by Dilly Court
‘Oh!’ Lady Alice pouted prettily. ‘Surely you could go out of your way for me?’
‘I don’t think you understand the situation fully, Alice.’ Raven spoke with a sharp edge in his voice. ‘Falco risked everything when he took me to London. To return there would be foolhardy in the extreme.’
‘I knew it,’ Essie said softly. ‘You are a pirate, Captain Falco.’
He shook his head. ‘No, on my honour, I am not a corsair. On the other hand, I have sometimes flouted the law, just enough to make it impossible for me to remain here a moment longer than necessary.’
‘So there’s a price on your head as well as Raven’s,’ Lady Alice said crossly. ‘And Freddie dare not show his face in this town for fear of being recognised by irate fathers. Is there such a thing as an honest and trustworthy man?’
Essie moved aside as Filomena placed a steaming bowl of pasta, glistening with a rich tomato sauce and studded with basil leaves, on the table in front of her. The savoury aroma made her mouth water and conversation ceased while they ate. The landlord brought wine to the table and this time Falco approved, going so far as to fill a glass for Essie and a small one for Sadie. The alcohol went straight to Essie’s head, and Sadie was nodding off before she had finished her food. Aided by yet another bottle of wine, the tension eased and Falco entertained them with amusing anecdotes, although he could not be persuaded to give them a song. Essie was quick to note that Raven was still troubled, although he was making an effort to be light-hearted. She wondered what had occurred during their visit to the ship, but she was not in a position to ask questions.
She looked from one smiling face to another. ‘Has anyone been upstairs to see Freddie recently?’ she asked pointedly.
There was a brief lull in the conversation and a shaking of heads. Essie stood up and helped Sadie to her feet. ‘I’ll take Sadie upstairs and I’ll check on Freddie.’
Lady Alice frowned. ‘It’s Mr Frederick to you, Esther. Remember your manners.’
‘Nonsense,’ Raven said sharply. ‘We’re all equal here, Alice. We rely on each other and social mores go by the board.’ He turned to Essie with a grateful smile. ‘Thank you, Essie. I’d be much obliged if you would. I’m afraid I forgot the poor chap.’
‘Don’t mention it.’ Essie turned away quickly, afraid that her pink cheeks might be mistaken for a maidenly blush – it was the wine, of course, that had brought colour to her face. She guided Sadie to the staircase, and, having put Sadie to bed, Essie went to Freddie’s room.
He raised himself on one elbow and smiled. ‘You’re the only one who’s bothered to come to see me, Essie. Thank you.’
‘I should have come sooner, but there was the dressmaker and then Falco and Raven came back from the docks.’ She moved closer to the bed. ‘Are you hungry?’
‘Yes, for the first time in weeks I think I could eat a decent meal. If you’d be kind enough to pass me my clothes I’ll get up and join them downstairs.’
She hesitated. ‘Are you sure about that? I could bring you something from the kitchen?’
‘No, I don’t want you to do that. Give me my things and if you’d be kind enough to wait outside the door I might need a steadying hand to negotiate the stairs.’
She picked up his garments and laid them on the bed. ‘I’ll be outside. Just call if you need me.’
Essie left Freddie seated at the table with a plate of food in front of him before returning to her own room where she settled down on the floor, not wanting to disturb Sadie, who was sound asleep. A breeze floated in through the open window, bringing with it the sounds of ships’ hooters and the flapping of canvas against masts and stays. The babble of voices was faint but audible as men lurched out of the inn, some of them bursting into song as they made their way home. It was all in complete contrast to the echoing silence at the monastery, but at least there were no bells to summon the faithful to prayer. Essie closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
She was awakened by someone shaking her. ‘What’s the matter?’ She snapped into a sitting position, stretching her cramped limbs. The floor was not the most comfortable place to sleep.
‘We have to leave now. Get up and get dressed and wake the child. We leave immediately.’
Essie pulled the thin sheet up to her throat, realising that it was Raven who had woken her, and it was not a dream. ‘Why? Where are we going?’
