The Innkeeper's Daughter (32 page)

‘How ridiculous,’ Bella scoffed. ‘I have no reason to think—’

‘But Joe is quite right,’ Reuben said, ‘and it is something you should consider. But leave it with me and I’ll think about what is for the best.’

‘And what about me?’ Joe said anxiously. ‘Will there be owt for me to start at ’Woodman?’

Reuben smiled and glanced at Sarah. ‘
Ja
, possibly, but whether or not your mother agrees to hand it over is up to her, and out of my hands entirely.’ He gathered his papers together and prepared to leave. ‘I’ll wish you all good day.’

Bella saw him to the door. ‘Will there really be enough for Joe to start off? He’ll need to give an ingoing to ’owner of ’Woodman.’

Reuben nodded. ‘There is. Your parents and particularly your mother have been very thrifty, and we must consider that you and Joe both worked without payment for a long time. Your mother understands that,’ he added. ‘I have spoken to her about it and I feel you needn’t worry unduly.’

‘And is it really true that if I marry, everything would belong to my husband?’

He sighed. ‘I’m afraid that it is so, that is the law of the land, so choose wisely,
mein Liebling
.’ He patted her hand. ‘Make sure that the man you marry wants you for love and not for money.’

Bella looked wistful as she answered, ‘I have no plans for marrying, Reuben. I have yet to meet – at least, I have not yet met – anyone who wants to … marry me.’

He placed his beaver hat firmly on his head before saying, ‘You will, Bella. There will be someone who will fall in love with your beauty and then discover your true worth.’

The following Saturday morning a letter was delivered to Joe. ‘Here, Alice,’ he said. ‘Will you open it for me? I daren’t.’

‘I’ll open it,’ she said, ‘but I’ll not read it. It’s addressed to you and, besides, you know I don’t read well.’

She handed the single page to him and he scanned it. He gave a deep sigh. ‘Well, ’thing is, Alice, you’re going to have to learn pretty quick, cos when we’re wed and running ’Woodman’ – he picked her up and swung her round – ‘you can’t be ’innkeeper’s wife and not be able to read!’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

ALICE SAID THAT
she would like to be married in Hull so that she and Joe could arrive at the Woodman as man and wife.

‘I’m so afeard of my da mekkin’ a fuss or getting drunk and refusing to let me get married,’ she said.

‘Aye, but he’ll have to give his consent,’ Sarah told her. ‘You can’t get married without his say-so.’

‘If Bella will help me write to my ma, she’ll be able to sweeten him, tell him I’ll be off their hands or something; and then he’ll be able to boast that his son-in-law is going to be ’innkeeper of ’Woodman. But he won’t be able to come to Hull for ’wedding cos he’s never been and couldn’t afford to come.’

Joe frowned. ‘He needn’t think he can come for free ale every night, cos he can’t. Shan’t mind now an’ then, but we’ll have to get that straight right away.’ He paused. ‘Do you think your ma would like to come and work for us, or does she have to look after all of ’bairns?’

‘Oh, Joe!’ Alice exhaled. ‘She’d come; she was allus telling me about how she used to work for your ma; an’ all ’bairns are at school now, apart from ’youngest. And do you think Seth could come as well after we’re established? He hates working wi’ Da.’

They agreed that all things were possible and the banns were put up in Holy Trinity Church on the assumption that
her
parents’ permission would be forthcoming.

In the meantime Reuben Jacobs had put forward a proposal to Mr Newby and Mr Allen on the formation of a private limited company, and they didn’t like it.

‘My dear Miss Thorp,’ Justin Allen said smoothly when he called unannounced after receiving Reuben’s proposal. ‘There’s no need for any of this.’ He flourished the papers in his hand dismissively. ‘We have a perfectly good relationship between us, between Mr Newby and myself and your family, I mean. There’s really no reason for us to complicate matters. It’s all a matter of trust.’

‘I know,’ Bella said, giving him a complicit look. ‘But as my brother is moving back to Holderness, Mr Jacobs felt that we should tidy up our affairs, see where we stand financially. You understand, I’m sure,’ she said sweetly.

‘Well, no, I don’t really,’ he said offhandedly. ‘I don’t see how it makes a deal of difference.’

‘Oh, but it does,’ Bella assured him, standing her ground quite calmly. ‘I have another brother and a sister, and then there’s young Henry – they all have to be taken into consideration in case anything should happen to our mother.’

He looked down his nose. ‘Is she not in good health?’

‘Perfectly well, thank you for asking. In her prime, I’d say, but nevertheless …’

And there the matter ended. Unless it went through as Mr Jacobs suggested, she told him, then this golden opportunity would be lost.

