A Dream Rides By (12 page)

‘Is there no one else?’ she considered sombrely. ‘For her, I mean?’

‘I believe not.’

‘Then—’ she lifted her eyes to his face, a natural smile on her lips – ‘just be yourself. I’m sure . . . When will you see her again?’

‘I don’t know. Not until Christmas, I don’t suppose.’

‘Then write to her. Tell her your feelings for her have grown to more than just affection, and is there any way she might feel the same? Leastways, that’s how
I’d
like to hear it.’

‘Oh, thank you, Ling! You think she might like me then?’

‘Of course! How could anyone not?’

‘Really?’ Toby’s face was so astonished that Ling couldn’t help but chuckle, and she watched his expression change to one of relief. ‘I feel so much better now. Let’s go back inside. By the way, I’ve not mentioned my feelings to anyone else. So you won’t tell anyone, will you? Not until I know how Chantal feels?’

Ling smiled reassuringly. No. She wouldn’t tell a soul. Why should she when it would bring the secret embarrassment of their conversation back to haunt her? She wouldn’t have wanted Toby to be in love with her, so how could she possibly have thought he might have been? But it had been the same with Elliott Franfield, hadn’t it? They were both so friendly in her company, treating her as an equal. But the truth of it was that she came from a different class.

‘Did you see the paper this morning, Adam?’ Seth was saying as they reached the drawing-room again. ‘You know how William Stead purchased that thirteen-year-old girl to show just how easy it is to procure young girls for prostitution?’

Ling caught the wary glance Captain Bradley threw at his younger children at the unmentionable word. They were, though, too young to understand, even if they hadn’t been so engrossed in playing with the dogs that all conversation was going over their heads. Adam seemed satisfied as he replied, ‘He published the results of his investigation in his paper, the
Pall Mall Gazette
, didn’t he?’

‘And, for his trouble, he and five others have been charged with kidnapping a minor and have been committed for trial at the Old Bailey. Oh, it makes my blood boil! The poor man’s trying to do some good, to open Parliament’s eyes to the appalling situation and . . .’

Seth Warrington smashed his fist into the arm of the chair and the dull thud brought Ling from her reverie. Normally, she would have been all ears to hear news of the campaign. But, just now, she was lost in her own thoughts about Toby and Chantal Pencarrow.

‘No, you stay and enjoy yourself.’ Rose nodded vigorously at Ling’s surprised face. ‘We have to get back to Hal. Poor Florrie will be worn out looking after him all afternoon. But you deserve some time off.’

‘And your friends – and one young man in particular, I believe – will be coming along after they finish work, so we insist you stay on. In fact,’ Seth added, pressing several coins into Ling’s hand, ‘that will help you have a really good evening.’

‘Why, thank you, sir! I won’t be late back, and I’m sure Barney will walk me home.’

‘Enjoy yourself then!’

Ling watched, bursting with happiness, as her master and mistress wended their way through the crowds. It was Princetown’s annual September fair, and people had come from all the outlying farms. The occasion differed from the August cattle fair, being more of a general celebration. Seth was always on the lookout for good breeding stock in the horse sale, and so Ling had provided company for Rose as they wandered among the booths and stalls and other entertainments. While many farmers, agricultural labourers and off-duty prison warders were able to come to the fair during the day, others, such as miners and quarrymen, could not join the festivities until later. The revelries therefore extended throughout the evening, when the public houses expected to have one of the best night’s business of the year.

Ling found her mother and sister laughing at the Punch and Judy show, and she was proud to be able to treat them to some supper from the money her master had given her. The setting sun was hidden behind a gathering layer of cloud when Mary decided it was time to take Fanny home, and Ling perched on a boulder not far from the station so that she could meet Barney as he walked into Princetown with their friends from Foggintor.

She sat motionless, a smile on her lips as she recalled amusing moments of the day and caught the distant sounds of merriment from the village. She gazed out over the moor, her heart lulled in contentment. She worked for generous, progressive-thinking people – yet her family were nearby, and they all lived in one of the most breathtaking, spectacular places on earth: Dartmoor. She had Barney who loved her and whom, in a few years’ time, she would marry. And if she never got to see any of the places she had learnt about, that Toby, Mister Seth and the captain had spoken of . . . well, she couldn’t complain.

