Children of the Tide (41 page)

Well, I’m breaking free
, she exulted as she signalled for the carrier to stop. ‘I’m taking Mrs Glover’s place,’ she said climbing up. ‘Her daughter is visiting her today, so she can’t come.’

‘Righto, miss. It makes no difference to me. I haven’t given thee a lift before, have I?’

‘No.’ She gave him a winsome smile. ‘My brother generally brings me in, but today he can’t, and I wanted to go to the opening of the park.’

‘Why, miss, ’park is nowt special for country folk like thee! It’ll be full o’ trees and flowers same as out here. It’s for townies and them as don’t have a bit o’ grass on ’doorstep. Mind,’ he flicked his reins and the pair of greys picked up their heels, ‘there’ll be brass bands playing and sodgers marching, so it’ll be a good day out.’

Betsy was filled with excitement; she was going to have such fun, a whole day to herself. The sun was shining and she had money in her purse to spend on whatever she wanted.

When they arrived at the outskirts of the town, however, the roads were jammed with jostling coaches, carriages and carts all trying to join the procession on its way up the Beverley Road towards the new park, given by and named after the benefactor and Mayor of the town, Zachariah Pearson. They crossed the North Bridge and turned into the High Street, then came to a full stop at the junction of Salthouse Lane.

‘Tha might as well walk in, miss,’ the carrier said after they had sat immobile for twenty minutes. ‘By the time I get into ’Market Place, ’show is going to be over.’

Betsy agreed and stepped down, calling up to him to ask what time he would be going back.

‘Two o’clock as a rule, but I doubt I’ll make it that time today.’ He touched his forehead. ‘Be at ’Reindeer between two and three if tha wants a lift back.’

Betsy followed the crowd into the Market Place.
Already the streets were crowded and the townsfolk very lively. Flags were hanging from shop and office doorways and people were claiming their places in windows ready to watch the procession, and stray streamers were floating down onto the heads of the crowd below.

I had no idea that it would be like this
, she thought as she was jostled by the crowd.
I thought there would be a fête at the park, but I never dreamt that the whole town would be celebrating
.

The town was filled with soldiers, bandsmen and police, all getting in place to form the military and civic pageant; crowds were spilling out in their thousands from the railway station where special trains were bringing them in from all over Yorkshire, and the steamers at the pier were discharging hundreds of passengers. The whole of the town, the thoroughfares and side streets, were thronging with residents and visitors all come to enjoy the day.

‘What time does the parade start?’ She stopped a young woman with two young children.

‘One o’clock,’ the woman said, ‘but we’re making a start for ’park now, otherwise we’ll never get there to see owt. Bairns don’t want to miss seeing sodgers marching, or ’side shows.’

Betsy decided that she would make a start also, for if she was to see the planting of the first tree by the Mayor when he arrived at the park, and get back into Hull in time for the carrier’s cart, then she would have to hurry along.

She was half-way along the Beverley Road when a cheer went up and someone shouted that the parade had started. As Betsy strained her ears, she could hear the striking up of the kettledrums and the blast of trumpets as the bandsmen began their performance, and the procession started on its route through the town.

Over the Whitefriargate Bridge they marched, Junction Street, Prospect Street, where the nurses and not
so sick patients waved from the windows and grounds of the Infirmary, and on up the Beverley Road towards its destination at the park. Carriages and horseback riders were preceding the procession, and as Betsy approached the park gates, which were decked with flags and evergreens, she moved aside to let a gig through. She looked up at the driver as he manoeuvred past and stared. Charles Craddock!

He saw her and called out, ‘Miss Foster! How delightful to see you.’ An official was moving him on, and his black gelding was prancing and throwing its head as he held it in check. ‘Are you alone?’ he called. ‘Come on, jump in if you are.’

She hesitated only for a second and with a quick hitch up of her skirts she scrambled up. ‘No,’ she said breathlessly and rearranged herself, ‘I’m not alone, but I’ve lost sight of my companion.’

He flicked his reins and they moved on again. ‘You’ll never find her in this crowd, unless you’ve made an arrangement to meet somewhere.’ He turned to smile at her. ‘Now why do I assume it is a female companion? I am wrong. It is bound to be a sweetheart when you are looking as lovely as you do.’

She assumed a coy look. ‘It is, of course, a female companion, Mr Craddock. We came for a day’s shopping and got caught up in the festivities.’

He handed her down as they entered the park, and a boy took his horse and gig to a compound. ‘Then if you have lost your companion and as I am alone with a spare ticket’ – he fished two tickets out of his jacket pocket – ‘perhaps you would join me up on the platform?’ He pointed into the centre of the grassy area where a huge platform had been erected with seats covered in red cloth and a canvas top covering the whole.

She hesitated. ‘Come on,’ he persuaded. ‘They’re the best seats, right in the middle; it’s a shame to let one go to waste.’

‘All right,’ she decided. ‘Why not?’

They took their seats and Betsy surmised that these seats had been reserved for the élite of the neighbourhood, for the occupants were expensively dressed, the ladies in pretty veiled hats and crinolines of silks and velvets, and some of the gentlemen in formal attire, whilst the people in the side seats, though well dressed, did not have the air of gentility the others had, and she was glad that she was dressed in her best yellow gown.

‘Fifteen hundred seats on this platform,’ Craddock whispered into her ear. ‘And I’m lucky enough to be sitting next to you!’ He put his hand along the back of Betsy’s seat and fingered her shoulder beneath her shawl.

She looked at him and then lowered her lashes. ‘I trust you are not going to take advantage of me, Mr Craddock, just because I have accepted your offer to sit beside you.’

He immediately removed his arm. Then he took her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘I beg your pardon, Miss Foster,’ he said softly. ‘It’s just that I have thought of you so often since we met at your cousin’s wedding, that I cannot believe my luck in finding you here. Please forgive my impertinence.’

She arched her eyebrows. Had he really been thinking of her? But whether he had or not, it was quite nice to flirt a little.
I can’t really flirt or dally with Luke
, she thought,
he is so basic
.

She allowed him to keep hold of her hand, and he ran his fingers up and down hers and stroked her wrist. Everyone stood up as the procession entered the park, and Craddock put his arm around her waist to support her.

First came the Police followed by the Park Committee, then the brass bands of the East and West Riding, and the East Yorkshire Militia; the Artillery Volunteers and East Yorkshire Rifles, and members of various lodges. There was a great variety of uniform, the Lincolnshire volunteers in grey tunics and
trousers trimmed with red, the corps from Lincoln wore dark green with black facings, and on their heads the peaked and plumed shakos.

‘Here come the dignitaries,’ Craddock said, as the civic procession rolled towards the dais below them. First came the beadles carrying the sword and mace, followed by the Mayor in his robe of office and gold chain, and riding with him in his private carriage was Lord Wenlock, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the Riding. Lord Hotham, Member of Parliament, was in private dress, and the Town Clerk wore ceremonial wig and robe of office.

Everyone cheered and then sat down again once the Mayor had passed and watched the remaining procession from their seats. The Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff of Hull, both in Court dress, were followed through the grounds by Members of Parliament, Wardens and Brethren of Trinity House, Foreign Consuls and the members of the Dock Company.

‘There’s my cousin!’ Betsy exclaimed.

‘Ah, you found her?’ Craddock smiled. ‘It was Miss Rayner who came with you?’

Betsy was about to deny it, then said, ‘I meant Gilbert. Look there he is, walking with the men from the Dock Company.’

Gilbert’s tall figure stood out from the others in the procession.

‘Ah, yes. Gilbert,’ Craddock mused. ‘I had forgotten that he might be part of the official party.’

As Betsy watched the next part of the proceedings, she suddenly thought of her lift home. ‘Mr Craddock! What is the time?’

He consulted his pocket watch. ‘Two-thirty exactly.’ He looked at her quizzically. ‘Not tired of me already, are you?’

‘Not at all.’ Worriedly, she contemplated her situation. ‘But I – we – had arranged to meet between two-thirty and three o’clock in the Market Place if we got separated.’

‘Too late, I fear. You would never get there in time, the crowds are still swarming in.’

‘What shall I do?’ she said anxiously. ‘I’ve arranged for a ride home.’

He stared out at the tableau that was just arriving through the gates, an allegorical scene put on by the theatre managers of the Royal Queen’s Theatre, Wolfenden and Melbourne. ‘Would you allow me to drive you home?’ he asked. ‘Would your family object?’

She thought of the response she would get from her father and Tom if she should arrive home with a stranger, having ridden alone with him along the lonely country roads of Holderness. ‘I think they would be very grateful that I had been delivered safely,’ she said, and knew as she uttered the words that he believed not a word, any more than she did.

‘Then that’s settled,’ he said with a smile and a penetrating gaze from his small eyes.

It’s a pity that he isn’t more handsome
, she thought wistfully.
He has rather a mean look about him. But still, it’s better than being here alone, and I wouldn’t be here in the best seats enjoying myself if it were not for his generosity
. She settled down again, secure in the knowledge that she would get home eventually.
I’ll think up an excuse later
, she decided.
I shall be in trouble anyway when I get home and they find out that I’m not with Sammi
.

The tableau which drew the loudest cheer of all was designed as a temple, with children dressed as the muses of poetry, comedy, tragedy and dancing and singers of songs for lovers, who stood poised in decorated niches. Shakespeare appeared on the platform, being crowned by the Three Graces, and following the tableau came six horses ridden by young boys dressed in Old English costumes and led by six Beefeaters.

‘We shall have a glass of wine to refresh us when this is over,’ Craddock remarked as the last of the procession completed its circle around the arena and
the Mayor descended from his carriage to walk to the dais, where he was to make his speech before officially planting the first tree.

‘Are you hungry?’ he asked. ‘Did you eat lunch?’

She shook her head. ‘I’m starving,’ she claimed. ‘I have had nothing since six o’clock this morning.’

‘My dear young lady,’ he said in concern, ‘just as soon as the ceremony is over we shall go to the tent and have a feast. Do you like champagne?’

‘Yes.’ Her eyes sparkled. ‘I had it at Gilbert’s wedding for the first time.’

‘Then that is what we shall have: champagne to whet your appetite, oysters to stimulate you.’

‘I’m more in need of a meat pie and onion gravy,’ she laughed. ‘I might faint at your feet otherwise.’

‘Then I should have the pleasure of reviving you.’ His voice was soft. ‘But you may have anything your heart – or body – desires.’ He looked into her eyes and she saw an intense flame lingering there. He took her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. From behind she heard someone gasp and a voice complaining.

She smiled at him and then pulled away. She was playing with fire, she well knew. He had the same look of desire that she saw in Luke’s face when they were alone, and it was the power of knowing that they wanted her which excited her.

I could perhaps put up with his plainness
, she mused.
He is not handsome like Luke, but he has finesse; though I feel sure that he is not a gentleman. He knows how to treat a woman, he’s generous and attentive, and I do believe he is very taken with me
.

They joined the crowd in the refreshment tent after the ceremony and Craddock bought a bottle of champagne and two dozen oysters. He insisted she drank a glass of champagne first and then, holding her chin up with his forefinger, he slipped an oyster into her open mouth.

‘Now swallow,’ he said, wiping her lips with his fingertips.

She gazed at him, her mouth apart. The wine was going to her head, she felt quite swimmy. She took hold of his arm. ‘Oh,’ she gasped. ‘I feel very strange.’

‘You’ll feel better after another glass,’ he urged. ‘Come on, drink up.’

She took another sip and held her mouth open again whilst he slipped in another oyster. She felt the touch of his fingers as he slid it into her mouth. She swallowed and momentarily closed her eyes.

He smiled down at her. ‘Feeling better now, my beautiful Betsy?’

She drew herself up and looked around. The afternoon seemed to have taken on a brilliant clarity. The sun was shining, and the array of greenery and banks of flowers were bright and resplendent in their colours. Charles Craddock seemed suddenly to have grown taller and more handsome, and he was holding her arm so protectively and caringly.

‘Yes,’ she said brightly, ‘I feel wonderful.’

Billy took his seat on the front row of the platform immediately behind the dais where the Mayor would make his speech and plant the
Wellingtonia Gigantia
, the emperor of all pines. He wished that Sammi could have come. It was through her intervention that Gilbert had arranged the meeting with Pearson. But the Mayor was so very busy that he hadn’t a free occasion for weeks, and had suggested to Gilbert that Billy came to the opening of the park when he might have a moment to speak to him as he chatted to various members of the public.