‘We’ll have to archive the old code then,’ Richard said.
‘A nuisance, I agree.’ Peregrine looked at her directly. ‘Should this rhyme unlock the wording on the statue, you will have earned your pardon, my dear.’
His words consumed all the air in her lungs. Oh, to be free.
She glanced at Richard and her exhilaration died. If she left the Nest, she would never see him again. He would go undercover on another mission and she would go — where? Back to Fencarrow?
Peregrine stood up. ‘May I have the rhyme? I’ll go to Deal tomorrow and put Mallard on it straight away.’
‘Certainly.’ She gave him the wedge of paper.
‘And in the meantime,’ he added, ‘I’ll arrange for a woman to attend you every day.’
‘No need for that sir,’ Richard said. ‘I’ll look after Adeline.’
Peregrine’s eyes narrowed. ‘That is not accepted protocol.’
‘I know sir but we both need to rest and Eugene and I can see she has everything she needs.’
Peregrine considered. ‘In this instance I will make an allowance. The accommodation has been paid and I will send you the money owed for this mission. As soon as the doctor says Adeline can comfortably be moved, I’ll expect you all back in Deal to finalize matters.’
‘Thank you, sir.’ Richard smiled. ‘You may rely on me to organize everything.’
‘I have no doubt of your skills, Finch.’ Peregrine clapped him on the shoulder and glanced back at Eugene. ‘I expect to hear you speaking our native tongue by the time I see you again.’
Eugene grinned and replied in passable English, ‘Goodbye, sir.’
Everyone laughed and Peregrine left the room, a smile on his face.
Richard came over and sat in the chair Peregrine had vacated. ‘How are you feeling? I was surprised to find you talking so freely.’
She settled further into the bed. ‘I admit I’m still tired. But my arms and legs are slowly gaining strength.’
He reached over and smoothed back a lock of hair from her forehead. ‘I’m pleased to hear it because I’ve got an idea.’
‘Are we going to bring Adeline downstairs?’ Eugene asked, leaning companionably against Richard’s arm.
‘When she’s stronger. But I have another idea I think she will like just as well.’
Adeline glanced at the teasing light in Richard’s eyes. ‘Will you get to the point?’ she said with a laugh.
He chuckled and the sound lifted her spirits. ‘Before we head back to Deal, I think we should visit your family.’
The laughter died in her throat. She longed to see them again. Particularly Papa. But that look on Daniel’s face — ‘The villagers might arrest me and take me to the local magistrate. Daniel and his men think I betrayed them to the revenue officers.’
‘You didn’t,’ Richard said.
‘But they think I did and I’ve seen them turn on traitors before.’
‘But don’t you want to see your parents again?’
‘More than anything. But if that rhyme isn’t what Peregrine thinks, I won’t get my pardon. And he’ll be furious if we expose our identities to the village. He’ll probably threaten us with another mission to France.’
‘He wouldn’t do that. He’s a man of compassion, no matter what you think.’
‘He shows it in strange ways. He practically kidnapped me into the Nest.’ She shook her head. ‘No, going back to Fencarrow puts us all in danger.’
‘You won’t be at peace until you see your father,’ Richard pointed out. ‘Think about that.’
She wriggled in the bed, spasms of pain shooting through her abdomen. How did Richard know her so well? Or did he understand from his own experience that missing someone, even temporarily, eats away at a person’s mind? She looked at him from under her brows. ‘It’s true. I do want to see Papa again. I want to explain that I went smuggling for him.’ She plucked at the bedding. ‘Richard, if you had heard him you would have done the same.’
Richard gazed out the window for a long time, thinking, then finally said, ‘If you’re worried about the villagers then we can sneak into Fencarrow at night, without anyone seeing us.’
‘You’d be prepared to risk that for me?’
He smiled at her tenderly. ‘I’d be prepared to do a lot for you, Adeline. You saved my life and I’m more grateful than I can say.’
Tears pricked the back of her eyes. He said the sweetest things although he did not owe her anything. She would have swum a thousand oceans to see him safe.
