The Constant Heart

by Dilly Court

  'I won't breathe a word of it.'

  'And you won't mention it to your papa?'

  'My darling, my lips are sealed.' Harry held her even closer to him. 'You are so beautiful, Rosie. I cannot wait to make you mine.'

  Attempting to pull away from him, Rosina was alarmed to find that this seemed to excite him more and his arms banded around her like steel.

  'We must name the day, sweetheart. The sooner the better as far as I am concerned.'

  'Yes, Harry.'

  He relaxed a little, raising his eyebrows in surprise. 'Really? Do you mean it, my love?'

  'Of course I do, or I would not have said so. Let us get married as soon as possible.'

  'My darling, you don't know how happy that makes me.'

  His mouth sought hers in a long and passionate kiss, and Rosina responded with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. Harry really loved her and she must not disappoint him. Once they were married, her papa would be certain of some kind of employment with the Gostellows, and their home would be secure. She rested her hands on his chest, gently easing away from him. She met his gaze with a determined lift of her chin: her decision was made. 'We could get a special licence and be married tomorrow, or the next day.'

  'You little minx,' he said with a teasing smile. 'To know that you are so eager makes me a very happy man, but I don't want a hole in the corner affair. I want you to have the best wedding that money can buy.'

  She glanced at her left hand as it rested on his expensive tailored jacket: Margaret's ring seemed to wink mockingly at her. 'I don't care about all that, Harry. But there is one thing I would like.'

  'Anything, just name it.'

  'I would like my own engagement ring. I don't feel right wearing one that belonged to your mother. It should be on her finger, not on mine.'

  'You dear, sensitive child. You must not think that. Mama wanted you to have it and she would be mortified if I were to buy you another. You and my mama are the two women dearest to my heart, and I want you to love her as I do. We are going to be so happy together, all of us Gostellows in Gostellow Mansion.'

  'Yes, Harry.' She had heard people say that they felt their heart sink, and now Rosina knew exactly what they meant. She might grow to love Harry, but the thought of living with his parents was almost too much to bear. She had to stifle the impulse to tear herself from his arms and run away from the stuffy office that smelt of money, dust and hay. She had sealed her own fate – now she must live with her promise to become Harry's wife.

  'We must celebrate, darling,' Harry said, tracing the outline of her face with the tip of his finger as if committing every last detail of her features to memory. 'I will take you out to celebrate our engagement, anywhere you like.'

  Her first thought was of Cremorne Gardens, ablaze with gaslights and the velvet night air filled with the scent of flowers and music. But Will would not be there, and the bittersweet memories would be too much to bear. 'You choose, Harry. But this time we will have to get Pa's permission, and I don't think he would allow me to go out unchaperoned, even if we are officially engaged.'

  'Then we will go out in a foursome – that must be acceptable to him. You can ask Sukey to accompany you with a gentleman of her choosing.'

  'I don't know about that. The ill feeling between our fathers has come between Sukey and me.'

  Harry patted her hand. 'All the more reason for us to mend the breach, my dear. I will call upon the Barnums; there can be no objection to that.'

  Rosina could hardly break a friend's confidence; she could not tell Harry that he was the main reason for her falling out with Sukey. But neither could she dissuade him from his purpose. He insisted on escorting her home, and then he went on to the Barnums' house to see Sukey. Rosina did not think that he would receive an enthusiastic welcome. She was all the more astounded, when half an hour later, looking out of the parlour window, she saw Harry and Sukey walking arm in arm along the wharf. They were headed in her direction and seemed to be on the best of terms. She hurried downstairs to open the door.

  Harry doffed his hat, smiling. 'It's all arranged, my love. Sukey has agreed to accompany us on our outing. I am to make the arrangements.'

  Sukey threw her arms around Rosina's neck. 'Rosie, I am so sorry. It was a foolish argument.'

  Rosina hugged her. 'It was all my fault.'

  'No, I won't allow that. I was in part to blame.'

  Harry chuckled. 'Please, ladies. Don't fall out again over who was the most culpable. You are friends again, and that is all that matters.' He tipped the curly brim of his hat with his fingers and set it at a rakish angle. 'Now, I must get back to the office. Can I trust you two to be nice to each other?'

  'Harry, you are such a tease.' Sukey flashed him a coy glance beneath her lashes.

  'We will be perfectly fine,' Rosina said, taking Sukey by the hand. 'Come up to the parlour, and we can talk. Goodbye, Harry.'

  'Until this evening, my dear. I will call on you after supper, if that's all right with you?'

  'Of course.' Rosina gave him a cheery wave as she dragged Sukey into the house and up the stairs to the parlour. Once they were inside, she released her hand and gave her a searching look. 'Have you really forgiven me?'