‘And there is just a chance,’ she added, lifting her eyebrows, ‘that if ’details are finalized swiftly, we might, just might, be ready for ’queen’s visit. I understand that she’s expected next October?’

Justin Allen chewed on his lips. He clearly hadn’t expected this setback, but Bella, watching him, guessed that he was torn between having his own way and missing the chance of the Maritime’s being open in time for the royal visit.

‘I’ll speak to Newby again,’ he said finally. ‘He can be a stick-in-the-mud sometimes.’ He smiled genially and leaned
forward.
‘I’ll do my best to persuade him,’ he said confidentially. ‘Leave it with me.’

‘I will,’ Bella said softly. ‘Thank you.’

At the beginning of the summer in 1853 it had been announced that an invitation had been sent to Her Majesty Queen Victoria to visit the town and it had been graciously accepted. The Hull townspeople, councillors and dignitaries were galvanized into action as preparations began for her visit in October the following year.

Her mother had responded in amazement. ‘She’s onny just given birth to a bairn,’ she said. ‘How can she be thinking o’ travelling?’

‘She doesn’t have to do owt, does she?’ Alice said. ‘She’s got loads o’ servants to do for her, and mebbe giving birth isn’t so bad for them as is rich, not like ’rest of us.’

‘Mm.’ Sarah wasn’t convinced that it would be good for the queen’s health to travel so far. ‘Still,’ she said, ‘this last one will be her seventh, so mebbe she pops ’em like peas, and she’s had this newfangled stuff, hasn’t she?’

‘Chloroform,’ Bella said. ‘Some doctors are against it.’

‘Huh,’ Sarah muttered. ‘An’ some doctors should try givin’ birth. Not that it’s that difficult, Alice,’ she assured her future daughter-in-law. ‘When you and Joe get married don’t you go worrying about that!’

‘I won’t, Mrs Thorp. I’ve seen my ma give birth many times so I know what it’s like.’ Alice raised her eyebrows at Bella and smiled.

Allen and Newby wrote to Reuben Jacobs accepting his proposal and a lawyer was employed to arrange the legalities. Bella and her mother became equal shareholders in Maritime Hotel Limited.

‘I’m so excited, Ma,’ Bella said. ‘Did you ever imagine that we would be company directors?’

‘Well, no, I didn’t,’ her mother agreed. ‘And I don’t really know what it all means, in spite of having to sign my name on all them papers.’

‘I don’t think we have to worry about anything,’ Bella said. ‘I’d trust Reuben with my life.’

‘Aye,’ Sarah said. ‘I think he’s right fond of you. He won’t let anybody tek advantage of you. Especially not that sweet-talkin’ Justin Allen.’

Bella laughed. ‘I know exactly what Justin Allen is like, Ma, and I’m not likely to let him take advantage of me.’

Alice received a letter written by someone other than her mother but signed by her and her father’s cross, giving permission for her to marry Mr Joseph Thorp, and so hurried arrangements were made to buy Alice a suitable outfit for her wedding day. As Joe had only recently bought new clothes he said they would be perfectly all right, not only for his wedding but for the next ten years, and that the silk handkerchief Reuben had given him for his birthday he would wear in his breast pocket.

The church service was booked for nine o’clock on a Saturday morning so that they could all be back in time to open up. Sarah said she would prepare extra victuals and the first customers through the door would receive a complimentary drink.

On the Friday morning, the day before the marriage ceremony, Sarah picked up the post delivery. There were two envelopes which looked like bills and one addressed to Alice in ragged and spidery writing. Sarah looked at it and turned it over in her hand. Don’t know why I think it looks like trouble, she thought. But I think it is, and she put it in her apron pocket and quite deliberately forgot to tell Alice.

None of them could eat much breakfast on the Saturday morning apart from Henry, who ate bacon and eggs and looked very handsome, Bella told him, in his buttoned jacket and breeches. ‘I know,’ he said solemnly. ‘I’ll wear this when I sing for ’queen when she comes.’

‘You’re going to sing for ’queen?’ his mother asked in astonishment.

‘Yes,’ he said prosaically, chewing on a piece of bread. ‘All the children are.’

They all trooped off through the town to the church and arrived just on nine o’clock. Reuben was waiting for them at the gate and escorted Alice to where the vicar was waiting. Bella and her mother were witnesses to the marriage and in less than half an hour they were on their way home again.

‘Well, that was painless,’ Joe said, and gave Alice a kiss on the cheek. ‘Not a hitch.’

‘I could eat breakfast now,’ Alice laughed. ‘I was too nervous to eat before.’

