by Anna Jacobs
Every time the train stopped, sellers crowded round the windows trying to force goods and trinkets upon them. The men were dressed in baggy trousers, many wearing a type of hat like a flower pot. Mr Plumley called it a fez.
Zachary bought Pandora a painted fan from a seller who had a whole basket of them, and chose one for himself at the same time, thinking he’d give it to Hallie when he got back. He bought his mother a pretty shawl, so fine and light it’d be useless for keeping warm, but the blue would match her eyes and he knew she’d treasure it even if she never wore it.
When he showed the shawl to Pandora, who was waving her new fan languidly to and fro in front of her flushed face, she said he had very good taste.
‘They were all pretty, but blue is my mother’s favourite colour.’
‘How do they make the material so fine and transparent?’ she wondered. ‘What count of thread must they be using? And the dyes – they’re gorgeous.’
‘Would you like a shawl?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘What colour?’
‘You choose.’
So he found one in a deep rose pink, whose fabric glimmered as he held it up to show her.
She touched it with tears in her eyes. ‘It’s beautiful. Oh, Zachary, I’m so sorry.’
‘Sorry for what?’
‘That I’m exhausted and lethargic all the time. I can’t understand why I don’t get better.’
‘Mr Plumley says some people are like that in the heat and I’m to keep you in England from now on.’
‘Oh, yes. Even to see my family, I don’t think I can face this journey again. How my father would scold me and tell me to pull myself together! But Zachary I’m trying and I just can’t!’
‘I know.’ He took her hand, held it in his until the train set off again, chatted until he got her to smile, and counted the sightseeing well lost for the pleasure of being with her.
At least in Alexandria it wasn’t as hot and Pandora began to look a little better, didn’t have to be coaxed to eat and agreed to go out to see something of the city.
There was a new tram system which their guide took them for a ride on. He was clearly more proud of this than of the antiquities.
‘Very modern city,’ he kept telling them. ‘Very modern.’
Cassandra was woken during the night by a sharp pain. She waited, wondering if the baby was coming. Surely not? It’d been very quiet lately, not moving about nearly as much, and she’d begun to feel that she’d be able to last until Mrs Moore could come to help her with the birth, which would be a great relief.
Several pains later she shook Reece’s shoulder. ‘I think the baby’s coming.’
He sat up abruptly. ‘Hell! And Mrs Moore won’t be able to come for another couple of days.’ He swung his legs out of bed and went to light the candle from the embers of the fire.
Kevin came out of the other bedroom, blinking. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘Cassandra’s having the baby. Can you sit with her while I go to fetch Livia.’
‘She’s a nice lady, but she won’t be much use to you.’
‘I know, but there should be another woman to help.’
‘Why don’t you bring that lad with you as well? Leo’s used to delivering foals and such. Better than nothing.’
‘Leo?’
‘Can’t hurt.’
Reece was back half an hour later with Livia and Leo. The latter seemed perfectly happy to be involved, though everyone else except Kevin was dubious as to what use he’d be.
But as the hours passed and the baby didn’t appear, Reece began to feel frantic as he heard Cassandra stifling her cries of pain and saw how tired she was looking.
Leo listened and watched, then said, ‘Can I look at her? I’ve seen a baby born and I know what to do. The groom’s wife had hers in the stable. It arrived before they’d expected it.’ He smiled at the memory, then added, ‘Women need more help than animals do.’
‘The lad’s the only one who knows anything,’ Kevin pointed out to Reece. ‘You told me they wouldn’t let you stay with your first wife.’
‘They didn’t let me into the bedroom till she was dying,’ Reece said, the memories of that adding to his terror now. If he lost Cassandra he didn’t know what he’d do! She was his friend as well as his love.
So Leo went into the bedroom and Cassandra, exhausted by the pain and far beyond such petty emotions as embarrassment, let him feel her stomach.
‘I think it’s the wrong way round,’ he said. ‘See. This is a leg. We turn foals when they’re like that.’
Reece and Livia stared at him in dismay.
