Constant Lovers

by Chris Nickson

  He still didn’t know who’d killed Sarah Godlove.

  ‘Anything, boss?’ Sedgwick asked as the Constable sat down and poured a mug of ale. The day had grown hot and he was weary.

  ‘He’s innocent, no doubt about it. What did you find out here?’

  ‘Hughes again. I went round and had a few strong words.’

  ‘You think it’ll work this time?’

  ‘Not for more than a few days. There’s going to be trouble soon.’

  ‘His fists are bigger than his brain,’ Nottingham said. ‘It’s Saturday. You’d better have more men out tonight, just in case he decides to start something. Rob, you can go out with them. If there’s any trouble at all, crack some heads hard and fetch Mr Sedgwick. Carry a cudgel. I don’t want this getting out of hand.’

  ‘Yes, boss,’ Lister answered.

  ‘Right,’ he told them, ‘go on home, the pair of you. Rob, come back about eight. Get some sleep, you’ll be out late tonight. You spend some time with that family of yours, John.’

  ‘Yes, boss,’ Sedgwick replied with a grin.

  ‘Honest, he told me to go home,’ he explained to Lizzie when she wouldn’t believe the Constable had released him early from work. ‘I don’t know why, but I wasn’t going to say no.’

  She still looked at him sceptically before letting her mouth curl into a slow smile.

  ‘Go on, I’ll buy it, John Sedgwick, but thousands wouldn’t.’ She stood up, smoothing down her old dress. ‘Well, since he told you to spend time with us, we can go out for the afternoon. Isn’t that right, James?’

  The boy took her hand and nodded firmly. The deputy knew he didn’t have a chance against the pair of them.

  ‘Where do you want to go?’ he asked with a loud sigh and a smile.

  ‘Kirkstall Abbey,’ Lizzie answered quickly. ‘I haven’t been there in years.’

  He agreed with just the slightest reluctance, the memory of Sarah Godlove’s body as it had looked at the jail flickering through his mind.

  ‘We’d better get going, then,’ he said, then wondered, ‘Are you sure it’s not too far in your state?’

  She shook her head sadly at him.

  ‘John, I’m having a baby, I’m not dying or ill, you know. People have been doing it for centuries. Now stop mithering me. It’s lovely out, let’s enjoy it.’

  They strolled along the riverbank, following the path out of the city. James kept running ahead, gathering an oddly shaped twig, a grub on a leaf, and bringing his finds for them to inspect.

  The afternoon sun was warm, not too hot, perfect for a slow amble together. He held Lizzie’s hand, proud to be out with her, to have his small family around him. They passed others, exchanging polite greetings.

  ‘Have you asked the Constable about more money yet?’

  ‘No,’ Sedgwick admitted. ‘It’s been busy.’

  ‘The sooner you do it, the sooner we’ll know. And we’re going to need it, John.’ She rubbed her stomach lightly, a reminder he didn’t need.

  ‘I will,’ he promised. ‘Soon. I mean it.’

  ‘Has James ever been out here before?’

  ‘Once, not that he’d remember it. He was just a baby then, couldn’t even crawl.’

  ‘Do you ever miss her?’ Lizzie asked casually.

  The question took him aback. ‘Miss who?’

  ‘Annie. The one you were married to.’

  ‘God, no,’ he answered fiercely. ‘Good riddance to her. You know, even her father warned me not to marry her, and he was right. James is the only worthwhile thing to come out of that.’

  ‘Well, he’s ours now.’ She squeezed his hand tightly. ‘And the new one will be, too.’

  ‘So what do you want to call this one?’

  ‘Not yet,’ she told him, the lightness and merriment suddenly gone from her voice. ‘It’s bad luck to think of that before they’re born.’

  He nodded and kissed her cheek, then ran off after James, roaring like a beast to scare the lad and chase him until they fell in a tangle. They drew closer to the ruins of the old buildings, the tower rising tall and stark against the sky.

  ‘Is it very, very old?’ James asked. He looked up, his voice full of awe.

  ‘Aye, it is,’ Sedgwick told him. ‘It’s been here a long time.’

  ‘Was it a castle?’

