The Summer Maiden

Sadie took a key from her reticule and unlocked the door. ‘I still feel bad about this, Carrie. The house should be yours.’

‘No, it shouldn’t. If Papa wanted you to have it then that’s how it must be. I’m not beaten yet, Sadie. I’ll get us out of this mess, if it’s the last thing I ever do.’ Caroline followed Sadie into the oak-panelled entrance hall. The musty smell made her wrinkle her nose and a cobweb hanging from the ceiling brushed against her cheek. The floor was thick with dried mud and the carapaces of dead cockroaches.

‘I hope the rest of the house is cleaner than this,’ Sadie said crossly.

‘Hurry up there.’ Max pushed in behind them. ‘Let us in, Carrie.’

James slipped past her. ‘It’s creepy, but I think I might like living here. I want a bedroom that overlooks the river so that I can watch the boats.’

‘I expect that can be arranged.’ Caroline moved on, opening doors and peering into the empty rooms. The front parlour looked as though it might be comfortable enough, but it needed a thorough clean, and the dining room was positively filthy. Someone must have owned at least one dog, judging by the muddy paw prints on the floorboards and the smell of damp fur that lingered in the air. The dining room was situated at the back of the house and there were steep steps down to the basement kitchen.

‘I spent many a happy hour in here,’ Sadie said, smiling. ‘The smell of baking filled the whole house.’

‘It stinks now.’ James held his nose. ‘I think something died in one of the cupboards.’

Max stuck his head round the door. ‘Mr Bromley wants to know where to put the luggage, Carrie.’

She turned with a start. ‘Of course. I’m coming, Max.’ She turned to Sadie. ‘I suppose we’d best start cleaning in here. It looks so dismal and it does smell awful.’

Max opened a cupboard and a cloud of flies erupted, buzzing angrily. ‘I don’t know what it is, but it’s something that’s gone off,’ he said, grimacing.

‘Throw it out for the seagulls.’ Sadie rolled up her sleeves. ‘James, go outside and see if there’s any coal in the yard, or anything we can use to get the fire going. We’ll need lots of hot water.’

Caroline hurried from the kitchen. The house was a disappointment and it did not live up to her fond childhood memories. It was probably damp, definitely dirty and the stench from the muddy foreshore at low tide was disgusting.

She found Laurence standing in the hall amid a pile of baggage. ‘Thank you, Mr Bromley. It was kind of you to help us.’

He shook his head. ‘I’m just sorry to see you in such a sorry plight, Miss Manning.’

‘We’ll be fine,’ Caroline said with more conviction than she was feeling. ‘When the old place is cleaned up, I’m sure it will be like home.’ She glanced out of the open door. ‘I hope the carter brings the kitchen table and chairs soon, or we’ll have nothing to sit on. The beds are on another wagon.’

He stared at her, frowning. ‘My present lodgings leave a lot to be desired and I need somewhere more permanent. I’d like to accept your offer, if you’ll have me.’

‘Do you really want to live in a place like this, Mr Bromley? If you wish to take students I think the families would expect better accommodation.’

He smiled and shrugged. ‘You obviously haven’t seen some of these so-called educational establishments, Miss Manning. I don’t include my old school in this, but some children are simply unwanted and sent away with little thought as to their material comforts. Many of them remain at these places even in the holidays.’

‘That’s awful.’

‘Awful but true. Might I take a look at the rooms upstairs?’

‘Certainly. In fact, we’ll go together. I haven’t had time to inspect them.’

Caroline led the way up a narrow staircase. The rooms were in desperate need of a good clean, but when they reached her old room in the attic Caroline could not resist going out on the balcony. It was close to midday and the heat was intense. The river itself seemed to seethe and boil with the turbulence created by large and small craft, and the constant tidal surge as it met the water flowing to the sea.

‘How wonderful.’ Caroline shielded her eyes against the bright sunlight. ‘I could stand here all day just watching the traffic on the river.’

‘I hope you don’t think I’m being impertinent,’ Laurence began cautiously, ‘but I know that the late Mr Manning owned a shipping company. Might I ask what happened?’

Caroline turned to face him. There was nothing to be gained by keeping the truth from him: it would be public knowledge soon. ‘When my father died he left nothing but debts. We have only one remaining vessel and that is so overdue that I’m beginning to fear the worst.’

‘I’m so sorry. This must be very painful for you.’

‘It is, of course, I loved my father very much, but it’s even harder for my mother. He was her whole life and she’s gone to the country to recover.’

‘But hopefully matters will improve when your ship returns to port?’

‘Yes, but it will be too late to save our home. All I can do is hope and pray that Uncle George returns safely.’

