The Girl from the Tanner's Yard

by Diane Allen

  ‘It seems I’m just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But this time I might be doing my neighbours a favour, if you catch this family, who seem to be wreaking havoc on most of my neighbours. This used to be a quiet part of the world, unlike Keighley town.’ Adam looked at his old friend.

  ‘Things have changed. New folk have come to our patch, and industries have sprung up and, with them, a different sort of folk. There’s no knowing who’s who or what they are nowadays – not like the days when we were lads. Anyway, you are forgetting all the times you used to have to square up that lad from the parsonage at Haworth and deliver him back to his poor father and sisters. There’s always one, and you should know it.’ Fred smiled.

  ‘He was just wild, rebelling against his father. I could understand that.’ Adam looked down at his hands and knew that at one time Fred had been aware of his own rebellious nature, and that Adam too had fought against his father’s wishes.

  ‘Aye, well, we are all different, and we all learn the hard way. Now I’ll send my lads to look around the Baxters’ farm at High Ground. If we find anything, I’ll let you know. If we do find your sheep, the Baxters are looking at a few years’ hard labour or even being deported to Australia, depending on the judge.’ Fred stood up. ‘That seems to be the favourite thing at the moment: send the buggers out to the colonies and make them work for their freedom. A ten-year-old lad got sent to Australia on a convict ship the other month from Keighley, and he’d only pickpocketed a handkerchief. So with a bit of luck, you’ll get rid of Jacob at least, as the judge will show no mercy if your sheep are found there.’ He pulled on his helmet and watched as Lucy opened the kitchen door for him. ‘You take care, old friend. Let this slip of a lass look after you until you are back on your feet.’

  ‘I already owe her everything. Lucy here saved my life.’ Adam smiled across at her. ‘I’d be lost without her,’ he whispered, as he closed his eyes and relaxed in his usual chair next to the fire.

  ‘Well, you have a lot to be thankful for, and don’t you forget it,’ Fred said to him. ‘Miss, you keep looking after him. You are just what the stubborn bugger needs.’

  ‘If anybody can catch the Baxters, Fred can. He used to be a right stickler, when we worked together,’ Adam said to Lucy, with his eyes still closed. It had been good to see Fred, even if the circumstances were not what he would have wanted.

  ‘We’ll see. It would be an answer to a lot of people’s prayers if the Baxters were brought to justice – especially Jacob and his father. The other brothers aren’t quite as bad. But don’t you worry your head about them. Concentrate on getting better. We need you fit and strong, as it will soon be summer and there will be plenty of work to keep you out of mischief then.’

  Lucy gazed at Adam as he slept. If only he knew how she felt about him, it would perhaps make all the difference to his life.

  Sergeant Fred Dobson stood in the kitchen of High Ground. All five sons of Robert Baxter were sitting around the kitchen table, with their father at the head of it. The kitchen was low and dark, with no love and attention spent on it since the motherless family had moved into the farmhouse more than five years ago. Police constables stood around the room, and waited for instructions from their sergeant to handcuff the lot of them and place them in the police cart that was waiting for them outside.

  ‘Those sheep are nowt to do with us – they must have strayed onto our land. There always have been gaps in the walls. That pillock of a neighbour should keep his house in order,’ Robert Baxter scowled and spat out at Fred.

  ‘And your Jacob here, I suppose, was nowhere near Black Moss when a lamb and he miraculously jumped over the wall and left Adam Brooksbank sinking to his near-death in the mire,’ Fred scoffed. ‘Don’t you lie to me, you old bugger. Besides, it’s not just Adam Brooksbank’s sheep. There’s stuff in your barn and outbuildings that’s gone missing from all over the district. Not to mention the coins found in your back place, which are counterfeit, made by clipping small amounts of metal from already issued coins. I suppose they appeared by magic. You and yours are looking at a good long stretch, if not deportation, once the Beaks at Keighley have seen you – and not before time. This time you can’t deny it. You’ve been caught red-handed, or should I say “red-horned”?’ Fred laughed.

