The River Maid

by Dilly Court

  ‘Thank you.’ Essie had nothing more to say and she backed out of the cabin in a daze. If Raven had told her he loved her she would have stayed in Ballarat for the rest of her life as long as he was there, but he had made her believe that he did not care and she would have to live with that. Now she would never know the truth, although it was obvious that the Earl of Starcross would never consider marriage with a commoner like herself. Alice had spoken the truth; it had hurt, but she was right – their worlds had met briefly, or perhaps they had collided, but now it was over.

  Essie went to her cabin to wake Sadie and make ready to disembark.

  An hour later, as they stepped onto the jetty Essie was surprised to find a carriage waiting for them.

  ‘I sent a message on ahead,’ Alice said smugly. ‘I want to get home as quickly as possible.’ She summoned the footman with an imperious wave of her hand and he leaped from the box to open the door, proffering his hand to help her into the vehicle.

  ‘Thank you, James. See that our luggage is stowed carefully.’ Alice climbed into the coach, followed by Essie and then Sadie, who seemed overawed by the whole experience.

  Falco stood watching them, and Essie was struck by his bereft expression. ‘I think Falco wants to speak to you,’ she said, nudging Alice, who was apparently oblivious to anything but her desire to return to her ancestral home.

  ‘I’ve said goodbye to him.’ Alice stared straight ahead. ‘Drive on, Tully.’

  The carriage ride to Daumerle took about half an hour, but Essie barely noticed the time as she was intent on gazing out of the window at the trees reaching up to the azure sky. The rolling hills were dotted with woolly white sheep and herds of cows, grazing on the lush grass. The lanes were frighteningly steep and narrow as they meandered between the fields, with high banks swagged with ivy. Even in the middle of winter there was greenery enough to make the Devonshire countryside appear lush and verdant, and clumps of snowdrops gave hope of spring to come. It was all such a complete change from the wide open spaces of Australia, not to mention the dark canyons of Limehouse, that it took Essie’s breath away.

  The carriage drew to a halt outside a pair of ornate wrought-iron gates, and the gatekeeper emerged from his lodge to throw them open. An avenue lined with trees stretched out in front of them, leading to a magnificent Palladian mansion.

  ‘Welcome to Daumerle,’ Alice said, as the carriage drew to a halt and a footman rushed to open the door and help them to alight.

  The double doors were flung open and a stately looking butler came down the steps to greet his mistress, followed by another footman and a procession of uniformed maids, who lined the steps, headed by a woman in black with a chatelaine at her waist. She was plump with rosy cheeks and a gentle smile, and looked a lot less intimidating than Mrs Dent, the housekeeper in Hill Street. If the servants were shocked to see their mistress and her companions looking like gypsies they were too well disciplined to allow their astonishment to show.

  ‘Welcome home, my lady.’ The butler bowed low and the housekeeper bobbed a curtsey.

  ‘Thank you, Garner,’ Alice said graciously. ‘It’s good to be home.’ She mounted the steps, coming to a halt beside the housekeeper. ‘Good morning, Mrs Yelland. As you see I have two friends with me. Miss Chapman and Miss Dixon. Please see that rooms close to mine are prepared for them.’

  ‘Yes, my lady, of course.’ Mrs Yelland stood back, folding her hands primly in front of her as Alice entered the great hall followed by Essie and Sadie.

  Essie looked round in awe. If the house in Hill Street was grand, Daumerle was palatial. She could imagine the Queen herself gliding down the wide sweep of the staircase, where Lady Alice’s ancestors gazed out from their gilded frames, frozen in time for everyone to see and marvel at their splendour. The high ceiling was covered with frescos depicting scenes from antiquity with fat cherubs and scantily clad females in thrall to muscular heroes. Essie almost tripped over her feet as she gazed upwards, enchanted by the colour and beauty of the paintings. Sadie clutched her hand, looking around as if she expected to be pounced on and dragged off to the scullery where she would be put to work.

  Alice hesitated as she was about to mount the stairs. ‘Mrs Yelland will take you to your rooms.’ She looked them up and down, shaking her head. ‘You are in desperate need of new clothes. Come to my room when you’re settled and I’ll get Merrifield to sort out some of my things for both of you.’ She ascended the stairs with a spring in her step. ‘Home at last.’

