Scarborough Fair (Scarborough Fair series Book 1)

by Margarita Morris

  “Is that for me?” asked Kitty, eyeing the rose with interest. Single blooms were always so much more appealing to her than lavish bouquets.

  “Yes, Miss. It’s from the gentleman what was here last night. He says to tell you he’d be honoured if you would meet with him.”

  “What sort of gentleman is he?” asked Kitty, fingering the rose and inhaling its sweet scent.

  “Well,” said Alfie, “to be honest I don’t rightly know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Alfie frowned, trying to find the right words. “He’s not your regular gentleman, if you know what I mean.”

  Kitty laughed. “You mean those overweight, balding men who stay at the Grand Hotel and who all have matronly wives waiting for them?” Kitty was rather tired of regular gentlemen.

  “Oh, he’s nothing like that,” said Alfie. “He’s a bit of a dark horse is this one. He looks like he’d know how to defend himself in a fight, but he comes across as straightforward too. No messing with him. If you said you didn’t want to meet him, he’d go away and not bother you again, Miss. You just say the word.” Alfie sounded hopeful as if he wished she would just tell this mysterious stranger to go sling his hook. But Kitty was curious. The note said he would wait for her by the stage door. If she didn’t appear by ten thirty he’d assume she wasn’t coming and would leave. Kitty made up her mind. She wouldn’t do anything foolish, but there was a respectable tavern nearby where they could go for a drink, nothing more.

  “Give me ten minutes to get ready,” she told Alfie. “Then you can introduce me to this man.”

  “Righto, Miss. I’ll wait for you outside in the corridor.”