‘Don’t waste time talking. Do as I say.’ He left the room and his footsteps echoed eerily in the silent building.
Essie scrambled to her feet and slipped her gown over her head. The urgency in Raven’s voice spurred her to hurry. She had suspected that all was not well earlier that evening, and now she was certain.
‘Wake up, Sadie. We have to leave the inn now.’
Sadie stirred, moaned and curled up in a foetal position. ‘Go away.’
Essie gave her a shake. ‘I’m not joking. Get up or you’ll be left behind. I don’t know what’s happening, but we have to go.’
Reluctantly, Sadie allowed Essie to help her into her faded frock. They bundled their few possessions in their shawls and went to join the others in the bar. Falco and Raven were there, supporting Freddie, but they had to wait a few minutes for Lady Alice. Even in a crumpled gown, with her hair hanging loose around her shoulders, she managed to look beautiful and elegant. Essie might have been envious had she not been so anxious.
‘What is going on, Raven?’ Essie demanded in a stage whisper. ‘Why are we running away?’
‘We are all here now. We must leave at once.’ Falco opened the door and stepped outside. ‘The coast is clear. Hurry.’
‘Have the fathers in the town discovered that I’m here?’ Freddie asked with a wry grin.
‘Don’t flatter yourself, brother,’ Raven said tersely. ‘Lean on me, Freddie. We’ve got to get to the boat.’
‘Are you taking me to England?’ Lady Alice hurried after them.
‘Are we really going home?’ Sadie asked breathlessly as she tagged on behind Essie.
‘Who knows?’ Essie grabbed her by the hand and broke into a run, following the others as they sped down the hill into the darkness. Quite how they managed to get through the town and onto the Santa Gabriella was something of a miracle, considering that they were challenged outside the docks by men in uniform. Falco spoke to them briefly, and for a few minutes they waited while an official checked through a sheaf of documents, but then, to Essie’s surprise, they were allowed to board the ship. A good head of steam had already been achieved and the crew were waiting to cast off.
‘Just a moment, Falco.’ Lady Alice caught him by the sleeve. ‘I don’t know what this is all about, but I want you to swear that we are on our way back to England.’
He stared down at her small white hand with her fingers clutching the coarse material of his jacket. ‘You know that’s impossible, my lady.’
Essie made a move towards Lady Alice, who was swaying on her feet as if about to faint. ‘Maybe we ought to go below, my lady. Freddie needs you.’
‘Don’t interfere, Esther.’ Lady Alice faced up to Falco. ‘Are you, or are you not taking me home, Falco? I want a straight answer.’
Raven came up behind them and he put his arm round his cousin’s waist. ‘Steady on, Alice. You know we can’t return to England, particularly now. Freddie would be arrested the moment he put foot ashore, as would I, and you’d be in trouble for aiding and abetting. We’re all in this together, even the two girls.’
‘You bastard!’ The words spilled out of Lady Alice’s mouth, more shocking because Essie had never heard her using such language.
Raven merely grinned and dropped a kiss on top of her golden head. ‘I’m sorry, my love, but we’re all bound for the Antipodes, unless you want to stop off in Malta or Cape Town. You could make a life for yourself there for the next two years.’
Lady Alice stared at him in dismay. ‘I don’t believe you’re saying these things, Raven. You can’t expect to take three women to
the penal colony in Victoria. We might not survive the journey.’
‘You are a great deal tougher than you look. I remember you climbing trees and swimming in Lyme Bay when we were young. You were as strong and agile as any of us.’
Freddie laid his hand on her shoulder. ‘I am so sorry, Alice. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on coming with you things might have been different.’
Falco took her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘I apologise, too, my lady. As you can see, I am a wanted man in my native country, and this is partly my fault.’
‘What did you say to those armed men, Captain?’ Essie asked curiously. ‘I thought they were going to arrest all of us.’
‘I told them that my lady is an important English aristocrat, a relative of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, and she must be allowed immunity.’
