Cat Among the Pigeons (23 page)

Snow was falling thick and fast as four demure Quaker women descended from a hackney carriage and mounted the steps to a very fine house in Grosvenor Square, whose windows blazed with candlelight. The door opened immediately.

Word had reached Mr Equiano that Hawkins showed signs of leaving England; none of us doubted that he'd try to take Pedro with him. Having decided that I was unlikely to be spotted among so many visitors, it had been agreed that I could risk attending the meeting that night. To be doubly sure, only Joseph was on duty as the most trustworthy of all the staff.

‘Ladies, if you will follow me to the library,' he said without even pausing to take our street clothes.

As we entered the book-filled room, I saw
at once that there were no children playing on the ladders today. My heart ached for the boy who'd taken the trip with me along the shelves. But, though there were some here who might have been game on another occasion, at this emergency meeting of the abolitionists, we all felt far too serious to indulge in horseplay.

The duchess moved between her guests, greeting rich and poor alike with her inimitable brand of good humour. Among the other abolitionists already gathered, I recognized Elias Jones.

‘Pleased to see you in better company, Miss Fence-Jumper,' he said after bowing to the sisters.

‘Very much better, thanks to you.' I looked around the gathering – all sections of society were present from peers to paupers, the latter represented in my own person. ‘Talking of company, our cause seems to have quite a levelling effect, wouldn't you say, Mr Jones?'

‘Aye, miss, that it does,' he agreed, following
my thought. ‘We don't need a revolution like them Frenchies to bring us together in fellowship. But still, I found it very strange coming to the front door, being used to delivering round the back of houses like this.'

I liked him for his honesty. ‘Me too. It was only Pedro who had the nerve to ring the front door bell when we came for the first time.'

‘Poor lad,' murmured Mr Jones. ‘I hope we can save him but I fear we'd better pray for a miracle.'

‘Amen,' said Miss Miller.

Seeing us standing in a corner, the duchess sallied over.

‘I've come to thank you for taking in our little stray,' she addressed the sisters. ‘You're perfect saints, all three of you.'

‘They have to be to put up with me,' I said, receiving her hearty kiss on both cheeks.

Lizzie followed her mother, bringing with her someone I didn't want to see again.

‘Cat, I don't think you've met my very dear
friend Milly Hengrave, have you?' said Lizzie mischievously.

I blushed and curtsied clumsily to Charlie's sister. ‘Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Hengrave.'

Milly looked straight at me. ‘Good gracious! Do you know you bear a stunning resemblance to my brother's old room mate? You don't have a twin by any chance?'

I coughed. ‘Er, no, Miss Hengrave.'

There was an awkward pause, then Milly, Lizzie and the duchess all burst into laughter.

‘I know all about it,' said Milly, wiping her eyes. ‘Little brother, I'm delighted to meet you. I've heard so much about you from Charlie. My, how you've . . . shrunk since I last saw you in Ireland.'

I relaxed and returned her friendly smile. ‘The real Thomas is going to have trouble when he gets to school if he's as big as Charlie says. The Latin teacher has him earmarked for all the female roles in classical drama.'

‘And how are you, Cat?' Lizzie asked. ‘Frank and I were so worried until we received your note.'

‘I'm fine. Only scared for Pedro.'

Lizzie's smile faded. ‘I know. Syd's been keeping an eye on the river. He's got boys posted on all the landing places. When Hawkins does make his move, the key will be to act swiftly to get the
habeas corpus
from a magistrate.'

‘Where is Syd? Is he coming?'

‘He's sorry he can't be here, Cat. He's got a match. He's sending one of his boys along.'

The abolitionists began to take their places in the circle of chairs prepared for them. As the crowd thinned, Charlie and Frank came over to greet me.

‘Miss Bennington-Smythe, a pleasure as always,' said Frank, bending over my hand a little stiffly.

‘How are the scars?' I asked.

‘A trifle compared to what your persecutors got. I am pleased to report that the planters were soundly beaten.'

‘The Prince of Wales was most displeased,' chipped in Charlie.

‘Oh? I thought he rather relished the sport.'

‘He did. But when he found out what it was about, he placed a wager on the planters with Mr Sheridan.'

Mr Equiano appeared at my shoulder and placed a welcoming hand on my arm. ‘His Royal Highness favours the pro-slavery cause, you know, like the rest of the royal family,' he said levelly.

‘I didn't.' That was depressing news. If the king himself was against abolition, it was hard to imagine the cause making much progress in parliament.

‘I'm pleased to see you in a safe harbour, Miss Royal,' Mr Equiano continued, nodding at the Miss Millers. ‘Let us hope we can soon say the same thing about our boy.'

As the meeting got under way, I looked round the room for Syd's representative, but I could not see anyone I recognized. My curiosity was
satisfied when I heard a commotion outside. Joseph strode into the room closely followed by Nick, both looking very excited.

‘We have news at last, your grace!' Joseph announced to the duchess, quite forgetting his station as he burst in upon the meeting.

Nick bent double to regain his breath. ‘Just found out. They've moved the cargo. Pedro was put on board this evenin'. '

‘Which ship? Where?' asked Mr Sharp, alert for action.

‘The
Jenny Wren
, Captain Taylor. It's lying in the Pool on the Greenwich side of the river.'

‘Right, let's go!' said Mr Sharp to Mr Equiano. ‘We'll tackle Sir John Solmes and get the writ. Gentlemen, we'll leave you to hold the ship until we arrive.'

In the general bustle to leave, Nick wormed his way over to me and shook my hand. ‘Good to see you again, Cat.'

‘And you, Nick. Whom do we have to thank for tonight's news?'

Nick shrugged. ‘Don't know 'is name – a little ragged fellow, though 'e ponged of fish sure enough. You know, Cat, I think Shepherd is tryin' to be clever. 'E thought Syd'd be too busy to notice but the Billingsgate lads were on to 'is game. I've got to go and tell Syd now. You stay put. I'll see you back 'ere – with the Prince, I 'ope.'

Nick darted out the way he had come. Soon after, Frank and Charlie left with Mr Sharp and Mr Equiano. Elias Jones, a determined look on his face, led the remaining men off to find the
Jenny Wren
and keep her in port. Soon only we women remained behind, sitting around the fire in silence.

‘What do we do now?' I asked, wishing I had some task I could perform. I hated having to wait for others to act.

‘Let us pray for our brothers, particularly Brother Pedro,' said Miss Miller, folding her hands and closing her eyes.

And all of us did pray, or tried to. Heavenly guidance or my own restlessness, I've no idea,
but my thoughts kept returning to the boy who'd brought the message – the boy Nick did not know. It was like an itch I couldn't quite reach to scratch. You see, I'd been caught out by Billy Shepherd that way before. He'd once used a stranger to lure me into the Rookeries. Nick had said Shepherd was clever, but I knew him to be more than that: he was the most devious person alive. If his name was wrapped up in a bit of business, I'd bet my last farthing that it was not what it seemed, that he would have twisted it in some way to his advantage. Look at his invitation to see Pedro: he'd wanted to take me so he could control what we did with the information. He loved to be in charge. Putting myself in his smelly shoes for a moment, he would have guessed that Syd was having him watched. He knew we were waiting for him to move Pedro to the river. Would he really carry Pedro on board without trying to distract us from his purpose? It was too straightforward – therefore, it wasn't right.

‘It's a diversion,' I announced suddenly to the silent room.

‘What's that you say, child?' asked Miss Miller, her eyes snapping open.

‘Billy Shepherd – he's sending us on a wild goose chase. The messenger boy was a decoy. If he's sent a message that Pedro's on the south side of the river, you can bet that he's on the north.' I was on my feet, tying on my bonnet.

‘That's preposterous!' exclaimed Miss Miller.

‘Are you sure?' said the duchess, frowning.

‘Yes, positive. I know Billy Shepherd better than most, possibly better than anyone. I know what he's doing.'

‘Where are you going, Cat?' asked Lizzie. I had my hand on the doorknob.

I couldn't understand why they were all staring at me. Didn't they realize that we had a job to do? ‘Well, I for one can't just sit here. We've got to chase the men and tell them they're going the wrong way. And some of us have to find the right ship. Come on.'