  ‘You bastard!’ Jacob jumped up from his seat and turned on the nearest officer standing behind him, who pulled out his truncheon and showed no mercy, as he beat Jacob relentlessly with it. The rest of the brothers pushed back their chairs and threatened the remaining officers, but got nowhere, as they were handcuffed and marched out of the kitchen.

  ‘Now, are you going to behave yourself and come without any bother, or are we to do the same to you?’ Fred Dobson stood up and looked at the ageing Scotsman and watched as Robert glowered at the state of affairs he was in.

  ‘You bastards always looked after your own. I knew, when our Jacob pinched those sheep, that you’d be knocking on our door. I should have told him to get rid of ’em. Bloody peelers.’ Robert spat at Fred and walked past him with his head held high. ‘They’ll not hold me for long, I’ll see to that.’

  ‘It’ll be at least a few months’ voyage, you old bastard, if you are to take a visit to Van Diemen’s Land or beyond, so hold your noise.’

  Fred pushed Robert out of the farmhouse doorway, without even closing the door behind him. He’d been after the Baxter family for years, but had never had the evidence to nick them. Now, thanks to his old mate, he was going to have them off his patch for good. It was a blessing for one and all.

  19

  Adam stood in the public gallery of Keighley Assizes. He’d given his evidence against the Baxters and now the judge was passing sentence upon them. They all stood, looking rough and unkempt, in the witness box, shackled and unshaven, but still defiant. Their charges were as wide-ranging as theft, sheep-stealing, blackmail and counterfeiting. Since their arrest, many people had given accounts of harassment and theft by the Baxters, knowing that if they all banded together, the judge would have no option but to put the whole family behind bars for a good length of time.

  The judge, in his white powdered wig and robes, leaned forward and looked at the motley group of offenders.

  ‘I have taken into consideration all the charges and evidence given to me by the people you have wronged, and by the police findings. You, as a family, have been taking advantage of the good people around you. You have robbed and cheated, not to mention defacing the Queen’s currency. I have no option but to give you the following sentences.’

  The judge looked around him.

  ‘Arthur Baxter, I sentence you to six years’ hard labour. Charles Baxter, again six years’ hard labour, along with your brother James. George Baxter and Jacob Baxter, yours are more serious crimes: one of sheep-stealing and one of counterfeiting. I have no option but to send you to the colonies, where you will work as convicts until the government thinks appropriate. As for you, Robert Baxter, you were aware of all that went on under your roof, and at no time did you take any measures to keep your sons in line. In fact you encouraged them, from what I have seen. I therefore sentence you to ten years of hard labour.’

  The judge rose and left, ignoring the cries and shouts of protest from the Baxters, as they were ushered out of the dock and downstairs into the holding cells, ready to be taken to serve their sentences.

  ‘Bastards!’ James Baxter shouted as he was dragged, kicking and shouting, out of the dock. ‘I’ll be back – you don’t get rid of me that easy.’

  Adam looked around him. All the locals, and the people over whom the Baxters had held sway, were jubilant at the news of their demise. At the far end of the gallery he spotted a face he recognized. It was Reggie Ellwood and he was making his way over to Adam.

  ‘I hope you’ve got my lasses back? I knew the bastards wouldn’t be able to resist them. It was a good idea of mine to mark their horns.’ Reggie held out his hand and shook Adam’s as he patted him on the back.

/>   ‘Aye, the sheep are all back safe on the moor. Archie went for them the other day.’ Adam grinned. ‘How do you stand with your home now? The Baxters can’t demand rent from within jail.’

  ‘I don’t know. I’ve to see where I stand in a minute, with the judge in his chambers. No matter what is said, I can’t be any worse off than having to pay an extortionate rent to that family of thieves. You can be proud of playing a part in their downfall. Just look at the folk whose lives the Baxters were making hell. It’s a pity the lot of them aren’t being sent to Australia. Some of them will rear their ugly heads again, if they survive the back-breaking work in Halifax jail.’

  ‘I doubt old Robert will, but he should have thought about the consequences. Crime is a young man’s game, and he should have kept his nose clean.’ Adam shook his head.

  ‘How are you now? I heard that you nearly lost your life, and if it hadn’t been for that bonny maid of yours, you’d have been six foot under by now.’ Reggie walked with Adam out of the gallery and to the top of the stairs leading down to the courthouse entrance and the judge’s chambers.

