by Dilly Court
He leaped to his feet and hurried round the desk to pull up a chair. ‘Good morning, Essie. Won’t you take a seat?’
She hesitated and remained standing as she peeled off her gloves. ‘Where are the others? I thought Sadie would be here, and George, too.’
‘I wanted to speak to you alone. They’ll be here later.’
She fixed her gaze on the top button of his waistcoat, unable to look him in the eye. Alice’s words had plagued her during the cab ride from Piccadilly and had unleashed a torrent of emotion that threatened to smother her with its intensity.
‘I suppose the transaction should be done with a solicitor in attendance,’ she said stiffly.
‘That’s not the way I want it to be, Essie.’ He laid a hand on her shoulder, raising her chin with a gentle finger so that she was forced to meet his gaze. ‘Last evening Freddie told me that his brother has chosen to remain in Australia, and he intends to build a life for himself there.’
‘That’s true,’ Essie said breathlessly. Her heart was racing and her knees threatened to give way beneath her, but she held her head high. ‘That was his decision and has nothing to do with me, Jack.’
‘I was afraid that you might not return. I thought that you were in love with Raven and he with you.’
She shook her head. ‘You might say that fate threw us together, but I’m not of their world. This is where I want to be.’
‘Could you find a small space in your heart for someone who’s loved you from the first moment he saw you, Essie?’
They were so close that she could feel his breath against her cheek and the look in his eyes was like a warm caress. ‘Perhaps,’ she murmured, making a feeble effort to push him away and failing as his mouth claimed hers in a kiss. ‘Maybe,’ she added dazedly. He kissed her again and this time she offered no resistance.
‘I love you, Essie,’ he said softly. ‘I want you as my partner in life as well as in business. I thought I’d lost you, but I never want to go through that again. Will you marry me?’
All that had occurred in the past was erased by one softly spoken word. ‘Yes.’
‘I can’t offer you a castle or a title. I’m only a common man.’
She laid her finger across his lips. ‘Don’t say such things, Jack. You’re the reason I came home.’
‘You can’t imagine how much I’ve wanted to hear you say that.’ He was about to kiss her when the door flew open and Sadie rushed in followed by George, Freddie and Falco.
‘She said yes?’ George took off his cap and threw it in the air. ‘Congratulations, old fellow. My sister is a wise woman.’
‘How romantic,’ Sadie breathed, clutching her hands to her breast. ‘I want to be a bridesmaid.’
‘Of course,’ Essie said, smiling. ‘And tomorrow we’ll order a pair of red boots to be made especially for you, in the finest leather that money can buy.’
‘You haven’t forgotten,’ Sadie said, clapping her hands.
‘Of course not. You’re my little sister.’
‘I am, and we must give Mrs Cooper the good news.’ Sadie grabbed Essie by the hand. ‘She knew that you’d say yes. She told me so last evening when I was helping her to clear away the dishes. The captain will be delighted – I’m sure he was there, too. We must go and tell him.’
‘We can’t leave the office unattended,’ Essie said, laughing at Sadie’s eagerness.
‘Allow me to stay here.’ Falco tossed his hat onto a wall peg and swept Essie into a warm embrace. ‘I love you like a daughter, Esther. I wish you all the happiness in the world, mia cara.’
‘Thank you, Falco. That means a lot to me.’ Essie held her hand out to Jack. ‘Shall we?’
‘I think we must.’ Jack nodded to Falco. ‘Thank you – we’ll celebrate later with the best champagne.’
‘And I will serenade the beautiful bride to be.’ Falco took his seat behind the desk. ‘But I would not like to sit here all day. The deck doesn’t move beneath my feet.’
Freddie took the opportunity to kiss Essie on the cheek. ‘I couldn’t be more pleased, Essie. My brother wasn’t worthy of a woman like you.’
‘My sister is a very special woman,’ George added seriously. ‘It’s a pity the old man isn’t here to share the good news. He’ll approve, I know it.’
Sadie opened the door and held it for them to pass. ‘Come on. There’s some chocolate cake left in the larder. Maybe Mrs Cooper will cut us a slice.’
Jack proffered his arm. ‘I can see we’ll get no peace until we’ve broadcast the news, my love.’
‘I’m so happy, I want to tell the whole world.’ Essie stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the lips.
‘Enough of that,’ George said, laughing. ‘Let’s celebrate.’
Arms linked, Essie and Jack walked the short distance to the Old Captain’s House.
Mrs Cooper was tearful with joy when she heard their news and insisted on opening the bottle of Madeira that she had been saving for Christmas. ‘We should have Madeira cake,’ she said apologetically, ‘but chocolate is all I have.’
‘I think we can cope with that, Mrs Cooper,’ Jack said, beaming at everyone as he passed round the glasses. ‘Let’s drink a toast to my beautiful fiancée. I’m the luckiest man in the whole world.’
Sadie sniffed the air. ‘I smell tobacco smoke. The captain agrees with you, Jack.’