It was left to Cassandra to say, ‘Turn it then, Leo. I don’t want to lose my baby.’
‘We need hot soapy water, plenty of soap,’ Leo said. ‘And the farrier always made everyone wash their hands when they were dealing with new foals.’
He began to work on Cassandra, a serene expression on his face, while Reece hovered anxiously nearby as the minutes ticked slowly past.
To everyone’s amazement Leo suddenly smiled. ‘That’s better. It can be born now.’
And sure enough, within a few minutes, the head was out and almost immediately afterwards, the baby was lying there, crying lustily.
Again it was Leo who knew to tie and cut the cord.
When he’d done that, Livia wrapped the child in a cloth, tears in her eyes, and handed the baby to Cassandra. ‘Here’s your daughter.’
She’d been lying with her eyes closed, but she opened them abruptly. ‘A girl!’
Reece came to kneel beside her. ‘Yes. Still happy to call her Sofia?’
She looked at the tiny crumpled face beside her and was unable to speak for emotion. Pressing a kiss on the child’s forehead, she murmured, ‘Sofia. Yes, it’s a lovely name.’
He smiled down at them and admitted to himself that he was glad the baby was a girl. He knew he’d find it easier to love a girl than a boy.
A week after leaving Alexandria the ship had docked in Gibraltar, from where they moved out of the Mediterranean on their last leg to Southampton. Zachary was relieved not to meet rough weather in the Bay of Biscay and the last stage of the voyage passed without incident.
With the cooler weather Pandora improved quickly, regaining her old energy and looking even more beautiful than before.
At last they were told one morning that they were nearing England and like most people, they went up on deck straining to catch a first glimpse of the coastline. Pandora stood beside him, jigging about in excitement, her eye sparkling, her cheeks rosy.
When a smudge appeared on the horizon and one of the officers confirmed that this was indeed England, he saw tears well in her eyes and spill down her cheeks.
‘I can’t believe we’re nearly there.’ Her voice was husky with emotion.
As he put his arm round her shoulders, she turned in his embrace, sobbing against his chest without regard to who saw or heard her.
It was Mr Plumley who took charge. ‘Come along, my dear young lady. Perhaps you should lie down and take time to compose yourself.’
But she gulped to a halt, wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at them. ‘I’ll be all right in a minute or two. It was just—I’ve longed for home so much, so very much.’
She went to the day cabin for luncheon, but was soon back up on deck, staring at the horizon, looking happy and vigorous once again.
When they docked in Southampton she was impatient with the formalities and ran the last few feet down to the dock, spinning round in a circle heedless of the rain that was falling on her upturned face. ‘We’re here,’ she said to Zachary. ‘We’re really here in England.’ She bent to lay her hand against the ground for a moment, then stood up, eyes sparkling with tears of joy.
‘And with a fine summer’s day to greet us!’ he teased.
‘I don’t care if it rains every day. It’s English rain, English air.’
‘We could stand here all day getting nice and w
et – or we could retrieve our luggage and find out how best to make our way to Lancashire.’
She grasped his hand and dragged him to the Customs shed. ‘Let’s not waste a minute.’
They said goodbye to Mr Plumley, who had been met by one of his sons. After booking places on the train to London the following morning, they found a hotel near the station.
Pandora felt so much better she decided the time had come to put an end to her husband’s foolish heroism. ‘You’ve got me here safely, Zachary. I can’t thank you enough. I couldn’t have managed without you to look after me when I was ill. And it seemed to take until Gibraltar before I felt to be myself again. I’m sure Mr Featherworth will be delighted with you.’
He nodded, but his expression remained stern and she could see that he didn’t share her euphoria. ‘What’s the matter? Aren’t you glad to be back?’
‘Yes, but . . . I’ve been wondering how I’ll ever fit into the life of a shopman again,’ he admitted.
‘You won’t be a shopman. You’ll be part-owner of the shop. You’ll be running it. You, not that Harry person.’
‘At best I’ll be the owner’s husband . . . if you still want me once you’ve settled down.’