  Kitty quickly changed out of her costume and into the silk gown. She checked her appearance in the mirror one last time and then she went to meet the mysterious “J.”

  ~~~

  That afternoon, with her mother out at the supermarket, and her grandmother taking a nap, Rose found herself at a loose end. This was how it was going to be for much of the holiday, she supposed, so she might as well get used to it. She gathered together the scrapbook and the pile of letters and took them up to her room. She untied the ribbon that held the letters together and let them tumble onto the bed. There were dozens of them, the oldest bearing stamps with a profile of Queen Victoria. The later letters had stamps with kings on them, Rose wasn’t sure exactly who, her knowledge of early twentieth-century British history being somewhat vague. Each envelope had been carefully sliced open with a sharp object, probably a letter knife. Even though the writer of these letters was long dead, Rose hesitated to delve into someone else’s private correspondence, wondering how she’d feel if, in years to come, a complete stranger read her emails and text messages. Mind you, they’d probably think her life was full of meaningless trivia. But judging from the thickness of some of these envelopes, Mary had had plenty to say for herself. Rose suddenly found herself curious to know what her great-great-grandmother had done and what she had thought of life. She selected one of the letters sent whilst Queen Victoria was still on the throne, slid the contents out of its envelope, unfolded the paper and started to read.

  Grand Hotel,

  Scarborough,

  4pm, 14th August, 1899

  Dear Ma,

  You’ll never guess what we did today! We went in the sea! It was a scorcher of a day, no more of that nasty grey fog, and Alice was determined we were going to bathe. Well, what could I do? I couldn’t let her go in on her own. Mrs Goodly encouraged her by spouting some nonsense about sea water being good for the complexion and how she’d have joined us if her hip wasn’t playing up. There’s a convenient excuse, I thought.

  So anyway, off we went to this little shop where they sell ladies’ bathing costumes. You never saw anything so ridiculous in all your life. Frilly knickerbockers and mob caps - we looked like French tarts. My costume is blue and Alice’s is red with white polka dots. What a sight!

  Once we’d bought our outfits, we went down to the beach. There’s this place where you can hire a bathing machine pulled by a horse. We climbed into this contraption, which was painted in red and white stripes and looked like a fancy garden shed, and a young lad led the horse down to the sea. It was the most uncomfortable ride I’ve ever had in my life.

  Then we had to change into our bathing costumes inside this shed on wheels. It was like taking your clothes off in public! There were peepholes in the side of the machine so we could look out but, thankfully, they were too high up for people outside to look in.

  I helped Alice into her bathing costume and she helped me into mine, even though she’s a lady, and when we were both changed she said, “There now, Mary. We look more like sisters than mistress and maid!”

  I didn’t know what to say to that so I said, “Oh, get away with you Miss. I’ll never be a lady like you.” And she laughed and said, “Being a lady isn’t always fun you know.”

  I wondered what she meant by that, but there wasn’t time to ask her because she opened the door of the bathing machine and started to make her way down the steps and I had to follow her whether I liked it or not.

  She was already up to her knees in the water by the time I got down the steps, standing there with her arms outstretched and her face turned towards the sun. She came running back to me and said, “Oh, Mary, I have discovered for the first time in my life what it is like to be truly alive.”

  I was so shocked by the water lapping at my ankles that I just stared at her and said, “Well that’s good Miss. I’m very pleased for you.” Then she ran off into the sea, her arms wide, leaving me to paddle at the edge and wondering at her words. What this means, if anything, for her forthcoming marriage, I really can’t say. But somehow, I don’t think it looks good for Henry and that made me happy.

  Now, I bet you’re dying to know what the water was like. Well, it was wet. And none too warm! But it wasn’t as freezing as I’d thought it would be and I went in all the way up to my knees! If you stand still in one place for too long your feet sink into the sand and you start to lose your balance! I saw quite a few ladies topple over.

  Later on, we went back to the hotel and, as promised, Mr Hartright joined us for afternoon tea. All that bathing had given me an appetite and I tucked into a plate of scones with cream and jam. Delicious! Anyway, Mr Hartright has invited us to go to the fair with him tomorrow. I can see Alice is very excited at the prospect. I think I might have my fortune told - see if there are any handsome fishermen looking for a wife! Well, I’m off to bed now. The sea air has knocked me for six!

  Love to all,

  Mary.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “But you’ve no idea who he is,” said Rose’s mother at tea time. They were having shop-bought lasagne and peas, Andrea having stocked the freezer with enough food for the next six months.

  “His name’s Dan and his dad owns the amusement arcade on the sea-front.”

  Andrea pulled a face as if owning an amusement arcade was a sure sign of social delinquency and criminal activity. “He could be anyone.”

  “I’ve told you who he is.”

  “But what sort of a fair is it?”

  “For God’s sake Mum, it’s just a travelling fair, you know, with rides and stuff?” Rose really couldn’t see what the problem was. It was only a fair; there’d be loads of people around, and Dan was a really nice guy. She was sure her mother would agree if she actually met him. Meeting Dan had been the best thing to happen to her in a long time. The only thing Rose hadn’t divulged to her mother was the circumstances of how she and Dan had actually met, namely that his dad was a maniacal Ferrari driver who had almost flattened her under the wheels of his car. Some things were best kept under wraps.

  “But how are you getting there?” persisted Andrea.

  “On the bus.”

  “What about getting home? Do the buses run that late?”

  Rose shrugged. “It’s only a couple of miles outside of town. I guess we can walk back if we have to.”<
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  “Along country roads? In the dark? With a boy you’ve only just met?” Andrea’s voice rose in pitch with each succeeding question.

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake Mum,” said Rose. “Stop being so Victorian!”

  “It sounds fun to me,” said her grandmother. “I’d love to go to the fair, but I’m a bit old for that sort of thing now.”

  Andrea rolled her eyes. “Well, just make sure you’re not back late.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” said her grandmother. “We can leave the door on the latch.” Andrea shot her mother a furious look.

  Rose checked her watch. “Well, now that we’ve sorted all that out, I’d better get going. I said I’d meet him at seven.”

  “Have a nice time dear,” said her grandmother.

  “Thanks Gran.”

  Rose walked quickly down the hill, worried that the interrogation from her mother was going to make her late. Her mum was such a nag, always looking for problems where there weren’t any. Her grandmother still understood what it meant to be young, whereas her mother seemed to have completely forgotten. Well, she was going to enjoy herself tonight. She pushed thoughts of her mother from her mind and thought instead of Dan, his fair hair tumbling into his eyes, his lean but broad-shouldered figure. She turned the corner onto the sea-front and there he was, just as she’d imagined him, standing in the lights of the amusement arcade, hands thrust into the pockets of his skinny jeans. The wind ruffled his hair, giving him a tousled look that suited him. She called to him and his face broke into a smile of relief. He must have been worried she wouldn’t show.

  “Hi there,” she said.

  He pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes and grinned back. “You made it then.”

  “Of course.”

  He checked his watch. “There’s a bus due in two minutes. We should catch it if we hurry.”

  “Great.”