  ‘Aye, if she hadn’t realized something was wrong, none of this would have happened and I’d be buried on top of the moor. I owe her everything. I’m good now; a little weak, but getting there.’ Adam stood and looked at Reggie, who had a twinkle in his eye as he thought about Lucy.

  ‘Tell her I was asking after her. I’d still like to walk out with her, despite her refusal. She’s a feisty one, but none the worse for that.’ Reggie started to walk down the stairs and waited at the bottom of them, as Adam took his time with every step, still weak from his near-death experience.

  ‘I’ll tell her.’ Adam looked down and then patted Reggie on the shoulder. ‘Good luck with the judge. I hope he sees the sense in you keeping your home. And I’ll see you shortly.’ He watched as Reggie walked across the tiled floor and knocked on the judge’s chamber door. He’d not encouraged Reggie about Lucy, as she had made light of his interest in her, and he knew that she wouldn’t want Reggie to be encouraged. Also, Adam couldn’t stop a pang of jealousy at the thought of Lucy walking out with Reggie, even though she was only his maid.

  Adam returned to Black Moss Farm feeling that justice had been done. Now at least he knew his sheep were safe from the thieving hands of the Baxters. They’d be troubling no one for quite a while. He unsaddled Rosa and looked around him. The swallows had started to nest in the stable eaves, and they swooped and chittered above his head, mixed with a helping of swifts and house martins that screeched and dived in the sky as he crossed the farmyard and went into the house.

  The front door was open, letting the warm summer’s light into the old building, and he heard Lucy singing to herself as he made his way into the kitchen. It reminded Adam of his mother singing when he was a child, and of the hugs and love she had given him, on his return from school in Denholme. The old homestead was beginning to feel like a home again and he was glad.

  ‘Ah, you are back! How did it go? Did they all get charged and found guilty?’ Lucy glanced across at Adam as she placed a bunch of dog daisies in a glass vase upon the kitchen table and stood back and admired them, before hearing what he had to say.

  ‘Aye, they are all at this minute serving Her Majesty in the jail. They’ll not be bothering us for a while. Jacob and his brother George are to be deported. The judge was not a forgiving soul, but Fred had warned me. They didn’t go without a fight, though. The language they shouted at everyone as they were led down was terrible.’ Adam sat down in his fireside chair and sighed. ‘Lord, I’m tired. Today has really taken it out of me. Thank heavens for Archie – is he still here or has he gone home? He’ll be glad to hear the news, for he hated the Baxters as much as anyone.’

  ‘He’s gone home. Everything’s seen to, so you’ve nothing to do. Your supper’s keeping warm in the oven, and I’m away home. It’s nice to walk home on these early summer evenings. I went for a walk up the gillside earlier today and picked those daisies – they brighten up the place.’ Lucy smiled.

  ‘Just like you do. I heard you singing as I came in. It was good to hear.’ Adam looked up at Lucy and noticed her blush.

  ‘I sound like a strangled cat! My mother says I’ve no voice fit for anything, and that I can’t hold a tune. So I’ll apologize now for the racket.’ She hung on his words of praise as she looked up at the mantelpiece and the letter that had arrived for Adam with the post-boy earlier in the day. ‘You have a letter awaiting you – it came when you were out.’

  Adam stood up and reached for the letter, noticing the handwriting and recognizing it at once.

  ‘Oh, she’s written at long last! I thought she had abandoned me or, worse still, come to some harm.’ He smiled as he held the envelope in his hand and looked at the delicate handwriting and smelled the perfume upon it.

  ‘I thought it was from a lady. I could smell the perfume,’ Lucy said quietly.

  ‘It’s from my dear friend, Ivy Thwaite. I do hope she says that she’s going to pay me a visit. It would be so good to see her, after all these years. I’ll have my supper and then I’ll read it – it will end the perfect day.’ Adam replaced the letter on the mantelpiece, not noticing the look of dejection on Lucy’s face.