  ‘No, it was like a very big church, I think. But I’ll take you to a castle one day, if you like.’

  ‘Yes, please,’ the boy said eagerly and his father laughed, tousling the lad’s thick hair. ‘You go and explore. We’ll be sitting over here.’

  ‘And don’t get into any trouble,’ Lizzie warned.

  ‘I won’t, mam,’ he said, and he ran off to climb the old staircases and delve into the cellars.

  ‘Mam,’ the deputy said with a grin.

  ‘The best word in the world.’

  They sat on the remains of a low wall, watching the river swirl lazily by. After a while Lizzie stretched then lay down on the grass.

  ‘I’m just going to doze for a little while,’ she said. ‘Do you mind?’

  ‘Of course not.’

  He took off his coat, folding it to give her a pillow. As he knelt she reached out and took his hand. In a soft, contented voice she said, ‘Why are you so nice to me, John Sedgwick?’

  ‘Because I love you, you daft thing,’ he told her. ‘Why do you think?’

  As she drifted away, her face caught in the sunlight, he sat, watching over her, giving out a low whistle every few minutes to summon James. The lad was relishing the freedom to run and play unchallenged, his face and hands already mucky, his smile a mile wide. It looked as if he’d found some older boys to follow, and he was determined to show he wasn’t any kind of baby, fearlessly jumping off arches taller than himself and clambering along treacherous pieces of masonry.

  Sedgwick saw himself at that age, full of the same indestructible spirit. He’d broken a few bones and knocked out one or two teeth, but it had never stopped him. It was better than caution; there was far too much of that around. Boys needed a bit of adventure. Soon enough they’d be grown and the world would close in around them.

  But not for him. Sometimes he thought he had the best of everything. There was his family, and the job gave him enough rough and tumble, too much of it at times. He’d been beaten, he had scars, but it hadn’t put him off. The money kept them fed and paid for their room. Lizzie was right, though; with another bairn on the way they needed something a little larger. He’d talk to the boss on Monday. He was a good man, he’d understand.

  They stayed out at the abbey until the shadows were lengthening. After the other boys had wandered off, Sedgwick and Lizzie entertained James, running hither and yon with him until he was exhausted.

  They followed the road back to the city, stopping at an alehouse close to the Kirkstall Forge, an old, small cottage made over with benches and old, dry rushes on the earth floor. The ale was good, quenching the thirst that he’d built up during the long afternoon.

  ‘You look like you enjoyed that,’ Lizzie said wryly as he drained the mug in one long swallow. ‘The way that went down anyone would think you’d got no clack.’

  ‘I needed it,’ he told her, and started to signal for another.

  ‘We’d better get home,’ she told him, tilting her head towards James, his eyelids sagging. ‘He’s dead on his feet, poor lad. We’ve worn him out.’

  ‘I’ll carry him, don’t worry.’

  The boy stayed nestled in his arms, soft sleeping breath on his neck as they neared Leeds, the air ripening with the smells of the city.

  ‘I might be called out tonight,’ the deputy told her.

  ‘It’s Saturday, you usually are.’

  ‘This is something different,’ he explained. ‘There’s someone thinks he can put Amos Worthy out of business.’

  She sneered in disbelief. ‘What’s his name, Death?’

  ‘Just someone new who runs a few girls and has big ideas.’


  ‘Same as the rest, then. You think he’ll succeed?’ Lizzie asked.

  Sedgwick shook his head. ‘Not a chance. He doesn’t have a clue what he’s going up against. I can’t stand that bastard Worthy, but at least he can use his brain.’

  ‘So why hasn’t Mr Nottingham put you in charge if there’s going to be trouble?’

  ‘He’s letting the new man handle it.’

  ‘Do you think he’s up to it?’

  ‘Only one way to find out. He’ll come if he needs me. He’s been good so far, though, I’ll give him that. I wasn’t sure about him, but I’m starting to think he’ll work out very well.’

  Rob Lister had been waiting at the jail for half an hour before the night men arrived, loud and rowdy. He’d tried to rest during the afternoon but had spent the time shifting around in his bed, a mix of excitement and nerves coursing through him and chasing sleep away.

