Sea Mistress (42 page)

Once the firemen had finished their job, something had caught Boyo's eyes, a small movement, a glimmer of light, he wasn't sure what but obeying his instincts, he'd quietly made his way out of the yard.

The moon had obligingly reappeared from behind a cloud and Boyo had seen the tall figure of Matthew Hewson striding along the lane leading to the road as if he was out on a daylight stroll.

Boyo had traced him to the boarding house where he was staying, saw him entering the door using his own key and knew that Matthew had made a cosy home for himself. Boyo took note of the address, it might come in useful. He rubbed his chin, he still smarted from the way Matthew had hit him, casually, as if he was nothing but a punch bag. Well he would show Matthew Hewson that he had brains, a much more useful asset than brawn alone could ever be. One day, Matthew Hewson would have his just deserts and when that day came, Boyo would be there, watching.

Daniel was coming to see her. Ellie was luxuriating in hot water in the large zinc bath, the warmth of the kitchen fire casting a rosy glow on her breasts and arms. She wondered what Daniel would say when he came home, with luck he would have put the business of the opium smuggling out of his mind.

Later, in her room, she combed her hair; long, curling hair, lit with golden lights, she wanted to be as perfect as possible for the man she loved.

Downstairs, Rosie was washing up the dishes in an enamel bowl, she looked up in approval when she saw Ellie. ‘Excited are you?' Rosie's eyes were alight, ‘it must be lovely to be promised to such a good man.' She sighed.

‘Rosie, I don't want any gossip about me and Daniel getting married, not outside these four walls, anyway.'

There was a knock on the door and Ellie rose to her feet, her heart beat swiftly in anticipation. ‘Go answer it, Rosie, tell him I won't be long.'

She took a last look at herself in the mirror over the fireplace and then, slowly, not to appear too eager, she went towards the doorway. In the hall, Rosie was giggling like a little girl and Ellie felt disappointment fill her as she realized that the caller was not Daniel but Caradoc Jones. She forced herself to smile, she had completely forgotten this was his night to do the books.

‘Sorry to hear of the fire, Ellie.' Caradoc seemed to have difficulty tearing his eyes away from Rosie's smiling lips. ‘Dreadful thing to happen, dreadful.'

Ellie led the way into the parlour. ‘Come on in, Caradoc, there's a nice fire burning in the grate.'

Caradoc was looking back over his shoulder. ‘Lovely little lady, Rosemary, so sweet and innocent.' Caradoc's eyes were alight in his plump face. As was his habit, he stood back to the fire and lifted his coat to feel the full benefit of the warmth. ‘Yes, such innocence is rare these days,' Caradoc repeated.

Ellie hid a smile, innocent wasn't the way she would describe Rosie. Caradoc looked at her properly for the first time. ‘You are very smart, Ellie, expecting company are you?'

‘Daniel Bennett should be here any time now, so I hope you will forgive me if I leave you alone,' Ellie said, ‘but please, make yourself comfortable, Rosie will bring you some refreshment in a minute.'

Daniel was late. He came into the hallway on a breath of cool evening air and handed Rosie his hat and coat. Rosie disappeared and Daniel took Ellie in his arms. ‘I'm sorry,' he said, ‘last time we talked I acted like a pompous prig, I should have known better.

‘And now I find the tannery razed to the ground, what's happened here Ellie? Why didn't you get a message to me? I'd have come at once.' He didn't wait for a reply, ‘Have the police found out who was behind it?'

She shook her head. ‘No, not yet, I don't suppose they ever will either.' She smiled. ‘Never mind, I feel better now that you are here with me.'

She felt a tingling sensation as he ran his hand lightly over her back and up to her neck, caressing the warmth beneath the thick braid of hair.

‘I don't think I can wait until I've finished my training,' he spoke softly. ‘There's nothing to keep you here, now, why don't we get married right away?'

The door to the kitchen opened and Martha poked her head round it, peering short-sightedly at the couple in the hallway. ‘Aren't you going to say hello to old Martha then?' she said with mock anger. Daniel moved forward and kissed Martha on the cheek. ‘Same old grouch,' he said playfully, ‘haven't you got a smile for me?'

