The Constant Heart (57 page)

'I am not such a bad fellow, Rosie.' Harry grinned ruefully. 'And now that you are not in the hay trade, and therefore not a competitor, I can afford to be generous.'

'Yes, dear,' Sukey said, eyeing Rosina's dishevelled appearance and wrinkling her nose. 'There might be money in rubbish but it is not the most fragrant of trades, and it does nothing for the complexion. I don't wish to be mean, but you look a perfect fright, if I may say so.'

A gurgle of laughter rose from Rosina's belly to her throat. 'I know you are right, but at this moment, I don't care. I'm overwhelmed and I don't know what to say.'

Bertha held out her hand. 'Don't waste time talking, Rosie. Give me the key and let me get back into me old home.' She turned to Harry, glowering. 'If there's so much as a scrape on the paintwork, I'll hold you responsible, young man.'

Rosina pressed the key into her hand. 'You go in first, Bebe. I know how much you've missed the place.'

Bertha needed no second bidding and she unlocked the door. She stepped over the threshold making tut-tutting noises. 'It needs a good airing. I can smell mice. We'll have to get a cat, Rosie.' She disappeared into the gloom, followed by Ronnie and Alfie.

'If I'd known as how you lived in a palace, I would not have been so forward as to offer you my little hut,' Pip said, standing back and dragging his cap off his head as if he were about to enter the sanctified portals of a church.

'Your home was the saving of us all, Pip,' Caddie said, shifting the sleeping baby to a more comfortable position in her arms. 'To tell the truth, my dear, I shall be quite sorry to leave it.'

'You and the nippers can stay as long as you like. I'd be honoured to have you living there like me own family.'

Caddie shot him a look beneath her lashes, blushing rosily. 'Why, Pip. That almost sounds like a proposal of marriage.'

He swallowed convulsively. 'What would a lovely lady like you want with a simple fellow like me?'

'Oh, for goodness' sake!' Septimus gave him a none-too-gentle shove towards Caddie. 'Can't you see that she's giving you the hint to propose to her, man? Kiss her, you fool.'

Rosina held her breath and then exuded a sigh of delight as Pip took Caddie in a clumsy embrace and gave her a smacking kiss on the lips. He released her just as suddenly and threw himself down on his knees. 'I got to say it quick, while I'm feeling brave. Will you, Caddie? Will you do me the honour of becoming Mrs Pip Phillips?'

'I might,' Caddie said, smiling. Then, seeing Pip's downcast expression, she leaned down and kissed him on the lips. 'Of course I'll marry you, you silly boy.'

Rosina clapped her hands and Septimus slapped Pip on the shoulder, offering his congratulations.

'Well, now,' Harry said briskly. 'That's enough of that. Susan, I think we are done here for today. I'm sure that Rosie would like to go inside and inspect her old home. There is nothing changed. We had no use for it, after all.'

'Pa has settled a very respectable dowry on me, Rosie,' Sukey said, smiling happily. 'He has become so much kinder recently, and he has told us all about William. I and my sisters are delighted to find that we have a half-brother, and it is so romantic to think that all the time it was Walter, or rather Will, who was the river pirate. It's like something out of a novel.'

Harry tipped his hat. 'Goodbye for now, Rosie. I hope we may be friends.'

'How can we not, after this generous gesture? Thank you, Harry.' Rosina held out her hand and he raised it to his lips.

'I will call on you tomorrow morning,' Sukey said, giving Rosina a hug. 'I am so sorry that I did not believe you before.'

'I will be at work then, but we won't lose touch again, Sukey. I promise you that.' Rosina watched them walk away, arm in arm. So Sukey had got her way in the end. She would marry her rich man after all. Rosina sighed. If only her own story had such a happy ending.

'Are you coming inside, Rosie?'

Caddie's voice broke into her thoughts and Rosina turned to her with an attempt at a smile. 'In a minute. You take your fiancé in and show him the house.'

Pip's face flushed scarlet and he seemed to grow in stature. 'That's right. I'm your fiancé, Caddie, me old duck.' Ignoring her half-hearted protests, he scooped Caddie and the baby up in his arms and carried them over the threshold.