‘What about me?’ Eugene piped up. ‘Do I get to go too?’
‘Of course,’ she said with a watery smile. ‘You’re a spy’s assistant after all. We must stick together.’
She rather thought he enjoyed being an assistant because a wide smile broke out on his face.
‘That’s good,’ he said, ‘because I want to hear the brown owl in the pine tree.’
She grinned. He’d remembered her stories.
Richard squeezed her hand. ‘Rest now. I’ll see that Eugene stays occupied and I’ll be back in a little while to see how you are.’
Eugene leaned over and gave her a gentle hug. ‘Get better soon.’
His smell, so dear to her now, washed over her and she swallowed down a lump in her throat. Peregrine must make him part of the Nest’s agents. With his drawing skills he would be useful for map making or helping Mallard with codes. Anything other than putting him in an orphanage. She’d fight Peregrine with every breath in her body should that happen.
She watched him leave with Richard. Eugene was everything she had once hoped for in a child …
A sob caught and ratcheted through her chest. Her life hadn’t turned out as she’d imagined. But on the slight breeze through the window she thought she heard her Papa’s voice.
Have faith, Adeline.
Chapter Twenty-One
Adeline crept through the gorse, steadily climbing towards her parents’ cottage. It had been eight weeks since the wreck of the Sagiterre and her injury had healed sufficiently to make this journey, one she had dreamed about for so long.
Behind her came Richard and Eugene, navigating the moonlit darkness like predatory owls. When they reached the path to the door she slowed. ‘I should go in alone.’
‘We should go together,’ Richard said firmly. ‘Just in case there’s trouble.’
It was strange that she should feel nervous returning home. Everything looked the same and yet it wasn’t. The cottage, the headland beyond and the sound of the sea were all familiar but somehow they seemed smaller and unimportant.
She drew in a breath and walked up the path, Eugene and Richard a little way behind her. She hesitated, then for the first time in her life, knocked on the door.
The inside latch lifted and the door opened. Mama stared at her, her eyes flaring, as if something unpleasant had landed on the doorstep. ‘Adeline? What are you doing here?’
Adeline’s stomach dipped. ‘What do you mean? I live here.’
Mama’s lips pursed and she was about to say something when she noticed Richard and Eugene. ‘Who are these people?’
Adeline glanced sideways and Richard gave her an encouraging nod. ‘These are my friends. May we please come in?’
Mama sniffed but some ingrained hospitality made her stand back ungraciously. They entered into the living area, lit with the warm glow of the weed-stoked fire. To one side of the hearth stood an opened sack of seaweed she’d collected weeks ago and on the other side sat Rosalie. Her fair hair was plaited in a new pattern and piled upon her head in a style that made her look older and more self-assured.
‘Hello, Rosalie. This is Mr. … Finch and Eugene.’
Rosalie stood up, her face shocked and defensive. ‘I never expected to see you again.’
Adeline’s eyes darted to the calico curtain that divided the living area from her parents’ room. ‘I had my doubts that I would return but I’m here now. How is Papa?’
Ma
ma sat on a stool near the fire. She did not offer them a seat. ‘William died two weeks ago. He’s buried at the church as he wanted.’
The words lashed her like a thrashing rope, burning and searing their way into her mind.
‘No — that can’t be true.’
‘Adeline, it —’
She dashed across to the curtain and flung it wide. The room beyond lay empty, the bed made up neatly with the quilts she’d helped to stitch. And in the air, a forlorn stillness.
She buried her face in her hands, the ache in her chest so fierce she could hardly swallow. Oh, Papa. He hadn’t waited for her and she had so much she wanted to tell him. Now she never would.
Footsteps sounded behind her. ‘Adeline, come away now.’
Richard’s hands came around her shoulders and he led her back to the fire where Eugene crouched uncomfortably, his hands to the warmth. ‘Mrs. Perran, could you please get Adeline a drink. She’s had a nasty shock.’
Mama opened her mouth to refuse but caught Richard’s unrelenting eye. On a sour grimace she got to her feet and poured a glass of water.