And yet . . .

Way across the moor, the last train of the day was chugging towards Princetown with a fine wisp of smoke trailing from the engine chimney. It looked so tiny from here, like a toy, and yet she knew better than most how monstrously huge it was at close quarters. On a foggy day, the engine would loom out of the ether like some megalithic dragon, spitting sparks and flames from the firebox in the cab as it rumbled past and dissipated into thin air again. And yet what pleasure, what freedom, it had brought to the people of the area, despite the irony of its chief purpose being to serve the prison. The new station at Yelverton allowed passengers to change on to the main line long before Horrabridge, making the journey to Plymouth even quicker. It was to Tavistock, though, that Ling travelled most, taking Fanny to the swimming baths most weeks during the summer on her day off. They frequently met Mrs Penrith there, the lady who had helped them on their very first visit, and they had become good friends.

‘Boo!’

Ling started so violently that she slipped from the boulder and on to her feet. She spun on her heel to glare into Barney’s grin to the derision of their friends grouped behind him, especially Harry Spence, who was almost splitting his sides.

‘Oh, very funny!’ Ling snapped with a withering glance aimed particularly at Harry.

‘Oh, come on, Ling.’ Barney’s handsome face stretched. ‘Where be your sense of humour gone?’

He nudged her playfully in the ribs, his head tipped pleadingly to one side, and Ling felt the irritation slide away. She could never be cross with Barney for more than a minute, especially when he smiled at her with that warmth in his eyes that was reserved for her alone. After all, he wasn’t to know he had intruded into her wistful reverie. And perhaps it was just as well. The sooner she came down to earth, accepted that her destiny lay with Barney, the better.

Her face burst into a broad grin, and before Barney knew it she had pulled his cap down over his eyes and skipped away. A madcap game of cat and mouse ensued, everyone joining in as they made their noisy way into the village. The Prince of Wales was their destination, females being accepted on fair days, and someone struck up a tune on a fiddle. Tables were cleared away to make room, and Ling found herself being whisked around to the lively jigs and reels that were being played. As the evening wore on, they continued to skip beneath an archway of arms and make wheels of eight, faces bright and flushed with exertion. Ling was swept up in a whirlpool of exhilaration as merry faces and the vibrant colours of neckties and hair ribbons flashed across her vision.

She was quite out of breath as she gazed into Barney’s jubilant face, and they broke off once again for ten minutes to recover. Barney bought her her third glass of still, sharp cider to quench her thirst, and soon they were romping about to the music once more. The blood rushed around her head as she spun in circles, her senses reeling away as Barney’s strong hand guided her through the jovial crowd. Then another drink, the room swimming about her in twirling disarray until she nearly tripped over her own unsteady feet.

‘Oh dear, I’m worn out!’ she said, giggling up at Barney’s animated grin.

‘And I think ’tis time I walked you home. Some of us has work in the morning.
Proper
work!’ he teased.

‘Are you suggesting it isn’t proper work I do?’ she challenged him as he led her out into the balmy darkness of the night.

‘No, of course not. But tidd’n the same as quarrying. Oh, Ling.’ He stopped, swinging her round towards him. ‘When will you leave that place and come to be my wife? I’ve money enough now.’

Ling held her breath, fighting to concentrate her thoughts. ‘No, Barney. Not yet. I’m only seventeen. There’s plenty of time. And I enjoy my work so much. But let’s not spoil such a lovely evening. I’ve had such a wonderful time!’

The scowl on Barney’s face slackened, and his arm went about her waist as they walked through the centre of Princetown and then took the track out towards Fencott Place. Ling was sure the ground was swaying beneath her feet, and she clung on to Barney to stop herself staggering. She felt strange, unbelievably happy, as if nothing else mattered, not even the tiny doubt that niggled at the back of her mind.

They left the village behind, and the moor rolled away into the darkness before them. They could not see the ground, and when Barney caught his foot in a pothole and measured his length on the hard-packed earth, Ling toppled over with him, and they landed in a helpless, mirthful pile. Their faces were so close, and suddenly their laughter faded. Barney’s lips brushed lightly against hers, sending that strange, delightful tension down to her stomach. They had kissed many times before, deeply, the soft, moist contact setting every nerve of her being on edge, and Barney had often gently fondled her breast through her clothes, sparking shock waves down her spine.

