Down Weaver's Lane (45 page)

Prudence Bradley glanced casually out of the window and what she saw sent her rushing into her husband’s study. ‘Come quickly! Jack’s brought Emmy back and they both look - strange.’ Well, Emmy looked to be with child, but this couldn’t possibly be in the short time since she’d left Northby.

Gerald looked up from his sermon with a frown. ‘I thought your protégée had decided to make a new life for herself? A decision I agreed with absolutely. Jack has other responsibilities.’

Prudence waved one hand dismissively. ‘Oh, rubbish! They love one another and it’d be shameful to keep them apart. Besides, he’s done more than enough for his mother who’s always complaining about something and quite sets my teeth on edge. It’s about time he thought of his own needs for a change.’ She whisked out of the room and hurried into the kitchen in time to see Cass open the back door and shriek in delight.

‘You’re back!’ Then she noticed Emmy’s stomach and gaped at it. ‘What’s happened?’

Emmy looked down. She had forgotten the pillow. ‘It’s not real, just a disguise.’ She had sat in the trap on the way here with her false belly poking out and her face and hair hidden under a shawl. Jack had rubbed dirt on his face, slouched in his seat and pulled his hat down over his eyes. When Marcus Armistead’s carriage had overtaken them on the road to Northby they had both held their breath because he had two men with him. But it had driven straight past without anyone recognising them.

Emmy noticed her former mistress standing at the other side of the kitchen and smiled at her. ‘Oh, Mrs Bradley, it’s wonderful to see you all again!’

Before she could cross the room there was a yelp from outside and Hercules pushed past Jack’s legs to burst inside ahead of him. The dog immediately began jumping up at her, yelping, barking and trying to lick her face or any part of her he could reach. In the end she knelt down and clasped him in her arms, laying her face against his pointed furry head for a moment, enduring more licks but gradually calming him down. ‘I missed you, boy. Have you been good while I was away? And who told you to come in here, eh?’

Jack was pleased to see her open joy at being reunited with the dog, but his smile faded a little as he realised she could not touch him with the same freedom - or let him touch her.

‘Don’t I get a proper greeting as well?’ Mrs Bradley demanded in mock anger, hands on hips.

Emmy stood up, feeling suddenly uncertain what to do next, but Prudence gave her a big hug, after which Cass did the same and even Cook came across to pat her shoulder and say gruffly, ‘About time you came home, young woman.’

Home? thought Emmy wonderingly. Yes, Northby did feel like home now.

‘Well, Jack,’ Prudence said quietly, guessing by his expression that he felt left out, ‘you found her then?’

‘Aye. Well, she found me, really, Mrs Bradley. She was already on her way back.’

‘You’d better come through and tell me and Parson exactly what’s been happening.’ She put one arm round Emmy and led the way. Hercules pushed in front of Jack again, desperate to stay next to his beloved owner.

‘Eh, she looks like she’s seen some hard times lately, doesn’t she?’ Cass murmured to Cook when they had gone. ‘But I wish someone would look at me the way Jack Staley looks at her.’

‘Stop sighing for what you can’t have, my girl, and make them some tea. They look chilled to the marrow.’

 

In the front parlour Jack stood behind Emmy, keeping very close to her as they waited for Mrs Bradley to fetch her husband. Emmy turned her head to smile at him and he laid one hand on her shoulder. The dog pressed itself against her, smiling as dogs do when they’re with their favourite people, its tail thumping against her skirt in a regular rhythm. Occasionally he would swipe a lick at her hand.

Silly to be jealous of a dog, Jack thought. But he was. For all the time he had spent comforting the dratted animal while she was away, it had completely ignored him today.

As Prudence rushed into the study for a second time Gerald set down his pen and asked, ‘Well, what’s happened to them?’

She tugged at his hand. ‘We’re about to find out. Why are you still sitting there? Come and join us. From the way Emmy and Jack are looking at one another, I think there’s going to be a wedding soon.’

He held her back to warn her, ‘I’m not sure we should encourage this. It won’t be easy for them, you know. All the love in the world won’t solve the problem of Mrs Staley and the children, not to mention that other man.’ But in spite of an uneasiness he could not shake off—an unusual state of mind for such an unimaginative man - he got up and followed his wife out.

