The River Maid

The voyage had ended now and it was good to step onto dry land at last. Essie breathed in the scents of Italy. The tantalising aroma of cooking floated on the gentle breeze, mingling with the scent of wild thyme and marjoram from the surrounding countryside, and Essie’s mouth watered at the thought of good food. The air was surprisingly sweet and clean, even allowing for the fact that they were still in the docks and vast catches of fish were being landed nearby, but the heat was stifling, and Essie was in desperate need of a change of clothes. Lady Alice looked pale and tired, probably due to the fact that she had never stopped moaning about her lack of wardrobe and the insanitary conditions on board ship, where fresh water was too precious a commodity to waste on laundering clothes.

‘Find us a hotel, Raven.’ Lady Alice stood on the quay wall, refusing to move. She glanced round, shaking her head. ‘I doubt if they have any decent shops in a place like this, but I must have new garments. We’re all in desperate need of a bath, including you.’

‘I look a hundred times worse than any of you ladies,’ Raven said gallantly. ‘Hooper tried to get the blood out of my jacket, but nothing can disguise the damage.’

‘Yes, you look quite disreputable, so please go and find somewhere for us to stay.’

‘But we are supposed to be looking for the monastery, Alice. The sooner we find Freddie, the better.’

Essie laid her hand on Raven’s sleeve. ‘Another day or two isn’t going to make any difference, and we do look like a band of didicoys.’

A reluctant smile curved his lips. ‘You’re right, of course. I’ll make enquiries in the dock office. They’re bound to know everything. Wait here and I’ll be as quick as I can.’

‘I’m hungry.’ Sadie clutched her belly, which was rumbling loud enough for all to hear.

‘I’m sure we’ll eat soon,’ Essie said vaguely as she watched Raven stride off with a feeling of relief. Her most pressing need was to have food that wasn’t boiled to a pulp or mouldy, and then the luxury of a tin tub filled with warm water and a bar of soap seemed like heaven on earth. Worries about her father and what was happening at home had long since taken second place to the act of survival, but relief was within her grasp and she experienced a surge of optimism. How she was going to get home was another matter, and one that she pushed to the back of her mind. Damp, cloudy London seemed a million miles away from the brilliant sunlight and blue skies of Italy.

Minutes later Raven returned with news that he had found an inn that could cater for their immediate needs and it was only a short walk from the harbour. Lady Alice fanned herself with her hand. ‘Aren’t there any cabs in this place? It’s far too hot to walk any distance.’

‘It’s half a mile at most, Alice. Surely you can manage that?’

‘Just think how nice it will be when we get there,’ Essie said with an encouraging smile. ‘Maybe we could find someone to wash our clothes. They’ll dry quickly in this heat.’

Lady Alice seemed about to argue when Captain Falco joined them. ‘How may I help you, my lady? You look a little perplexed.’

‘My cousin wants me to walk to the inn.’

Captain Falco’s dark eyes gleamed with amusement, but he put his head on one side, giving her a sympathetic smile. ‘Perhaps it would help if you took my arm, my lady. I have business with the landlord. I will make sure that you are given the respect due to an English lady.’

Essie held her breath, half expecting Lady Alice to brush his offer aside, but she seemed to revive a little and she laid her hand on his arm.

‘Thank you, Captain. You are a gentleman.’ Lady Alice shot a resentful look at Raven. ‘Captain Falco understands a lady’s sensibilities.’

Raven shrugged and walked on. ‘Come along, Essie. You too, Sadie. Or do I have to carry you both?’

Essie and Sadie fell into step behind him, leaving Captain Falco to assist Lady Alice.

The inn was a squat, square building, whitewashed and cool-looking beneath a terracotta-tiled roof. Hens pecked busily in the dust and goats roamed around freely, looking for anything remotely edible. The cockerel stalked about, fixing his beady eye on each of them in turn, and it seemed to Essie that he was eyeing the feathers on Lady Alice’s bonnet with suspicion, perhaps seeing them as a possible rival. Lady Alice herself was visibly wilting in the unaccustomed heat, but Captain Falco was being very solicitous, and his undivided attention seemed to please her. They were met in the doorway by the landlord, who bowed and smiled, welcoming them with gestures as if he were performing in a pantomime. He then embraced Captain Falco, speaking to him in rapid Italian. Essie had picked up a few words from the crew, but not enough to understand what he was saying.

Captain Falco slapped their host on the back. ‘Giacomo welcomes you all to his humble hostelry,’ he said grandly. ‘Unfortunately he does not speak English, but you will find him very accommodating.’

Lady Alice was suddenly all smiles. ‘Thank you so much, Capitano. You’ve been very kind, but we must not detain you. I’m sure you have much more important things to do than looking after us.’

‘There is nothing more important than taking care of a beautiful lady,’ Captain Falco said, taking her hand and raising it to his lips. ‘We will be in port for several days and I hope to see you again.’