But this was different.

Her head whirled dizzily, her hold on reality dropping away as she felt his fingers fumbling with the buttons of her dress. She didn’t stop him. His hand was warm and comforting as it slipped beneath her underwear, stroking her naked flesh for the first time.

She held her breath, powerless against this drowning force that erupted inside her as Barney carried her to the seclusion of a gully a little way from the track. He settled her on to the springing heather, his caresses drawing her into some deep chasm. She wanted him to stop, and yet she yearned for him to go on, to take her on this exciting journey. And when he drew up her skirt, finding the soft, sweet core of her and slipping himself inside, she gasped with the sudden pain and the frenzied desire that tumbled in its wake. She felt Barney’s body convulse against hers, and then he pulled away, leaving a tearing fire inside her. She stared at him in the darkness, stunned, aching, confused. And when he gathered her in his arms, she wept against him.

‘You’m mine now, my darling,’ he whispered lovingly into her hair. And the joy of it trembled in his voice.

Seth Warrington’s voice was vibrant with triumph as he breezed into the nursery, waving a newspaper in his hand. ‘It’s going through!’ he crowed euphorically. ‘The Criminal Law Amendment Act. They’re raising the Age of Consent to sixteen!’

‘Oh, my dearest, ’tis wonderful news!’

Rose turned her vivid smile on her beloved husband. She was sitting with little Hal on her lap, showing him a brightly coloured picture book. The child was attempting to turn the pages himself, his face in a deep study, but the moment he saw his father his mouth widened in a grin that could melt the coldest heart.

As she folded a pile of freshly laundered napkins, Ling observed the domestic scene as if through a glass screen. She felt truncated from the world, trapped in her own shameful misery. The appalling realization had slowly crept up on her with the stealth of a cat, and she would have to face up to it soon. The hope that she was mistaken had long ago died. And a glittering tear trickled unheeded down each of her pale cheeks.

The broad smile slipped from Rose’s face. ‘Ling, my dear, whatever’s the matter?’

Her words were so soft that they pricked even more acutely into Ling’s heart. She turned her head away, trying to hide her anguish, but her shoulders shook with uncontrolled sobs. Rose quickly stood up and, passing Hal into Seth’s arms, crossed the room to enfold Ling in her embrace. It was no good fighting back, and the disgrace washed through her in a damning torrent.

‘I’m so sorry,’ she wept, dragging the sounds from her throat. ‘I’ve let you down. And when you’ve been so kind, and now . . . Oh, Mistress Rose, I’m . . . I’m pregnant.’

She heard Rose’s little intake of breath. Oh, God, what would happen next? They would have to throw her out at once before she brought ignominy on the household. Dismissed as a whore and a slut.

‘Are you sure, dear?’ Rose said calmly.

Ling nodded. ‘It was . . . the night of the Princetown fair,’ she gulped. ‘Three months ago. It only happened once, I swear.’

‘And I assume ’twas your young man?’

Ling lifted her head, Rose’s tenderness giving her courage. ‘Oh, yes. We didn’t mean it to happen. It was just that . . . I think we’d both had too much to drink and—’

‘Well, child, you’re not the first, and you’ll not be the last,’ she heard her master’s voice from the other side of the room. ‘And it isn’t the end of the world.’

‘Seth’s right.’ Rose bobbed her head vigorously. ‘You love each other, don’t you? And you’re unofficially promised?’

Ling blinked at her, hardly able to believe Rose’s composure. Yes. She loved Barney. Of course she did, or she would never have let it happen. It was just that lately she had thought that perhaps there might be more for her in life than being a poor quarryman’s wife for the rest of her days. Oh, how naive she had been!

‘Then you just need to get married as soon as possible. And you can stay on working here for a while yet—’

‘Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly! People would talk!’

‘And when did Rose ever care about what other people think? And look on the bright side. You’ll have a bundle of your own like this little tyke to lavish your affections on!’

Seth was chuckling as Hal decided it would be fun to pull at his father’s neatly tied stock, and Ling couldn’t help but give a watery smile as the fear emptied out of her.