  ~~~

  Alice took the hand that George offered and stepped down from the carriage.

  “Thank you,” she said, looking up into his face that glowed with health and vitality, the result, no doubt, of the many hours he spent outside, painting and walking. How different to Henry’s pasty flesh, she thought, Henry who hardly ever left the confines of his club and whose eyes were often bloodshot with alcohol.

  “My pleasure,” said George. He helped Mary down too and then went to pay the coachman.

  “I’m so glad we came to the fair,” said Alice to Mary. “This is going to be so much fun.” George had visited them again in the hotel earlier that afternoon and they had taken tea in the lounge with Mrs Goodly. They had talked about art and literature and music. They had so many shared pleasures and interests. Mrs Goodly had ordered more tea to help keep the conversation flowing and that dear old lady had all but given her blessing to the idea of them visiting the fair, saying that they were young and should enjoy themselves whilst they could. It seemed to Alice that here, in Scarborough, she was no longer tied to the social conventions which, back home in London, would have made a trip to the fair, with a man she had only just met, absolutely out of the question.

  George reappeared at their side and offered his arm to Alice. “What would you like to see first?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” said Alice, looking around with a sense of awe and excitement. “There’s so much to do. What do you suggest?”

  “Let’s take a walk around and see what takes our fancy,” said George. Alice thought him wonderfully accommodating. Henry was never remotely interested in what she might like to do.

  And so they wound their way amongst the stalls and entertainers, pausing to watch a marionette show and, further on, listen to an old man cranking out a tune on a hurdy-gurdy whilst a monkey in a scarlet waistcoat danced a jig. There were jugglers and acrobats and even a fire-eater but Alice couldn’t bear to watch such a show, fearing that the man would burn himself to death, and so George moved them on. Everywhere they went, pedlars promoted their wares, dangling brightly coloured ribbons in their faces and trying to entice them with gaudy knick-knacks. A blue velvet ribbon for the lady, to match your eyes! A piece of lace, Madam, to enhance your beautiful neckline.

  They passed a stall selling hot gingerbread, the smell sweet and succulent, and promised each other that they would buy some later when they had worked up an appetite. By now they had arrived at the show tents. Bare-footed children were running around handing out fliers advertising human grotesques, an Indian Snake Charmer, a Living Skeleton and a Flea Circus. Just as she was trying to make up her mind what they should do first, a little boy ran up and thrust a leaflet into Alice’s hand.

  “In there, Miss,” said the boy, pointing towards a tent with red and white striped awning. “It’s about to start.” Alice looked down at the leaflet. It was an advertisement for Pepper’s Ghost and Other Amazing Magic Tricks.

  “Shall we?” said Alice, turning to her companions. She had never seen a real magic show before and was curious.