  He’d dressed in his oldest suit, threadbare at the elbows, the knees worn, the seams resewn several times, and an old shirt that should probably have been torn for rags. At least if there was a fight, nothing good would end up ruined. Compared to the night men, though, he was wearing royal robes. Some had clothes held together with little more than faith, and the best of them wore ripped shirts and patched breeches.

  They knew the routine, and he was happy to simply follow them. They split into three pairs, patrolling the streets and glancing in on the alehouses and inns. The noise in each place dropped whenever they walked in, rose again as the door closed behind them.

  For two hours he moved between the groups. When working none of them spoke much, and a couple cast him resentful looks, this youthful outsider the Constable had put over them. He was very aware that he’d yet to prove himself. The brief scuffle the other day had been nothing, he’d barely landed a blow before it was over.

  The cudgel was in his pocket, close to hand if he needed it, but so far there’d been no sign of trouble. That would arrive later, when people had drunk down the week to forget about how little they had. Saturday night was their opportunity to find oblivion on gin or ale, the chance to laugh and love, to argue and fight.

  The whores worked their corners on the street, flirting with old paper fans, exchanging banter with the men as they passed. One of the girls whispered in his ear, offering herself for a penny, but he smiled with a blush and turned away. The others laughed at his embarrassment, the girl loudest of them all.

  ‘Never mind, love,’ she told him in a warm voice, husky from cheap drams, ‘you can come back when those two aren’t around.’

  The men were friendlier after that; he’d become one of them. By eleven they were breaking up brawls as grudges that had been held for days began to boil over. Everything was dealt with quickly and efficiently, the offenders dragged off to the jail to sleep it off.

  With midnight the worst of it was over. A few drunks still staggered around, some had passed out on the street, curled in nooks or around corners like babies.

  ‘Quiet night,’ one of the men told Rob as they walked down Briggate. ‘Often gets bad on a Saturday.’

  ‘When do we work until?’ he asked.

  ‘While four.’ The man coughed, hawked and spat on the street. ‘Often it’s Mr Sedgwick out with us, but happen he deserves a night off with that girl of his. You have a lass, do you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Should have gone with Essie, then,’ the man winked. ‘She’d have seen you right. Lower rates for a Constable’s man, too.’

  ‘I’ll remember that when I get paid,’ Rob answered with a smile. ‘She wasn’t bad looking.’

  ‘Clean, too. That’s the important part,’ the man advised sagely. ‘Allus remember that.’

  One o’clock came, then two, rung out by the bells of the Parish Church. Everything was quiet; the people were in their beds. Once they ran after a shadow that scurried down the street, but lost him in the tangle of courts off Briggate. They’d resumed their walking when one of the men stopped.

  ‘Wait,’ he said, listening intently. ‘I can hear summat, sounds like it’s down by the bridge.’

  Lister and the two men set off at a run. He slipped the thong of the cudgel over his wrist. As they pounded down Briggate he began to make out voices yelling, and felt the fear rise in his belly.

  There were about ten of them in a melée. The night men forced their way into the throng, cudgels flying. Lister hesitated only a second before joining them, his blood rushing.

  He saw Hughes, a knife in his hand, going after another man. Rob tried to fight his way through to them, pushing hard, bringing the wood heavily down on arms and heads.

  A fist caught him in the face and rocked him. He shook his head to clear it, tasting blood in his mouth. Hughes was still there, his eyes wild, the blade of his knife red. Rob lowered his shoulder and charged through the crowd. There were fewer of them now; some lay on the ground, others were starting to run off.

  A large older man was facing Hughes, a knife in one hand, a silver-topped stick held in the other. A cut on his arm oozed blood on to his coat and drops of sweat stood out on his face, but he still stood tall, mouth set, a burning look of hatred on his face.

  ‘You stay out of it, laddie,’ he warned, not even turning his head to the Constable’s man. ‘This is between me and him.’

  ‘No,’ Lister said. He was breathing hard and his heart punched in his chest. He was the Constable’s man here. He wanted to prove himself, to bring order. He raised his voice and shouted, ‘This stops now.’

  The older man looked at Hughes then stared at Rob, shaking his head slowly.

