by Dilly Court
EDMUND HAD GENEROUSLY put a suitable mount at Kate’s disposal, although she had not so far ventured out on her own. One of the under grooms saddled the animal for her without question and she was barely able to conceal her relief as she rode out of the stable yard. She took the back lanes, avoiding the main road as much as possible as she did not want to be seen and give rise to even more gossip. Edmund would find out soon enough that she had disobeyed him, but she did not care. Her need to discover more about her parents was greater than her fear of censure. She simply had to see the old gypsy woman, who might not reveal anything more than she had at the hiring fair, but it was worth a try. She flicked the reins and encouraged the horse to canter.
She could smell the scent of woodsmoke from the camp fires long before she saw the caravans and the sturdy piebald ponies grazing at the roadside. As she rode into the encampment, Kate was aware of curious glances from the Romany folk, but no one approached her. She dismounted and tethered her horse to a fencepost. A small child was watching her and Kate went up to her, smiling. ‘I am looking for a woman called Zolfina. Do you know her, little girl?’
The child turned and ran towards a woman who had just stepped down from one of the vans. ‘Excuse me,’ Kate called out. ‘Can you tell me where to find the woman Zolfina? I must speak to her.’
The gypsy came slowly towards her. ‘I saw you at the hiring fair. You are so like your mother, it gave me quite a turn.’
Kate’s breath hitched in her throat. ‘You were with the gypsy woman who told me about my real mother.’
She came closer. ‘Yes, I am her daughter. My name is Dena, and you are Katherine.’
‘You must have known my mother. I’m desperate to know more about her.’
‘Come to the vardo,’ Dena said, beckoning to her. ‘We can speak privately inside.’ Without waiting for a reply, she led the way with Kate following close on her heels.’
The inside was spotlessly clean and Kate was amazed to see how much could be stowed in such a small space. Dena motioned her to take a seat.
‘Please tell me all you know.’ Kate sank down on the padded bench as her knees suddenly refused to support her. Her hands were damp and her pulses racing. ‘My mother – who was she? Please tell me everything you know about her.’
‘I know very little, except that she was a lady and her name was Clara. You must understand that she was in a bad way when my mother found her by the Winterbourne river. Who knows what the poor lady had been through, or why she was wandering alone in her condition.’
‘She must have told you something. Her surname, for instance?’
Dena’s lips curved in a wry smile. ‘You have never given birth. It is not the time for making small talk. She was very weak and I think she knew that the end was near.’
Kate’s throat constricted and she swallowed hard. ‘Did she know that she had a daughter?’
‘She held you in her arms, and she asked my mother to bless and name you. She wanted you to be called Katherine, after her own mother.’
‘And my father? Did she tell you who he was?’
‘Your father was called Alexander. He was an army officer, and he was killed in the Crimea. They were not married, but I think that, according to your customs, they were engaged.’ Dena went to open a small wooden cupboard. She took something out of a box and laid it in her palm, holding her hand out to Kate. ‘This was on her finger. She begged my mother to keep it for you, and we have honoured her dying wish. I knew that one day you would come to claim it.’
Kate took the ring, hardly able to believe that she held something which had once belonged to her mother. She could barely focus on the heart-shaped emerald surrounded by fiery diamonds. Her eyes misted with tears. ‘This was hers?’
‘It was the only thing of value she possessed. She slipped away soon afterwards, but peacefully and with your father’s name on her lips.’
Kate slid the ring onto her finger. ‘I feel so close to her that I can almost see her.’
Dena angled her head. ‘As I said before, you are very like her.’
‘Such a sad and lonely end.’ Kate kissed the ring. ‘My poor mother.’
‘In a way she was lucky,’ Dena said bitterly. ‘My mother brought you into the world shortly after my own child was born. My baby was taken from me when she was less than a day old.’ She covered her face with her hands. ‘I still feel the pain of it. I wished that I could lie down next to Clara and join her in the world of the spirits. I did not want to live on without my little girl.’
‘But you did, Mother. You survived and lived on to become queen of the Roma.’