Martha made a pretence of cuffing Daniel and turned back to the kitchen fire.

‘Where's Rosie?' Ellie asked, ‘I'd like her to make sure Caradoc is taken care of.'

‘She's making sure of that all right, she's still in there,' Martha jerked her head towards the parlour. ‘Been in there some time, she has, Caradoc is right taken with the girl and she revels in it.'

Martha drew Daniel towards the chair near the hearth. ‘Should have been here on the night of the fire, flames shooting right up into the sky there were, mind, took the firemen hours to put out the blaze.'

‘I would very much like to know how it started,' Daniel said grimly.

‘So would we all.' Martha rose and gathered together her sewing and her glasses, ‘I'm going off to my bed, I think I can trust you two to behave yourselves.' She left the room quietly and Daniel turned to Ellie.

‘What are you going to do?'

‘About the tannery you mean?' She stretched her hand across the scrubbed surface of the table and rested her fingers on his. ‘I don't know, Daniel, I suppose I will have to close it down, there doesn't seem much point in trying to rebuild. It might be better if I sold up the house and the land as it is.'

Daniel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘It's a pity to let years of work go to waste, I think it might be well worth thinking about rebuilding.' He smiled, ‘Though if we get married soon, you won't be able to work the place yourself.' He paused, ‘I know I'm being unfair but I'm asking you to become the wife of a poor clergyman.'

‘We won't be poor, Dan,' Ellie said gently, ‘you know very well that Jubilee left me more than adequately provided for.'

‘I don't want you to use your money,' Daniel said quickly, ‘you keep that in case of a rainy day.'

She was silent for a moment and then she took a deep breath. ‘You're right, about rebuilding the tannery, it meant a great deal to Jubilee. In any case, I did promise Boyo that he could eventually run the place. Harry and Luke would be grateful to still have a job, as well.'

‘There you are then.' He looked across at her intently. ‘Now, are you going to answer the question I asked ten minutes ago?'

Ellie smiled at him, her face illuminated with happiness. ‘Do you really want to marry me as soon as possible, Dan are you sure?' She was silenced by Daniel's mouth on hers.

It was late by the time Daniel left the house. He was the last to go, Caradoc having departed a little after ten-thirty. Ellie stood in the doorway and watched until he was out of sight and then, she made to close the door on the darkness of the night.

Suddenly, she was forced backward as the door was flung open. A large figure blocked the doorway and Ellie put her hand to her mouth to prevent herself from crying out in fear. ‘Who is it, what do you want?' Her voice sounded small, shaky and Ellie swallowed hard, trying to summon her courage.

He came into the hall, closing the door behind him and Ellie saw his face for the first time. ‘Matthew, what do you think you are doing here this time of night, are you mad?'

He didn't answer, he reached out and caught her blouse, pulling at it with rough fingers. The fabric was strong and impatiently, Matthew swore. Ellie backed away from him, frightened by the look on his face.

‘I want to teach you a lesson you won't forget.' Matthew caught her and pressed her up against the wall. His hand was lifting her skirts, pushing them aside. His intentions became all too clear.

Ellie opened her mouth to scream but he clamped his hand over her lips. With a quick movement, he pushed her to the floor, pinning her with his weight. ‘So you want to play it rough do you?' His eyes were fevered, it was clear he had been drinking.

Ellie struggled frantically to free herself, ‘Don't do this, Matthew, you'll be sorry, I warn you.'

His hand was rough on her bodice, pulling open the buttons, hurting her with his grip. ‘Ah, what pretty breasts and look at that darling little beauty spot just on your shoulder there let me kiss it.' His mouth was hot against her bare flesh and Ellie shuddered. ‘Leave me alone, please leave me alone.'

He wasn't listening, he lifted himself upwards loosening the thick belt at his waist. Ellie, looking beyond Matthew's shoulder, saw a slim figure loom out of the darkness. She saw the glint of a spade, heard the noise as it came hammering downwards.

Matthew remained poised for a moment as if frozen before falling away from Ellie, blood pouring down his forehead. She put her hand over her mouth as she saw Boyo, his face white, standing over Matthew's still form. She couldn't believe so much had happened in the space of a few minutes. She staggered to her feet and as Boyo dropped the spade from his nerveless fingers, she put her arms around him and held him close.