Essie glanced at Sadie, who was watching open-mouthed. ‘Perhaps we ought to see our rooms,’ she suggested tentatively. Raven was looking bored and frankly sceptical and she was afraid he might say something to offend the captain, and then they would lose the help of the only person who spoke English fluently. She tapped Lady Alice on the shoulder. ‘You should go inside, my lady. The sun will ruin your complexion.’

‘Indeed it will.’ Lady Alice clicked her fingers to attract the landlord’s attention. ‘I want a bath tub filled with hot water, my good man. And I need the services of a dressmaker who can work quickly.’

The landlord turned to the captain, shrugging and holding his hands palm upwards with a bemused look on his plump face. Captain Falco drew him aside and after a brief conversation the landlord went indoors shouting orders to his employees.

‘Come along Alice,’ Raven said impatiently. ‘You’ve caused enough of a stir amongst these good people. Let’s go inside and I’ll order a meal.’

‘Bath first, food later.’ Lady Alice marched into the inn, her fatigue apparently forgotten, and Essie hurried after her with Sadie following close behind.

The interior was dark but surprisingly cool, and a flustered maid led them up a narrow wooden staircase to the first floor. The rooms were small, clean and sparsely furnished but after enduring the confines of a tiny cabin for over a week it seemed like heaven to Essie, even though she still had to share with Sadie. There were two beds, set against opposite walls with a chest of drawers beneath a window that overlooked the harbour. A rag rug was the only splash of colour in the room where everything was white, including the bedspreads.

‘I wonder if Lady Alice has got her bath,’ Sadie said, grinning. ‘I hope she lets us use it because I know I smell something chronic.’

‘Me, too.’ Essie sat down on the bed and took off her boots, wriggling her toes. ‘I think Lady Alice is used to getting her own way. She’s probably got a dressmaker in her room as we speak, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a new gown by this evening.’

‘I feel like a ragbag.’ Sadie glanced down at her grimy skirt with its frayed hem and a small tear where she had caught it on a nail. ‘Mrs Dent wouldn’t approve at all.’

‘Stay here,’ Essie said firmly. ‘I’ll go and speak to her ladyship. I know she said we could have new clothes, but I need to remind her.’ Essie left the room and marched along the corridor to knock on Lady Alice’s door.

‘Enter.’

Essie opened the door and stepped into the room, which was larger than the one she shared with Sadie. It was furnished with a brass bedstead, covered with a multi-coloured patchwork quilt, a painted wooden washstand and a clothes press. A large window overlooked countryside and distant hills. A bathtub had been placed in the centre of the floor and it was already half full.

‘Unbutton my gown, Essie. I can’t reach.’ Lady Alice stood stiffly to attention while Essie undid the tiny, fabric-covered fastenings. ‘I believe I have a dressmaker coming shortly.’ Lady Alice glanced over her shoulder. ‘Maybe she can do something for you and the girl as well. I can’t be seen with servants who look as though they’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards.’

‘I’m not your servant, my lady.’

‘You work for me, don’t you?’

‘That was different. I was helping you and Raven, and I became embroiled in your affairs, but it wasn’t my choice to be here.’

‘Nor mine, come to that.’ Lady Alice stepped out of her gown. ‘You can unlace me while you’re here. What did you want, anyway?’

‘It was to ask if we might have the bath water after you, and I was going to remind you that both Sadie and I are desperate for new clothes.’

Lady Alice turned to face her and her petulant expression melted into a charming smile. ‘Of course you may have the bath after me, in fact I insist upon it. I just hope they have some decent soap because I have a sensitive skin. As to clothes, if this woman is any good with her needle we will all have new gowns, although Sadie’s will be suitable for a child of her age, and mine will be grander than yours, which is only fitting.’

Essie threw back her head and laughed. ‘You are priceless, my lady. Here we are, miles from home, on the run from the law, which makes us equals, but you still think you’re better than us.’

Apparently unabashed, Lady Alice raised a delicate eyebrow. ‘And I am, naturally. My late father was the Earl of Dawlish and we can trace our family tree back to William the Conqueror. Your papa is a boatman.’

‘And you can’t dress yourself without someone to help you. Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned there somewhere.’

Lady Alice recoiled and for a brief moment her smile faded, then a gurgle of laughter escaped her lips. ‘All right, Essie. Given our situation perhaps we are equals, but that will change when we get back to England.’

‘When we return home we will probably be thrown into jail.’

‘But I will have a better cell, and I can afford to hire a good lawyer.’

Essie was saved from replying by a knock on the door and she went to open it. A flustered maidservant stepped into the room carrying a ewer filled with steaming water, which she emptied into the tub. She bobbed a curtsey and hurried from the room.

‘Enjoy your bath, my lady, and please don’t allow the water to get cold.’ Essie left the room, chuckling to herself. Title or no title, money or lack of it, they were sisters under the skin.