Rosina was left outside with Septimus. 'I can hardly believe it,' she said, shaking her head. 'I don't know how to thank you.'

'If you hadn't taken me in hand I would have ended up in the gutter, Rosie. Now I feel I have a future and it is all due to you.'

'No, I won't have that. You made the effort to give up the drink and it can't have been easy.' Rosina laid her hand on his sleeve. 'Everyone seems so settled and content. I wish that it was the same for me, Septimus. I just wish I could convince Walter, Imean Will, that what I did was for him alone, and that nothing untoward happened between Roland and me.'

Septimus took her by the shoulders and turned her so that she was facing in the direction of the Barnums' house. 'This was my main reason for bringing you here today, Rosie.'

She stared at the approaching figure in disbelief. 'Walter – Will?' She froze for a moment, unable to move a muscle.

Clearing his throat, Septimus patted her on the shoulder. 'I leave you in good hands, my dear.'

'Septimus . . .' Rosina held her hand out to him. She had so much to thank him for but he was striding away and he did not look back.

'Rosie, my own Rose.' Will broke into a run, and, snatching off his peaked cap, he tossed it up in the air. He caught her in his arms and held her in such a close embrace that she was not sure whether it was his heart or her own that she could feel thudding against her breast. He ran his hands through her hair, looking deeply into her eyes, and murmuring her name over and over again as if it were the sweetest music in the world.

Breathless and barely able to speak, Rosina slid her arms around his neck. 'Will, my Will. I can't believe you're really here.'

'I am here, Rosie. I'm a free man, thanks to you, and I have come to beg your pardon for doubting you for a single instant.' He claimed her mouth in a kiss that blotted out the pain and anguish of the past, and promised more – so much more.

She knew now that she had truly come home. Here in Will's arms was the only place on earth that she wanted to be. She drew a deep breath as he released her lips with soft, tender kisses, as though he could hardly bear to let her go. 'Your father – did he . . .?'

'He came to me in Newgate, my love. I truly believe he is a changed man, as I am changed myself. When I came here from Kent, all I wanted was revenge for my poor dead mother. It seemed to me that your father and I had just cause to hate Ham Barnum. I thought my heart was turned to stone inside my chest, but then I fell in love with you. My plan to ruin my father seemed to matter little in the end; all I wanted was to win your love.'

'And you did, Will. I love you so very much.'

'I know that you risked your reputation to save me. When I thought I had lost you to Rivers, I was mad with jealousy. I was out of my mind and I didn't know what I was saying or doing. Then again you risked your life by venturing into the marshes to find my father. He told me everything. You are my own dear, brave girl and I am not worthy of you, Rosie.'

'Don't say that, my darling. Nothing matters to me except that you are free. By some miracle, I have my home back, and I have my business. We can build a new life together.'

He traced the outline of her cheek with the tip of his finger, smiling ruefully. 'I will not have my wife working as a dustman.'

'Your wife?' She angled her head, teasing him with a smile. 'You have not proposed to me, and I have not accepted.'

'Will you, Rosie? Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?'

'I will, Will.' She dissolved into tears, laughing and crying at the same time.

'Don't cry, my love.'

'I – I'm just so happy. I can't believe this is happening to me.'

Will dried her eyes with his pocket handkerchief, and he kissed the tip of her nose. 'We will have a wonderful life together.'

She smiled mistily. 'I am sure of that, but we still have to live. Even if you don't like what I do . . .'

He laid his finger on her lips, and, turning her towards the river, he pointed at the water. 'What do you see, Rosie?'

She was mystified. 'I see cranes, wherries, barges . . .'

'And the barge at the end of the tier is mine. I inherited it from my late uncle when I was little more than a boy. I grew up working the river; it's in my blood as well as yours, my love. When I was released from Newgate, I and my father went down to the Medway to fetch the old girl. With the
Sandboy
and the
Ellie May
, we have the beginnings of our own fleet.' He spun her round to face him. 'You will have no need to roughen your hands with hard work any more, Rosie.'

'And you will be a respectable businessman from now on?'

'I promise.'

'I think I will miss my river pirate.' She leaned her head against his shoulder.

Will wrapped his arms tightly around her. 'He will always be by your side, my beautiful rose.'