Rosie came rushing down the stairs and into the kitchen, her hair tangled about her face. When she saw the figure on the floor, she gave a small scream, her eyes wide. ‘Is he dead?' Her voice was muffled. Ellie was too frightened to answer her. It was Martha, coming more slowly into the hallway, who had the presence of mind to bend over Matthew and feel the pulse in his neck.

‘He'll live,' she said. ‘I reckon you'd best run and fetch the constable, Rosie.'

Ellie made an effort to gather her wits. ‘Wait, you don't know what happened here.'

‘I'm not daft,' Martha said, ‘this villain,' she looked scornfully at Matthew's unconscious body, ‘he tried to rape you. Boyo here, he defended you the best way he knew how.'

‘I don't want the police brought into this,' Ellie said, ‘I can do without the scandal it will cause.'

Martha appeared doubtful. ‘But look at the state of you, you're trembling,' she said.

‘Yes and that's all I am, shaken. I'm not harmed, my clothing isn't torn, who'd believe I didn't lead Matthew on?'

‘What are we to do then?' Martha was less certain of her ground now, seeing sense in Ellie's reasoning.

‘Boyo, get one of the horses hitched up to a waggon, we'll take Matthew into town, leave him somewhere he'll be found at first light.'

Boyo spoke for the first time, ‘You stay here, Ellie. I know where Matthew lives, I'll take him there, say I found him unconscious in the street. I doubt he'll want to tell the truth about what happened here tonight.'

When the cart had rumbled away across the yard towards town, Rosie set to clearing up the mess. A table had been knocked over in the struggle and a lamp tipped onto the floor. Oil was making a stain across the polished boards.

‘Leave that, Rosie, come along, we'll sit in the kitchen,' Ellie said, ‘it should still be warm in there.' The women sat in silence until, about an hour later, the sound of wagon wheels could be heard outside in the yard.

‘Thank God!' Ellie whispered, ‘Boyo's come home.'

He was smiling. ‘All done,' he said, ‘Dora Griffiths, the lady who owns the boarding house, took in my story hook, line and sinker, seen him drunk before, I expect.'

‘What did you tell her about the bump on his head, how did you explain that?'

‘Didn't have to,' Boyo said, ‘she decided herself that he must have fallen and cracked his head on the cobbles. Said I was a good lad for fetching him home. He started to come round then, so I scarpered. I bet he has a thick head and served him right.'

Ellie pushed back her hair, ‘Perhaps I deserve all the grief Matthew's giving me, I should just have given him the money he asked for in the beginning.'

‘One like him would never be satisfied,' Martha said quietly. ‘Give him an inch and he'd take a mile, keep coming back for more until he'd bled you dry. He's the type who never forgets a grudge.'

Ellie shivered, it was as though someone had just walked over her grave.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

It hadn't taken Bridie very long to find just the house she wanted. It was built on a hillside between Clydach and Pontardawe facing the open countryside.

The house was of old stone, mellowed by the years into a pale biscuit colour. The windows were long and numerous, allowing for greater penetration of light into all but the northernmost corners of the building. The ceilings were high, with a delicate tracery of plasterwork reminiscent of icing on a cake. It felt like home and Bridie loved it at once.

‘Do you think we'll be happy here?' she took Collins' hand as they stood in the drawing room, innocent of furniture, the boards bare, the windows uncurtained. Sunlight spilled in from the spacious gardens to the front of the property and on the perimeter of the grounds, trees added a green fringe to the lush, overgrown lawns.

‘I'd be happy with you anywhere, Bridie.' He still spoke her name shyly and Bridie loved him for it. She smiled at him, wanting him to be as happy as she was.

How she could have overlooked Collins' qualities when he was simply her butler, she just didn't know. He was such a warm, caring man, so strong in every way and she had treated him as a mere servant, not even noticing his fine looks and dignified bearing.

‘Will you bring any of your furniture with you from the Swansea house?' Collins moved closer, his arm encircling her waist as though he wanted to reassure himself that she was a real flesh and blood woman and not a figment of his imagination.