‘You are a good liar,’ Lady Alice said with a reluctant smile. ‘I admire your nerve and your cool head, but that doesn’t excuse you for bringing me on this rusty old wreck.’
Falco held his hand to his heart. ‘My lady, you’re talking about the woman I love.’
‘This isn’t a game, Falco. You haven’t heard the last of this, you reprobate. You will put me ashore in Malta and find me a vessel to take me home, or I will want to know the reason why.’ Lady Alice stormed off in the direction of her cabin.
‘What’s a reprobate, Essie?’ Sadie whispered.
‘You may well ask.’ Essie stifled a sigh. This promised to be an eventful voyage, over which she had no control. She wanted to go home, but a small part of her was excited by the prospect of travelling to the other side of the world. She had read about the goldfields in Australia and she had seen one of the nuggets that Raven had brought home. It would be so easy to catch gold fever – she could feel it pulsing through her veins – the adventure was about to become even more exciting.
The plan to dock in Malta was abandoned due to a sudden storm, which made landfall impossible, and Falco, having sighted a flotilla of British ships at anchor, refused to sit out the bad weather. He said he was in no hurry to meet up with the Royal Navy, and Raven was eager to get as far away from authority as possible. Lady Alice might have protested volubly, but she was laid low with seasickness, something she denied fiercely, blaming the poor food on board the Santa Gabriella. Sadie was also suffering, but Essie was not affected and it fell to her to act as their nurse.
They put into port in Gibraltar in order to take on supplies. Lady Alice was too weak to even consider going ashore, and she sent Essie to purchase soap, needles and thread and bolts of material, as well as a pair of scissors.
‘I hired you as a seamstress,’ she said curtly. ‘You can show me how clever you are by making me a gown similar to the one I ordered from the woman in Brindisi. I cannot go on with a single change of clothes when we land in Cape Town, and I am determined to get home, one way or another.’
Time was limited as Falco was eager to set sail as soon as the stores were stowed away in the hold and the vessel had taken on coal and fresh water. Even so, Essie managed to purchase all the things on Lady Alice’s list, including some towels and three bolts of cotton print as well as the necessary sewing materials. Then there were the three lace shawls and three straw bonnets that Raven insisted on buying. The prettiest bonnet trimmed with silk roses and a pink bow was for Lady Alice, the other two in plaited straw were for Essie and Sadie. Raven presented them to Essie with a wink and a smile.
‘Alice is learning to be more democratic, but we have to let her down easily. She’ll have a shock when we disembark in Geelong, even more so when we get to Ballarat.’ He shouldered the bolts of material. ‘Come on, Essie. Let’s get back to the ship before Falco sails off without us. You’d think the devil was on his heels.’
Essie fell into step beside him, clutching the wicker basket containing her purchases. ‘But you said we would be put ashore in Cape Town where we could get a passage back to England.’
He gave her a quizzical look. ‘If you think the weather was rough in the Mediterranean, you just wait until we round the Cape. My cousin is a brave woman, but even she might balk at repeating the journey so soon, especially at this time of the year when the storms are at their worst. However, we’ll wait and see. I think Falco might be able to persuade her to stay with us until we reach Australia. You can all travel home from there, or you could stay until I am a free man in two years’ time.’
‘Would you want us to do that?’
‘Why not? There are plenty of women who have stuck it out, mostly because they have no alternative, but there are the wives of the military and a few genuine settlers.’
‘I might find gold for myself,’ Essie said thoughtfully. ‘Then I could go home with enough money to buy a house in a nicer area, and maybe George would come home.’
Raven hitched the heavy bolt of material onto his other shoulder. ‘Tell me about him. What was George like?’
‘Why do you want to know?’
‘Because I do, that’s all. I’m curious about your family background. For instance, what sort of man sends his daughter out into the night, rowing a small craft to meet a stranger from a foreign ship? That stretch of the river is notoriously dangerous.’
Stung by the unfairness of this remark, when Raven knew that the reason she had been sent out was because of her father’s injury, Essie glared at him. ‘You know why I had to do Pa’s work. He wouldn’t have let me go out at night on my own in the normal run of things.’