  ‘Come along, ladies,’ Mrs Yelland said briskly. ‘I’ll show you to your rooms, and the maids will bring hot water so that you may take a bath, should you desire to do so.’

  ‘Oh, definitely,’ Essie said eagerly. ‘You can’t imagine how much I’ve longed for a bath during our time abroad.’

  ‘No, indeed, miss. I doubt if I could stretch my imagination to that extent.’

  ‘She talks like a toff,’ Sadie whispered as she followed Essie upstairs.

  ‘Hush, she’ll hear you.’

  Mrs Yelland turned her head to give them a wide smile. ‘My hearing is very acute, young lady. But I take it as a compliment.’

  Their rooms were adjacent and overlooked the parterre garden, where, in the mild Devon climate, spring flowers were bursting into bloom, and beyond to sweeping lawns separated from the deer park by a ha-ha. Sadie stood in the doorway, gazing round wide-eyed and for a moment speechless.

  ‘It’s a lovely room,’ Essie said encouragingly. ‘Do you like it, Sadie?’

  ‘It’s too grand for the likes of me,’ Sadie whispered. ‘How many of us have to share it?’

  ‘Good gracious, child,’ Mrs Yelland said with a gurgle of laughter. ‘How quaint you are. This is your room, Miss Dixon, and Miss Chapman will be next door, so you will have company should you feel uneasy in a strange house.’

  Essie gave her a grateful smile. ‘Thank you, Mrs Yelland. I’m sure we’ll both be more than comfortable. Daumerle is the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen.’

  Mrs Yelland puffed out her chest and beamed with pride. ‘It is a very fine building and we work hard to keep it at its best.’ She stepped outside and moved along the corridor to open the door to Essie’s room, which was even more impressive than Sadie’s bedchamber. Furnished with dainty chairs and a small sofa upholstered in blue and silver striped damask with matching curtains, the room was large and winter sunshine flooded in from tall windows. Essie ran her fingers over the highly polished top of the burr walnut dressing table. There was also a wash stand and an impressive clothes press – it was a room fit for royalty.

  ‘I’ll have fires lit in both your rooms,’ Mrs Yelland added hastily. ‘A maid will bring hot water to fill the baths.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Essie said gratefully. ‘We’ve been at sea for what seems like forever, and a bath in fresh water would be such luxury.’

  ‘It will take a little time to fill the tubs as the maids have to carry the ewers some distance from the kitchen, but I’ll show you to Lady Alice’s room as she requested.’

  Luncheon was taken in the morning parlour, which overlooked the paved terrace where stone urns were filled with early narcissi, nodding and swaying in the sea breeze. Alice was fashionably dressed in a blue and green plaid silk afternoon gown with pagoda sleeves, and Essie felt equally stylish in one of Alice’s full-skirted grey tussore gowns trimmed with black fringing. It was last season’s fashion, so Merrifield informed her with a disapproving sniff, but to Essie it was the height of luxury. Sadie was too small to wear any of Alice’s clothes, even if they were considered to be unfashionable, so Merrifield had been sent, albeit rather unwillingly, to the attics and had searched through trunks packed with garments worn by Alice when she was much younger. As a result Sadie had a whole new wardrobe, and if the clothes smelled rather strongly of camphor and lavender she did not complain. Merrifield had taken everything to the laundry room to hang on racks to air, but regardless of the cloying odour intended to keep the
moths at bay, Sadie had insisted on wearing a red woollen gown with a white broderie anglaise collar and cuffs.

  James, the footman, stood to attention behind Alice with Betsy, one of the senior housemaids, at his side. Essie was slightly unnerved by their presence, but, having served the first course, they stared straight ahead, their expressions impassive as if they were mentally elsewhere.

  Alice picked up her knife and fork. ‘Before we begin our meal I think I ought to point out that we don’t eat off our knife, Sadie. It might be considered the done thing in Ballarat, but that doesn’t apply here. Not only is it considered to be bad manners, but one would be in danger of cutting one’s tongue.’

  Sadie blushed and hung her head.

  ‘Maybe we should eat in the servants’ hall,’ Essie suggested tentatively.