‘Well, we’ve time,’ Sarah said. ‘And there’s plenty of eggs and bacon and sausage as well. We’ll have a proper wedding breakfast. You’ll come, won’t you, Reuben?’

’Thank you, I would be delighted to,’ he smiled, ‘but if I might refrain from the bacon and sausage? Just the eggs will be fine!’

When they arrived at the Maritime, they found Adam sitting on the doorstep. He jumped up when he saw them and touched his forehead.

‘Morning,’ he said. ‘I wondered if there were any more jobs you needed doing? I filled up all ’coal hods last night.’

‘No,’ Joe said jovially, ‘but you can come and have some breakfast seeing as it’s a special day.’ He gave Alice a big grin and squeezed her waist. ‘We’ve just got married! That’s all right, isn’t it, Ma? There’ll be enough left over for a skinny lad like this?’

They heard the rattle of the letter box as they were sitting at the table and Henry jumped up to collect the post.

‘There’s one for you, Ma, and one for Alice!’

‘For me?’ Alice said, surprised.

‘Yes, but it says for Alice Walker. Whoever’s sent it doesn’t know you’re Alice Thorp now.’ Henry looked at the kitchen clock. ‘By just over one and a half hours.’

‘Heavens!’ Sarah put her hand to her mouth. ‘I forgot! A letter came for you yesterday, Alice, and it’s still in my apron pocket!’ She got up from the table and went to her working apron, which was hanging behind the cupboard door, and rummaged in the pockets.

‘It’s to be hoped it wasn’t owt urgent,’ Joe commented. ‘Who could be sending you letters, Alice?’

‘My ma,’ Alice said, slitting open the envelope Sarah had handed to her. ‘I hope nowt’s wrong.’

She frowned as she read it, trying to decipher her mother’s writing. ‘It says …’ she bit on her lip, ‘she says that Da’s withdrawn his consent to our marriage!’

Sarah concealed a smirk. So I was right, she thought. I could tell there was summat. Good thing I didn’t tell her.

‘Withdrawn his consent.’ Joe guffawed. ‘Too late!’

‘And that …’ Alice went on, ‘I’ve to go home im … mediately, I think it says. Bella, can you mek it out?’ Her hand trembled as she handed the scrap of paper to Bella.

Bella scanned it. ‘It does say he’s withdrawn his consent and that you’ve to go home. But,’ she screwed up her eyes, ‘there’s somebody else’s writing at the bottom – could it be Seth’s? – which says “Don’t come”!’

‘My poor ma.’ Alice began to weep; her emotions were high due to the excitement of being married and now spilled over. ‘Da will have stood over her mekking her write it.’

‘Just as well he can’t read then, isn’t it?’ Sarah said. ‘And just as well that I forgot to give it to you.’

Alice nodded. ‘Yes,’ she said, and looked at Joe with streaming eyes. ‘Cos I would have gone home. I’d be afeard of what he’d have done.’

‘Write to your ma an’ tell her that ’letter didn’t come in time an’ that we’re married an’ we’ll go and see them next weekend. We need to look at ’Woodman anyway to see what needs doing,’ Joe said. ‘It was very neglected when we went last time; tell your ma she can come an’ work wi’ us if she wants to.’

‘If my da will let her, more like.’ Alice looked strained. Her wedding day had not turned out as she’d planned.

‘Listen.’ Sarah was reading her own letter. She sighed. ‘It’s from William. He says he’s been made a corporal and will be going overseas wi’ his regiment on an Eastern Expedition! Whatever does that mean? Where do you think they’ll be sending him, Reuben?’

Reuben appeared to be considering. He ran his fingers round his mouth and scratched his beard before saying, ‘I have really no idea.’

Alice opened the latest letter after they had finished breakfast. She kept glancing at it as if it were something which might bite her, and she only opened it at Joe’s insistence.

It was from Seth, and like his mother’s was difficult to read.

Deer Alice,

Sum bad news! Da’s dead. He started a fite an’ got wurst of it an’ fell an’ banged his hed. Other feller is in jale but they say he’ll get off cos it wasn’t his falt. Cum home when you can. Ma’s in a stayt.

Your bruther Seth.

Alice shrieked and pushed back her chair. ‘Oh, my God. Joe! My father’s dead. He was in a fight. What’ll happen to Ma and ’bairns? They’ll go to ’workhouse sure as owt.’

‘Hold on, hold on.’ Joe caught her firmly, for she seemed ready to flee to Holderness that very minute. ‘We’re going next Sunday, remember? We’ll sort things out when we get there. There’s nowt to be done right this minute.’