A Place Called Home (38 page)

‘Is she ill?'

‘Not in body, but the spirit seems to have gone from her. Perhaps seeing you will bring her back to her normal self. Have you come to take her home?'

‘There might be a bit of a problem,' Lucy said softly. ‘I'll tell you all about it, but first I want you to meet my young charges. They're tired because we've been travelling all night, but they're very excited to be here. I hope Monty doesn't mind.'

‘Mind what?' Monty's voice behind her made Lucy spin round to face him.

‘I didn't hear you coming.'

‘I tread like a panther when I want to.' He held out his hand. ‘Welcome home, Lucy. I see your arm is healed. Are you ready to perform again?'

She managed a weary smile. ‘I don't think so, but I have a favour to ask.'

‘Perhaps it would be better if you came to my caravan.' Monty glanced at Bram and the children. ‘Bring your family with you.'

Seated on the grass outside the Charters' van, the children took in their new surroundings wide-eyed and silent, but Lucy suspected that at any moment their excitement might bubble over into a torrent of questions and requests. Bertram had welcomed them cordially and he sat in his chair like a king on his throne, ruling his small world with dignity and good humour. ‘You are welcome to remain with us for as long as you like, but as Lucy knows, everyone has to pitch in and do their bit.'

Bram nodded enthusiastically. ‘I've just left the hussars, sir. I'm more than happy to work with the horses and help in any way I can.'

Monty had been leaning against the side of the van but this last remark seemed to catch his attention. ‘You'll be an excellent horseman, of course.'

‘Tolerably so, sir.'

Monty turned to his father. ‘We might have an addition to the act, Father. I have an idea that would suit both Bram and Lucy.'

Vicky raised her hand as if she were in the classroom. ‘Please, sir. I'd like to wear a spangled dress and be in the circus too.'

‘And me,' Maggie added eagerly.

‘I could be a clown or a strong man,' Bertie volunteered. ‘And I'm a good baker too.'

Bertram reached over to ruffle Bertie's hair. ‘Well, my boy, we might make use of your talents, and there's always work to do.' He glanced at his son. ‘They'll need a tent, Monty. Have we any spare?'

‘I'm sure I can find something suitable, Father.' Monty beckoned to the children. ‘Come with me. I'll show you round and you can give me a hand.' He turned to give Bram a cursory look. ‘You too, soldier. Setting up a tent is man's work.'

‘It won't be the first time I've done it,' Bram said grimly. ‘I've spent most of my career living under canvas.'

Lucy found herself left alone with Bertram. ‘I hope Stella doesn't get the wrong idea again,' she said in a low voice. ‘I don't want to cause an upset.'

‘Stella will do as she's told, my dear.' Bertram gave her a reassuring smile. ‘And I hope you might be persuaded to perform again. Pretty girls in fancy costumes are always a hit with audiences, especially the men.'

Lucy stood up. ‘Thank you, Mr Charter. I'll think about it.'

‘And I can see that you're eager to be reunited with your grandmother. I hear that she's making steady progress, although it's early days yet.'

‘You know about her?'

‘My dear, I know everything that occurs in our tiny world.'

Lucy hurried back to the tent, arriving just as Froniga was helping Eva to get dressed. She hesitated. ‘Granny, it's me, Lucy.'

Leaning on Froniga, Eva turned her head slowly. Her eyes, which had once burned with the lust for life, were dull and expressionless, sunken and underlined with dark circles. Her once rosy cheeks were ashen and her fiery curls were streaked with grey. She stared at Lucy as if trying to place her.

‘It's your granddaughter, Eva,' Froniga said gently.

Eva shook her head. ‘Lucy is ten years old. She can't be my little girl.'

Lucy slipped her hand inside her blouse and pulled out the locket. Unfastening the chain, she held it up for Eva to see. ‘I am still your little girl, but I've grown up now. You gave me this on my eleventh birthday, Granny. You left it for me at the house in Albemarle Street. Don't you remember?'

EVA SNATCHED THE
locket and chain, clutching it in her hand. ‘You stole it from the child. It's Lucy's.'

Froniga pressed her down on the pile of cushions. ‘A nice cup of tea is what you need, my dear.' She sent Lucy a warning look. ‘The kettle's boiling.'

