Sea Mistress

by Iris Gower

  ‘Do you want any butter, missus?’ the boy asked, his foot resting on the ground. ‘I had some deliveries to make but one of my customers wasn’t home and I’ll have to go back to the shop if I have anything left over.’

  Ellie took the butter and opened her bag but the boy shook his head. ‘No, don’t pay me, missus, the boss, he likes to collect the money himself.’ He grinned, ‘There’s a big bag of flour, too, very useful and it will keep.’

  ‘Very well, I’ll have the flour but nothing else, right?’

  The boy grinned. ‘My boss will be happy that I’ve found him a new customer.’

  ‘Who is your boss?’ Ellie smiled at the lad’s cheek. He grimaced and lifting his cap rubbed at his head. ‘Harry Parkins, got shops in Swansea, Clydach and Neath. Family business it is see but old man Parkins keeps his hands on the purse-strings, mind.’

  ‘Well, ask him will he bring me up a little sugar, tea and salt when he brings the bill. And tell him to come soon because I’ll be going away shortly.’

  ‘Thank you, missus, he might crack a smile for once in his life when I give him your message.’ He rode away, his thin legs beneath his checked trousers pumping the pedals as he tried to get up speed. Ellie heard his cheerful whistle as she turned back into the house, the notes hung hauntingly for a moment on the still air.

  ‘What is it, Ellie?’ Martha came out of the parlour, her glasses perched on the end of her nose.

  ‘A note from Bridie asking can she visit tomorrow night. I’ve said yes, even though Dan will be home, I could hardly refuse, could I?’

  ‘I suppose not.’ Martha followed as Ellie went along the passage towards the kitchen. ‘I’m sorry about Mr Marchant, no-one deserves to die young like that do they?’

  ‘Not even a man like Paul,’ Ellie agreed. ‘Here, Rosie, extra butter, put it on the cold shelf in the pantry, will you?’

  Rosie took the butter and sniffed it. ‘Mm, good Welsh salt butter this, see the little drops of water oozing out of it, shows it’s got plenty of salt in it.’ She weighed it in her hand. ‘A fair pound, spot on, I’d say.’

  Ellie smiled, Rosie was the expert in such matters so she had no intention of arguing. ‘I expect you’re right.’

  ‘How much did it cost?’ Rosie was ever practical. Ellie shook her head. ‘Do you know, I’m not sure? I believe a Mr Parkins will call at some time to collect his money, I’ll tell you then.’

  ‘Dear enough, I’d say,’ Rosie looked as if she had to pay for the butter herself. ‘A bit more added on for delivery too. Better to buy it in the market like always.’

  ‘Rosie,’ Ellie changed the subject, ‘do you think you could bake up a batch of scones and things for tomorrow night?’

  Rosie’s face brightened. ‘Aye, that I will, I’ll do it straight away, the Reverend will be home soon, won’t he?’

  ‘Daniel is not a Reverend yet Rosie, and yes, he will be home this evening, I hope. Tomorrow we’ll be having visitors, Bridie Marchant is coming over and I’m expecting Arian Smale, as well.’

  ‘Quite a going-away party,’ Rosie beamed, always anxious for a chance to show off her culinary skills, ‘I’ll do some cutlets of lamb in mint jelly and some . . .’

  Ellie held up her hand. ‘No need to go to any trouble, Rosie, really, I’m sure our visitors will have eaten.’

  ‘The Reverend will be starving, Mr Dan is always starving. I’d better make some nice hot pasties for tonight then and some game pie as well.’

  ‘All right, make what you like, you will anyway,’ Ellie grumbled good naturedly. ‘Come on Martha let’s get back to the parlour and the warmth of the fire, shall we?’

  It was soothing sitting in the cheerful room with the lamp casting warm shadows and flames leaping from the coals in the grate. The ticking of the clock was the only sound, the regular marking of time having a soporific effect on Martha so, after making herself comfortable in the chair, she began to doze. Ellie looked at her with affection, she was glad Martha was going with her to Lampeter, it would have been lonely without her and with Dan at college all day. Rosie, because she would be married soon, would remain in Swansea.

  The plan had been that she would be married from Glyn Hir but now, Ellie proposed to return for the wedding and take over one of the hotels for the day in order to give Rosie a good start in her new life.