‘Tell me about it,’ Adeline whispered, her mouth trembling.
Mama gave her the water and resumed her seat with a sigh. ‘William coughed and coughed that bad that I had to get Mrs. Nance to him.’
She said it as though it were Papa’s fault that she’d been put to so much trouble.
‘Mrs. Nance tried all sorts of potions,’ Rosalie added, ‘including her special cabbage poultice but Papa went downhill fast.’ Her mouth drooped. ‘He lost a lot of weight and towards the end we could see his ribs under his skin.’
Adeline closed her eyes and tried to picture it. Poor Papa. To be delivered into Mrs. Nance’s incompetent hands. ‘Did no-one get Dr. Vickery?’
‘Of course we did,’ Mama said on a huff. ‘Well at the end anyway but he said things had gone too far. William was beyond help.’
Rage burst through her veins like a snarling demon. If she’d retrieved that keg in time to buy him the medicines he needed, he might still be alive. ‘Did he ask for me? At the end?’
A look passed between Mama and Rosalie.
‘What?’ Adeline demanded, looking from one to the other. ‘Tell me.’
‘It was odd,’ Rosalie murmured. ‘The day before he died he said you would find your way. That all you had to do was follow the stars.’
A log settled in the hearth and the fire flared orange and yellow, the sparks hissing up the chimney in a spray of light.
‘He said I have to follow the stars?’ Adeline whispered.
‘He was raving,’ said Mama dismissively. ‘Mrs. Nance said to ignore him.’
‘Daniel said he saw something similar to Papa’s condition two years ago,’ Rosalie added. ‘Another fisherman in Polperro.’
She stared at her sister. ‘Daniel’s been here while I’ve been gone? He helped you with Papa?’
Rosalie blushed. ‘He has been here.’ She seemed about to say more when Mama cut in.
‘Of course he’s been here. Rosalie’s had the honor of accepting his hand in marriage.’
Adeline took in the look of triumph on both her mother and Rosalie’s face. ‘That is … that is wonderful.’
A strange numbness followed by an overwhelming relief gathered in her chest. No wonder Daniel had appeared shocked at the sight of her. It must have been difficult for him to reconcile his feelings for her with those he had for Rosalie.
‘He’ll make you a lovely husband,’ she said, trying to bridge the gap between courtesy and surprise.
Rosalie’s brow arched in a proprietary manner. ‘Aren’t you upset?’ A victorious question that nonetheless sought acceptance.
Adeline shook her head on a slight smile. ‘I realized months ago that Daniel wasn’t the man for me.’
‘No he’s too good for you,’ Mama said. ‘And when he saw what you’d done he didn’t care for you any longer.’
Adeline’s heart hardened. ‘I didn’t betray him to the revenue officers. They just happened to be near Fencarrow.’
‘He said they called you by name,’ Mama snapped. ‘It’s beyond belief that I’m associated with a traitor.’
The word traitor sliced through the air and Adeline sucked in a breath, stung by the nasty expression on her mother’s face.
‘Mrs. Perran,’ Richard said firmly, his deep voice filling the room, ‘your daughter has behaved magnificently. She saved my life and the life of this boy.’
Eugene, who didn’t understand a word of what was being said, sat on the floor and played jacks with a few small stones.
‘That’s good of you, Adeline,’ Mama conceded, as though Adeline had done nothing more than rescue a missing cat.
‘She battled terrible seas and dragged us both to safety,’ Richard persisted. ‘I’m sure her father would have been proud of her.’
‘William was not her father.’
A stone bounced off Eugene’s boot and in the silence she heard it rattle across the floor.
‘What are you saying?’ Adeline whispered. ‘Papa is … was my father.’
‘He wasn’t,’ Mama said. ‘William married me when I found myself with child. He took pity on me and swore to raise you as his own.’
Adeline’s mind exploded and she glared furiously at Mama. ‘I don’t believe you. You’ve only said that to upset me.’
‘It’s the truth, Adeline.’ Her mother’s voice rang with sincerity — and underneath, an element of shame.