‘I'll see to it.' Lucy backed out of the tent, her dreams of a blissful reunion shattered. Somehow she managed to make a pot of tea without scalding herself, but her hand shook as she passed a cup to Eva. ‘I remember how you like it, Granny. Strong and sweet with two sugars.'

Eva snatched the cup, spilling some of the hot tea on the grass. ‘Ta,' she muttered, taking a sip. ‘It's better than the stuff they give you in clink.'

Froniga gave Lucy an encouraging smile. ‘Why don't you sit with Eva for a while? She might feel like talking when she's had her drink. I'll go and see if Jenny has any bread to spare.'

‘We had gruel for breakfast in jail,' Eva muttered. ‘It was pigswill. I ain't going back there, not ever.'

‘Of course not. I'll look after you now. You're safe.' Lucy struggled to control the tears that burned her eyes. Her throat ached, but she was determined not to cry. She must be strong or she would not be able to rescue this broken woman from the hell she still inhabited. She slipped her arm around Eva's shoulders. ‘It's all right, Granny. I've come to take you home, but first we must get you better.'

Eva gulped her tea. ‘I sold my girl for fifteen pounds. I deserve to be punished.' She tossed the tin cup out of the tent and threw herself back on the cushions in a storm of weeping. Lucy sat beside her, at a loss as to how to comfort her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Froniga returned bringing bread, butter and jam. She glanced at Eva, shaking her head. ‘She's been like this ever since we brought her here. Leave her, Lucy. She'll quieten down in a while and then she'll sleep.'

Lucy rose from the floor and followed Froniga outside. The sun was warm on her face and the air was fresh and clean, in contrast to the stuffiness inside the tent. ‘Will she get better? I can't bear seeing her like this.'

‘I don't know, my duck. They say that time heals all so you'll have to wait and see. She needs rest, good food and quiet. This isn't perhaps the best place for her.' Froniga sat cross-legged on the ground, placing the bread on a small plank of wood and producing a knife as if from nowhere. She chuckled. ‘It was in my pocket. I don't dare leave anything sharp in the tent in case Eva decides to go on the rampage.'

Lucy sat down beside her. ‘She isn't violent.'

‘I haven't found her so, but you never know. She's had to fight for every crumb of food and sip of water while she was inside. Who knows what she suffered.'

‘Well, I'll look after her from now on. But, as I said earlier, there's a problem.'

Froniga put her head on one side, pausing with the knife poised. ‘I don't need my crystal ball to tell me that the problem might be your cousin.'

‘He mustn't find us or he'll take the children. He's trying to have me declared bankrupt so that my house is forfeit. He's already sold the one in Albemarle Street, and Marriott Park will be next, because he's lost everything at the gaming tables.'

Froniga buttered a slice of bread and handed it to her. ‘Help yourself to jam. Jenny makes it herself and sells it. We'll save the rest for that man of yours and the nippers.'

‘He's not my man,' Lucy said, spreading jam on her bread. ‘Bram is just a friend.'

‘Hmm.' Froniga took a bite of food, saying nothing.

In the end two smallish tents were found and erected: one for Bram and Bertie and the other for Lucy and the girls. It was decided that Eva was best left in Froniga's care and she herself was not in any state to have an opinion. Acting on an appeal by Bertram, the circus people rallied around to find palliasses and blankets, donating other small comforts which they thought might make the tents more homely.

Everyone seemed pleased to see Lucy, with the exception of Stella, who made it clear that nothing had changed. She caught up with her outside the big top where Bram was about to show Monty what he could do. ‘I know what you're up to,' she hissed. ‘Monty's mine, so hands off.'

‘I see you haven't changed,' Lucy said coldly.

Stella's expression altered subtly as Bram approached, leading the horse that Monty had selected for him. She sidled up to him, fluttering her long lashes. ‘Welcome to the circus, soldier. We were in desperate need of a strong handsome man like you.'

Bram acknowledged her with a nod of his head. ‘How do you do, ma'am.'

‘Oh, you are so polite.' Stella trilled with laughter. ‘We have a gentleman in our midst. How refreshing. I'll see you later, soldier.' She sashayed away to join Dario, who was eyeing them with an ominous frown.

