The Ragged Heiress (10 page)

‘It makes sense, Henry,’ he said, making for a side table laden with crystal glasses and decanters. ‘Should you miss this sailing, the
Caroline
is not due to return here until September, and your business here, I believe, is completed.’

‘It is,’ Henry said, frowning. ‘But taking only half a consignment back to London will slice into my profits and barely make the trip worthwhile.’

Sir John poured two measures of brandy, handing one to Henry. ‘That is true, but surely it would be better
for you to be in London to manage your affairs and have the damaged furniture restored by our local craftsmen and sent on at a later date.’

‘I had my heart set on going home, Henry,’ Eveline said plaintively. ‘This climate is far too hot for my liking and now the monsoon season is over it is going to become unbearable.’

Henry went to sit by her side on the sofa. ‘Come, come, my dear. It’s not so very bad. I’ve been trading in these parts for more than twenty years with no ill effects. I’m sure you could hold out for a few more months if necessary.’

‘I haven’t got your iron constitution,’ Eveline said plaintively. ‘I’ve never been strong.’

Lucetta nodded vigorously. She was genuinely concerned for her mother’s wellbeing, and she was also desperate to sail on the
Caroline
. The thought of seeing Sam every day for the next five or six weeks made her bold. ‘That’s right, Papa. You know that Mama is delicate. I think the voyage home would do much to restore her good health.’

‘I’m well aware of that, poppet,’ Henry said fondly. ‘But business is business. There is a lot of money tied up in that cargo.’

‘I’m sure I don’t care about money, Papa,’ she retorted, tossing her head. ‘I’d rather be happy than rich.’

Sir John threw back his head and laughed. ‘Oh, the innocence of youth, Froy.’

‘My dear child,’ Lady Boothby said with a patronising smile. ‘You don’t know what you’re saying.
Money may not be able to buy happiness but you would be shocked if you saw the deprivation suffered by the poor in this country and at home in London.’

‘I’m sure that Lucetta didn’t mean to sound uncaring,’ Eveline murmured faintly. ‘She may be a little naïve in the ways of the world, but in some part I think she is right. What use is money if one hasn’t one’s health?’

Henry eyed her anxiously. ‘It’s not possible, my love. The teakwood furniture is still stuck at the bottom of a gorge, several inches deep in mud. Tomorrow everything comes to a standstill and no one can be persuaded to work. The
Caroline
will sail next day regardless and there’s nothing I can do about it.’

Eveline’s bottom lip trembled ominously and her blue eyes swam with unshed tears. ‘I really want to go home.’

Lady Boothby rose majestically to her feet. ‘Perhaps you ought to reconsider your decision, Mr Froy?’ She beckoned to the manservant who was standing to attention in the doorway. ‘Take Mrs Froy to her room and send for her maid.’

Lucetta saw her chance to escape. ‘It’s all right, Lady Boothby,’ she cried, jumping up and rushing to her mother’s side. ‘I’ll take Mama to her room.’

Having left her mother in the capable hands of Gertie, the ageing maidservant who had faithfully served her mistress for more than twenty years, Lucetta hurried to her own room. She opened the French doors and went out onto the veranda. Her hands shook with
excitement as she struck a vesta and lit a lantern, placing it on the rattan table. She leaned on the balustrade taking deep breaths of the heavily perfumed night air. White-winged moths appeared as if from nowhere to flutter around the light, and fronds of bougainvillea swayed like ballet dancers in a gentle whisper of a breeze.

The tropical darkness outside the compound was pierced with light from flaming torches and Lucetta could hear an excited chatter of voices as the procession made its way along the road outside the compound, moving to the rhythmic sounds of the gamelan orchestra. Above the wall she could just make out the heads of the ogoh-ogoh, huge brightly painted monster dolls that would eventually be tossed onto the many bonfires that turned night into day. She could sense the excitement of the unseen crowds and their strange magic added to her own heightened emotions as she paced the veranda, waiting for Sam and praying that he would come soon.

Time seemed to have stopped, or to be going backwards, as her nervous anticipation increased. Perhaps he had been unavoidably delayed or worse still he might have had his shore leave cancelled. Just as she was beginning to despair of seeing him, she heard a soft rustling in the bushes. She held her breath, hardly daring to hope, and then he appeared, emerging from the darkness to take the steps two at a time. He swept her into his arms and his mouth claimed hers in a kiss that made her senses reel. He smelt of the sea, fresh and clean, so different from the cloying smell of the
rainforest. She closed her eyes and abandoned herself to the strange and wonderful new sensations that made her blood fizz through her veins like champagne. When he released her to draw breath she still clung to him, wanting more.