  Martha opened her eyes, suddenly as alert as though she had not been asleep. ‘I’m looking forward to Rosie’s wedding.’

  ‘Have you been reading my mind?’ Ellie asked dryly.

  Martha smiled. ‘Maybe. She’s a good girl, deserves the best, I like Rosie.’

  ‘You surprise me,’ Ellie said with her eyebrows raised. ‘I always thought you two were at loggerheads.’

  ‘Well, perhaps we were but it was only done to add a bit of spice to the proceedings. We’ve rubbed along well enough most of the time.’

  Ellie sat back in her chair and began to dream, content to let Martha do most of the chatting. Tonight, Dan would be with her. He would hold her in his arms, make love to her, make her feel she was truly alive. And tomorrow, he could help her entertain her visitors, it would be good practice for him. She smiled to herself, everything was going so well, did she deserve to be this happy? She closed her eyes for a moment, savouring her feelings of euphoria and then Martha was prodding her. ‘Wake up sleepy head, your husband is home.’

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  As Arian made preparations for her trip to Glyn Hir, she felt the first flutterings of unease. She stood before the mirror, hatpin poised above the crown of her velvet hat and stared at her reflection. She thought of Calvin waiting for her to come to him and bit her lip, was she doing the right thing? Tonight could be her last chance to patch things up between them. ‘You know what this means, don’t you?’ she said to her reflection, ‘it means that once and for all you are putting your paper before your love for Calvin Temple.’

  She thrust the hatpin more securely into her hat and picked up her gloves and bag. What she was feeling was only a last minute bout of nerves, she knew what she wanted and that was to keep her independence. If Calvin really loved her, he would be willing for her to continue working on her newspaper. And if she really loved him, loved him enough, a small voice said in her head, she would give up all for Calvin Temple.

  Soon it would be spring but today it was cold in the street, her breath hung in puffs of vapour on the chill air. Above the buildings in the Strand, the sky was heavy and grey. A thin drizzle began to fall and Arian walked to the edge of the kerb and hailed a cab. She gave the driver the address and climbed into the rocking carriage, shivering as she sat back in the cold leather seat. How she’d hated the winter months when her only escape from the depressing weather was to concentrate on the paper, on her work. She couldn’t relinquish it, she would die of boredom sitting at home all day playing the great lady. In any case, it was all academic now, Calvin would not be slow to realize the implications when she failed to meet him tonight. The journey did not take long. Arian looked out of the window, hearing the sound of the horses’ hooves against the roadway and glimpsing the silver ribbon of the river Tawe, she wondered again if she was doing the right thing but it was too late now, the familiar smell of the tannery permeated the air.

  She felt a tinge of excitement, she had learned that Bridie Marchant would be here and Arian was curious to learn more about Paul’s death. It appeared to be accidental but was that the truth? She paid the driver. ‘Perhaps you will call back for me about ten o’clock tonight?’ she said and the man grunted and gave what she took to be a nod of assent, though by the look on his face, it wouldn’t do to rely on him too heavily.

  Rosie let her into the house and took her coat with a smile. ‘In the parlour, miss, there’s a lovely cheerful fire burning in the hearth. The other visitors have arrived already and Mr Daniel is home from college.’ She giggled, ‘It’s quite like a party, mind.’

  Arian was surprised and a little disconcerted, she had ho
ped for a quiet chat with Bridie. For a moment she was inclined to flee, she wasn’t sure she could cope with a crowd of people right now. But then, she was being welcomed into the room by Ellie who took her hands and led her to a chair near the warmth of the fire.

  ‘You look frozen, come on, warm yourself, have some mulled wine, it’s delicious.’

  The first few minutes of her arrival were taken up with greetings, polite enquiries were made regarding her health and Arian accepted a glass of warm wine with a feeling of being swept away on a tide.

  Bridie leaned forward, her eyes shining, her hair falling in curls around her forehead. She looked surprisingly young and beautiful but then she was obviously in love with the man who hovered so attentively at her side, Arian thought with a stab of envy. It did not seem appropriate to raise the matter of her husband’s death, not in the face of such happiness.

  ‘Collins has decided to make an honest woman of me,’ Bridie said quietly.

