A Family For Christmas (38 page)

‘Right,' Grandfa Sam said. ‘As
you both know, my health is not what it was. Nan has been nagging me for ages to retire, but of
course there is the running of the shop, the income from which keeps us in food and pays our
rent.'

‘I was thinking about that, Grandfa. Now I
have that legacy I feel Luke and I should do more to help. Perhaps I could invest in your shop?
Or we can move out and rent somewhere to live?'

‘I agree you should pay rent, Eliza,'
he said. ‘That's what business people do.'

Although she smiled, her heart sank. Before she
could ponder where she could go, Grandfa Sam was talking again.

‘Now, young Amos here is a clever lad,
eager to put his training to good use.' He paused as Amos beamed and nodded her way.
‘And you're a bright girl with a very good nose, so combine the two and what do we
have?'

‘Two bright, eager people, ready to run
your shop and dispensary,' Amos supplied.

‘Exactly, and once you have learned the
trade, that is exactly what I see,' Sam agreed.

Eliza stared from one to the other, certain she
was missing something. ‘You mean I can stay here?' she asked.

‘Of course,' he replied. ‘My
proposal is to rent one half of the shop to you, initially for making and selling Nan's
soaps then, later, your perfumes. Meanwhile, I shall train
Amos up as an apothecary with a view to him taking over the
dispensary side.'

Eliza stared from Grandfa Sam to Amos in
disbelief. ‘Really? You hatched all this up this afternoon?'

Sam laughed. ‘Not exactly. When I saw how
interested young Amos here was in my work, I invited him over for a discussion. He is keen to
learn and take over from me, and his previous training will give him a good foundation on which
to build.'

‘And I can help you find the missing notes
to your symphony,' Amos added.

‘Well, I don't know what to
say,' Eliza said, her heart swelling with happiness.

‘Of course, a good businesswoman would have
asked by now how much rent she would have to pay,' Grandfa Sam pointed out, his eyes
twinkling with amusement. ‘I'm going to leave you two to discuss how you propose
working together in the future,' he said, then turned to Eliza. ‘Talking of which,
have you spoken with young James yet?'

She shook her head, her heart sinking.
‘I've got to sort things out in my mind now and then I need to go and see
him,' she replied.

He stared at her with wise old eyes.
‘Don't leave it too long,' he advised, then made his way laboriously up the
stairs.

‘This James, I take it that's the
chap who glared at me earlier?' Amos said.

‘Yes, we were walking out and everything
was fine until he volunteered for the rescue boats. Hearing that maroon go off makes me feel
sick to the core and I called things off.'

‘Well, it's a fine institution and he must be a brave
man. Even if he has dashed my dreams to smithereens,' he said, putting his hand on his
heart.

‘Oh, Amos, I'm sorry, I do like you
but …'

He smiled gently, stopping her from saying more.
‘Come on, let's talk about our fantastic opportunity then. Aren't you
excited?'

‘Very, although it hasn't really sunk
in yet,' she replied, shaking her head. ‘Grandfa Sam is so generous.'

‘He is. I couldn't believe it when he
slipped me that envelope the other night. The note suggested I use the money to buy new clothes
and then come back for an interview. He didn't know me from Adam and yet he offered me the
opportunity to make my way in life again. He's truly a good man.'

‘Yes, he is,' she agreed, thinking
the man's generosity knew no bounds. ‘I'm still having difficulty grasping all
he's done for us,' she whispered, staring around the little shop.

With its two bay windows and the door in the
middle, it afforded them space to run their businesses independently yet together.

‘It's absolutely perfect,' she
enthused. ‘And running Nan's business whilst I build up my own perfume side of
things will give me the opportunity to earn as I learn. Grandfa Sam has thought it all
out.'

‘I'm pretty pleased with my deal,
too. What's in the basket?' Amos asked, going over to her work table. ‘Ah,
Mademoiselle, you have been listening to what I say about the extra notes. Soon you will have
the symphony, non?'

‘I hope so,' she said.
‘I'm going to start straight away.'

Amos frowned. ‘You'd be better off
letting those dry
out first, too. They'll
be more potent then and you'll get a better result.'

‘Oh, Amos, what would I do without
you?' she cried, tipping out the leaves and spreading them out to dry.

‘That's what I was trying to point
out earlier,' he said, sighing and looking so serious Eliza's chest tightened. Then
he gave a wink.

‘Amos, you do tease so. Are you joining us
for supper?'

