t like to see my sister suffer. She has enough to bear without you adding to her misfortune.’
‘I’m sorry if she was worried about me, but I’m not very good at putting my thoughts down on paper.’
‘That’s no excuse. A few words would have put her mind at rest.’ He held the door open for her.
‘Well I’m here now, so you needn’t go on about it, and I don’t need you to lecture me about walking out alone after dark. I’m perfectly able to look after myself.’ She could not see his expression in the dimly lit hall, but she sensed his continued animosity and she was unaccountably angry and hurt by his cold reception. She followed him into the parlour, but in the soft glow of the firelight she saw that Alice was not in her usual place on the sofa and her throat constricted with fear. ‘Where is Alice?’
‘It’s late,’ Kent said, shrugging off his greatcoat. ‘She will have been in bed for half an hour at least.’
‘Is she unwell?’ Irene asked anxiously.
He shook his head. ‘She tires easily,’ he said, striking a vesta and lighting the candles. ‘Gladys has a key and she comes in every evening just before nine to put Alice to bed.’
Irene sank down on the sofa with a sigh of relief. ‘All right, Inspector Kent. I admit that I behaved badly towards Alice and I am sorry for it, but I did not mean to neglect her. I had a lot on my mind.’
‘Why did you return to London? Why didn’t you stay in Essex where you were safe?’
She stared at him in surprise. ‘If you knew where I’d gone, why didn’t you tell Alice?’
‘I knew where you were, but I didn’t know the reason for your sudden departure from London. I did my best to reassure her that you had come to no harm, and being the good-natured girl that she is she made all kinds of excuses for your thoughtlessness.’
‘I didn’t come here to be lectured by you,’ Irene retorted hotly. ‘If you must know I was falsely accused of wrongdoing and my brother-in-law threw me out on the street. I had no choice but to leave London.’
He acknowledged this with a curt nod of his head. ‘So why have you returned now?’
‘Always the cop,’ Irene said bitterly. ‘Why don’t you take me down to the station and lock me in a cell?’
‘This isn’t a game, Irene. If you have any intention of meddling with police business regarding the Sykes brothers, then I beg you to reconsider.’
‘I’m not stupid, Inspector Kent. As it happens my situation has changed for the better. My brother returned from a long sea voyage and he came to Havering to fetch me. He has rented a large property in Five Foot Lane and we intend to set up in business there.’
He stood with his back to the fire, eyeing her intently. ‘What sort of business?’
‘I don’t think that’s any of your concern, Inspector.’
He frowned. ‘Your brother was a seafarer and now he wants to live ashore, is that so?’
‘Yes. He has come home for good.’
‘Which leads me to wonder exactly what kind of business venture could be run from a private house.’
Irene was silent for a moment as she battled with conflicting emotions. She was hurt and angry but she also longed to confide in him, and to seek his approval for her plans. At a loss to deal with her feelings, she resorted to sarcasm. ‘You’re the detective. You work it out.’
‘I would hazard a guess at a gaming house. I think that you and your brother intend to try to beat the Sykes brothers at their own game.’
He was so close to the truth that it took her breath away. ‘I think I’ve wasted enough of your time,’ she said coolly. ‘Perhaps you would be kind enough to tell Alice that I called and I’ll come again tomorrow afternoon.’ She made for the door but Kent was too quick for her and he barred her way.
‘No. We are not leaving it like this. You have put yourself in danger by returning to London. The Sykes brothers have spies everywhere and no doubt they already know that you are in town.’
‘Why would they be interested in me?’
‘My men have been keeping them under surveillance for months. It was reported to me that a boy calling himself Jim Angel paid a call on the Sykes brothers in Blue Boar Court not long before you left London.’
She returned his steady gaze, although her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid he might hear it pounding against her ribs. ‘So how does that involve me?’ she demanded, assuming an air of innocence.
‘Gladys told me that a seafarer called Jim Angel had been making enquiries about his family who used to run a shop in Wood Street. Someone, a neighbour I think, told him that Yapp might know where you had gone, and that led him to Danny. Given that Jim Angel turned out to be a man, it was not hard for me to guess the identity of the boy who thought he could take on a gang such as the Sykes.’
‘You’re wrong. It wasn’t me. Now let me pass.’
He leaned against the door, folding his arms across his chest. ‘Not until you have listened to what I have to say. You and your brother would be mad to attempt to play the Sykes brothers at their own game. In the past they have shown no mercy to those who invaded their territory, and you would be no exception. If Jim Angel applies for a gaming licence I will make certain that it is refused, and if you open up an illegal house I will see that you are closed down within a week.’
‘What is it to you? Why won’t you leave us alone?’
His brow darkened. ‘I don’t want to see you lying on a slab in the dead house, Irene. The law will take care of the Sykes gang and I promise you they will be brought to justice.’
‘How can I have any faith in the law after what it has done to my pa? I don’t trust the police, and I don’t trust you. Now let me go.’
He moved away from the door. ‘You must trust me, Irene. It’s your only hope.’
‘You are a copper first and foremost. You’re no different to the rest of them.’
‘And you are a wayward, stubborn creature, but God help me I care what happens to you. I admire your spirit and your bravery and I don’t want to see you crushed by your desire to seek revenge on Vic and Wally Sykes.’ He took her by the hand and his expression softened. ‘Trust me, Irene. Stop this folly and allow me to protect you.’
