The Body on the Beach (The Weymouth Trilogy) (14 page)

‘Let us go over there, then, Giles,’ she said, and took him by the hand. Giles grinned complacently and allowed her to lead him to the most secret space within the rocks. The morning sun had warmed them gently. H
e stripped off his coat and threw
it down
in a heap
. Then he took her in his arms and forced her to the ground. Kathryn knew that she mustn
’
t struggle, mustn
’
t show any reluctance to love him. So she submitted to his demands quite meekly, acutely embarrassed, praying fervently that nobody should discover them, and wishing upon wish that her husband should soon be done.

It was just as they left their sanctuary that Giles spotted an old acquaintance making his way towards them from the clifftop.

‘Hey – Cutlass,’ he shouted, wiping his lips with his coat sleeve and rearranging his breeches ostentatiously. ‘Hey, come over here. You’ll see I’m back from Town at last. And here is Kathryn, giving me pleasure on our walk.’

Kathryn
could feel a
flush
of
mortification and annoyance
spread across her face
. She bobbed a curtsy in Cutlass’ direction before turning her back on them both and staring out to sea. Cutlass joined her husband and slapped him on the back. Kathryn
wandered further away. She did
n
’
t wish to meet the weasly little man, whom she disliked intensely, and neither did she have any wish to know what business he was engaged in with her husband. So she wandered down to the water’s edge and sat herself down on a rock. She sat there, trying not to think of anything, for quite some time. She tried not to think, but uncomfortable thoughts insisted on imposing on her consciousness whether she wanted them there or not. So this was what her life was to be
like
from now on – insecur
ity
, anxi
ety
,
with
moments of violence, subjection to her husband’s every whim, embarrassment in front of his friends. It was not a happy prospect. It was not happy at all, and it was even worse when compared to what she had so quickly become accustomed to with Andrew. Andrew. Charming, fun, thoughtful, generous to a fault, laughing, loving, and deeply, deeply respectful. Infuriating thoughts. They insisted on coming at her unbidden. They were ill conceived and totally unwelcome. She frowned, angry and uncomfortable, and got up quickly to see where Giles and Cutlass had got to. But they were nowhere to be seen. She looked again. No-one. The beach – or what she could see of it – was deserted. Cautiously she stepped across the boulders towards the place where she had last seen them, listening out for the sound of their voices. But there was nothing. No-one to see, no-one to hear. She wondered whether they had climbed up towards the ‘Smugglers’. It was a distinct possibility, entirely true to character. It was also extremely annoying. She had already been forced
into one embarrassment that morning
. She didn’t really want the further embarrassment of having to seek out her husband in a public house. Muttering a little to herself under her breath she took up her skirts and clambered up the rocky edge, hauling herself with some difficulty onto the steeply sloping grasslands above. The inn was a short way along from here. She
caught her
breath
for a moment
and made her way towards it. It was lunch time and surprisingly busy but luckily she soon spotted Giles and Cutlass through a window, apparently in company with a group of other men. Kathryn stood outside for a minute. She was not at all inclined to seek him out in there. So she knocked on the window, gained his attention, was rewarded by an angry frown and a flicking of the hand, and then her husband turned away.

Feeling ill-
used and resentful
,
Kathryn decided to walk
back
home on her own.

Kathryn had returned home in some trepidation that afternoon but in fact she needn
’
t have worried. Giles didn
’
t reappear that day and, indeed, had still not returned when she went to bed that night. Much as she would have liked to, she didn’t dare to lock the door that connected her room with her husband’s and she was half afraid that he would come home, drunk, in the middle of the night and start making demands on her again. But despite lying awake, worrying, imagining every minute that she would hear the front door open and Giles stomp noisily inside, Sandsford House remained perfectly silent and still. Even the world outside seemed to sleep.

She arose quite early the next morning and ate her breakfast even before Sally was down. She had determined on walking over to see her aunt and wanted to set out before Giles might get back and attempt to divert her. So she hurried through her meal and left Sally a note before slipping into her chamber for a cloak and stepping briskly out into the world.

Although the day was a grey one the sea air was fresh and cold. Invigorated, Kathryn found her steps becoming lighter the further from Sandsford she walked. The sea never failed to have a healing effect on her. She paused for a few minutes and gazed out across the greyness. What was the world like across the waters? Was life any easier there, than here?

She set out again and reached the Esplanade by a half after eight. In spite of the early hour the craftsmen were already hard at work building more of the elegant terraces that were
steadily drawing Weymouth out along the bay
. One or two of them stopped to admire h
er as she tripped on by – a slight
,
pretty,
youthful figure in a pale muslin dress. She was the only person around at this end of the sea front although as she passed the bathing machines she could see that some of these were already in use, the horses being put in
to their traces in order to push
the occupants out a modest distance into the water. A mangy-looking cur was sniffing interestedly at a dead fish on the pebbles. He eyed Kathryn suspiciously for a moment when he spotted her and then took it up in his mouth and trotted off with it somewhat guiltily around the corner. As she passed one of the lodging houses a door suddenly opened and an elderly gentleman in an old fashioned dressing gown and cap stepped out on his way towards the beach. He nodded to her unabashed. Kathryn had to smile.
She found him quite
incongruous.