‘No, thanks. Nan's given me the name
and address of a woman who runs a boarding house near here. Sam's written out a
testimonial as my prospective boss, so fingers crossed, eh?'

‘Good luck, and I'll see you tomorrow
then. It's going to be fun working together again, isn't it?'

‘Bet you're only saying that so that
you can avail yourself of my superior knowledge,' he grinned.

As the bell tinkled behind him, Eliza looked
around the space that until now had been Nan's domain, and sighed with pleasure. Her own
business – she could hardly believe it. Life was on the up and no mistake.

How she longed to share her news with James. The
only cloud on the horizon was her falling-out with him. Tomorrow she would go and see him and
tell him she'd really try to overcome her fear of the call of the maroon. She just hoped
he'd listen to what she had to say and realize she meant it.

Next morning, whilst Sam was busy in the
apothecary with Amos, Eliza replenished her dishes with the soaps, salts and salves Nan had let
her buy. The woman hadn't wanted to take anything for them, but Sam had insisted,
explaining Eliza needed to learn about the costs of setting
up and running a business. He'd also offered to help manage
her legacy and was going to make an appointment for them to see the manager of his bank. In the
meantime, he'd suggested Eliza make a list of the equipment and materials she needed.

After dealing with a couple of customers, she
settled at her work table behind the counter and began sorting the partly dried plants,
impatient to get distilling. She became so absorbed in her task, the sudden bang from the maroon
made her jump so that she nearly toppled from her stool. Stomach churning, she walked over to
the door. She couldn't see the water, of course, but she could hear the familiar pounding
of feet on the cobbles and knew James would be amongst the men racing towards the lifeboat.
Heart heavy, she returned to her work but couldn't settle. Even the encouraging scent
coming from the alembic didn't help. She got up and prowled around, rearranging the soaps
and changing the displays around.

Then the shop door flew open and Nan stood there,
white with shock and shaking her head.

‘It's Luke,' she gasped.
‘He absconded from school when the Sisters weren't looking and he's taken one
of them little boats out.'

Eliza ran over and put her arm around the
trembling woman.

‘Come and sit down, Nan,' she urged,
leading her towards a chair.

‘What's going on?' Amos asked,
thundering down the stairs, followed more slowly by Sam.

‘It's Luke,' Eliza cried.
‘The little fool's taken one of the boats and he can't swim.'

‘That's not all,' Nan said,
having regained her breath. ‘The lifeboat's gone out after him, but the wind's
now gusting to gale force and the waves are sweeping Luke towards the rocks.'

‘Oh, no, I must go down to the harbour;
make sure they're safe,' Eliza cried, making for the door.

‘I'll come with you,' Grandfa
Sam said.

‘No, let me, sir,' Amos insisted.

The harbour wall was crowded with people, all
silently peering out to sea and waiting. Amos elbowed their way through until they reached the
lifeboat station.

‘Any news?' he asked. The
watch-master frowned and lowered his telescope. ‘The boy in the rowing boat is
Eliza's brother,' Amos explained.

The man's frowned deepened. ‘Silly
little fool should have been in school,' he muttered.

‘He was,' Eliza cried. The man raised
his bushy brows. ‘I mean, he ran out of class.'

The man's expression softened slightly and he raised his
telescope to his eye. ‘Rescue boat's nearly alongside but that little craft's
almost onto the rocks. Hang on.' There was a pause. ‘One of my men's tying a
rope round his waist. Yep, he's gone over the side. He's swimming towards the
boat.'

There was another pause and Eliza felt Amos grip
her hand.

‘He's got the boy and the
crew's dragging them back to the lifeboat. Now the men have hauled the boy over the lee
side.'

‘Thank heavens,' Eliza whispered.

‘Oh, no,' the man gasped.
‘Rope's snapped. Christ, that were a huge swell. Where's my man, where's
my man …' he muttered. ‘My man's been swept away,' he cried,
turning an ashen face towards them.

‘Oh, dear Lord, no. They've got to
save him!' Eliza cried, wringing her hands.

They're doing their bloody best!'

‘Easy, mate,' Amos said, patting the
man's shoulder.

The watch-master nodded and raised his telescope
again. There was a murmur amongst the crowd.

‘Lifeboat's trying to row between the
breakers, circling; surfing towards the rocks. Look-out is signalling they have to head back out
to sea. Nothing! Damn.' The man fell silent.

‘Can you see who's in the
water?' asked Eliza, almost fainting with fear.

‘This is only a blinking telescope,'
the man muttered.