  Sukey smiled. 'I hated you for a while, but then I realised that it was hardly your fault if Harry preferred you to me. I just didn't know how to make things right with you. Then Harry turned up on our doorstep, and he was so sweet and sincere that I simply melted. You are so lucky to have found such a wonderful man, Rosie. I envy you, but I am happy for you too.'

  'You really do love him, don't you, Sukey?'

  'Enough to want only his happiness, and if he achieves that by marrying you, then I would be a mean-spirited person if I could not be pleased for him and for you too. We've been friends for as long as I can remember, Rosie. We mustn't allow a mere man to come between us.'

  Rosina threw her arms around Sukey and gave her a hug. 'No, indeed.'

  Sukey broke away with a trill of laughter. 'Look at us two silly things. Scratching each other's eyes out one minute and firm friends the next.' She did a twirl, holding out her skirts. 'Do you like my new gown? Papa bought it for me. I think he felt guilty for once in his life. Anyway, now he's gone off on that silly old barge match. He'll be totally insufferable if he wins. He'll gloat over your poor pa for weeks.'

  'Won't he be angry if you come out with Harry and me?'

  Sukey sat down on the sofa in a swirl of pink taffeta. 'We've thought of that. Harry has a rich friend who is going to escort me. Isn't that thrilling? I might just fall in love with him, if he's good-looking as well as wealthy. Harry is going to arrange a chaperone, so it will all look splendidly respectable.'

  'It seems he's thought of everything.' Rosina went to sit on the window seat. So this was how her future life was going to be, with Harry planning and organising every last detail without even consulting her.

  'You might sound a bit more enthusiastic,' Sukey said with a teasing smile. 'I'd love to be cosseted and pampered by a man like Harry.'

  'I'm not used to it, that's all.'

  'Then you'd better get used to it, Rosie. For Harry told me that he intends to spoil you and give you everything your heart desires. You'll live in that enormous mansion with servants waiting on you hand and foot. You'll drive in a private carriage and wear silks and satins.'

  'Yes,' Rosina said dully. 'I am very fortunate, I do know that.'

  'I shall have to stop thinking about it, or I will become very jealous, and then we'll quarrel again. We can't have that.'

  'No. We must not quarrel.'

  'And I have some gossip for you. About a certain young man who used to work for your papa.'

  'Walter?'

  'The very same. You'll never guess who has given him a job, or where he is working now. It is such a scream, I can hardly tell you for laughing.'

  Momentarily forgetting Harry and her painful conscience, Rosina was suddenly alert. 'Don't tease me. Tell me, please.
'

  'Pa gave Walter a job on one of his barges. I think it was because your father had turned him out on the street, so, being contrary, my pa stepped in and made Walter mate on the Mudlark.'

  'But Walter isn't a sailor. I can't imagine that he would know one end of a boat from the other.'

  'I told you it was a scream. Poor Walter won't know if he's coming or going once Captain Juggins starts bellowing orders at him. He's a foul old man who can't keep a mate for more than a couple of trips. I wouldn't be surprised if they ran aground or sank before they got as far as Barking Reach.'

  The unfairness of it all! Rosina had to force herself to keep calm when she longed to leap to her feet and cry out at the unfairness of Walter's treatment. First, Harry, then Papa and now Captain Barnum – it seemed as though they had all ganged up on him, determined to destroy a good and honest man. She clenched her fists, hiding them beneath the folds of her skirt. Somehow she managed to keep her voice calm. 'Poor Walter, indeed. Has the Mudlark set sail, Sukey? Do you know where she is trading?'

  'No, nor do I care. I take no interest in Pa's beastly business. I hate barges and boats of all kinds. I hate this smelly old wharf and I long to move away from it all. It's so – so sordid.'

  'The Mudlark carries coal, I believe.'

  'Does she? I really don't know. Let's talk about something else, Rosie. Where shall we ask Harry to take us on this outing? Shall it be the theatre? I love the theatre. Or could we go to Cremorne Gardens again, do you think? It was so wonderfully romantic; at least it was until you went off with that man in the silly fancy dress. Did you ever discover his true identity?'

  Rosina shook her head. She could not bring herself to lie outright to Sukey, but neither could she tell her the truth. Will really was the river pirate and now he was on the run from the police. Piracy, whether at sea or on the river, was a serious offence, which would incur a long term of penal servitude, or even hanging. She could not endanger him by revealing his identity, even to Sukey.

  'What is the matter with you today?' Sukey rose to her feet, staring hard at Rosina. 'You should be dancing for joy with Harry's ring on your finger. I don't understand you, Rosie.'

  Rosina held out her hand so that Sukey could examine the diamond. 'It was his mother's ring.'

  'No! Really? And she gave it to you. Oh, I think that's so romantic, Rosie. She must think a great deal of you to give you her own engagement ring.' Sukey's blue eyes brimmed with unshed tears. 'You lucky, lucky girl.'