  ‘I told you to stay out of it, laddie,’ he said sternly, as if he was addressing a child. ‘You’re not Richard Nottingham yet.’

  Rob came to in one of the cells, his vision bleary, flames of pain in his head. He began to sit up, but a gentle hand on his shoulder kept him still.

  ‘You stay there,’ the Constable said. ‘Rest awhile.’

  Lister tried to clear his sight, blinking until he could make out the soft, blurred outlines of Nottingham and Sedgwick standing over him.

  ‘What happened?’ he asked. His voice was thick, as if his tongue had grown too large for his mouth. He tried to remember, but could go no further than a brawl of some kind.

  ‘You were knocked out,’ the deputy told him. ‘You were trying to stop a fight.’

  He tried once more to recall it, but nothing came, no details, just a deep smudge of figures and vague voices without words.

  ‘You got between Edward Hughes and Amos Worthy,’ Nottingham explained.

  It meant nothing. Very carefully he raised his hand, gingerly running the fingertips over his head until he felt the lump above his ear, the wound crusted heavily with blood. As soon as he touched it, it began to throb and he drew in breath sharply.

  ‘Cudgel,’ Sedgwick said. ‘You went straight down, the night men said. They brought you back here. The apothecary says you should be glad you have a thick skull. Nothing’s broken.’ He smiled. ‘Don’t worry, it’s happened to us all. You’ll be fine in a couple of days.’

  ‘That was brave, though, facing down those two,’ the Constable said. ‘Try and sit up slowly now and have a drink of this.’ He steadied Rob’s arm as he sat, and handed him a mug. ‘It’ll help you sleep in a while. One of the men will see you home.’

  Lister drank, the liquid foul enough to make him gag at first but then welcome in his dry throat, washing it down with some small beer. He stood, taking care to hold on to the bed for balance, and then tried to walk a short way. His skull hurt, his eyes could only make out shapes, and there were still waves of agony, but after a minute they started to gently recede.

  ‘You might never remember any of it,’ Nottingham told him. ‘There’s a few times I’ve lost an hour or more. Don’t worry about it. You just go and rest in your own bed. It’s Sunday, you can sleep it off.’

  ‘Yes, boss.’

  They waited until the door of the jail had close
d before they began planning.

  ‘You want Hughes?’ the Constable asked.

  The deputy nodded, not needing to say a word.

  ‘Right, let’s have him in one of the cells until tomorrow. You need any help?’

  ‘No, I’ll do this myself.’

  Nottingham sighed. ‘Maybe it’s as well someone cracked Rob like that and they all ran off. They probably thought they’d killed him. There’d have been some real blood otherwise.’

  ‘What are you going to do about Worthy, boss?’ the deputy wondered. It was the question the Constable had been asking himself since he’d arrived, dragged from his rest by one of the men hammering on his door.

  ‘I’m not sure yet,’ he answered thoughtfully. ‘Let him stew for a while. The men said he’d been cut.’

  ‘You’re not going to let it go?’

  ‘No, I’m not,’ he replied with certainty. ‘One of my men could have died because of him.’

  Sedgwick said, ‘The lad had me worried for a while there. He was out for a long time.’

  ‘He seems fine now, that’s what matters. We’ll never find out exactly who hit him. Go and get Hughes. I need to go home and then to church.’

  ‘Yes, boss.’

  The sun was up, the sky clear and a pale, even blue. In the grand houses servants were already working, cleaning, preparing for the day, kitchen fires burning, a haze of smoke rising above the chimney pots.

  Mary greeted him with a kiss and some bread and cheese, enough to take the edge off his appetite. Emily was still upstairs, making sure she looked just right in her new outfit, calling urgently for her mother every few minutes for an opinion on this, that or the other.

  Finally he heard her stepping lightly down the stairs and he waited in the living room to see her. The dress was modest, as befitted a teacher, not cut too low, and merely a peek of snowy petticoat at the hem, her hair tucked primly under a clean, pressed cap.

  ‘You look a picture, love,’ he told her proudly and meant every word. He took her hands and kissed her forehead. ‘You’ll make a grand teacher.’

  ‘Assistant,’ she corrected him, but her eyes sparkled as she skittered back to her room.