‘Best be quiet,' Amos whispered in
her ear. ‘He won't tell us anything if you upset him.'

Eliza nodded but the wave of sickness was growing stronger, her
insides heaving and churning like the sea before them. It was James in the water, she just knew
it.
Please God let him be saved
, she mouthed silently. How could she have been so
selfish, worrying about her own petty fears when he was risking his life to save others?

‘Ah, something's bobbing up now. Yes,
it's my man,' the watch-master cried, pointing towards the sea, some yards from the
rocks. ‘'Tis that cork lifebelt what done it. Good job he had one on. Come on, boys,
heave, heave,' the watch-master cried.

Peering into the distance, they could just make
out the white-topped foam where the oars were hitting the water as the lifeboat circled
again.

Dear God, please let them rescue him. I'll
never question his volunteering again, I promise, Eliza prayed, peering out over the crashing
waves.

‘You're shivering, do you want to go
back to the shop and wait?' Amos asked.

Too numb to speak, she shook her head.

‘They've got him,' the
watch-master muttered. ‘By Jove, they've got him,' he shouted.

A cheer went up from the crowd and Eliza reeled
with relief.

The lifeboat slowly made its way back towards
them, sometimes disappearing out of sight between the swells, to the gasps of the onlookers. The
wait seemed to last for ever. Finally, as they neared the shelter of the harbour, the shore crew
rushed down ready to haul the boat onto the beach. As they assisted the exhausted men from the
boat,
Eliza could wait no longer and sped down
the beach towards them.

‘James,' she cried.

He had Luke in his arms and wordlessly handed her
the drowsy boy.

‘Oh, James, I was so worried about you
both. I'm so sorry for being difficult. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I
promise I'll never make another fuss when the maroon goes up.'

He looked at her for a long moment, then smiled
wearily before a man from the other crew led him away.

‘Come on, let's get this fellow
home,' Amos said gently, taking Luke from her. ‘Didn't know you could run so
fast, Eliza. That James sure must have something,' he teased. With a final look at the
bedraggled group making its way towards the lifeboat station, she followed after him.

Nan and Grandfa Sam were waiting with warm water,
towels and the ever-boiling kettle ready for tea. While Nan fussed over the still half-asleep
Luke, Grandfa Sam took Eliza and Amos into the parlour.

‘Now sit down beside the fire and tell me
what happened,' he instructed, handing them their hot drinks. Briefly Amos gave him an
outline of the rescue.

‘You should be very proud of your grandson,
sir,' he finished up.

‘I am, of that you can be certain. Did you
make your peace with James?' he asked, turning to Eliza.

‘I just had time to apologize before he was
led away.'

‘Had to get out of those wet things, have
something hot to drink and then a debrief, I guess. Poor chaps, bet all any of them wanted was
to go home and get their heads down.'

‘Would you mind if I turn in early?' Eliza asked,
suddenly wanting to be alone.

‘It's the best thing for shock. See
you in the morning,' Grandfa Sam said.

‘Night, Eliza,' Amos murmured.
‘Tomorrow you will find the missing notes to that symphony, non?' Knowing he was
trying to cheer her up, she smiled.

Nan was sitting on the edge of her bed watching
Luke.

‘He's asleep, the young wretch. What
a scare he gave us,' she murmured. ‘Are you all right?'

Eliza yawned. ‘Just bone weary so I'm
going to turn in.'

Nan got to her feet and, reaching up, gave Eliza
a kiss on the cheek. ‘Sleep tight. I'm just so thankful you're all
safe.'

‘Me too. I'm sorry we always seem to
cause trouble, Nan,' she whispered.

‘'Tis life, my dear,' she
murmured as she left the room.

Although Nan had pulled the curtains, it was
still light outside and Eliza lay staring up at the ceiling, the events of the day going round
and round her head. Supposing James hadn't been saved and she'd never had the chance
to apologize? How could she have lived with herself? Had she even thanked him for saving Luke?
And as for that scallywag, she'd have to be firmer with him; get someone to teach him to
swim. Supposing the boat had capsized and he'd been thrown into the sea? It didn't
bear thinking about. Whatever would she have done without Amos's steadying influence this
afternoon? And what about poor Nan and Grandfa Sam? They didn't deserve all this upheaval
and worry at their time of life. It was time she took charge of things, made sure they rested
more.

Finally, her eyelids grew heavy and the last picture she had
before she slept was that of James smiling at her. Tomorrow she would go and see him, thank him
for rescuing Luke and try to make her peace properly.