Adeline’s vision wavered as the knowledge seeped into her soul. Had her mother had an amorous suitor? A dalliance? The thought sat strangely with her.
‘Who’ — she halted on an aching breath — ‘who then is my father?’
Mama’s mouth thinned. ‘A sailor aboard the ship I came to England on. I don’t know his name or where he is, and I don’t care to. He … took advantage.’
Mother of Mary. She was the unwanted, unloved child of rape. She hung her head and breathed out, shallow breaths that did not reach her chest. That would explain the near drowning when she was six, the lack of care, the indifference.
Pain burned through her chest like a red-hot poker as she recalled all the years she’d tried to please her mother. The constant errands, the weed cutting, the trips to market. All for naught. Her mother would never love her.
‘Why tell me now? Didn’t Papa want me to know?’
Mama looked at her in exasperation. ‘For some reason he cared for you. He didn’t want to see you hurt or rejected by others.’
No, only her mother had done that. Papa had never treated her differently to Rosalie in his affections. How noble he’d been to take on and love the child of another man, and how difficult it must have been for Mama to love her under such circumstances. She understood — but she couldn’t forget or unbend for all the injustices she’d suffered.
‘Adeline,’ Rosalie said, her words creeping into the quietness. ‘I didn’t know either until after Papa died. Mama told me, and when Daniel found out … well, he said he couldn’t marry you. That’s why he proposed to me and I accepted. I love him and I thought you were never coming back.’
‘You love, Daniel?’ Adeline gaped. ‘It’s been only a few months since I left.’
Rosalie flushed. ‘Even so, I love him dearly and I think we are well suited.’
Adeline took in her sister’s sprigged muslin dress, so different from her robust dark blue serge. Rosalie would be a dainty, traditional wife who would submit to Daniel’s lead in all things. Perhaps Daniel had made a wiser choice after all. ‘When is the wedding?’
‘In the summer. We must observe the mourning period for Papa first.’
She could see it now. The wedding dress, the flowers and the congregation in the little church she’d prayed in every Sunday. A dream she’d never had.
Adeline looked at Eugene who had given up on the jacks and fallen asleep in a corner. Richard had covered him with his jacket and the sight of that nearly undid her. Her
mother had never shown her the love Richard showed to Eugene. It brought home more than ever that if she got her pardon, she couldn’t return to live here. Rosalie would be making a new home with Daniel and staying with her mother would be unbearable.
But where could she go? She hadn’t earned any money from the mission to afford a new lodging and staying with someone else in the village wasn’t an option. Maybe she would have to return to the Nest.
The impossibility of her situation struck her hard and on a choked breath, she rushed out of the cottage. Blindly she headed towards the headland and the hazel tree. It had always been her place of refuge.
The night shone bright and clear with a full moon and a thousand twinkling stars above her. She hurried along the coastal track and pushed through the gorse until she stood on the far point of the hill, under the hazel tree’s arching branches. Far below the ocean swelled at the base of the rugged cliffs. Further around, the moonlight shone on the white crest of the waves as they rolled into the little cove.
It seemed so long ago that she had stood here and made the decision to row out to the stricken French cutter. And she understood now what she hadn’t grasped earlier. Her home was the same as it had always been. It was she who had changed.
Papa, dear sweet Papa. She would never think of him as anything other than her father. He had been the guiding light in her life and he’d slipped away without her hand in his.
Regret, deep and dark, stormed within her and tears trekked down her face. She’d lost everything. Her father. Her mother. Her home.
‘Adeline!’ Richard came hurrying through the bushes, his footsteps hardly registering on the sandy soil.
She quickly dashed a hand across her eyes and turned towards the sea. He did not need to see her misery.
‘Adeline, I’m sorry,’ he said when he reached her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her close to his chest.
His warmth on her back was welcome and for several long moments neither of them spoke. The birds and insects, which usually rustled in the undergrowth, were silent and only the constant sound of the waves breaking on the reef below, disturbed the hushed, night time quiet. Somehow it seemed as if the entire world held its breath, waiting.
An Unwilling Spy Page 24