‘Surely I’ve proved by now that my feelings won’t change?’
He gave her one of his determined looks. ‘I haven’t changed my mind. We’re doing nothing about our marriage until you have had time to settle in.’
‘But what are we going to do when we arrive in Outham? Live apart without telling anyone?’
‘Yes.’
‘I won’t do it. You’re my husband and I want you by my side. If you won’t live with me, I’ll come and live with you, if I have to camp on your doorstep to persuade you. I mean it, Zachary. I’m not going to change my mind and I’m not going to deny my marriage.’
‘You make it impossible for me to do the right thing.’
‘Who are you to decide what’s right for me?’
‘I’m your husband.’
‘Then act like one!’
They argued intermittently until they fell asleep, but she couldn’t make him change his mind.
When they arrived in London, he insisted on her taking off her wedding ring and staying overnight in a hotel near the station in separate rooms, as Miss Blake and Mr Carr. He went out to send a telegram to Mr Featherworth saying they’d arrive the following day. ‘I shan’t tell him about us until we’re face to face,’ he said.
Alone in the hotel bedroom, she cried herself to sleep. Why did she have to love the most stubborn man in England?
They argued on and off all the way to Lancashire, by which time each was exhausted.
As they walked out of the station in Outham early that evening, a lad came hurrying towards them.
‘I work for Mr Featherworth. He sent me to meet you, Miss Blake, Mr Carr. And if you please, you’re not to talk to anyone about anything at all till you’ve seen him. It’s very important, he says.’
They looked at one another in surprise then Zachary found a cab to take them and their luggage to the lawyer’s rooms.
Before she got into it, Pandora stood for a moment staring round. ‘Home,’ she said softly. ‘I thought I’d never be able to come back to Outham.’ She raised her eyes to the green ridge above the town. ‘I’m going for a walk up there on the moors as soon as I can. I’ve missed them so much.’
Zachary had missed them too and almost said they’d go together, then remembered the youth sitting opposite him and bit back the words.
They passed Blake’s Emporium and as Pandora would have said something, he said, ‘Shhh. Mr Featherworth said not to talk about anything.’
The youth nodded vigorously and she shrugged, clamping her mouth shut in an exaggerated way and throwing Zachary a mischievous glance as she did so.
They left the youth to keep an eye on the luggage and were shepherded straight through to Mr Featherworth’s room. As he came forward to greet them, they heard someone hurrying along the corridor and Mr Dawson joined them.
He didn’t waste time on civilities. ‘Why have you only brought back one sister, Zachary? Surely you looked for the others too?’
It took them a while to explain why Pandora’s sisters hadn’t returned.
When she handed over the documents giving her the right to handle their business affairs, Mr Featherworth held up one hand to stop her talking for a moment then scanned them quickly.
‘Drafted in a hurry,’ he said, ‘but not bad. They’ll serve. It was a good idea to have Francis Southerham as one of the signatories. His signature is known in the town and he can’t be accused of having an interest. We shall need a copy making of this, Dawson.’ He passed it to his clerk then turned back to his visitors. ‘Please continue.’
When Zachary faltered over the tale of their marriage, it was Pandora who took over.
‘I wanted to marry him. I fell in love with him very quickly.’
Mr Featherworth cast a glance of disapproval at Zachary, and Mr Dawson’s face expressed the same emotion. She couldn’t bear them to think ill of him, so said hastily, ‘I had to persuade him to do it. He said it wasn’t right.’
‘I’m in complete agreement with him on that matter,’ Mr Featherworth said sharply. ‘My dear young lady, you are in comfortable circumstances. This young man, worthy as he is, is not even in a position to support a wife. I cannot help feeling that you’ve betrayed our trust, Carr.’
Zachary opened his mouth and she knew what he was going to say. ‘Don’t!’ she begged. ‘Zachary, please don’t tell them.’
‘Tell us what?’
He looked steadily at the two older men. ‘We’ve not consummated the marriage.’
They both looked at him in relief. She could have wept.
