‘I wasn’t either, so I stopped. I gather she didn’t.’
‘Miss Driscoll got angry at Pru over everything, Papa.’ Allan leaned back and looked up at his father. ‘Pru didn’t steal anything. Why was Miss Driscoll so angry that she hit Pru?’
The captain sighed.
You look so tired, Anna thought.
‘I’m sorry, Pru,’ he said.
‘It didn’t show,’ the scullery maid said, as if that was somehow allowed, which chilled Anna to her marrow. ‘I also heard them talking about jewellery. Did…? Was that…?’
‘My wife’s jewellery,’ he said, his voice dull, like an ache. He kissed the top of Allan’s head. ‘Allan’s mother’s. Oh, God.’
‘You didn’t lose that, Papa,’ Allan said. ‘I knew where you kept Mama’s pretties, and Pru hid them behind the commode in my dressing room.’
‘Pru, you’re so resourceful. You can sign on my crew any time you wish,’ Captain Beattie said approvingly.
‘Sir, I could never,’ she said softly, as though a compliment was too much. ‘You’re teasing me. I knew they wouldn’t look behind the commode because night soil is my job.’
‘Mama’s pretties weren’t anything valuable, I suppose,’ Captain Beattie said, gathering his son close, reminiscing in a way that seemed almost too intimate to Anna. ‘Before the war, and even before we married, I liked to bring Miss Cathy Fergusson baubles from my ports of call. Some necklaces, a bracelet from Ceylon, a cameo brooch from France before the situation got so nasty. Thank you, Pru. I’ll collect it tonight after you’re all in bed here.’
‘We’re not going back there, Papa?’ Allan asked.
‘Never.’ The captain looked at Anna. ‘Miss Fontaine is letting us stay here tonight. She has agreed that you and Pru can remain here while I am in drydock in Portsmouth. Tell us what happened next, Pru, when they couldn’t find Cathy’s baubles.’
‘They left. They told us not to leave the house or say anything.’ She looked down again. ‘As if anyone would have believed us.’
‘I doubt anyone would have,’ Anna said. ‘You both could have ended up in the workhouse, with Captain Beattie none the wiser. Pru, you are my hero.’
‘And mine,’ the captain said.
Captain Beattie deposited his son back in his chair. While the children ate—Mrs Moore had brought more biscuits and their appetites seemed bottomless—he gestured towards the open door.
Anna followed.
‘I’ll return to my house and see what I can recover. Would you show me where Allan and I will sleep tonight? I know it is an imposition, but I don’t know what else to do.’
‘Never fear, sir,’ Anna said. ‘We have room. It’s a small house,’ she said at the top of the landing. ‘We’re renting it, with the rent paid quarterly.’
‘Is it time to pay?’
‘Soon,’ she replied, wondering where that would come from, now that Will was gone. There was so much to consider. She glanced at the man beside her, and saw him not only as a captain with firm command and many lives in his hands, but also as a father with no idea what to do, beyond asking for help from a stranger.May I never be that desperate, was her first thought, followed by,but if I am, I hope someone will help me.
‘I will leave you money to pay the lease, and also funds to cover all expenses, until I return.’ He nearly smiled. ‘Provided you don’t pawn jewellery or frequent gaming hells.’
She laughed. ‘Not in recent memory, sir.’
It gave her a pang to open the door to Will’s room. She hadn’t meant to hesitate, but she couldn’t help leaning her head against the door and taking a deep breath.
‘Death is hard, Miss Fontaine,’ he said in that matter-of-fact tone she was already recognising, no matter how short their acquaintance. ‘I couldn’t have asked for a better first lieutenant than your brother.’
She couldn’t look at him, knowing she would disgrace herself with more tears. She kept her forehead against the door, liking the solidity. ‘He said the same thing about you, sir.’
‘Then we were both fortunate,’ he replied. ‘Buck up, my mate.’ He chuckled. ‘That’s what I would tell my crew. I am a plainspoken Scot, and time is moving on.’
That was all she needed. Captain Beattie was a busy man, trying to arrange the welfare of his son at short notice. He didn’t need to deal with a tearful lady. She opened the door.
She took a deep breath. There it was, Will’s favourite blanket when ashore, his books, even the sweetmeats she knew he liked, because he was coming home. She stepped back involuntarily, unable to enter the room. To her surprise and then her complete relief, Captain Beattie put his hands on her shoulders and steadied her.