For a wild moment she was tempted to believe him. The touch of his hand was sending shivers down her spine and causing her pulses to race. She wanted to believe in him, but somehow she could not bring herself to abandon the prejudice that had been bred into her since childhood. He was a policeman and that put them on opposite sides of the law, and he was the son of a callous bully. Inspector Edward Kent had the same blood coursing through his veins as his father – a man who had brought misery to the women who loved him. It would be so easy to give in to his demands, but that would be a leap of faith she was not prepared to take. ‘I don’t believe a word you say,’ she cried, taking refuge in anger. ‘You are only interested in seeking promotion. You don’t care if my pa spends the rest of his life in Newgate and you are afraid that I might succeed in bringing the Sykes brothers to justice when you have failed.’
‘You are terribly wrong. Please consider what I have said.’
‘Once a copper, always a copper.’ Irene spat the words at him. ‘Just leave me and my brother alone to get on with our lives.’ She wrenched the door open and ran from the house. She heard it slam behind her but she did not look back. The chill of the night air made her gasp for breath and her legs felt as though they had turned to jelly. When she reached the alley she stopped to lean against the wall while she caught her breath. She had thought he might pursue her but he had not. ‘So much for his concern about me walking home on my own,’ she muttered. ‘Well, I don’t care what you say, Inspector bloody Kent, neither you nor the whole of the City of London Police force are going to stop me. I’m going to see the Sykes brothers punished if it’s the last thing I do, and I’m not going to stop until I get Pa released from jail.’ She braced her shoulders and headed for home.
Irene did not mention her visit to Robin Hood Court when she set off for the furniture warehouse next morning with Jim. He was in high spirits and she had no intention of passing on Kent’s threat to block his application for a gaming licence, or his promise to close them down if they went ahead without a permit from the magistrate. Jim was full of plans for their new venture and he assured her that he had everything in hand. He hoped that they would be able to open for business in less than a week, provided that the painters could finish the two main rooms in time. ‘That was where I went last evening,’ he said, relaxing against the worn leather squabs of the hansom cab. ‘I had the names of artisans recommended to me by an old seafaring friend who came ashore a couple of years ago and has started up a wine importing business with great success. You must meet him, Renie. He’s a good fellow and is still unmarried.’
Irene giggled in spite of the nagging worries that beset her. ‘Are you trying to marry me off, Jim?’
He grinned. ‘Well, I don’t see you as an old maid, my dear. And Gilbert is a steady chap with good prospects. You could do worse.’
‘You can put that idea out of your head right now. My one aim in life is to get justice for Pa and to put an end to the Sykes gang.’
‘Now, Renie, don’t get carried away, poppet. You know I’ll do anything I can to get Pa freed from jail, but we must avoid antagonising Vic and Wally at all costs. I haven’t forgotten what they do to people who get in their way and it isn’t pretty.’
‘But Jim, I thought—’
‘No, Renie, we’re not going to do anything illegal. I didn’t spend ten years at sea, saving every penny of my wages, to risk losing the lot when I finally came ashore. I grew up watching the old man fritter away any money that came into his hands and I saw Ma dragged down by hard work and poverty. That’s all in the past and I’m going to make our fortune. From now on we’re going to be respectable citizens.’
Irene absorbed this in silence. Jim and Emmie both seemed to share the same ambition, but hers was simpler. She wanted to see Pa free and her family reunited; she could think no further than that.
Jim tapped on the roof of the cab with his malacca cane. ‘Stop at the warehouse on the corner, cabby.’ His face was alight with anticipation as the vehicle slowed down and came to a halt. ‘This is where it all begins.’ He leapt out and held up his hand to assist her from the high vehicle. ‘You can choose the colours, but I will pick the style of furnishing.’
Irene had not been looking forward to a morning spent selecting tables and chairs but once inside the huge building she began to take an interest. By mid-morning they had ordered tables, chairs and sofas for the gaming and reception rooms. They went on to a fabric warehouse and chose curtain material, which the obsequious salesman assured them could be made up and delivered in less than a week. Jim had laid out a small fortune but he brushed aside Irene’s fears that they had overspent, and he treated her to luncheon at a chophouse in Upp
er Thames Street.
‘Now then, young Renie,’ he said, wiping his lips on a starched white table napkin. ‘There’s another thing which I ought to mention before we go any further.’
Irene swallowed the last morsel of spotted dick and custard and licked the spoon. ‘What is that?’
‘Clothes, my dear girl.’ Jim angled his head, casting a meaningful look at her faded gown that had once belonged to Emmie. ‘You appear to be rather short in that department.’
‘Are you saying that I look shabby?’
‘No, of course not. Well, perhaps a little. What I mean to say is that you ought to find a dressmaker who could fix you up with something a bit smarter, if you know what I mean.’
‘I do know exactly,’ Irene said, smiling at his obvious embarrassment. ‘I’m still wearing Emmie’s cast-offs. I could do with a new skirt and blouse.’
Jim took a wallet from his breast pocket and peeled off a crisp new ten pound note. ‘You need more than that, ducks. A whole wardrobe more like.’
‘Put it away before someone sees. That’s too much, Jim. I can’t take it.’
‘Don’t be silly, of course you must. Dressing you like a lady is all part of the plan to establish ourselves as a respectable gaming house. I’m not going to encourage the riff-raff from the docks to frequent our establishment. I want the well-off punters who will behave themselves, not drunken dockers and sailors.’
Irene glanced nervously at the other diners but thankfully they all seemed too intent on eating and drinking to take any notice of them. She snatched the note and tucked it into her reticule. ‘Well, if you’re sure, but this would keep us in food and coal for couple of months or more.’
Jim leaned back in his seat, preening himself. ‘Not in the way I intend to live, Renie. We’re going to have the best of everything. I’ve done with living rough at sea and now I’m going to enjoy the comforts of life ashore. You’ll see.’ He beckoned to the waiter. ‘I’ll settle up here and then I’ll walk you home.’