by Dilly Court
‘Don’t worry about me. I just need a good night’s sleep and then I’ll be fine.’ Daisy rinsed the last of the cups and wiped it before placing it in the cupboard with the neat rows of clean crockery. ‘I’m off then. I’ll see you in the morning.’ She went before Toby had the chance to question her further, and having wrapped herself up against the bitter cold she left the hospital.
It had started to snow. The heavy clouds that had hung over the city all day had fulfilled their promise and large flakes were tumbling down from the dark sky. Daisy pulled the hood of her cloak over her head and was about to walk off towards Fieldgate Street when a man stepped out of the shadows.
‘Daisy.’
She knew that voice and she came to a halt, hardly daring to breathe. ‘Jay?’
He took her by the arm. ‘You told Guppy that you needed to see me urgently. Is there anything wrong?’
She pulled free from his tight grasp. ‘You gave me a fright, jumping out like that.’
‘I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t have come ashore but for your message.’
‘Are the police after you?’
‘When are they not?’ Jay smiled as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm. ‘We took a chance by coming upriver to London, and I have to catch the tide.’ He quickened his pace. ‘I’d love to stay and talk, but I have to get back on board.’
‘Don’t go so fast. I can’t keep up.’
‘If I had a horse to hand I’d scoop you onto the saddle as I did when we were last together.’
‘Don’t remind me of that mad ride. You caused me a lot of trouble, Jay.’
‘I’m sorry. Truly I am. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, Daisy.’
She glanced up at his face, but they were in an ill-lit side street and she could not see his expression. The snow was falling faster now, settling on the pavement and the cobblestones like icing on a cake. ‘Where are you taking me? I have to get back to my lodgings.’
‘You said you had something important to tell me.’ Jay raised his hand to hail a passing hansom cab. ‘Irongate Stairs, cabby.’ Jay hoisted Daisy onto the seat before she had a chance to argue and climbed in to sit beside her. He closed the doors and banged on the roof. The cab lurched forward, leaving Daisy little alternative but to sit tight.
‘So you’ve kidnapped me again,’ she said breathlessly. ‘What now?’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll pay the cabby to take you back to wherever it is you’re lodging.’ He turned to give her a searching look. ‘Why are you back in London, anyway? Guppy said you’re a nurse. Is it true?’
‘I’m a probationer, but I spent the entire summer in Little Creek looking after the victims of cholera.’
His expression changed subtly. ‘I did hear something about sickness being rife in the village.’
‘And you didn’t think to check that your family were all right?’
‘How could I? I’m a wanted man, thanks to the squire.’
‘Are you still involved with free trade, or whatever you call smuggling in your circles?’
‘We have to earn our living, but it’s getting harder and harder. To hear the old fellows talk they could make a fortune from silk or spirits, but with the Government lowering the tax on imported goods there’s not much incentive, and the revenue men are better organised.’ He hesitated, turning his head away. ‘That’s enough about me. I was worried when I heard of the cholera outbreak. Are my mother and sisters all right? And young Jack, of course.’
‘They escaped the disease but Lemuel wasn’t so fortunate.’
‘He’s dead?’
‘I’m afraid so.’
‘He hated me and the feeling was mutual.’
‘The squire also passed away. Quite recently, as it happened. In fact he was the last to succumb to cholera.’
‘I’m glad. I won’t pretend differently. The old devil deserved to suffer, if only for the way he treated my mother.’
‘This is what I want to tell you, Jay.’ Daisy clung to the sides of the cab as it rattled over the slippery cobblestones. The snow was swirling around the vehicle, enveloping them in a cold white cloud and an eerie silence, deadening the sound of the horse’s hoofs and the rumble of the wheels.
‘I’m listening, although I doubt if anything you could tell me about that man would come as a surprise. You didn’t give in and marry him after all, did you?’
‘No, but your mother did. After all these years the squire behaved like a gentleman.’
‘So she owns the manor house? She deserves nothing less.’