Once everyone was seated in the parlour, Emmy explained what had happened to her.

Jack took over then to say, ‘We want to get married as soon as we can, sir. Will you call the banns for us?’

‘Yes, of course. But where are you going to live?’

‘Mr Rishmore usually has a cottage or two vacant.’

‘You’re not going to live with your mother, then?’

‘No, sir. That’s not possible. She can be rather,’ he hesitated over a choice of word and settled on, ‘unreasonable about some things, including Emmy. I’ll make sure she’s all right, though.’

‘Can you afford to run two households?’ Prudence worried.

‘I have Mrs Oswald’s money,’ Emmy put in. ‘We’ll manage, Mr Bradley.’

‘I’m already twenty-one, and I’m sure Mr Butterfield will give his permission for Emmy to marry, if you need it,’ Jack added.

After a moment’s hesitation over the wisdom of this, Gerald gave in. ‘Very well, then. I’ll call the banns on Sunday for the first time and in three weeks you can get married.’

Prudence smiled as she watched the engaged couple exchange loving glances.

‘Can I stay here until then?’ Emmy asked hesitantly. ‘I’ll help in the house. I won’t be a burden.’

‘Bless you, of course you can,’ Prudence said warmly. ‘It’ll be very useful to have another pair of hands over Christmas. And while you’re here we’ll make you a pretty dress to get married in, one that you can wear for best afterwards. Three weeks will soon pass.’

‘She’d better stay close to the house,’ Jack said. ‘Armistead was in Blackburn and passed us on the road back.’

‘You saw him again today?’ Gerald asked, shocked.

‘Oh, yes. And he had that groom with him, the one who does his dirty work.’

‘Oh, dear.’ Prudence looked to her husband for guidance, but he seemed at a loss for words.

After a moment or two’s silence Jack stood up. ‘I’d better get back to the mill and find out if I still have a job.’ He turned to Emmy. ‘You won’t go out on your own? Promise me?’

She shivered. ‘I promise. But when I do go out, I’m going to hold my head up proudly.’ She looked round at them all. ‘It’s taken me a long time to realise that I’m not responsible for my mother’s sins, and from now on I’m not going to let people treat me as if I’m like her.’ She intended to follow Babs’ example and stand up for herself. It wouldn’t convince everyone, but it would make her feel better, she was sure.

Gerald did not think it would be so easy to change people’s attitudes but he said nothing to Emmy, merely called after Jack, ‘May I just have a word with you?’ In his study he asked abruptly, ‘How are you going to protect Emmy after you’re married?’

Jack sighed. ‘I don’t know yet. We may have to leave Northby altogether.’

‘I hate to say this, but that might be the best thing for all concerned.’

‘I’d do it tomorrow if it weren’t for my mother. I’ll still need to keep an eye on her and the kids, you see. She can’t manage on her own, never has been able to, and she’s not always kind to them. And there’s Meg as well. What if my sister comes back and we’re not here? She nearly starved last time she was on her own. I want to try and find her, if I can. She was that unhappy after Nelly died . . .’ His voice trailed away.

Gerald Bradley clapped him on the shoulder and watched him go. A fine young man, that. He would still have a word with Eli Makepeace about Emmy’s safety, though.

 

At the mill the first person Jack met crossing the yard was Mr Rishmore, who stopped and scowled at him. ‘Don’t expect to be paid for the days you’ve been away, young man!’

‘No, sir, I don’t. I’m really sorry. It was very urgent business that took me away.’

Samuel’s scowl did not lessen. ‘Business to do with that young woman, I gather? Did you find her?’

‘Yes, sir. And brought her back to stay with Parson until we can be wed.’

‘You’re a fool then. You could have had one of Butterfield’s daughters and a thousand pounds into the bargain.’

Jack gaped at him because this had never even occurred to him. He didn’t need to think about it, though. ‘I wouldn’t have been happy with Lal or Dinah - and I couldn’t have made them happy, either, sir. It’s always been Emmy for me. I just didn’t think we could work things out.’

Once, Samuel would still have believed Staley was making the wrong decision and tried to talk him out of it, but since his own daughter had run away, he had begun to wonder if some differences could not be bridged by marriage; if indeed money was not the most important thing, as he had always believed before.