  ‘I’ll be away then. Don’t let your supper go dry – it needs eating soon.’ She looked at the excitement on Adam’s face and knew that her words fell on deaf ears, as she stepped out of the farmhouse. Who was this Ivy Thwaite? Was she more than a friend? A lover, or a rival for Adam’s affections? Lucy felt she had just started to enter Adam’s life, as he’d noticed her of late, and now this woman was appearing on the horizon, with her posh perfume. Whoever she was, Lucy was going to make it her business not to like her, for this woman was a threat to her future happiness and, as such, she’d not give her the time of day.

  ‘You look in a bad mood, our lass. What’s wrong? Have you fallen out with Archie, or has a lad that you fancy not looked the side that you are on?’ Dorothy Bancroft looked across at her daughter as she came home, throwing her shawl down into the chair before she sat in it, and not saying anything to her mother, as she stared into the fire. It was in need of attention, but Lucy couldn’t be bothered to tend to it.

  ‘Me – there’s nowt wrong with me. I’ve just had a long day. Is our Susie not in her bed yet? Why do I always have to see to her?’ Lucy growled and scowled at her younger sister, who sat drinking her cup of milk before bed.

  ‘Now then, young lady, you usually like putting your sister to bed. Don’t take it out on her because you are in a mood. And you are in a mood. I could tell as soon as you opened that door. Your face will stay that way, if the wind changes, and then no lad will look at you,’ Dorothy said, smiling at her youngest daughter as she pulled her nightdress over her head. ‘I hope you are not as grumpy as your big sister, when you are her age, Susie, else I’ll be wishing myself into an early grave.’ Dorothy smiled at Susie again, as she balanced her milk on her knee and said nothing to either of them.

  ‘I’m not in a mood. In fact there’s been some good news for us all around here. The Baxters got what they deserved in the courthouse today. They’ve all been jailed or sent to the colonies, and that’ll stop them in their tracks.’ Lucy still looked in a foul mood as she heard her mother gasp.

  ‘They haven’t sent old Robert Baxter to a penal colony, have they? He’ll never survive the journey. Not that I’m that bothered, but he’s old and some of them convicts don’t even make it out there to Australia, the conditions are that bad on board ship,’ Dorothy exclaimed.

  ‘No, it’s George and Jacob that have been deported. The rest have got hard labour in Halifax jail, I believe with sentences ranging from six to ten years. Adam was there, giving his evidence, and he waited for the sentences to be handed out,’ Lucy said, without thinking. She had not yet told her mother that she and Adam Brooksbank were on first-name terms, and her mother would not like it.

  ‘“Adam” is it, now? I’ve told you
before, young lady: don’t get too friendly. He’s a nice enough fella, but he’s still your boss, and you’d do well to remember that,’ Dorothy chastised her.

  ‘Oh, Mother, shut up. You don’t know what it’s like, working for him. He insisted that we are on first-name terms after I nursed him back to health. He’s kind and understanding, that’s all,’ Lucy hit back.

  ‘I know you nursed him back to health – and I hope that’s all you did! It’s not a healthy relationship that you have with that man. You think too much of him. I’m going to have words with your father,’ Dorothy warned.

  ‘You do that and you’ll look a fool. I’m off for a walk. You can put Susie to bed for once.’ Lucy stood up and stared at her mother as she left by the back door. Mam would never understand how she felt – how could she? She’d never loved a man that she couldn’t have, unlike her. A man who obviously already had a lover and had deceived Lucy into thinking there was no one in his life.

  Lucy slammed the door behind her and heard her mother yelling for her to come back, but she wanted some time to herself; time to think things through, to ponder over what could be in the letter, and what this Ivy Thwaite might mean to the friendship that was starting to blossom between herself and Adam.

  Adam pushed to one side the remains of his half-eaten supper and reached for the letter from Ivy. He’d nearly given up on her replying, but now he couldn’t wait to read the contents of the letter. He’d not seen Ivy for such a long time and, hopefully, she would be sending news that she would be visiting him soon.

  Lucy had been right: the letter did smell of perfume – expensive perfume, which was out of character for Ivy. She was a down-to-earth girl and had not in the past wasted money on fineries.

  He opened the letter and unfolded the headed notepaper: