The Constant Heart (38 page)

'Sadly that is true.' Roland raised her hand to his lips and brushed it with the lightest of kisses. 'Now I must depart hurriedly before I get myself into any further trouble.' He slapped Walter on the shoulder. 'We don't really know each other, and probably never will, but you look to be a decent enough sort of chap. Look after her, Walter. Rosina is a treasure amongst women.'

'I know that already.' Walter strode to the front door and opened it. 'Goodbye, Rivers. I hope your stay in Holland is a long one.'

Roland smiled and tipped his hat. He glanced cautiously up and down the wharf, as if expecting to see Captain Barnum bearing down on him with a belaying pin in his hand and a cutlass between his teeth. Seemingly satisfied that the coast was clear, he squared his shoulders and strode off at a brisk pace.

'I don't fancy his chances when Barnum discovers the truth,' Walter said, chuckling.

Rosina laid her hand on his arm. 'You should go away from here too, Walter. I don't think Captain Barnum is going to be very pleased with you either.'

'I hate leaving you like this, Rosie, but I have to find work. I'll get a job on the docks if necessary, and I'll help you in any way that I can.'

'Just look after yourself and don't worry about us. We'll be all right.'

'You are a brave girl.'

'If you see Will, remember me to him.'

'He will never forget you. I know that.'

She drew the gold chain from the bodice of her gown and opened the locket. 'I wear it close to my heart, Walter. Tell him that no matter what happens, I will wear it forever.'

He shook his head as if lost for words, and strode away towards Union Stairs. Rosina went back into the house, closing the door behind her. In the kitchen she could hear the children's shrill laughter and the lower-pitched tones of Caddie and Bertha. She went slowly up the stairs to tell her father what was planned.

Next morning, as Roland's coachman helped Edward into the brougham, Bertha clung to Rosina. 'This is all so wrong,' she said tearfully. 'We should not be parted like this. It ain't right.'

Rosina hugged her, biting back her own tears. 'It's for the best, Bebe. Papa's health is the most important thing at this moment.'

'But you and I have never spent a night apart since you was born. I hate leaving you here alone, poppet.'

'I'm not alone. I have Caddie and the babies to keep me company.'

'And what if he carries out his threat to take the house?'

'I don't think it will come to that. I'm going to see Mr Gostellow today. He's a reasonable man, and he's a businessman. The
Ellie May
will be repaired within a week or so, and hopefully Papa will be well enough to come home. We'll just have to make sure he carries any cargo other than hay in the future. We will get back on top again, Bebe. I promise you we will.'

Bertha gave her a last hug and she climbed into the carriage. She leaned out of the window, waving to Rosina and Caddie, who was standing in the doorway holding the baby with Alfie and Ronnie clinging to her skirts.

Roland had been standing back tactfully while their goodbyes were said. 'You mustn't worry about your father, Miss May. I'll see that he gets safely to his destination.'

'Thank you, Mr Rivers. I am truly grateful to you for putting yourself out like this.'

'I know; I surprise myself sometimes. Just when I think I have perfected the role of a complete and utter cad, I do something good and ruin the whole thing.'

Rosina glanced over her shoulder as she heard footsteps approaching along the wharf, and her worst fears were realised. 'You'd better leave quickly, Mr Rivers. That man striding along the wharf is Captain Barnum, and judging by the look on his face he is not best pleased.'

He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips. 'Farewell, Rosina. I think I have earned the right to call you that.' He leapt into the carriage. 'Drive on, Jenkins.'

The coachman flicked his whip, and the horses lunged forward. Bertha waved her handkerchief until the brougham turned into Wapping Street.

'Was that the scoundrel who seduced my daughter?' Barnum demanded breathlessly. When Rosina chose not to answer him, he seized her by the shoulders. 'Answer me, girl.'

'Leave her be, mister,' Caddie shouted.

Ronnie raced forward and began kicking Barnum on the shins. Rosina twisted away from him and caught Ronnie by the hand. 'Now, now, Ronnie. That's not a nice way to behave. Go back to your mama.'

'I asked you a question.' Barnum raised his voice, sending a colony of seagulls mewing into the air.

'And I refuse to answer you until you stop shouting.'

He went red in the face, but he closed his lips into a tight line and glared at Rosina, waiting for her answer with his arms folded across his chest.

'Yes,' she said reluctantly. 'It was Mr Rivers; he is going away on a business trip.'

'I thought as much. I don't trust that man, making out that he's going to marry my girl, the libertine. Now he's running away, leaving her to face humiliation and disgrace. I've got his measure. Where is he going? I demand to be told.'

Rosina shook her head. 'I don't know, Captain Barnum.'

'I think you do and I want the truth. If he's playing fast and loose with my daughter's affections I'll have him followed and dragged back so that he can be charged with breach of promise. I won't have my Sukey's good name sullied by an upper-class piece of shit.'

'You can't browbeat me, Captain. I wouldn't tell you where Mr Rivers is going, even if I knew his destination.'

'I blame you for all this,' Barnum said between clenched teeth. 'You haven't heard the last of this matter.' He stormed off along the wharf towards his house.

Rosina's legs were shaking as she went indoors. She had not thought any further than getting her papa safely away from the city, but now she realised that she must face the problems that lay ahead on her own.

'There's some tea left in the pot, although that's the last of it, and we have no coal for the fire, nor wood,' Caddie said, shooing the boys in the direction of the kitchen.

'I know,' Rosina said tiredly as she closed the street door behind her. 'I'll go through everything in the house and see what is left to pawn. We'll manage. You mustn't be afraid.' She was about to follow Caddie into the kitchen when there was a loud pounding on the front door. Slowly, with her heart thumping in time to the blows raining on the door, she walked the length of the hall to open it.

'Bailiffs, miss. We come to repossess the property on behalf of the new owners, Messrs Gostellow and Son.'

'No, that's impossible. We have two weeks' grace. Go away.' Rosina tried to close the door, but the bailiff was obviously used to this reaction and he stuck his booted foot over the threshold.

'I suggest you cooperate, miss.'

'Have you got an eviction order from the court?'

'Come now, lady. Order or no order, we'll have you out of here today.'

'Go away. I'll not let you in.'

'You're only making it harder on yourself, miss.' The bailiff withdrew his foot, said something in a low voice to his companion, and they marched away grumbling.

Rosina slammed the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes as she waited for her heartbeat to return to normal.

'Was it the bailiffs?' Caddie emerged from the kitchen, cradling baby Arthur in her arms. 'It's the workhouse for us, I knows it.' She began to sob, with Ronnie and Alfie joining in.

'No. Not while I've got a breath left in my body.' Rosina snatched her bonnet off its peg and put it on, tying the ribbons in a bow under her chin. 'I'm going to see Harry's father. He's a lecherous old man, but I've no reason to suppose he's dishonest. He will hear me out – I will make him listen to me.'

The clerk behind the desk in the office of Gostellow and Son shook his head. 'No one sees Mr Gostellow senior without an appointment, miss.'

Rosina was not in a mood for niceties. 'He will see me, like it or not.' She made for the door that bore the legend
Harold Gostellow
inscribed in gold leaf. The clerk tried to stop her, but she pushed past him. 'Out of my way. I will see him.' She opened the door and went inside with the minion following her, protesting loudly.

Harold Gostellow rose from his seat behind a huge mahogany desk, his eyebrows almost disappearing into his hairline. 'Bolton, what is the meaning of this?'

'I'm sorry, sir. The young person insisted on seeing you. Shall I call for a warehouseman to remove her?'

Rosina shook off his restraining hand. 'Go away, mister. I want words with your employer.'

Harold subsided onto his seat with a throaty chuckle. 'You've been told, Bolton. Do as the young woman asks.'

'But, sir . . .'

'Go.'

'Yes, sir.' Bolton bowed out, closing the door behind him.

Harold leaned forward, steepling his fingers. 'What have you got to say for yourself, miss? I'll give you two minutes of my time and no longer.'

Rosina faced him squarely. At one time she would have been quaking in her shoes, but facing disaster had made her angry and she was unafraid. 'I'll come straight to the point, Mr Gostellow. No doubt Harry has told you his side of the story, and I have nothing to say about the way in which he treated me. But he promised me two weeks' grace before he called in the loan, and he has broken that promise.'

'You've got a nerve, young lady. My wife has been in a state of nervous collapse, and my son has been humiliated by a common girl from the wharves.'

'He tried to seduce me, Mr Gostellow.'

'And you were going to marry him for his money, Miss May. Your father is a worn-out old man who'll never set sail again. You will never be able to repay the money I loaned him for the repairs to a vessel which is only fit for the scrap yard. The property in Black Eagle Wharf is legally mine and I want you out of there by midday, or the bailiffs will evict you by force. Is that understood?'

She drew herself up to her full height. 'Oh, yes. I understand perfectly. You planned this all along. You knew that my pa was ailing and that is why you put him to work in the warehouse with the hay. You are a wicked, wicked man. And I pity Harry having you for a father.' She turned on her heel and stormed out of the office, brushing past Bolton and slamming out of the front entrance.

Outside, the hot July sunshine seemed to suck the air from her lungs. The city stench was particularly noxious today and flies buzzed angrily over the horse dung that carpeted the street. An old woman was huddled in the doorway opposite, dressed in green-tinged black and shivering even though the temperature was soaring. She raised her hand feebly, pointing to an empty tin cup at her feet; her meaning was clear, but Rosina had no money to give her. 'I'm sorry,' she murmured. 'I have little more than you, Mother.' She walked on, biting her lip to prevent herself from crying. That poor woman would once have been young and possibly pretty; she must have had a family who loved her, and a home, even if it was a humble cellar room. What dire misfortune had brought her to this, Rosina wondered. And was it possible that the same fate might befall herself and those whom she loved? She quickened her pace. No, it would not happen, not while there was a fighting chance of survival.

Instead of going straight home, she turned in the direction of Angel Court. She had not asked Walter if he still lodged in that dreadful place, but she must see him and ask his advice. He had handled her pa's business dealings for years, and he must have some idea of the law. She strode on, praying silently that Walter would be there; if he was out she would sit on the doorstep all day if necessary to await his return. Oh, Will, she thought as she pushed past a group of ragged, wild-eyed street urchins who looked as though they would tear the clothes off her back, given half a chance. Where are you when I need you so desperately, Will Brown? You came to my rescue once; could you not come again?