Sea Mistress (35 page)

‘I'll be like Ruth in the Bible,' Ellie said. ‘Your people will be my people, that sort of thing.' She became serious, ‘Dan, there's something I have to talk over with you.'

‘What is it?' He looked at her quickly, ‘You're not in any trouble, are you?'

‘Not exactly but I've planned something and now I'm having a conscience about it. I wanted to protect you from the truth but now, Dan, I need to know if I've done the right thing.'

He laughed. ‘I'm sure you have but tell me everything and then I can really decide if you're a wicked woman or not.'

‘It concerns contraband goods,' Ellie said hesitantly knowing how absurd it sounded. ‘I've learned that opium is being smuggled through Ireland without any duty being paid.'

Daniel frowned. ‘I don't know how you've come by this information but surely, Ellie, the proper authorities should be alerted as soon as possible.'

‘It's not as simple as that.' Ellie spoke quietly. ‘The opium is being concealed inside horse-collars made from our leather.'

Daniel looked down at her, she had his full attention now. ‘This really is serious, are you sure about it Ellie?'

‘I'm sure. What's so awful is that Matthew Hewson is involved along with Paul Marchant. Matthew threatened that if I didn't keep my mouth shut and give him a substantial amount of money, I would be implicated in the whole sorry mess.'

‘Go to the police,' Daniel said at once, ‘don't allow anyone to intimidate you, Ellie, you are innocent, anyone with eyes would see that.'

‘I wish you were right,' Ellie frowned. ‘But my wagons take the leather to the saddler and collect it when it's ready, who would believe I didn't know anything about the contraband? In any case, I think people will believe anything they hear, especially about me. I haven't exactly had an unblemished past, have I?'

She paused seeing Daniel rub his eyes, carefully considering what she had said. ‘I think you could establish your innocence, Ellie, I really do. I think you must put the matter in the hands of the authorities, alert the Customs and Excise men about what's happening.'

‘Listen, please Daniel, there's more. I instructed the men from the yard, Harry, Luke and Boyo to switch the loads of leather goods. What Paul Marchant is shipping to Ireland will be horse-collars, simply that.'

‘I see. What then? Will you turn the contraband over to the customs men, is that your plan?'

Ellie shook her head. ‘I hadn't thought of doing that, my idea was to exchange the real contraband cargo for Paul Marchant's signature on some documents. He would have to sign his wife's fortune back into her hands
and
sign a letter absolving me of any involvement in his schemes.'

‘But Ellie,' Daniel's voice was soft, ‘you'll be allowing these men to profit from the misery of others. The opium will be sold on the open market, don't you understand what that means?'

Ellie shook her head. ‘I'm not sure, Dan, I know people smoke opium but no-one seems to come to any harm from it.'

‘Ellie, you are so unworldly,' Daniel shook his head, ‘opium is addictive, taken in excess it will kill.'

‘But Dan, laudanum is derived from opium, it is a medicine, you know that as well as I do. The trade in opium is not illegal, what Paul Marchant is doing is smuggling simply to avoid paying the duty on the goods.'

‘The selling of opium should be illegal and it will be very soon, mark my words. Whatever way you look at it, Paul Marchant is breaking the law, you realize that, of course.'

‘Yes, I do realize that,' Ellie took her hands away from Daniel's grasp, piqued at his tone, ‘I'm not completely stupid you know.'

‘Ellie, I didn't mean to imply that you were, it's just that you can't in all conscience just hand the contraband cargo back to these men.'

Ellie turned her back on Daniel, for the first time she felt out of sympathy with him. ‘Don't you realize the implications, Daniel? Marchant could be harmed if he doesn't deliver the load as promised. In any case, it's too late to change my mind now, Bridie has gone across to Ireland, she is going to confront her husband, give him an ultimatum.'

Daniel rubbed his head. ‘I can't condone what you are doing, it's just not right.'

Ellie bit her lip. ‘Dan, are we having our first quarrel?'

He shook his head. ‘I will not quarrel with you, Ellie, I accept you acted for the best.' He stood behind her and drew her back against him. ‘I can only pray that no harm comes to either you or Bridie Marchant, I'm sure you don't realize just what sort of vicious men you are dealing with. You are playing a dangerous game, my love, I wish you'd talked to me before you got into this mess.'

She turned in his arms and faced him placing her hands against his cheeks. ‘It will be all right, you'll see. Paul Marchant will sign anything just so he can save his own skin and after this is over, he will have to give up the smuggling for good, too many people know about it for it to be safe any more.'

‘Perhaps you're right,' he sounded doubtful. ‘I still think you should have gone to the authorities and I still think you are taking, silly, dangerous risks.'

Ellie suddenly shivered, she had felt the cold touch of Daniel's disapproval and it was a feeling she didn't much care for.