  What a change in a woman, Arian thought, once Bridie had been a bitch of the first order but then an awful lot had happened to her over the last few years. Pain and loss had tempered her nature, apparently bringing out the best in her.

  Daniel entered the room followed by Caradoc and Boyo, the men were laughing noisily. Arian felt alone, a woman without a man in tow. ‘Congratulations,’ she said quietly to Bridie, ‘I hope you will be very happy.’

  ‘I’m sure I will,’ Bridie said slowly, her eyes on Collins who had gone to stand in a group with the other men. Arian leaned back in her chair as Dan moved into the centre of the room.

  ‘We have been discussing Evan Roberts, the man who headed the revival in Wales last year. It seems he had gone into hiding in Leicestershire with the Penn Lewises. Been burning the candle at both ends, by all accounts, and needs to rest.’ He paused for a moment and then, as a silence greeted his words, he continued to speak. ‘Still, the effects of his ministry are being felt everywhere, the criminal lists are non-existent, the courtrooms empty, he has accomplished a great deal in his short career.’ Another silence caused him to colour. ‘I’m sorry, I’m being a bore, acting the preacher.’ He smiled, ‘All that is about to change, we men are going outside to take a look at the tannery buildings. Boyo wants to discuss some alterations he feels would improve the production of the leather.’

  It was Martha, the elderly woman sitting back a little from the others, who spoke. ‘Going out to the nearest public bar to have a drink and a smoke, more like it,’ she said dryly.

  Dan held up his hands. ‘Caught, I confess it all. But we won’t be very long, I promise you that.’ He smiled, ‘It will give you women a chance to talk about weddings and babies and things dear to all your hearts.’

  Arian felt disgruntled, weddings and babies were the last things she wanted to talk about. She felt a moment of panic, the time was slipping away and Calvin would be waiting for her. Was she making the biggest mistake of her life by not going to him?

  The cheerful voices of the men died away and as if on a given cue, Bridie began to speak. ‘I hope you’ll all bear with me,’ she looked across at Ellie. ‘I want to ask Dan about marrying us, Collins and me. I would like the ceremony to be conducted at home, in my little house in Clydach, would Dan be able to do it, do you think?’

  Ellie shook her head, ‘But Bridie, I thought you were a Catholic, wouldn’t you rather be married in a church of your own faith?’

  Bridie looked a little shamefaced. ‘Not in my condition,’ she said. ‘In any case, I want it done quickly so that my child has a secure future. I don’t want a public affair which it would be in a Catholic church, you understand? In any case, Collins isn’t a Catholic, so it would be very difficult to arrange.’

  Arian watched as Ellie shook her head. ‘Dan isn’t ordained yet, he couldn’t conduct the ceremony himself if he wanted to but I’m certain he’ll find someone willing to carry out the service in your own home if that’s what you really want.’

  Arian suddenly felt the urge to be away from here, from the cosy talk of weddings. Bridie must have caught her look. ‘I’m sorry, I’m being selfish, monopolizing the conversation, it must be a real bore for the rest of you.’

  Arian felt ashamed for that’s exactly what she had been thinking. ‘No really, but I have another appointment, I should have been there at least an hour ago.’ She could still make it if she hurried, she could still be with Calvin, surely they could find some sort of compromise that would suit them both?

  ‘But it’s so cold,’ Ellie said following Arian to the door, ‘you don’t want to walk all the way back to town, do you?’

  ‘I’ll go down to the nearest street and get a cab, don’t worry.’ Arian couldn’t wait to be away, she had been a fool to try to put Calvin out of her life, she loved him and she needed him. Why had she left it so long to tell him so?

  They were in the hall now and Ellie was about to speak again when the door was pushed roughly open. Arian saw a man standing against the light, he looked huge in a greatcoat that reached almost to his ankles, his hair stood up wildly as if he’d been running bareheaded in the wind.

  ‘Back, away from the door,’ he said in a harsh voice. ‘Back in the room there and at the double.’

  He edged closer. ‘I’ve got explosives tied around my body and any sudden movement might set them off then we’d all be blown sky high so I am warning you, don’t try anything silly.’

  Arian moved forward, this man was mad but then she had dealt with a madman before, she had been married to one. No-one was going to intimidate her, not ever again. ‘I’m walking out of here,’ she said, ‘do your worst.’