‘No, Jay. The squire made a new will on his deathbed, acknowledging you as his son and he left everything to you. You’re a very wealthy man now.’
‘That can’t be true.’
‘It is, I promise you. I was there at the end.’
‘Then I have you to thank. Ma would never be bold enough to stand up to the squire.’
‘I helped, of course, but she said her piece and the squire decided to do the right thing, probably for the first time in his whole life.’
‘I still can’t believe it. My whole life has been ruled by that man’s actions. It doesn’t seem possible that I might be free from his influence.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Daisy said slowly. ‘I thought you’d served your time.’
‘It’s not as simple as that.’ Jay stared at her, frowning. ‘So he’s dead and buried. I don’t think I’ll believe it until I see his tombstone.’
‘The whole village turned out to watch his funeral, and it wasn’t because they loved him. I think it’s sad that he’s remembered only for the bad things he did. Now you’ll have a chance to make amends.’
‘I’m a seafarer – a wanderer – and I don’t know if I could settle to a life on shore, especially one of responsibility and privilege. Maybe leaving everything to me was his way of keeping me tied to him for ever.’
‘What you do now is up to you, but think of your mother. She refuses to move into the manor house until you return and take up your rightful position. Do you really want her to spend the rest of the winter in that damp cottage, or helping out at Creek Hall, when she could live in comparative luxury?’
‘You make it sound so easy, but it’s far from simple.’ Jay peered into the snowstorm. ‘At least this will make our departure easier, provided we don’t collide with any other vessel.’
‘Don’t say things like that.’ Daisy settled back against the shabby leather squabs, but she was growing anxious. ‘Maybe I should get another cab, while the roads are still passable. I’ve never seen snow settle so quickly.’
‘We’re nearly there, and, as I said, I’ll pay the cabby to see you safely home.’ Jay turned to her with a wicked grin. ‘Or you could come with me. I know you’ve been longing for a voyage on the Lazy Jane.’
This made her smile. ‘In the summer, maybe, but I’ve seen the North Sea at its worst and I think I’d prefer to be on dry land in the winter months.’
She had tried to make light of her predicament, but Daisy grew increasingly anxious as their progress slowed down with the horse picking its way carefully through the deepening snow. When they finally came to a halt at the head of Irongate Stairs, Jay paid the cabby.
‘I’ll give you double to take the young lady back to Whitechapel.’
The cabby peered down through the open roof window, shaking his head. ‘Sorry, guv. I live nearby and I ain’t risking a return journey. Got to get the animal stabled and meself home.’
‘I’ll give you three times the cost then.’
‘You can see for yourself that there’s no traffic about. Sorry, guv.’
Jay lifted Daisy to the ground and her booted feet sank into a good four inches of freezing snow. ‘There must be someone willing to take a chance,’ Daisy said desperately. ‘I can’t stay here on the docks.’
The cabby looked down from his perch high above them. ‘I’d take you home with me, dear. But the missis might object.’ He chuckled and flicked the reins, encouraging his
horse to plod forward.
Jay hitched his arm around Daisy’s shoulders. ‘Look down there. Guppy’s waiting at Irongate Wharf. You’ll have to come with me whether you like it or not.’
‘I can’t, Jay. I’m on duty at the hospital in the morning. They’ll be expecting me back at the lodging house.’
‘I’m not leaving you here. The cabby was right, there’s little or no traffic and I haven’t seen another cab since we reached the end of Leman Street. We can put ashore in the morning and you can get a train to Bishopsgate Station.’
Daisy looked anxiously at the steep watermen’s stairs and the wharf that had all but disappeared beneath a thick coating of snow. The other side of the river was lost in the darkness and the increasing blizzard, and she could barely make out the shape of the rowing boat tied up alongside. It seemed that she had little choice.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Guppy brought her a cup of cocoa laced with sugar. ‘Here, drink this. It’ll warm the cockles of your heart.’
