The Constant Heart (18 page)

'Yes, please.'

Gertie eyed the boys warily, as though they were two small animals that might suddenly turn nasty and bite her. She jerked her head in the direction of the front parlour. 'She's in there with her sisters.' She hurried away into the dim recesses of the house.

Rosina tapped on the door and went inside. Sukey was sitting on the sofa next to Mary, who as usual had her head stuck in a book. Sukey leapt to her feet, almost tripping over Lillian, who was kneeling on the floor playing with a small tortoiseshell kitten. Ronnie broke away from Rosina and hurled himself at the kitten: it took fright and climbed up the curtains.

Sukey clapped her hand over her mouth. 'Oh, my goodness. If it tears Mama's best velvet curtains there'll be hell to pay.'

'You shouldn't say "hell" – it's not ladylike,' Mary said primly.

Lillian scrambled to her feet and shook the curtain, but the kitten clung on, sticking its claws into the material and mewing piteously.

'Stop that,' Sukey cried, catching hold of Lillian by the shoulders and dragging her away. 'You're frightening the poor thing. Leave it alone and it will come down.'

Mary stared at Alfie and Ronnie, who were huddling together with their thumbs stuck in their mouths. 'Where did you get those dirty little children, Rosie? They haven't even got shoes on their feet.'

Rosina knelt down and wrapped her arms around the boys. 'Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to afford shoes, Mary. These are Caddie's children and she was taken ill yesterday. We're looking after them all until her husband returns tonight on the
Ellie May
.'

'Our dada doesn't like yours,' Lillian said, giving the curtain a sly shake and receiving a cuff round the ear from Sukey for her pains. 'Ouch, you beast. That hurt.'

'It was meant to,' Sukey said smugly. 'And you oughtn't to be rude to a guest. What Dada thinks about Captain May is none of your business.'

'They are dirty little children,' Mary said, eyeing them dubiously. 'I daresay they have fleas and head lice.'

'Indeed they have not.' Rosina clutched them to her bosom, hoping that they were not infested; she had not thought to check them. She hugged them both as they began to snivel. 'When Artie comes ashore he'll take them home, but until then I have to look after them.'

Sukey leaned over to whisper in Rosina's ear. 'I need to speak to you, urgently. But not in front of my sisters, the little sneaks.'

Rising to her feet, Rosina patted the boys on their heads. 'Perhaps Lillian will be kind enough to play with you for a while. I want a few words with Sukey.'

'I'm not playing with them and getting fleas,' Lillian said, pouting. 'Mama wouldn't like it. She wouldn't want them in the house, come to that.'

'Shut up, Lily.' Mary closed the book she had been reading with a snap. 'I suppose that means you two have got secrets to share. Come here, you little urchins, and I'll show you some pictures in a book. It will be good practice for me, for when I become a teacher.'

'Heaven help her pupils,' Sukey said, pulling a face. She opened the door. 'We'll only be gone for a couple of minutes. Don't you girls dare do anything that will upset Mama. And get that kitten down from the curtains, Lily, before it ruins them.' She led Rosina into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

'What is it?' Rosina asked, although she knew the answer before Sukey had said a word as she recalled the stern warning from Captain Barnum. 'Is it to do with your papa?'

Sukey nodded vigorously. 'He's forbidden me to have anything to do with you, Rosie. Gertie went and told him that I'd come in late, and he made me tell him the whole thing. He's cross with me, but he's furious with you. I didn't want him to blame Harry, so I said that we had dinner with his parents and then we left for Cremorne Gardens.'

'But, Sukey, surely your father wouldn't believe that we went to that place on our own?'

Sukey blushed and looked away. 'I'm afraid I told him that we went with Walter. I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of anything else on the spot: besides which, Gertie saw Walter when you and he accompanied me home that night. I'm so sorry, dear. I didn't want Dada to think badly of Harry.'

'I'm sorry too.' Rosina clasped Sukey's hands. 'I should never have encouraged you to disobey your father.'

Sukey's eyes gleamed with mischief and a dimple hovered at the corner of her mouth. 'I wouldn't have missed it for anything. I had a simply wonderful time, and Harry was so dashing and handsome. I think he likes me, Rosie. And I certainly like him.'

Rosina couldn't bring herself to tell Sukey that Harry had proposed marriage. Sukey seemed so convinced that he reciprocated her tender feelings; it would be too cruel to tell her the truth. But it would also be unkind to allow her to labour under a delusion. Rosina bit her lip: she did not know what to say.

'Do you think he likes me, Rosie? Do you think he will take us to Cremorne Gardens again?'

'But, Sukey, what if your father found out?'

'Pooh! I'm not afraid of Dada – well, not much anyway. And I would just have to make sure that he didn't find out. I would love another chance to get closer to Harry. Will he ask us, do you think?'

'You would risk everything, just for an evening out with Harry Gostellow?'

'Oh, yes.' Sukey's eyes shone. 'Wouldn't you risk everything for the man you loved?'

A vision of the pirate flashed through Rosina's mind. She could hear his voice and feel his arms around her as they danced on the crystal platform. She could smell the scent of roses and jasmine, heavy in the night air, and see the gaslights shining through the green leaves of the trees. 'Yes, I would. If I truly loved a man, I would do anything to be with him.'

'Then will you arrange it? I don't want to ask Harry for fear of being thought forward, but you could do it.'

'Your father told me to keep away from you. I daren't come to the house when he is at home.'