  She saw his hand lift and then it was as though a sky full of stars was bursting inside her head. Then, abruptly, everything became black.

  ‘Matthew!’ Ellie looked down at Arian’s senseless figure on the floor and made to bend over her. The sound of laughter drifted from the parlour and Matthew stiffened. ‘Who have you got here?’ he asked gruffly and Ellie felt a sudden surge of hope.

  ‘I’ve got visitors, the menfolk will be returning soon, you’d better go now, while you can.’ As soon as she spoke, she realized she had made a mistake, she had let Matthew know that the women were alone.

  ‘Get in there.’ He gestured towards the parlour and, bending, caught Arian’s arms. No-one moved as Matthew dragged the unconscious form of Arian into the lighted room. Ellie was pushed savagely against the wall. ‘Anyone else in the house?’

  Ellie shook her head. ‘No-one.’

  ‘You are lying, where’s Rosie?’

  Ellie bit her lip. ‘I don’t know, I think she went out.’

  Matthew stood in the doorway and bellowed Rosie’s name. She came hurrying out of the kitchen, rubbing her hands on her apron. When she saw Matthew, she stopped in her tracks and stared at him in bewilderment. ‘What on earth?’

  ‘Get in here with the other women,’ Matthew said coldly and Rosie obeyed him knowing by the tone of his voice that it wouldn’t do to protest.

  Inside the room, Matthew turned the key in the lock. ‘You women,’ he said, ‘push that table against the door.’

  ‘What on earth do you hope to achieve by all this, Matthew?’ Ellie asked coldly. ‘The men will return soon, I mean it, they’ll be all over you.’

  ‘Shut your mouth.’ His eyes were glittering and hard. ‘I’m the boss here now and you will all do as you are told or I’ll set this thing off and we’ll all be dead.’

  He shrugged off his coat and Ellie saw that a strange metallic box was strapped to his waist.

  ‘So you’d blow yourself up, too?’ Ellie asked with sarcasm and Matthew glared at her. ‘If I don’t get what I want that is exactly what I’ll do. Now sit down all of you and keep quiet.’

  ‘What do you want?’ Ellie asked. She glanced at Bridie who was white-faced, her hands pressed together as if she was praying. ‘Perhaps we can settle this before the men return. That way, we will all be spared a great deal of grief.’

  �
�I want money, what else?’ Matthew said. ‘I didn’t expect a reception committee, I expected only you and that mealy-mouthed husband of yours to be here. As it is,’ he looked round with satisfaction, ‘my bargaining power will be that much greater.’

  ‘How can anyone get you money at this time of night?’ Ellie said reasonably.

  ‘You know the bank manager personally, don’t you?’ Matthew’s tone was equally reasonable. ‘If you were to go and plead with him, tell him that it was a matter of life or death, which it is, I’m sure he’d open the vaults for you.’

  Arian groaned and Ellie saw her struggle to sit up. She took her arm and helped her into a chair. A small trickle of blood was running down her temple. Arian looked around her as though dazed and then her eyes cleared and became wary as she sized up the situation.

  Into the silence came the sound of knocking on the door. Matthew looked up, his neck stiff. ‘Who is that?’ He moved silently to the window and twitched he curtains. ‘It’s a delivery van,’ he said, ‘are you expecting anyone?’

  Ellie felt the absurd desire to laugh. ‘It must be Harry Parkins, come to collect his money I expect.’

  The knocking sounded again, louder this time. Ellie made a movement but Matthew shook his head. ‘No, stay quiet, he’ll give up eventually and go away.’

  The knocking continued, the sound repeated persistently, beating into Ellie’s brain until she felt she could scream. But at last, there was silence.

  ‘What now?’ Ellie asked. ‘Will you go with me to the bank? Then I can try my best to get you the money you want.’

  He shook his head. ‘I’ve a better idea.’ He looked round the room. ‘Let us see, there will be several men, I take it?’

  No-one spoke and Matthew took Ellie’s hair in his hands, twisting it cruelly. ‘Well, let’s figure it out for ourselves then. There will be the toerag Mrs Marchant is living tally with for a start, Daniel Bennett our preacher, of course.’ His gaze wandered around the room. ‘Who else? Ah yes, Rosie’s new boyfriend, the fat Mr Caradoc Jones and lastly that shrimp Boyo, quite a party.’