‘I thought it only fair that she have a way to get out of it,’ Zachary added. ‘In case she changed her mind once she settled down here again. Getting married was the only way we could get a passage back to England for two months, and . . . I do love her. So I did it, married her. But she was alone, ill and unhappy, so it was only natural she’d turn to me, think she cared about me. So I wanted her to be sure.’
She leaned forward to refute this, even though she could feeling herself blushing. ‘But I am sure! I always have been. He’s the one who won’t – make our marriage real.’
There was silence, then Mr Featherworth looked at Zachary with a return of his old cordiality. ‘That was well thought of.’
Mr Dawson added softly, ‘And it can’t have been easy.’
Zachary nodded, looking at Pandora again, sure that circumstances would take her away from him now they were back. ‘It was very difficult. But I love her too much to trap her.’
‘If you love me, then be my husband!’ she pleaded again.
He shook his head. ‘Not yet.’
‘If I wasn’t so tired, I’d go on arguing, but I can hardly sit upright. But be warned, all of you: I won’t let anyone annul my marriage,’ she declared. ‘Not unless Zachary proves that he doesn’t care for me.’
The two older men smiled at them and Mr Featherworth said quietly. ‘No one will do anything you don’t wish for, my dear Miss Blake. But for the moment, I think it’ll serve our purpose better if we don’t reveal the marriage and if Zachary goes back to work in the shop, where he’ll be the best person to see what he can find out. Tell them what we suspect, Ralph.’
‘We have reason to believe Harry Prebble is stealing goods from the shop. Not large amounts, but probably enough to double his income. That family dabbles in a few suspicious areas. I don’t know why Mr Blake took on someone with that background.’
‘Harry begged for a job, said he wanted to work honestly. Mr Blake believed in giving people a chance and I have to admit that Harry worked hard for him.’
‘Hmm. Well, I think he’s stealing from the shop and thinks we don’t know. That young man is overconfident and scornful of others. It will be his downfall in the end, I’m sure.’ He explained a
bout Miss Blair and the intruder, about placing Marshall Worth to work in the shop.
‘I can’t believe Harry would steal!’ Zachary exclaimed. ‘He doesn’t need to. He’s bound to get on, because he’s a hard worker and good at his job . . . even if I don’t always agree with his methods of running the shop.’
‘We’ve not proved it’s him yet, I must admit, but there’s no one else who could be doing it. No one else has a key to the building or the gates.’
‘It’s a dreadful thing to do, rob people when they’ve trusted you,’ Zachary said.
‘Some people are greedy, want what other people have and have no scruples about taking it,’ Mr Dawson said quietly.
Mr Featherworth shuddered. ‘My clerk has been handling that side of things. I don’t know how I’d have coped without his help, I really don’t. I’m a lawyer, not a policeman.’
Zachary thought of the plump family man he’d seen in his home, happy in the bosom of his family, and found it hard not to smile at the thought of Mr Featherworth acting as a policeman, trapping criminals. He saw that Mr Dawson was watching his employer with an indulgent expression on his face, and when he turned to Zachary, he smiled, as if they were accomplices in helping the lawyer.
Mr Dawson looked up at the clock on the wall. ‘You have another appointment in a few minutes, Mr Featherworth. Shall I take these young people into my room to discuss the practicalities, then escort them home? I didn’t like to think of putting Miss Pandora into those living quarters alone, with only a young maid, even with the new locks in place, so I took the liberty of sending a message to Miss Blair, warning her of Miss Pandora’s imminent arrival and asking her to stay on for a while.’
‘Will she do that?’ Mr Featherworth asked.
‘Oh, yes. She doesn’t wish to leave Outham. She’s made some good friends here, as well as having her only close relatives living in the town.’
‘That was very well thought of.’
Zachary sat in the heavily loaded cab opposite Pandora as the horse clopped through the streets. Most shops were still open and it wasn’t dark yet, but few people were around. When they stopped outside the emporium, she looked across at him and said very emphatically, ‘I shan’t change my mind.’