Kate turned her head and saw Josie standing in the doorway. ‘Josie! I can’t believe it. What are you doing here?’
Josie smiled. ‘As you see, I have joined my people. I have discovered my roots, Kate. I always knew that I was different, but I did not understand why. Now I do. I am more my mother’s daughter than I am my father’s child.’
‘Then Sir Joseph really is your father?’ Kate stared at her in disbelief; she could hardly take in Josie’s altered appearance. Her long, dark hair hung loose around her shoulders and framed her oval face. She wore a simple gown of dark green calico with a brightly coloured crocheted shawl wrapped around her shoulders, and she looked happier than she had in a long while.
‘I was very young,’ Dena said swiftly. ‘He was like a god to me in those days, and I gave myself to him willingly. I thought I was in love, but I have paid dearly for my folly. Now I have my first born back again, and my life is full once more.’
Kate leapt to her feet and threw her arms around Josie. ‘Oh, Josie. I am so happy for you, but – I thought you and Harry …’
Josie’s dark eyes brimmed with remorse. ‘I am so sorry, Kate. I lied to you again and again. I don’t deserve your friendship.’
‘I thought you had gone to him. You told me that you were getting married.’
‘Lies, Kate. It was all lies. Well, most of it anyway.’
‘He didn’t propose to you?’
‘I tricked him into it. He never wanted me. I knew that he was in love with you but I allowed him to think you were a wanton and had run away with Sam, and when he discovered that was a lie I told him you had gone to live with the squire. I admit it all, my dear. I was an evil person then. I sent Sam away from me, even though it broke my heart, and I was mad with grief. I barely knew what I was doing, and I wanted you and Harry to suffer as I was suffering. Can you ever forgive me?’
Kate sat down again, dazed and hardly able to believe what she was hearing. ‘You were my friend, Josie. How could you do such a thing to me?’
Dena poured some dark liquid into a cup and thrust it into Kate’s hands. ‘Drink this, child. It is a cordial made from herbs and roots; it will not harm you. It will revive your spirits. Don’t be too hard on Josie; she has suffered too.’
Kate sipped the sweet but slightly bitter brew and found it surprisingly refreshing. She put the cup down on the table, giving herself time to gather her scattered wits. ‘I do forgive you, Josie. But if what you say is true and Harry loves me, why did he just take your word for it? If he truly loved me, wouldn’t he have tried to win me?’
Josie’s eyes filled with tears and her lips trembled. ‘He thought that you were beyond his reach, and it was all my doing.’
Kate closed her eyes in an attempt to blot out Harry’s face. ‘He is still engaged to you, Josie.’
‘You must go to him,’ Josie said, taking both Kate’s hands in hers. ‘Go to Copperstone and tell him that everything I said was untrue. Tell him that I’ve run away to be with my own people and that I release him from his promise to marry me.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Kate cried, snatching her hands away. ‘How could I face Harry after the lies you told him about me, and why would he believe me anyway? That is the most stupid thing you’ve ever said.’
‘If you’re too cowardly to take the initiative, don’t blame me if you never see him again.’
&nb
sp; ‘Sometimes I almost hate you, Josie.’
‘Stop.’ Dena stepped in between them. ‘Squabbling like two little girls won’t help. If anyone should speak to him it is you, Josie. You made the mischief and you should make amends for your cruel lies.’
Josie threw up her hands and laughed. ‘My mother is my conscience, Kate. I expect she is right. I will think about it, but first there is something that you can do for me.’
‘You have a strong streak of Damerell in you, my child,’ Dena said, pursing her lips. ‘I fear that you are more like your father than you are like me. But I will leave you to sort this matter out between you.’ She nodded to Kate as she left the vardo, giving Josie a stern look as she went.
‘It’s true,’ Josie said, shrugging her shoulders. ‘I am more like Joseph than I would care to admit, but I am not a bad person. I will ride to Copperstone, Kate, and I will confess my sins to Harry …’
‘No, don’t do that.’ Kate shook her head. ‘I was born out of wedlock, and I know now that I have no hope of discovering the true identities of my poor parents. I am not a fit bride for a man in his position.’