After the toasts were drunk and all that remained of the cake was a crumb or two, they were about to leave the house when Falco arrived, waving a sheet of expensive writing paper. ‘A message from Bearwood House. Sir Henry and Lady Bearwood are proud to announce the birth of their daughter – Esther Cordelia Bearwood. Mother and baby are doing well,’ he added grinning. ‘The footman told me to tell you that, Essie.’
‘That was quick for a first baby,’ Mrs Cooper said, nodding. ‘My sister was in labour for two days with her Maudie.’
Essie clapped her hands. ‘This is the happiest day of my life. I was blind, Jack, but now I’m seeing properly for the very first time. I really do love you with all my heart.’ She gazed into his smiling eyes and saw a reflection of herself in their dark depths. It was a magical journey she was about to embark on, and, come what may, they would share it together.
THE END
Read on for an exclusive extract of the next book in this brilliant new series
Chapter One
Wapping, London, Summer 1873
Caroline Manning stood a little apart from the rest of the mourners who were preparing to walk away from her father’s grave. The interment was over, the last words of farewell to a good man had been said, and his widow, Esther, had dropped a crimson rose onto the coffin. Her face was hidden behind the dark veil of widow’s weeds, but Caroline sensed that her mother was crying. Tears stung her own eyes, but she was determined to be brave. She had loved her father dearly, but she knew that Papa would have wanted her to support the rest of the family and help her mother through the trauma of such a great loss. Max and James, her younger brothers, had been away at boarding school when their father had fallen ill and died, and Esther had travelled to Rugby with Sadie, her friend and companion, to bring them home. The boys had been brave throughout the interment, but Jimmy had broken down and sobbed when the first handful of earth fell on the coffin, and he was clinging to their mother, who was weeping openly. Caroline could see that fourteen-year-old Max was struggling and she placed her arm around his shoulders.
‘Papa didn’t suffer, Max. He just slipped away, so Mama told me.’
Max dashed his hand across his eyes. ‘Yes, that’s what she said, but I’m going to miss him.’
‘We all are.’ Caroline gave him a comforting hug. ‘We’d best follow the others, Max. We have to get the train back to London.’
‘We’re going now, Carrie, dear.’ Esther braced her slender shoulders and led Jimmy away from the yawning chasm of Jack Manning’s last resting place.
‘I won’t be long.’
‘The train will be here soo
n,’ Sadie said firmly. ‘Come on, Carrie, love. Best foot forward.’
‘I said I won’t be long.’ Caroline could not help a note of impatience creeping into her voice. She had so far kept herself composed, but she was in danger of losing the cast-iron self-control that had helped her to get through the carriage ride from their home in Finsbury Circus to Waterloo Bridge Station, and the journey on the Necropolis Railway to Brookwood Cemetery. Mama had her standards and would not travel any other way than first class, even though Aunt Sadie was quite happy to use the omnibus and had even braved the Metropolitan Railway, which ran underground.
‘Come with me, Max. We’ll let Carrie have a minute to herself.’ Sadie beckoned to Max and he allowed her to take him by the hand, something that he would never have done normally.
At any other time Caroline might have smiled to see her normally strong-willed brother acting so meekly, but this was not a normal day. Sadie was no relation, but she had been with the family ever since Caroline could remember, and had become a surrogate aunt with an enduring place in their affections.
The distant sound of a train’s whistle jolted Caroline back to the present and she raised the tea rose to her lips, inhaling the delicate perfume before allowing it to flutter through the air, landing on the coffin with a gentle thud. Papa had loved tea roses and she had picked several from the garden with the morning dew still upon them, choosing the biggest and the best to bring with her on Papa’s last, sad journey. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, raising her face to the cloudless azure sky. She wondered if Papa and her two baby brothers, who had been taken by whooping cough, were looking down on her, but that was childish and, at seventeen years old, she knew better.
She picked up her black silk skirts and trudged across the scorched grass as she followed her family to the station platform. It was a fiery June day and the ground beneath her feet was baked hard. The return train journey promised to be hot and sticky and less than cheerful, and she had a sudden urge to cry out that it was not fair. Papa had been in his mid-forties when he contracted pneumonia during a business trip to the Continent. Her last sight of him had been when she had waved him off, thinking that he would return soon with news of a profitable deal. Caroline bit the inside of her lip to prevent herself from bursting into tears as she caught up with her mother, Sadie and the boys.
‘Are you all right?’ Sadie whispered.
‘Yes, of course.’ It was a lie, but Caroline held her head high as she took her mother’s mittened hand in hers. ‘We’ll be home soon, Mama.’
‘Home.’ Esther’s voice was harsh and thick with tears. ‘There is no future for me without Jack. My heart is broken and buried with him in that cold grave.’
Sadie sighed and shook her head. ‘It’s a sad time, but you’ll feel better when you’ve had a cup of tea and something to eat.’
‘Stop being so cheerful,’ Esther said wearily. ‘Leave me alone.’ She broke away from Caroline’s restraining hand and marched towards the station platform.
‘When Mama cries it makes me sad, too,’ Jimmy said, sniffing.