‘Once again, I am very sorry to hear about your problems, but I have enough money saved to pay rent, and it would make me feel better if you will accept it. If you will allow me the use of two rooms – one for myself, and the other for use as a schoolroom – I would still be prepared to tutor your brothers free of charge until you are in a position to pay for their education.’

‘But you need a proper income, Mr Bromley. Unless, of course, you are a gentleman of means.’

His laughter echoed round the empty attic. ‘If I were a man of independent means I would not have spent ten years trying to force knowledge into the heads of boys, most of whom were only interested in kicking a ball around a field or riding to hounds. I could advertise for day students and see how that goes, but that would be up to you and Miss Dixon.’

‘I can’t see any objection,’ Caroline said thoughtfully. ‘I’ll check with Sadie, but in the meantime we’d better try to make this old house habitable again.’ She was about to leave the room when she paused, sniffing the air. ‘I can smell tobacco smoke. I used to believe in ghosts, but I’m not so sure now. Maybe the carter has arrived, although I didn’t hear anyone call out.’ She descended the stairs as quickly as her long skirts would allow, and was met by Max in the entrance hall.

‘You’re in a hurry, Carrie,’ he said, chuckling. ‘Where’s the fire?’

‘I thought perhaps the carter was here.’

‘No, not yet. I’ve been looking out of the window and I’d have seen his van.’

‘It’s just that I thought I smelled pipe smoke.’

‘Maybe it was the captain’s ghost.’ Max nodded and winked. ‘Aunt Sadie told me about the old man who haunts the house. When you smell smoke he’s here and he’s happy, but if he doesn’t approve of what’s going on he goes round slamming doors and rattling windows.’

‘I know the story, but don’t tell Jimmy or he’ll be awake all night.’

‘Don’t worry about him – he’s tougher than you think. Anyway, Jim knows all about the captain. We’re planning to sit up all night and see if he materialises.’

‘Never mind that now. I need you to give a hand to clean this place up before our furniture arrives.’ Caroline reached for a broom that someone had left propped up against the wall and she thrust it into her brother’s hand. ‘You start sweeping and I’ll fetch a dustpan and brush. The floors need a good scrub but we’ll have to wait for Sadie to get the fire going so that we can heat some water.’

Max tossed the broom from one hand to the other. ‘I think I’d rather be at school than doing housework.’

‘I’ve got news for you, young man.’ Laurence descended the stairs with a purposeful look on his face. ‘You are at school and this is your first lesson.’ He took the broom from Max. ‘This is how you sweep a floor. I’ll make a start and you can take over.’

Caroline flashed him a grateful smile. ‘Thank you, Mr Bromley.’

He paused, leaning on the broom handle. ‘I think you could call me Laurence, as we’re going to be living in the same house.’

‘Really?’ Max looked from one to the other. ‘Are you really moving in with us, sir?’

Laurence nodded and resumed the task of sweeping up the debris left by the last tenants. ‘I am indeed, and we begin lessons as soon as we’ve got this place ship-shape.’

It took more than a few days to get the Captain’s House habitable, but everyone did their bit, even James, who was delegated to keep the fire going in the range. Despite his initial reluctance to take on such menial tasks, he made a good attempt at chopping kindling in the back yard, and kept the scuttle filled with coal. Sadie took over the kitchen with a determination to revive her culinary skills that was impressive, and soon the house was filled with the aroma of baking bread and savoury stews. When she was satisfied that the rooms were spotlessly clean Caroline spent her time making them as homelike as possible, but the money Sadie had saved from the sale in Finsbury Circus was dwindling away at an alarming rate. She scoured the second-hand shops and used what little money they had to purchase a sofa, even though it had seen better days. The upholstery was worn and threadbare and the horsehair stuffing protruded in places, but a couple of well-placed stitches soon put that right. She bought two armchairs in a similar state, but despite the sagging seats they were surprisingly comfortable. A rag rug added a touch of colour to the front parlour and a fly-spotted mirror hung over the mantelshelf made the room look slightly larger. Curtains had been left in all the rooms, mainly, she discovered, because they were lacy with moth holes, but they would have to do. Altogether, Caroline was satisfied that she could do no more.

Laurence’s rent money was used for the purchase of food, candles and coal, but by the end of the first week it was becoming even more apparent that they were in desperate need of an outside income. Despite the fact that Caroline checked every day, there was still no news of her uncle’s ship, and the office remained closed, but she refused to believe that anything untoward had happened to him or his vessel. The loss of her father had left a raw place in her heart, and, although she kept a cheerful face for her brothers’ sake, she was still very much in the first stages of grief.