‘Thank you.’ Daisy accepted the drink with a grateful smile. She could barely speak for her teeth chattering, and she could not stop shivering. Guppy had rowed as fast as he could but it had taken the best part of an hour to reach the Lazy Jane, and the climb up the Jacob’s ladder had been difficult and dangerous. She shuddered at the memory of the nightmare moments when her feet had kept slipping from the frozen rungs, and she had found herself hanging over the churning black water. Huddled beneath a coarse blanket, she sipped the hot sweet cocoa, but the vessel yawed suddenly and she only just saved herself from falling off the chair. ‘What’s happening, Guppy?’
He bent down to pick up a tin plate that had fallen to the floor. ‘It’s all right, miss. Don’t worry, the captain knows what he’s about. Jay’s the best when it comes to navigating dangerous waters.’
‘When do you think we’ll be able to dock? I have to be at the hospital first thing in the morning.’
Guppy shrugged and turned away. ‘It depends on the conditions downriver, miss. If I was you I’d try to get some sleep.’
Daisy glanced round the tiny saloon that was functional but definitely lacked a woman’s touch. It was furnished with a table and chairs but nothing that looked remotely comfortable. ‘I don’t think that’s going to be possible.’
‘I weren’t suggesting you doss down in here, miss. The captain said you was to use his cabin because he’s going to be at the helm all night. Jay don’t trust any one of us to handle the ship in these conditions.’ He took the empty cup from her and placed it on the table. ‘If you’d come with me?’
It was a command rather than an invitation and Daisy was exhausted or she might have argued. She followed him out of the saloon and down a narrow passage to a cabin in the stern of the vessel. Guppy hung a lantern from a hook so that it swayed with every movement of the ship, sending its flickering beam to create sinister moving shadows. At any other time Daisy might have found such an environment unnerving, but she was too tired to think and when Guppy left she lay down on the bunk, still fully dressed, and was asleep in minutes.
She awakened to find daylight streaming in through the porthole and she sat bolt upright, gazing round in disbelief. Gradually the events of the last evening came back to her and she leaped off the bunk, but the movement of the deck below her feet caused her to lose her balance and she fell to her knees. Bruised and humiliated, even though there was no one to see her, Daisy scrambled to her feet and edged her way over to peer out of the salt-encrusted glass. She blinked, dazzled by the whiteness of the snowy river-bank and the cold light reflecting off the steel-grey water. They were obviously a long way from the centre of London, and there was no sign of habitation.
She turned with a start as someone knocked on the door. ‘Yes. Who’s there?’
The door opened and Guppy entered; this time he held out a mug of tea. ‘I thought you’d be awake, miss.’
She staggered over to the bunk and sat down, a little too heavily for elegance, but at least she had not embarrassed herself by another fall. ‘Thank you, Guppy.’
‘There’s breakfast in the saloon, if you feel up to eating. Some people find the motion of the ship upsets their stomachs.’
‘I’m fine, thank you. But where are we?’
‘Too far from London to get you where you want to be, miss. But at least the snow has eased off, although by the looks of things it’s pretty thick on shore.’ He backed out of the cabin, leaving Daisy to drink her tea.
Jay was in the saloon when Daisy walked in and he rose from his seat, but she could see that he was exhausted. Dark shadows underlined his eyes and he was unshaven, giving him the appearance of a world-weary buccaneer. He only needed a gold earring in one ear and a cutlass at his belt to complete the look. Daisy was tempted to comment, but she thought better of it. Jay might not think it funny, or perhaps it was too close to the truth. She should be angry with him for not putting her ashore, but he smiled and she felt herself weakening.
‘It’s good to see you again, Daisy. I’m sorry I couldn’t put you ashore as you asked, but the weather conditions made it virtually impossible.’
‘Or perhaps you’re on the run again.’
‘You know me too well.’ He resumed his seat. ‘Sit down and have some breakfast. Unless, of course, you’re feeling queasy.’
‘I seem to be a good sailor although this isn’t the way in which I would have chosen to find out. Where are we, Jay? I need to get back to London or I’ll lose my job at the hospital.’