  ‘There’s no need to go to extremes, and I think you’ll find that Garner is even more particular about table manners than I am. However, should you be invited to dinner parties you will find that there are some who set out to break all the rules, especially when the wine is flowing.’

  ‘I’m not sure I understand,’ Essie said frowning.

  ‘We have to know the rules of etiquette, and also when it is acceptable to break them. Polite society is not always so polite, as you will discover, Essie.’

  ‘I doubt if I’ll ever be invited to such parties. Polite society doesn’t exist in Limehouse.’ Faced with a bewildering display of cutlery, Essie shot a surreptitious glance in Alice’s direction, waiting to see which of them she used first.

  ‘Do as I do and you won’t go far wrong.’ Alice looked from one to the other. ‘You are my guests and it will be my pleasure to entertain you both for as long as you wish to stay.’

  ‘Thank you, Alice, but I ought to go home as soon as possible.’

  ‘Another week or two isn’t going to make any difference. I suggest you send a letter to your father, letting him know that you are safe and well. If you turn up out of the blue he might drop dead from heart failure, so a prior warning would be in order.’

  ‘What are you planning?’ Essie asked suspiciously. ‘Why do you care what happens to us?’

  ‘Because we’ve been together for months – we’ve suffered the same privations – and more importantly because you are now a very wealthy young woman, Essie. Your life will be changed by the fortune you’ll have, and you won’t be able to pick up where you left off. If you return home too soon you’ll be cheated out of your gold or robbed of it before you’ve been in London for more than twenty-four hours.’

  Essie met Alice’s earnest gaze and knew that she was speaking the truth. ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ she said slowly. ‘I was going to sell the nuggets and buy a small house near the docks, but in a better area. I thought I could look after Pa and I’d put advertisements in the newspapers asking for information about my brother. If he saw them he might come home.’

  ‘I think Alice is right.’ Sadie pushed her plate away. ‘Except about this stuff. I’m sorry, but I don’t like fish nor never will. I’ll puke if you make me eat it.’

  ‘We don’t speak about puking or throwing up at table,’ Alice said severely. She signalled to James and Betsy to clear the table, before turning to Essie. ‘Think about what I’ve just said. You need someone honest to advise you how to invest your money, and a bullion dealer who will give you the best price for the gold. Will you allow me to help you?’

  Essie nodded. ‘I’d be grateful, but I don’t understand why you want to help me.’

  ‘I’ve grown fond of you both, and if you must know, the last thing Raven said to me was, “Look after Essie, she’s an innocent and I’d hate to see her cheated out of the gold that Beasley gave his life for.” So you see, my cousin is concerned for your welfare.’

  ‘What do you suggest?’ Essie said eagerly. ‘I really haven’t given it a lot of thought.’

  ‘I want to spend some time here. I employ a land agent to run the estate, and I need to see him and discuss any problems that might have arisen during my absence. I’ll visit Starcross Abbey and make sure that all is well there, and when I’m satisfied that everything is running smoothly I’ll return to London. There’s still the matter of the appeal. Obviously I’ve lost contact with our solicitor, so I don’t know how things are proceeding.’

  Momentarily forgetting her own problems, Essie leaned forward eagerly. ‘Do you think Raven and Freddie will be pardoned?’

  ‘Who knows? But let’s hope so, and in the meantime, if you’re agreeable, I’ll set about making a lady of you, Esther Chapman. With your looks and money you’ll take society by storm.’

  ‘What about me?’ Sadie whispered, her eyes filling with tears. ‘What’s to become of me?’

  ‘You’ll be with me, of course,’ Essie said hastily. ‘I’ll take care of you.’

  ‘Of course she will, Sadie. Don’t be silly.’

  ‘Will I go back to being a scullery maid?’

  Essie shook her head. ‘Certainly not. I told you before, I think of you as my little sister.’

  ‘Really?’ Sadie’s lips trembled and tears ran down her cheeks. ‘Do you mean it, Essie?’

  ‘I’m sure she does,’ said Alice sternly. ‘But you have even more to learn than Essie, so you can start by taking your elbows off the table. As my old nanny used to say, “no uncooked joints on the table”. You will have to learn manners and speak only when you’re spoken to. I doubt if you can read and write.’