Bram met Lucy's amused gaze with a shrug of his shoulders.

‘I thought you might fall for her,' she whispered. ‘Most men do. Dario has his work cut out fending off her admirers.'

‘He won't have any fending to do when it comes to me.' Bram tightened the girth and adjusted the stirrup leathers. ‘I've no intention of being lured into her web of intrigue and romantic trysts. I can see what type of woman she is and she's poison. Keep away from her.'

‘That's easy to say, but very hard to accomplish when you live and work so close together.'

He vaulted into the saddle. ‘I'm not sure about this, Lucy. I'm a soldier, not a circus performer.'

‘We have to pay our way,' she said, stroking the horse's neck. ‘And we have to live somewhere until Linus gives up his rights to the children. I'm not afraid of being poor again, although I'd hate to lose my house in Leman Street.'

‘We have to let Goldspink do his job. If Linus continues the way he is at present he'll bankrupt himself and he won't want to be saddled with three youngsters. At least, that's what I hope might happen.'

‘I'm not sure he'll ever leave us alone, Bram. I don't know why he hates me so, but I don't think he'll stop until he sees me back in the gutter.'

‘I'll worry about him later.' Bram glanced over his shoulder. ‘This is where I go into the ring and show Monty a thing or two. I'd like to see him ride into battle.'

‘Don't upset him, Bram. He's our bread and butter for the time being, and at least you don't have to wear a hideous pink velvet riding habit.' She looked round as Monty rode up to them, his horse snorting and prancing as if eager to be in the ring.

‘Are you ready, Bram? Let's see you go through your paces.' He gave Lucy a searching look. ‘Are you sure you're fit enough to join us?'

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Stella, who was watching them intently, and her mind was made up. ‘Yes, of course, Monty. I'll go and change.'

The children settled into circus life as if they had been born to it, and Bram adapted to the change in his circumstances with the fortitude of a man used to surviving in far harsher conditions than a field outside Colchester. It was Lucy who found things increasingly difficult. She had managed well enough before, but now she had her grandmother to think about as well as the children's well-being. She missed Marriott Park more than she had thought possible, and the weeks they had spent there seemed like halcyon days compared to the frenetic life of the circus people. The only consolation was that they were relatively safe, and Eva was beginning to show signs of improvement. As each day passed she grew physically stronger, and the confusion that had addled her brains had begun to recede. But she still clung to the belief that Lucy was ten years old, and refused to part with the locket.

Froniga was ever patient with her charge, putting up with the occasional tantrum and soothing her when the horrors of her past experiences came back to haunt her. Lucy was grateful but saddened by what she saw. The vivid memories of her childhood and her vivacious, fun-loving grandmother seemed like a distant dream. Eva was locked away in the world she had invented for herself when reality became too much for her to bear.

Even as one problem began to lessen, another and more dangerous situation arose. Monty was ever more attentive these days. It might, Lucy thought, be his competitive spirit that made him determined to win her from Bram, whom he obviously considered to be his rival. She avoided being alone with him, which was not difficult in the general run of things. Space and solitude were luxuries that most circus folk had to do without, and living in a close-knit community had advantages as well as disadvantages. Lucy knew only too well that every compliment Monty paid her and the small privileges he allowed her never went unseen. Stella was always there, lurking in the shadows, watching, and waiting her chance to pounce. At times Lucy felt like a sparrow being stalked by a particularly vicious cat. A momentary lack of concentration might prove to be her downfall. She did not think Stella would make the mistake of trying to kill her a second time, but a crippling accident might occur at any moment in the dangerous world of the circus ring. The sooner they could return to London, the better. Lucy sent a letter to Yorick Goldspink, informing him of their whereabouts and asking him to keep her informed of his progress. She also wrote, against Bram's advice, to Hester and Bedwin, giving them a progress report and ending with the fervent hope that she would be able to come home soon.

At the end of the month, just when everyone had settled into a comfortable routine, they had to uproot themselves, pack all their belongings and make ready to move on to the next location. This time they were heading for Braintree, some ten miles distant, which entailed a full day's travel, added to which was the exhausting business of dismantling the big top. It then had to be packed on several wagons together with the tents and other equipment, and all this done at night to ensure an early start next day.