Raven shrugged and quickened his pace. ‘If you say so, Essie.’
She would have hurried after him, but she was still annoyed by his criticism of Pa, who was not a model father, but he did love her in his own way. Life had been hard since Ma died and George had left home. In his continued absence it was Essie who had had to be housekeeper and general helper. It had done her no harm and, if anything, it had made her more independent.
Back on board, Essie leaned on the ship’s rail, gazing out to sea as they started to make headway, and yet again she was in awe of the magnificence of the ocean and its mighty power. The crew had set the sails and they were scudding along, and, yet again, dolphins were playing in the bow waves. It was a sight that never failed to thrill and excite her as she watched the playful animals cavorting and streaming along as if life was good and filled with fun. Surely there was a lesson to be learned from such beautiful creatures. Essie turned with a start as someone tapped her on the shoulder and her feeling of euphoria evaporated.
‘Lady Alice wants you,’ Sadie muttered, gazing down at the white-crested waves with a green tinge to her pale skin. ‘I want to go home, Essie.’
‘And so you shall, all in good time.’ Essie turned away from the view and wrapped her arms around Sadie’s skinny body in a warm hug. ‘Maybe we’ll be put ashore in Cape Town. I know that’s what Lady Alice wants, in spite of what Raven says.’
‘Do you really think so?’ Sadie gazed at her with tears in her eyes. ‘Will they let us go back to London?
‘I hope so, but let’s get you back to the cabin and then I’ll attend to her ladyship.’ Essie guided her to the companionway. ‘I’m going to speak to Raven and Falco. I won’t allow them to treat us like children. They must put us ashore and arrange our passage home.’
Chapter Nine
Despite her bold words, Essie did not find it easy to pin Raven down, and the same went for Falco, who was charming and urbane, but refused to be drawn on their immediate plans. During a period of calm seas and light winds Lady Alice began to recover from her bout of mal de mer, and Freddie was getting stronger every day. Essie found herself with spare time and she tried her hand at dressmaking. Sadie was her model and Essie’s first attempt left much to be desired, but Sadie was delighted with the result and wore the frock with pride. Essie used the experience to create a gown for Lady Alice, and this time she was much happier with the end product. Lady Alice was grudging with her praise, but she brightened perceptibly when Raven and Falco complimented her on
her appearance. Essie’s final attempt before they reached Cape Town was to make a skirt and blouse for herself, but the weather had deteriorated and the Santa Gabriella pitched and tossed on wild waves, making it almost impossible to thread a needle, let alone sew a straight seam. Lady Alice retired to her cabin once again and succumbed to another bout of seasickness.
They put into Cape Town battered and bruised after rounding the Cape, but Lady Alice did not ask to be put ashore. She was pale and weak after a long bout of sickness and unusually compliant. Essie had expected tears and tantrums when Falco said that they would be stopping only to take on fresh food and water, and there was no question of staying in port long enough to arrange their passage home. Raven backed him up, as did Freddie, and, faced with such strong opposition, Lady Alice gave up without a fight. Essie was surprised, but secretly relieved. As the days went by she had been dreaming of striking gold and now they were well on their way to Australia she could think of little else.
As before, the food was awful and Lady Alice complained about every meal. In the end it was Freddie who came to the rescue. He invaded the tiny ship’s galley and ousted the cook, who was only too willing to accept other duties.
‘But, Freddie, you don’t know how to cook.’ Lady Alice stared down at her plate in disbelief as they sat in the saloon at suppertime.
Essie sniffed appreciatively. The pasta had been tossed in olive oil with the addition of dried herbs, fresh tomatoes and grated cheese. ‘This smells wonderful, Freddie.’
‘Where did you learn to do this?’ Raven demanded, staring at his plateful of food in disbelief.
‘I was on my own for four years,’ Freddie said, shrugging. ‘I couldn’t afford to eat in the cafés and bars all the time, so I had to learn how to feed myself, and then I found that I enjoyed cooking and the father of one of my lady friends taught me how to make pasta.’