  ‘Indeed I can.’ Sadie faced Alice with a defiant stare. ‘We learned our lessons in the orphanage. I ain’t ignorant.’

  ‘I am not ignorant,’ Alice said patiently.

  ‘I know you ain’t,’ Sadie added quickly. ‘I was talking about meself.’

  Alice rolled her eyes heavenward. ‘You have your work cut out there, Essie. In fact, I think I’ll send for Miss Potts, my old governess. She’s retired now, but I think the two of you could benefit from her teaching, and no doubt she will be glad of a little extra money. I’ll get word to her this afternoon and see what she says.’

  Essie and Sadie exchanged wary glances, saying nothing as the next course was brought to the table. They finished their meal in silence and without any further criticism from Alice, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. She rose from the table and was about to leave the room when Betsy reappeared, looking flushed and flustered.

  She bobbed a curtsey. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt, my lady, but Mr Garner sent me to tell you that there’s a strange foreign gentleman creating a fuss outside the gates and demanding to be let in.’

  Alice eyed her thoughtfully. ‘Describe him for me.’

  ‘I haven’t seen him, my lady. The gatekeeper sent his son with the message. The foreign gent refuses to go until he’s spoken to you.’

  Essie rushed to the window, followed by Sadie. The avenue leading to the road was long and straight, but Essie would have recognised him anywhere. ‘I think it’s Falco,’ she said, chuckling. He’s riding the strangest horse I ever saw.’

  ‘Tell the gatekeeper to admit him,’ Alice said hastily. ‘I believe I know the gentleman. I’ll see him in the drawing room.’

  Betsy curtseyed again and hurried from the room. Essie could hear the maid’s small feet pitter-pattering on the marble floor as she hurried to pass on the message.

  ‘I wonder what he wants,’ Essie said slowly. ‘I thought the Santa Gabriella was due to sail on the tide.’

  Alice shrugged casually, but Essie was quick to notice the bright spots of colour on her pale cheeks, and she seemed to be slightly breathless. Essie had long suspected that Lady Alice Crozier was not immune to Falco’s charms, and his feelings for her had been obvious to anyone who had seen them together. But it was a relationship that seemed doomed to failure from the outset. The Earl of Dawlish’s daughter and the renegade Italian sea captain was not a match made in heaven, and a happy ending seemed unlikely.

  ‘The boy is passing on the message,’ Sadie said excitedly. ‘And the gate
s are being opened. Look, Essie, come and look.’ She pointed a finger, jabbing at the windowpane as she jumped up and down, chortling with laughter. ‘Where did he find a horse such as that?’

  Essie hurried to the window, followed by Alice, and the sight that met her eyes made her chuckle. Falco was not an expert horseman, which had been obvious in Italy when they rode to the monastery, and the mount he had procured was a swayback piebald creature that looked to be on its last legs. Essie expected the poor animal to collapse as it broke into a lumbering trot, coming to a halt at the foot of the steps and almost unseating Falco.

  ‘Good heavens, what a spectacle.’ Alice backed away from the window. ‘I’ll see him and send him on his way, but someone must do something for that poor nag. Sadie, run and tell James to have it taken to the stables. The beast should be out at pasture and I shall tell Falco so in no uncertain terms.’ Alice swept out of the room.

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Essie said as Sadie hurried into the hall. ‘I want to see the gallant captain.’

  They reached the main entrance at the same moment as Falco. James took his hat and boat cloak and passed them to Betsy. ‘Lady Alice will see you in the drawing room, sir.’

  ‘It’s Captain Falco.’

  ‘Yes, Captain. Come this way, if you please.’

  Essie stepped in between them. ‘Captain, this is a surprise. I thought you were in a hurry to leave our waters.’

  ‘We needed to take on supplies and missed the tide, and unfortunately we developed engine trouble, so while repairs are being carried out I thought I would like to visit the home of Lady Alice.’

  ‘I see. Well, I’m sure Lady Alice will be delighted to see you.’

  Falco’s smile faded and he leaned closer, lowering his voice. ‘Do you really think so?’

  ‘Why don’t you go with James and find out?’

  ‘I will. Lead on.’ He followed James with a hint of his old swaggering gait, but Essie was not fooled. She sensed that Falco was nervous and she could only guess at his real reason for coming all this way.