‘By my reckoning the roads are going to be impassable. I’m sorry, Daisy. I didn’t kidnap you deliberately. That’s not my style, although I must say it’s good to see you again.’
There was no doubting the sincerity of his last remark and Daisy felt the last of her anger melting away. Jay always seemed to have that effect on her and it was disturbing. ‘I might say the same in different circumstances, but what am I supposed to do now?’
‘I’ll see that you get home to Little Creek.’
‘It isn’t my home now.’
‘Isn’t it?’ He met her gaze with a look that seemed to bore into her soul. ‘You were happier when I last met you. Do you really want to live in London?’
‘Never mind me, Jay. What I don’t understand is why you were moored so far upriver? What made it worth the risk?’
‘It was a business deal. You don’t need to know more, Daisy.’
‘I seem to have become part of this venture, whatever it is. I think I deserve to be told the truth, Jay. What have you been doing that makes you constantly on the run from authority? I can’t believe it was because of something you did years ago.’
He stifled a yawn. ‘I’ve been up for two nights running. Could we have this conversation some other time?’
‘No. I’m sorry but you’ve done this to me before. I’m not stupid. I know there’s more to it than bringing a few articles of contraband into the country.’
‘All right. I’ll tell you the truth.’
‘You could start by telling me how you came to be master of the Lazy Jane. You were a poor boy who’d served a year in prison for some petty crime that you did or didn’t commit. That’s what you led me to believe.’
Jay drained his cup and refilled it with coffee so strong that it looked and smelled like tar water. ‘You’re right, of course. The truth is that Lazy Jane belongs to Tattersall, and it was his doing that set me off on the course I took. He saw me as a useful puppet and he threatened me and my family if I didn’t do what he wanted.’
‘Why you?’
‘I was caught poaching on his estate when I was just fourteen. The squire sentenced me to six months hard labour, but when I came out of prison I found two of his men waiting for me at the gate. They took me to a room at an inn and I came face to face with the man who had sent me to prison in the first place.’
‘Squire Tattersall?’
‘Yes, the squire himself. I was given a choice – either I worked for him or my fam
ily would suffer the consequences.’
‘But what could he have done?’
‘He could have evicted my family from their cottage, or, as he said, he could blacken my mother’s name by having it put about that she was a wanton before she married Lemuel, and that she didn’t know who my real father was. I didn’t believe him and if I’d been older I might have stood up to him, but I’d just come out of a horrific time in the clink, which is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.’
‘So what happened then?’
‘I was put to work on board the Lazy Jane and I learned how to sail her from the master, who was good to me and treated me more like a son.’
‘Was the squire involved in smuggling then?’
‘He didn’t call it smuggling. According to him we were just running errands to the Continent and back.’
‘You could have jumped ship.’
‘And starved to death in the streets of London or wherever I happened to land? I was young and to be honest I found it exciting. I’m not a saint like Nick.’
‘I thought you were his friend.’
‘Nick is well respected and he’ll devote his life to the village, just like his father. Maybe I take after mine and I’m a wrong ’un through and through.’
‘I don’t believe that for a moment, but you don’t have to do this any longer. You’re not working for the squire now. He can’t harm you ever again and he relented at the last and tried to make reparation for the wrongs he’d done you and your mother.’
‘That’s true, but I’m not sure I want to inherit his fortune. The man was a villain.’
‘The Lazy Jane belongs to you now, and everything the squire had is yours too. You could settle in the manor house and live a life of ease.’
Jay shrugged tiredly. ‘I suppose I could, but I’m not sure that a living ashore would suit me. Maybe I’m a born wanderer. Anyway, I need sleep, and you must eat.’
She gazed at the food spread out on the table, realising that she was extremely hungry. She had not eaten since noon the previous day and her stomach growled at the sight of bread, butter and a pot of what looked like strawberry jam. A baked ham and a bowl of apples completed the spread.