As for young Armistead, he was not proving a steady business partner like his father and had tried to push Samuel into some rash decisions, one of which had been distinctly unethical. Samuel was considering severing all connection with him. Nor did Marcus seem to be regretting the disappearance of his wife. He refused to speak Jane’s name and had not made much effort to find her after the first week or two. Once, when Samuel had insisted on discussing what they would do if she returned, Marcus had said frostily that he would not have her back under his roof now or let her near their son.

But what had upset Samuel most of all was the information given him by Eli Makepeace that Marcus Armistead had a bad reputation where women were concerned. When Samuel had pressed for more details, Eli had said a friend who was an officer of the law in Manchester had told him Marcus was part-owner of a house of ill repute there. Samuel still felt appalled every time he thought of this. A gentleman simply did not get involved in immoral dealings. And when Eli had hesitated, then added that Armistead was also known to beat women, Samuel had been speechless with shock. Had he beaten Jane? Was that why she had left him?

His son-in-law had not once travelled down to Cheltenham to see his little son, so Samuel and Margaret were making plans for a trip there in the spring. His father had not believed in taking holidays, but Samuel found the idea of seeing another part of the country appealing and was studying guide books to find out what sights he might profitably see in the south while he was down there. His wife said she only wanted to see her grandson, but they could not spend all the hours of the day imposing on Eleanor Armistead.

He realised he had been standing lost in thought and that Jack was looking at him in puzzlement. ‘You’d better see if there’s a cottage free, then,’ he said gruffly and strode off towards his office.

Jack was surprised and relieved for he had not been at all sure Mr Rishmore would allow them to rent from him for all his brave words to Mr Bradley. He crossed the yard more slowly than his employer, reluctant to go indoors again after his days of freedom. After a last longing glance up at the sky, he pushed the heavy door open and went inside.

Isaac Butterfield looked up from the side office and smiled at the sight of his assistant’s happy face. ‘You found her?’

‘Yes.’ Jack explained yet again what had transpired.

‘So Armistead is still making things difficult for her,’ Isaac muttered. ‘The man must have lost his reason to pursue her like this when she’s made it plain she doesn’t want him. Thank goodness she escaped from him last time. We must make sure he doesn’t capture her again.’

In the corridor Samuel, who had been coming to ask Isaac something, stood like someone carved from stone.
Marcus
was the man who had kidnapped that young woman? He stretched out his hand to push the door open, then let it fall again. He did not intend to discuss this in front of Jack. He would ask Isaac to stay behind after work and question him then.

He went back into his office, but could not settle. After fidgeting for a while, he got up and left the mill without telling anyone where he was going. He needed to find out the truth of all this.

 

Eli Makepeace looked up in surprise as Mr Rishmore strode unannounced into the small building that was used as lock-up, police station and magistrate’s court. From the millowner’s expression something was very wrong.

‘We need to talk in private,’ Samuel declared. As soon as Eli had closed the door of his office he said, ‘I need to know - was my son-in-law the one responsible for kidnapping Emmy Carter?’

Eli stared at the town’s most influential citizen, chewed one corner of his lip and wondered how much he dared say.

As if he had read the other man’s mind, Samuel added, ‘I want to know the full truth and I think you’re the best one to tell me.’ He grimaced. ‘You should have said something sooner, man.’

‘It’s just that I have no real proof, sir.’ In measured tones, Eli went through the information he had gathered.

Samuel’s expression became increasingly grim as the facts, deductions and theories were laid before him. ‘The housemaid was absolutely certain sure that Marcus had beaten my daughter?’

Eli nodded, feeling sorry for the millowner. He himself had seen Jane Rishmore on her wedding day and had never forgotten how unhappy she’d looked.

‘If even half of this is true, I’ll never forgive myself for forcing her to marry such a monster,’ Samuel said in a voice that cracked as he spoke. He covered his eyes with his right hand for a moment as guilt flooded through him. It seemed to him now that he had deliberately looked the other way about this, ignoring his wife’s hints that ‘poor, dear Jane has a lot to put up with’, ignoring even the evidence of his own eyes. He would regret this until the day he died. ‘If only I could find Jane,’ he muttered at last, his voice thick with emotion. ‘What if she’s in want? She could come back and live with us. I’d protect her.’