‘We must go now,’ he whispered softly. ‘Are you sure you want to do this, Lucetta?’

‘Of course I do. I’d go anywhere with you, Sam.’

His eyes were luminous in the lamplight. ‘You are quite amazing, but I don’t want you to get into trouble with your parents. Perhaps I ought to go and see your father and ask his permission to take you to the festival.’

Lucetta shook her head vehemently. ‘No, it’s all right. I didn’t want Papa to think badly of you so I asked him if we might go outside the consulate compound just to see the procession and the bonfire, and he said yes.’

Sam grinned broadly. ‘That’s splendid. I wouldn’t want to upset Mr Froy, since I mean to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage.’

Lucetta slipped her hand through the crook of his arm. Papa would be absolutely furious if he discovered her deception, and she would undoubtedly go to hell for telling such dreadful lies, but she was determined to snatch this piece of heaven for herself. She smiled up at him. ‘I’m ready, Sam. Let’s go.’

There was no one to prevent them from leaving the compound. Either the gatekeeper was asleep or else he had joined in the procession. As they left the consulate grounds it seemed to Lucetta that they had
entered another world where people from miles around were heading for a huge celebration party. Holding hands, they tagged onto the end of a long procession, becoming part of a human chain babbling with excitement and anticipation as they headed for the place where a great bonfire shot tongues of orange flame into the night sky. Women carried baskets on their heads piled high with offerings of fruit and food, and young girls wearing bright robes had garlands of fragrant frangipani and hibiscus around their necks and blossoms tucked into their dark hair. The ogoh-ogoh were being transported on bamboo poles and the gamelan orchestra played on and on.

Keeping well to the back of the crowd, Lucetta watched the dancing and the strange rituals with delight, but all the while she was acutely aware of Sam holding her hand and standing so close to her that she could feel the warmth of his body. She felt that they were in fairyland: an enchanted place where time did not exist. She wanted this night to go on forever, but all too soon it came to an end as the monster figures were sacrificed to the flames.

‘We’d best leave now,’ Sam whispered, squeezing her fingers.

‘Oh no, please let’s stay a bit longer.’

He shook his head. ‘They might have locked the gates and I don’t think you could climb the walls in that gown.’

With the utmost reluctance, Lucetta turned her back on the revellers, knowing that she would remember this night for the rest of her life. She looked up into
Sam’s smiling face and was reassured. There was no trace of deceit or dishonesty in his candid gaze and no evidence of ill temper or meanness of spirit in the generous curve of his lips. His firm jaw and strong features breathed trust and dependability, and his hazel eyes shone with intelligence and good humour. She knew instinctively that she could trust this man with her life, and that her heart was his now and forever. There was no need for words, and arms entwined they walked back to the consulate.

As luck would have it, the gatekeeper had not returned and the house servants appeared to be too busy celebrating the festival to bother about small details such as locking the gates. They slipped into the compound unnoticed and Sam drew Lucetta into the shadows beneath the champak trees. She slid her arms around his neck and her lips parted with a sigh. In the heat of the night, with the distant sounds of revelry, feasting and music in her ears, and the intoxicating scent of the champak, jasmine and roses making her head swim, Lucetta felt desire flare between them like a bushfire. Sam’s lips travelled down the slender column of her neck to the swell of her breasts above the low neckline of her evening gown. She felt her whole body respond to his caress.

Gently, so gently, he slid his fingers beneath the silk of her bodice, exposing one breast. He kissed her nipple, teasing it with his tongue until it became hard and erect. He closed his lips around it, taking it in his mouth, nuzzling and sucking until Lucetta moaned softly with pleasure. Her legs gave way beneath her
and they sank to the soft mossy ground beneath the trees. She moved instinctively against him, spreading her legs and arching her body as he lifted her silken skirts and his hand stroked the inside of her thighs, fondling and caressing her flesh until he found the forbidden place. Sensations that she could never have imagined were setting her whole being aflame with desire. Although she did not know what would follow next, she knew dimly in the deep recesses of her mind that she wanted him to complete the act of love, and when he withdrew a little from her she opened her eyes, staring blindly into his shadowy face. ‘Don’t stop. Please.’