  “Certainly, if you wish,” said George. He paid the entrance fee to the man at the doorway and escorted them into the tent.

  ~~~

  “They went in there,” said Kitty, pointing towards the large tent.

  “Then we’d better go in too,” said Jackson, rummaging in his waistcoat pocket for some coins. It hadn’t been hard to persuade Kitty to accompany him to the fair. She had been delighted at the prospect of spending an afternoon doing something fun. And she had readily accepted what he’d told her, that he was here to keep an eye on Alice and that he mustn’t be seen. He hadn’t told her about Henry, but had rather given the impression that Alice was a bit delicate and her family (well Henry would be family soon enough) had charged him with making sure she didn’t come to any harm whilst she was on holiday. He had managed to make his assignment sound more like a charitable venture instead of the underhand spying mission that it really was.

  And it certainly made it easier for him to blend into polite society with a pretty woman on his arm. No one would challenge him now. They had followed Alice, Mary and George (Jackson had made enquiries in the local public houses and had eventually learnt the painter’s name from the barman at The Three Mariners) around the fair without Mary ever once suspecting a thing.

  But Kitty was proving to be more than just a useful accessory. She was fun company, with a lively sense of humour to boot. Jackson hadn’t enjoyed himself so much in the presence of a woman for a long time.

  “I love magic shows,” said Kitty, clapping her hands together as they took up their positions at the rear of the tent. From here they had a good view of the audience as well as the stage.

  “Just so long as Alice doesn’t do a vanishing trick on us,” said Jackson.

  The last few customers entered the tent and the doors closed. The show was about to start.

  ~~~

  Rose stuck close to Dan as they made their way through the crowds that had flocked to the fair. Around them, coloured lights flashed and loud music thumped from enormous speakers and the air pulsed with an energy that made Rose feel extra alive. The lorries, trailers and caravans belonging to the fairground travellers were parked on the far side of the field, leaving plenty of room for the stalls and rides, most of which looked pretty scary but thrilling all the same.

  “Want to try that one?” asked Dan, pointing at a pendulum swing called The Kamikaze. The riders sat in two cages on the end of rotating arms which swung in opposite directions until they had built up enough momentum to swing a full three hundred and sixty degrees.

  “Go on then,” said Rose. She wouldn’t normally have been keen, but somehow being here with Dan made her feel bold.

  They joined the queue and climbed aboard the next time the ride came to a standstill. They strapped themselves in and Rose pulled out her mobile phone.

  “I have to get a picture of me on this thing before it starts,” she said, holding the phone out at arm’s length. She was worried she might throw up that evening’s lasagne afterwards and then all phot
o opportunities would be null and void.

  “Smile!” she said, leaning in towards Dan. She snapped a picture of them and only just had time to stuff the phone back into her pocket before the ride started.

  To begin with it was just a gentle swing, backwards and forwards, quite pleasant really. But then the arms of the pendulum gained speed, lifting the rows of riders higher and higher into the air. With every upward swing Rose felt herself grow heavy as if she’d eaten a rock for dinner instead of a supermarket ready-meal, and then with every downward swing she weighed nothing as the carriage seemed to descend without her, her stomach following seconds later.

  Rose clung on to the harness as the world started to tilt at an alarming angle and the screams of her fellow riders filled her ears. Before she realised it, she too was screaming from the sheer terror and exhilaration of being swung up to almost vertical. If the arms of the pendulum were the hands on a clock they would be up as far as one and eleven respectively by now.

  Next time we’re going to go over the top, thought Rose. Hold on tight!

  They plummeted towards the ground and flew straight up in the opposite direction. As the world turned over, Rose clenched her stomach muscles as if they, and not the harness, were all that was preventing her from plunging to her death. They reached twelve on the imaginary clock face and for a heart-stopping moment seemed to hang upside down, suspended in air, then they were going over the top and Rose let out a scream that was half terror and half relief at having made it all the way round without throwing up. The pendulum did a couple more loop-the-loops and Rose closed her eyes and let herself relax, enjoying the feeling of freedom and motion. Then the ride started to slow and before long they were staggering off, shaking and laughing.

  “Oh my God, that was awesome,” said Rose. She took a step forwards and the ground seemed to disappear from under her feet.