‘I won’t have that. You are a far better person than I.’
Kate smiled reluctantly. ‘Squire Westwood has made it clear that my birth makes it impossible for a respectable man to marry me, although he is prepared to make an exception in my case.’
‘I heard that you were living at the Grange,’ Josie said with a roguish smile. ‘You aren’t going to marry that old man, are you?’
‘I don’t want to, but what choice do I have? Thanks to Sir Joseph and the man I thought was my father, I can’t get work because they have spread it around that I am part gypsy and might curse them. Then I have Molly to consider. She is still little more than a child, and I owe it to Sam to take care of her. If I marry the squire we will have a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs.’
‘And you will have his two horrible daughters to make your life a misery. Don’t do it, Kate.’
‘What would you have me do? Run away with the gypsies like you?’
‘No, but there must be another way.’
‘If there is I cannot think of one, Josie. Perhaps I am a coward, too afraid to face a life of poverty, but the squire is a good man and he says he loves me.’
‘You must do what you think best, but I’m of the opinion that you ought to go to Copperstone and tell Harry everything. You love him as much as I love Sam – loved Sam.’ She broke off on a sob.
‘Why did you send him away, Josie?’
‘Because I was a fool and I put money and status above everything. I was wrong, so very wrong. I said dreadful things to him. I deliberately hurt and humiliated him and I hate myself for it.’
‘Then you must seek him out and tell him just that.’
‘Don’t you think I haven’t thought about that? I went to Weymouth just last week and had doors slammed in my face. They are suspicious of gypsy folk and no one would tell me anything.’ Josie eyed Kate thoughtfully. ‘I couldn’t get any information out of the townsfolk, but you might be able to learn something. They wouldn’t turn you away.’
‘I wouldn’t know where to start.’
‘You could speak to the masters of vessels in the harbour. You could go into the taverns and alehouses to make enquiries.’
‘Edmund would be horrified if he found out that I had gone into places like that on my own.’
‘You sound as though you are already married. I thought you had more spirit, Kate.’
‘My life is already difficult enough without you adding to it,’ Kate said angrily, but she relented when she saw Josie’s downcast expression. ‘Perhaps we could do it together. If you’ve kept some of your old clothes and dress as you used to no one would link you with the gypsies.’
Josie beamed at her. ‘Why didn’t I think of that? I still have the garments I wore when I left home. You were always the cleverest one, Kate. We’ll go into Weymouth together. It’s market day tomorrow and we can mingle with the crowds.’
‘I’ll help you, but only if you promise that you will make no attempt to speak to Harry on my behalf. You should release him from your engagement and let him find a bride from his own class. He’ll forget about me, if he has not done so already.’
‘And you will marry the squire and regret it for the rest of your life.’
‘He’s a kind man, Josie. He’s offered me everything, and I, as his wretched daughters pointed out, am no one. I don’t even have a name. You at least have found your mother and now you have a family and an identity. I really am a nobody. Harry was right in the first instance.’
‘I have half a dozen half-brothers and sisters now, but none that I love more than you.’ Josie linked her arm through Kate’s. ‘Before you go, you must meet them. Tomorrow we will seek news of Sam, and if I ever see him again, I’ll go down on my knees and beg him to forgive me.’
‘You won’t need to. He’ll take one look at you and all will be well.’ Kate smiled, stifling a sigh. If only her own future looked so rosy.
Next day, they rode into Weymouth together. Josie wore her black velvet riding habit and a top hat with a lace veil. The moment she put it on she seemed to Kate to become a different person and her free spirit was instantly tamed. She was once again Miss Josephine Damerell of Damerell Manor, but despite her prim exterior, her sparkling eyes gave her away. She could not conceal the fact that she was in high spirits, and bubbling with excitement at the prospect of hearing news of Sam. Kate was a little more circumspect. Her own life seemed much more complex than Josie’s relatively free existence with the gypsies.