  'It's taken me by surprise. Life was so easy and settled. I thought things would never change, and then, all of a sudden, everything is different.'

  'But change for the better is good. Soon you will be a married lady, and you will have to find me a rich husband. Maybe Harry's friend will be that man. I'm so excited, Rosie. It's going to be a thrilling evening.'

  'Are you sure you don't know which wharf Captain Juggins's barge sails from, and when it is due in?'

  'Oh, Rosie. Forget about dull old Walter for a minute. We need to discuss what we are going to wear for our night out.'

  Rosina could not forget Walter. She needed to be certain that he was going to be all right working with the notoriously bad-tempered and sometimes drunken Captain Juggins. She could not imagine how Walter would take to a life of hard physical work, and she worried constantly about him. She dared not confide in Harry or even her pa; Bertha would tell her not to be a silly goose and to concentrate on her betrothed, so it was Caddie to whom she unburdened herself late that evening when Harry had left, and she was getting ready for bed.

  'I know where the colliers from Whitby discharge their cargoes onto barges and lighters. It's St Hilda's Wharf. My Artie mentioned it once, although I can't think why it come up in conversation. He didn't like the coal trade – too mucky and dirty. Artie was particular about being clean and keeping hisself looking good.' Caddie's eyes filled with tears and she sniffed. 'I can take you there, if you want to go looking for Walter.'

  'I do, Caddie. I must see him and make sure he's all right, but no one must know about it. Not even Bebe.'

  Chapter Fourteen

  She did not recognise him at first, but when she called his name Walter looked up and smiled. His teeth flashed white in a face that was blackened with coal dust.

  'Rosie!' He leapt for the ladder and his feet slipped on the slimy rungs, but he shinned up to stand beside her with surprising agility for a landsman. He tipped his cap to her and to Caddie who was standing at her side. 'You shouldn't have come here. This isn't a nice place.'

  Rosina glanced nervously in the direction of the dark figures at work unloading the collier. They were too absorbed in their task to take much notice of two young women, who so obviously had no place in this man-made depiction of Hades. Clouds of coal dust filled the air as the cargo was transferred to the hold of the barge. Everything on and around St Hilda's Wharf, from the warehouse buildings to the furled sails of the ships, was covered in a film of black dust. The workers had the eerie, ghost-like appearance of dark shadows, with only the whites of their eyes and the pink tinge of their lips to make them look human. The river water lapping around the hulls was slicked with powdered coal and the seagulls wore black mantles, like lawyers in their robes. 'This is a dreadful place, Walter. I can't bear to see you brought this low.' Rosina laid her hand on his arm, but he pulled away from her.

  'Don't touch me. I'm filthy.'

  'It's only coal dust – it will wash off. But the slur on your good name will stick. You must clear yourself of blame, Walter. Then you can come home.'

  'I will, given time. But I have to earn a living somehow, and word gets round quickly. My reputation is such that no one will employ me in a counting house.'

  Caddie cleared her throat, drawing their attention to her presence. 'I wouldn't have taken you for a waterman, sir.'

  'Caddie! Since when have you called me sir?'

  'Since I am now Miss Rosina's maid, bought and paid for by her fiancé, Mr Gostellow.'

  'Rosie? Is this true? Have you accepted Gostellow?'

  She could not meet his eyes. 'I have, but that shouldn't concern you.'

  He seized her hands in his, gripping them so tightly that Rosina winced. 'Were you forced into this engagement? Tell me honestly, Rosie. Do you love this man?'

  'You're hurting me, Walter.'

  'Answer me, Rosie.' He tightened his grip, staring into her eyes. 'Were you coerced into this match?'

  She pulled her hands away, raising her chin and meeting his angry gaze with a defiant stare. 'That is none of your business, Walter. I came here to speak about you and your fate, not mine. I know what I'm doing, and it really is no concern of yours.'

  Walter lowered his voice but his eyes blazed angrily. 'And what of Will? I thought you loved him. Or was the lure of money too much for you?'

  Caddie's gasp was drowned by the sound of flesh on flesh as Rosina slapped Walter's face. 'That was unworthy of you, and insulting to me. I came here to make certain that you were all right, and to offer to find you more suitable work. But now I wish I hadn't come.'

  'You shouldn't have come,' Walter said slowly, raising his hand to touch his cheek.

  Rosina bit her lip. Her fingerprints were clearly etched in the dirt on his face, and she regretted her hasty action, but she would not apologise. 'What you said was unforgivable. Will is gone – I will never see him again. He told me that himself.'

  Caddie tugged at her sleeve. 'Best come away now.'

  'I'm coming.' Rosina brushed her hand away, leaving sooty marks on Caddie's arm. 'I'm leaving now, Walter. I wish things had been different, but I can see that we have nothing left to say to each other. If you see your brother you can tell him . . .'