Kathryn crossed the road and made her way to her aunt’s apartment. The building smelled particularly bad this morning and she turned up her nose as she mounted the stairs. She tapped on the door and stepped inside.
Aunt Shepherd
was not yet sitting at her usual place near the window. Kathryn
briefly
wondered whether she was simply taking a leisurely start to the day but when she went over to the mattress on which
her aunt
spent her nights she could see immediately that it was incapacity, not sloth, that was preventing her from rising. Kathryn caught her breath and knelt down beside her. The old lady was breathing, heavily but with some difficulty, and her forehead was beaded with sweat. Kathryn felt for her hand underneath the rough covers, and took it into hers. The old lady’s eyes didn
’
t open, although a very faint smile came instantly to her face.

‘It is me – Kathryn, Aunt Shepherd,’ she said, her voice breaking a little. ‘I can see you are not well. Would you like me to go for a doctor for you?’

The old lady shook her head weakly. Kathryn didn’t
quite
know what to do. She stayed on her knees at the old lady’s side for a few minutes until she began to feel a little uncomfortable. She looked down at the creased old face. It did not look in pain. Just weak. Just very, very weak.

‘Would you like some breakfast?’

The old lady opened her eyes.

‘Just some tea, my love,’ she whispered. ‘Just some tea.’

Kathryn squeezed her hand a little before tucking it back under the cover and going over to the fireplace. The fire had gone out long since, by the look of it, and there was no water in the pail.

‘I shall have to go for the water, aunt. I shall be back as soon as I can.’

Kathryn took the pail and went out into the now awakening streets. The town pump was a ten minute walk awa
y on the other side of town
. She didn
’
t at all relish the thought of struggling back with the heavy pail but she wasn
’
t quite sure where else she could get some. So off she went, her spirits low, hoping against hope that her aunt would soon feel better again.

Her next mission was to re-start the fire. This was less of a problem as she was able to beg some embers from the pastry house over the road. She shielded them carefully as she mounted the stairs once again. There was very little wood by the grate but there was sufficient just for now. Before going home she would need to
buy
some more from the timber yard along the quay.

Finally the tea was made and Kathryn took a dish full over to the mattress. She put it on the floor and helped her aunt into a sitting position, stuffing the cushion from the one chair behind her to support her back a little. Even the minimal effort required to effect this was as much as the old lady could manage and she burst into a fit of coughing before she was
able to sip her tea. But at least t
he steaming liqui
d revived her a little
and brought a hint of colour to her otherwise grey cheeks. She smiled at her niece a little wanly.

‘I am so sorry to be a nuisance to you, Kathryn,’ she said.

Although she did not want them to, Kathryn found that tears were welling up and she had to turn away. But she was not quick enough for her aunt.

‘Please do not be upset, my love,’ whispered the old lady. ‘I think it God’s will that my time will
soon
come. It doesn
’
t worry me at all. He will look after me. I only worry for you.’

This was more than Kathryn could bear. She threw her arms round the old lady’s chest and wept heartily. Her breath came in jerky little spasms. She could see that her oldest supporter would soon be going the way of all the others and leave her quite alone.

‘Has Giles come back?’ asked Aunt Shepherd.

‘Yes. He is back.’

‘I thought so. You have already lost your bloom. Look to yourself, and to little Bob, Kathryn. You must look after yourselves.’

Kathryn blinked back the tears, her lower lip still trembling, and nodded slightly.

‘I am so, so sorry that everything has come to this.’

Her aunt smiled
wanly
and gave her the dish. She had only managed a few sips but they appeared to have done some good and she managed to wriggle herself back down under the covers without the aid of her niece. Kathryn sat on the floor by her side. There was sewing to do, and a little bit – not much – completed. She had little enough heart to do any of it just now but she knew that it was important to keep up with it just in case a miracle happened and her aunt recovered for a while. The old lady appeared to have drifted off to sleep again so Kathryn decided to slip out to fetch the firewood while she had the chance, and to return to do the sewing later
on
.

Taking a basket with her she went down into the now busy streets - horses, carts, carriages and people on foot. She made her way towards the quayside. This side of the river housed industry of all kinds – fish gutting, ship building, warehousing and all the subsidiary businesses that went alongside. Kathryn directed her steps towards one of these – the small timber yard from which she had bought offcuts and rejects for Aunt Shepherd on the occasion of her unexpected
visit to
Mr Berkeley’s boat. She imagined herself there again with him now, sailing off with
him and
Bob, away from all this heartache and pain. The thought made her smile for a moment before she resolutely dismissed it and entered the timber yard to gather some wood. She bought two pennyworth.  It looked precious little but at least it should
be sufficient to last
the weekend. She would have to bring the last of her quarter’s money with her next time she visited so that she could buy a bigger supply. The Lord alone knew what she should do for money after that.

The church bells were striking three before everything was done and by this time Kathryn realised that she was feeling extremely hungry. She fished around in her reticule and found her last couple of pennies nestling in the bottom. This she went to spend at the pastry shop across the road. Despite her hunger she allowed herself only a very small portion of one of the rather tempting looking confections on offer, leaving the rest for her aunt. Perhaps if she were able to eat it the next day – which was Sunday – it would at least give her some sustenance until Kathryn could call on her again. Her aunt was still sleeping, breathing stentoriously, when she was ready to go. She watched her fondly for a moment. She decided not to waken her. So she left the food as close to her as possible, took the sewing with her to deliver on her way back to Preston, and let herself out of the room. On the stairs she passed the landlady. She mentioned that the old lady was ill. The landlady kindly offered to look in on her the next day. Then Kathryn finally got on her way.