After her visit to the Romany camp the previous day, Kate had managed to slip into the Grange unnoticed, and she did not seem to have been missed. Only Molly knew where she had been, and her eyes had widened in shock when Kate told her that she had found Josie living with the Romany people, although she had omitted any mention of Sam’s name. It would be too cruel to raise Molly’s hopes if their mission to find him was unsuccessful.
Kate had seen Edmund briefly at breakfast that morning and she had sought his permission to go riding, although he had been insistent that she should not go too far from home, and that she must be accompanied by a groom. She had nodded her head in a vague acknowledgement of his wishes, but his proprietorial attitude did not bode well for their future together. She had had a sudden vision of herself as his young bride. He would be kind and considerate, but his affection for her might prove to be cloying and overpowering. She would be the virtual prisoner of his overprotective love.
She had left the table as soon as she had bolted down a few mouthfuls of toast, which she had not wanted, but Edmund had insisted that she must eat more if she was to undertake vigorous exercise. For a horrible moment she had thought he was going to accompany her to the stables, but he had not, and she had made her escape, riding out alone to meet Josie on the road to Weymouth.
When they reached the town, they left their horses in a livery stable and continued on foot, going first to the harbour where they questioned the captains of every vessel that was moored alongside, without success. They knocked on the doors of lodging houses in the area frequented by sailors, and then they tried the taverns on the harbour side, but no one seemed to have heard of Sam Loveday. Then, just when they were about to give up, Josie was leaning against the window of a pawnshop in a side street, when Kate glanced over her shoulder and uttered a muffled cry. ‘Look at that billycock hat, Josie. I know there must be hundreds of them much the same, but I could swear that that one belonged to Sam.’ She pointed at the jay’s feather stuck in the hatband. ‘I remember the time he found it.’
Josie peered through the green-tinged window glass. ‘I suppose it could be Sam’s hat, but I’d no idea he’d kept the silly feather.’
‘No, you were always too bound up in your own affairs to think much about Sam. You took his devotion for granted, never giving a thought to his feelings.’ Noting the startled look in Josie’s eye
s, Kate bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry, but it is true. You always were a spoilt little madam, Josie.’
‘I expect you’re right, but never mind that now. I’m going inside to find out who pawned that hat and when. If Sam is desperate for money I must do something about it.’ Josie barged through the shop door, leaving Kate to follow her.
A gaunt man, dressed completely in black, appeared through a curtain at the back of the shop. ‘What can I do for you, young ladies?’ He gave them a calculating look. ‘Do you want to pawn a keepsake? Or those fine kid gloves, for instance?’
Josie shook her head. ‘There is a billycock hat in the window. Do you remember who left it with you?’
A glimmer of cunning flickered in his beady eyes. ‘I might, or I might not, miss. What is it to you, anyway?’
Kate put her hand in her pocket and took out a silver florin. ‘Will this help you to remember?’
He pocketed the coin. ‘It might. Do you want to buy the hat?’
Josie edged Kate out of the way and she leaned across the counter, speaking in a confidential whisper. ‘I think that the man who pawned this might be my maid’s brother. He went to sea and nothing has been heard of him for weeks. The poor girl is out of her mind with worry.’
Kate took out her last sixpence and pressed it into his hand. He gave her a gap-toothed grin. ‘I do remember him, as it happens. Sam Loveday rented one of me rooms upstairs for a couple of days afore he found a ship. Bad business that.’
‘What do you mean?’ Josie demanded breathlessly.
‘A coffin ship, that’s what everyone said the Kimmeridge was, but the fellow couldn’t get another berth and he was in urgent need of money. The ship was bound for Guernsey with a cargo of coal. She went down with all hands in a terrible storm. No one was saved.’
Kate stifled a cry of horror, but her first concern was for Josie who had paled alarmingly and was swaying on her feet, staring at the pawnbroker in stricken silence. Kate took her by the arm. ‘It might not be Sam, Josie. He might not have been on board that ship, and anyway he’s a strong swimmer. Even if he was part of the crew, he might have swum to safety.’