‘It’s all right to cry, Jimmy.’ Max slapped his brother on the shoulder. ‘Just don’t let them see you’re sad when we go back to school.’
‘Come on, boys,’ Sadie said briskly. ‘We’d better get a move on, or we’ll be left behind.’ She quickened her pace, the others falling into step beside her.
The rest of the mourners, most of whom were employees of the Manning and Chapman Shipping Company, travelled second class, but Esther and the family had a first-class carriage to themselves.
‘If only your uncle George were here.’ Esther leaned back in her seat. ‘I don’t know if he received the cable I sent to the agent in New York, as there was no reply.’
‘He’ll be as upset as you are, Essie.’ Sadie turned her head away to stare out of the window. ‘It seems your family are only happy when they are sailing the seven seas.’
‘Our family.’ Esther took off her gloves and laid them on the seat beside her. ‘How many times do I have to stress that you’re as important to me as if we were related by blood?’
‘I know you believe that, Essie, but that doesn’t make it true.’ Sadie shot her a sideways glance. ‘Jack wouldn’t want you to wear yourself out with grief. He was a good man, and you’re a strong woman. You’ve seen hard times and you’ll come through this, as always.’
‘Yes, but I’m allowed to mourn in my own way.’ Esther brushed a tear from her cheek and her lips trembled ominously. ‘Besides which, I thought that Alice might have taken the trouble to attend the funeral.’
‘You know she sent her apologies,’ Sadie said sternly. ‘Sir Henry is taking part in an important debate in the Commons, and Lady Bearwood wanted to be there to support him.’
‘I know. I’m being unreasonable. It’s all too much. If Jack had remained in London he would still be alive today.’
Caroline glanced anxiously at her brothers, but Jimmy had fallen asleep in the corner seat and Max was gazing out of the window, seemingly in a world of his own. She moved closer to Sadie, lowering her voice to a whisper. ‘What’s going on, Aunt Sadie? I know that Mama is heartbroken, but there’s more, isn’t there? I’m not a child; I need to know.’
Sadie inclined her head so that the brims of their black bonnets were almost touching. ‘It’s business, Carrie. I don’t know the ins and outs, but the loss of the Mary Louise was a blow, and between you and me, I don’t think it was insured.’
‘That was nearly a year ago,’ Caroline said, frowning.
‘That’s right. All were lost as well as the cargo.’
‘I’m grieving, but I’m not deaf.’ Esther folded back her veil. Even in her tear-stained and emotional state, she was still a handsome woman. At thirty-nine she had kept her figure and her skin was smooth with only a few laughter lines crinkling the corners of her hazel eyes, and the hint of silver in her dark hair did nothing to detract from her good looks. ‘If you have questions, ask me, Caroline. Don’t mutter behind my back.’
Sadie leaned over to pat Esther’s clasped hands. ‘I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t bottle it all up, Essie. We’re here to help you, and Carrie and the boys have lost their pa.’
Esther’s eyes swan with unshed tears. ‘I know, and I’m trying to keep the worst from them. As if it isn’t bad enough to lose the husband and father that we love, it seems inevitable that we will lose our home as well.’
‘Surely it can’t be that bad, Mama?’ Caroline said dazedly. ‘We’ve always been well off.’
‘What happened to the fortune that you brought home from the goldfields in Australia?’ Sadie asked, frowning. ‘You must still have your investments, and the business seemed to be going well.’
‘That’s all you know.’ Esther’s full lips tightened into a pencil-thin line. ‘Jack did his best to keep it from us, and I’ve only just discovered the true state of affairs. My brother must have known that the business was in a bad way when he sailed off for the Americas, but he didn’t think to confide in me. It was only when I went to the office and demanded to see the books that I discovered the parlous state of our finances. George should have said something before he went away.’
‘That’s not fair, Essie,’ Sadie protested angrily. ‘George was only doing his job. When he’s offloaded the cargo he’ll find another one to bring home, doubling the profit. You know as well as I do that that’s how it goes in business.’
Esther held up her hand, tears seeping between her closed eyelids. ‘Please, that’s enough. I don’t want to hear any more. Just leave me alone. My head is pounding.’
Caroline sat back in her seat, staring out of the window at the sun-drenched fields and hedgerows as they flashed past. Dog roses, buttercups and dandelions made bright splashes of colour against the dark green of hawthorn leaves and the pale gold of ripening cornfields. Cows grazed on patches of grass beneath shady trees and woolly white sheep clustered together on the hillsides. It was all so serene an
d peaceful, but Caroline had a feeling that they were heading for trouble at home, and without the solid backing of her father the future loomed before her engraved with a huge question mark.
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About the Author
Dilly Court is a Sunday Times bestselling author of over thirty novels. She grew up in North East London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband.
To find out more about Dilly, please visit her website and her Facebook page.
www.dillycourt.com/
/DillyCourtAuthor
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A Mother’s Promise
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A Mother’s Wish
The Ragged Heiress
A Mother’s Secret
Cinderella Sister