‘I can’t take advantage of your youth and innocence. I love you too much for that, Lucetta.’ He bent his head and kissed her tenderly on the lips. ‘Not yet, my darling. Not yet.’

‘I love you too …’

‘My God. You young bastard. I’ll have you flogged for this.’

Blinded temporarily by the light of a lantern, Lucetta screamed as Sam was dragged to his feet, leaving her semi-naked body exposed for all to see.

‘Sir, I can explain.’

‘Explain!’ Henry’s tone deepened from a shout to a roar. ‘You deflower my innocent daughter and you tell me that you can explain.’ He reached for Lucetta’s arm and hauled her unceremoniously to her feet. Raising his hand, he slapped her hard across the face. ‘Cover your shame, you little trollop. I expected more of you, Lucetta. I’m disgusted by such wanton behaviour. D’you hear me? Disgusted.’

Lucetta’s hand flew to her bruised cheek and she stared at her father in disbelief. He had never in all her seventeen years raised a hand to her and now he was staring at her as though he hated her. She tugged at her bodice with her free hand, turning away to cover her naked breasts.

‘Don’t vent your anger on Lucetta. If you want to strike someone, hit me.’ Sam made a move towards Henry but Sir John stepped in between them.

‘I think you’ve done enough harm this night, young man,’ he said sternly. ‘I suggest you leave now before you make matters worse.’

‘I love Lucetta, Mr Froy,’ Sam said, pushing past Sir John. ‘I want to marry your daughter, sir.’

‘I’ll see you clapped in irons for what you’ve done
to my innocent child,’ Henry raged. ‘As to marrying her, you won’t be in a position to support a cat let alone a wife when I’ve done with you.’

‘It was my fault as much as Sam’s,’ Lucetta cried passionately. ‘I love him.’

‘Go to your room, Lucetta. Stay there and don’t you dare leave it until I say so. I’ll deal with this young libertine.’

Lucetta ran to Sam’s side, flinging her arms around him. ‘I won’t let you harm him, Pa. Can’t you understand that we love each other? I will marry him whether you like it or not.’

‘Marry a penniless seafarer? You’ve gone off your head, girl. I’ve heard that that happens sometimes in the tropics and now I believe it’s true. You will marry the man of my choosing, that’s if anyone will have you now. You’re damaged goods, Lucetta, and all because of him.’ Henry’s face was suffused with purple as he pointed a shaking finger at Sam.

‘You can’t do that,’ Sam said through gritted teeth. ‘I won’t allow it. Nothing untoward occurred between us. I would rather cut off my right hand than harm your daughter.’

‘You’re a liar, sir. I know what I saw.’ Henry lunged towards him, but Sir John caught him by the arm.

‘This is a bad business, Froy, but perhaps we should all calm down. We can sort this matter out tomorrow.’

‘Calm down, Sir John? I’ll kill the young devil.’ Fisting his hands, Henry took a swipe at Sam, missing him by inches as the younger man dodged the blow.

‘Stop,’ Lucetta cried, wringing her hands. ‘Please
stop all this. I am as I was when I left the consulate, Papa. I am still virgo intacta or whatever that doctor called it.’

Henry froze to the spot and he let out a strangled cry. His eyes started from his head and his florid complexion paled to ashen as he crumpled to the ground.

Lucetta screamed and fell to her knees beside him. ‘Speak to me, Pa. I didn’t mean to upset you.’

Sir John leaned over to feel for a pulse in Henry’s neck. ‘He’s alive, but I think he’s had some kind of seizure.’

‘I’m sorry, Pa,’ Lucetta sobbed. ‘I’m so sorry.’

Sam lifted her gently to her feet. ‘Don’t be afraid, my love. I’ll ride to town and fetch the doctor.’

‘Mr Froy needs complete rest and quiet,’ the doctor said, taking off his spectacles and polishing the lenses with a clean white handkerchief. ‘I’ve seen this condition afflict many gentlemen of a certain age and constitution. The outcome, I’m afraid, is not always what one would hope for.’

‘Is he going to die?’ Lucetta asked, glancing anxiously at her mother who lay on the chaise longue pale-faced, tears coursing down her thin cheeks.

The doctor shook his head. ‘I’m afraid the prognosis in these cases is very hard to predict.’