'No, we must arrange some way of getting messages to each other. This is so exciting, just like one of Mrs Gaskell's novels. Not that I have much time for reading, but Mary is so bookish and she reads to us most evenings. Some of it's a real bore, but I do love the romances.'

'I'll ask Harry to call on you,' Rosina said, thinking quickly. 'Your parents would hardly object to his calling on you, now would they?'

'Absolutely not! Mama would be beside herself with joy if she thought I might hook a rich husband.'

A sudden commotion inside the parlour caused Sukey to fling the door open. 'What's going on? Oh, dear!'

Rosina hurried into the room and found Ronnie sobbing hysterically as blood oozed from a scratch on his cheek.

'It wasn't my fault,' Lillian said, pouting. 'He pulled the kitten's tail and it scratched him. Serves the little beast right.'

Rosina dabbed Ronnie's cheek with her hanky. 'I think I'd better take them home.'

'I'll ring for Gertie to see you out,' Sukey said, reaching for the embroidered bell pull.

'There's no need to disturb her.' Rosina picked Ronnie up and cuddled him. 'Let's go to Mr Smilie's shop and see if he's got some sweeties that will make you feel better. We can take a look at baby Arthur and then we can tell your mama we've seen him and he is thriving.'

'You'd better not come here again,' Mary said solemnly. 'Our dada said he would tell Gertie to slam the door in your face if you came knocking on it.'

'Hush, Mary.' Sukey's fair eyebrows knotted together in a frown. 'That's not very polite.'

'It's true though,' Lillian added gleefully. 'Our dada said he would sink the
Ellie May
and laugh as it went down to the bottom of the river.'

'Lillian!' Sukey hurried Rosina and the children out of the parlour. 'I am so sorry. They shouldn't have repeated what they heard. I'm sure that Dada says things he doesn't mean.'

'I expect he does.' Rosina laid her hand on Sukey's shoulder. 'But it doesn't affect our friendship, does it?'

'Never,' Sukey said, kissing her on the cheek. 'Friends forever, Rosie May.'

'Friends forever, Sukey Barnum.' Rosina was still smiling as she walked the boys to Sam Smilie's shop. He gave them twists of barley sugar and she was able to reassure herself that baby Arthur was doing well with Gladys as his wet nurse. When they arrived home, Rosina took the boys up to see their mother, and she was able to tell Caddie that her baby was being well looked after.

Caddie's thin cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink as she cuddled Ronnie and Alfie in her arms. 'Is there any sign of the
Ellie May
yet, Miss Rosina?'

'Not yet, Caddie. But there are a couple of hours until high tide. I'm sure she'll haul into sight very soon, and then you'll have your Artie back home with you.'

Caddie closed her eyes, but a smile played about her pale lips. 'Yes. Everything will be all right when Artie gets home.'

Later that afternoon, while the boys took a nap on the truckle bed in Caddie's room, Rosina went to the office to look for Walter, but he was not there. Mindful of Bertha's strict rules about how a young lady should dress when she went out of doors, she went into the kitchen and fetched her bonnet and gloves. Bertha was asleep in her chair by the range, and Rosina moved stealthily so as not to wake her. The heat of early morning had become oppressive as the day had worn on. A hot wind sent eddies of dust spiralling into the sulphurous air, and rattled the stays on the ships moored alongside. The sky was heavy with storm clouds that seemed to hover just above the rooftops, colouring the waters of the Thames slate grey. She saw Walter standing on the wharf. He was staring eastwards, and, as she followed his gaze, Rosina let out a gasp of horror. She hurried to his side. 'Walter, is that the
Ellie May
? Surely, it can't be?'

He glanced down at her, his jaw set in a tense line, his face ashen against the yellow-ochre sky. 'I can't be certain, but it looks like her.'

Her fingers curled round his arm, digging into his flesh through the thick folds of his pea jacket. 'What can have happened? Please say it isn't the
Ellie May
. Not coming home in a dreadful state like that.'

As the vessel came nearer, her worst fears were realised. The barge had a broken main mast and a gaping hole in the stern just above the water line. Rosina clung to Walter's arm, peering into the gathering gloom as huge drops of rain began to tumble from leaden clouds. She could just make out a familiar figure at the wheel – there was no mistaking Papa – and she uttered a cry of sheer relief. 'He's all right, Walter. Whatever went wrong, at least Papa was not harmed.'

Walter gently disengaged her hand from his arm. 'Rosie, run to the wharfinger's office and ask him to muster some men to help. It looks as if there's been a terrible accident.'

She stared up at him, barely able to see for the rain lashing in her face. 'But Papa is all right – you can see him at the wheel.'

He pointed to a shape lying beneath a piece of tarpaulin. At first she thought it was a bundle of rope or a pile of sacks, but then she saw a clawed hand sticking out from beneath the rough cover. 'Oh, my God,' she cried, clapping her hand to her mouth. 'It can't be – not Artie.'

'Don't look, Rosie.' Walter turned her gently towards the wharfinger's office. 'Get help.'

She was soaked to the skin, but Rosina was impervious to the cold and wet as she stood on the edge of the wharf watching the men lift Artie's body onto the same makeshift stretcher that had carried Caddie from her lodgings such a short time ago. The summer storm had already passed overhead. The sun was fighting its way through a featherbed of clouds, but the vagaries of the weather meant nothing to her compared to the unfolding tragedy aboard the ill-fated
Ellie May
.