Lizzie was the first to get over her surprise and place her confidence in my instincts. She got up. ‘You're right. Mama, you and I must go after Mr Sharp. Where should we bring them?'

‘Try Billingsgate – that's where I'm starting.'

‘That you most certainly are not!' protested Miss Miller. ‘We can't let you wander around the docks at this time of night on your own.'

‘Then we'd better not let her go on her own, sister,' said Miss Fortitude resolutely, buttoning up her gloves.

‘I'll send for a cab,' said Miss Prudence, disappearing out of the door.

‘And someone had better fetch Syd. Where was his match, Lizzie?'

‘In a tavern on Fleet Street.'

We looked at each other. A woman going in a place like that on her own would have to have a lot of guts, particularly if she was about to stop a match in its tracks.

‘I'll go,' volunteered Milly, picking up her umbrella. ‘Can you lend me a footman or two?'

The duchess nodded. ‘Of course. Joseph and one of the others will accompany you. No, hang that! There must be ten of those lazy doorstops around the place – take them all. It's about time they earned their keep. We'll rendezvous in Billingsgate.'

Mrs Jones, the farmer's wife to whom I owed my shoes, offered to go in pursuit of her husband. That settled, we parted in the lobby as the hackney cabs and carriages drew up.

‘Cat, good luck!' called Milly as she waved me off in the cab. Lizzie was too late to hush her. Well, if anyone heard, I could do nothing about it. I had no time to worry about my own safety. Our efforts would count for nothing if we could not find Pedro's ship before it sailed on the tide. Once he left British waters, no magistrate's writ would save him.

I could tell we were arriving in Billingsgate by the smell. The market lay quiet this time of night – the fishwives would only return to gut the catch
and screech at each other when the boats came in early in the morning. The reek of fish forced itself into our lungs. Miss Fortitude put her handkerchief to her nose; the rest of us sat stoically, trying not to take deep breaths.

The cab could go no further. The jarvey pulled the horse to a standstill. The wharves were dark. Stacks of boxes stood on the quayside, creating a confusing labyrinth of passageways. I wondered how I was going to find the Billingsgate gang in all of this.

‘What are you going to do, Sister Catherine?' asked Miss Miller, for the first time looking to me for leadership. She must have been feeling very out of her depth to relinquish command; to tell the truth, I felt pretty much in over my head too.

‘There must be someone around – a night watchman at least,' I said with more confidence than I felt. I knew from watching Mr Kemble that even when you realized you were appearing in a play destined to be a flop, you had to soldier on as if it were the greatest show on earth in
order to bring the rest of the cast with you. ‘We should get out and look. Tell the jarvey to wait here for us – we might need to make a fast retreat if we run into trouble.'

Standing on the cold pavement while Miss Miller passed on this instruction I looked about, trying to find some clue to help me. The crates all bore ice toppings an inch deep. The passageways were under drifts of untouched snow. All except one. The snow had been beaten flat by the passage of boots – some people had passed this way recently. That was enough for me.

‘Follow me,' I told my companions.

With only the swish of our skirts to give away our presence, we trod lightly down the path between the stacks of crates. The trail led us on to the quayside. A rim of ice like broken glass had formed on the water's edge. The Thames spread out before us, inky black except where the surface reflected the glitter of lights from the many vessels at anchor. Somewhere in the distance, laughter and music floated out of the
open door of a tavern. From a nearby ship, a piper played a sad, strange melody, accompanied by the soft heartbeat of a drum. At the far end of the quay, a brazier burned, the shadow of a man flickered beside it.

‘That might be the watchman,' I said without too much hope. I didn't like this place – it should be full of people and life, not dark and creepy as it was now.

‘We're with thee, Cat,' said Miss Prudence.

‘And the Lord is with us,' added Miss Miller.

With this encouragement, I set off towards the man warming his hands by the brazier.

When we were within earshot, I called out, ‘Excuse me, sir, can you spare me a moment?'

He turned slowly, tipping his hat on to the back of his head, and grinned.

‘Course I can, Cat. I've been waitin' for you.'

Billy Shepherd – of course.