Boyo was in love. He stared across the aisle of the Catholic Church to where the O'Conner family were sitting. There were four of them, the parents, stiff in their Sunday best, Mr James O'Conner looking fierce and large with a heavy moustache and beard and his wife Irfonwy, gentle and pretty as a summer's day. Beside them were their two daughters, April and Cathie, both pretty, both with an abundance of thick hair tied back beneath old-fashioned straw hats. It was April, the elder of the two girls who interested him, who had brought him to this unaccustomed place of worship on a Sunday.

He allowed himself another glance at April, he should have bought her something really special, a locket on a gold chain, perhaps. She was very well aware of his scrutiny; she glanced his way often, only to lower her golden eyelashes the moment his gaze met hers. She was, he thought, about sixteen years of age, her sister quite a bit younger.

April was well-built already, her breasts were full, straining sweetly against the crisp cotton of her dress. She had the healthy look of a farmer's daughter which was exactly what she was.

Boyo had seen the family in Swansea many times, of course, only it seemed that lately April had turned from a chrysalis into a butterfly without him being aware of it. He had sometimes collected milk and eggs from the farm for Ellie but lately she had been sending Rosie, claiming she needed Boyo at the tannery. Just his luck.

Boyo frowned, the tannery wasn't the happy place it used to be before Smithers had come to work there. He was a poor manager and his air of self importance stuck in Boyo's craw. The atmosphere at Glyn Hir was different, colder. The men resented the newcomer, he wasn't experienced in the way that Harry was, or even Luke, either of them would have made a better manager. It was just a shame that Ellie didn't think the same way.

Mind, it was the old hands she turned to when she wanted anything special done, like the swapping of the loads of collars for instance. Not that he understood what it was all about but if it was what Ellie wanted, it was all right by him. The original consignment of collars was now stored in the barn at the side of the house where Boyo used to sleep. There must be something special about those particular leather goods because Ellie had employed a locksmith to put a huge lock on the barn door.

Boyo looked up as he became aware of the bustle of people preparing to leave the church but at the last minute, the priest held up his hand. ‘There will be a social evening for young people and a special mass on Monday next.' He beamed beatifically at the congregation with the awesome regard for children given only to those who have none of their own.

Outside the church, Boyo saw that April had fallen behind and was standing a little apart from her family, apparently tying up the laces of her boots. He moved quickly towards her. ‘Excuse me, Miss O'Conner,' he began hesitantly. She looked up at him and then looked quickly away again, her cheeks blushing red beneath her bright hair. ‘Might I have the pleasure of seeing you at the social on Monday?'

‘April! Come on slowcoach!' Cathie was calling loudly and April threw her an angry look. There was no time for undue modesty.

‘Yes,' she said desperately, ‘I'll see you inside the church hall.' April gave him a last, heart-stopping smile and hurried to catch up with her family.

He whistled cheerfully to himself all the way back to Glyn Hir, his mind was filled with thoughts of April, of her sweetness, the soft rose scent of her, the brightness of her hair, the incredible green of her eyes. The smile faded when he reached the tannery and heard loud angry voices from inside the currying house. This was the spot where the men forgot the worries of home and work for a while and sat round a fire, drank a few mugs of ale and played some music.

This was where he had his first experience of women, the night of Rosie's seduction. He felt a pain within him as he remembered how it had felt, the exquisite joy, the sense of becoming part of a man's world. Sadly, he realized that he knew now what Ellie had meant when she said he'd regret it. He wished in that instant that he had stayed chaste so that he would be worthy of April.

As he drew nearer to the currying house, he saw what the noise was all about, Harry and Luke were arguing with Smithers. The foreman was leaning aggressively forward, bellowing insults, it was clear he was the worse for drink.

‘You are not going to break into the barn, not while I have breath in my body,' Harry was shouting. ‘Listen to sense, man, I was working here before you ever came on the scene.'

‘I'll handle the affairs of the tannery the way I want and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.' Smithers was big and ugly and Boyo knew Harry would have very little chance of defending himself if the verbal insults developed into a fist fight.

‘Come on, you lot, knock it off.' His words were ignored as Harry spoke again more heatedly. ‘You know Ellie doesn't want anyone handling the store of leather in the barn, she's given us express orders on it.'

‘I'm manager here and I don't have to answer to you, shut your mouth and get out of my way.'

Harry moved reluctantly to one side and Smithers grinned in satisfaction. ‘Keep your long nose out of what doesn't concern you, in future, right?'

Harry turned away, mumbling to himself and Smithers looked over to where Boyo was standing. ‘And you, young pup, you'd better learn who is boss round here, keep out of what don't concern you.'

At that moment, Ellie came into the yard and sized the situation up with a quick look. ‘You men had better get off home,' she said briskly. ‘No sense in hanging around the yard on a Sunday, is there?'

Boyo watched as Smithers moved away with ill grace, his big head lowered, his sharp eyes glancing towards the locked barn.

‘You going up to the house, boy?' Smithers was close to Boyo, his voice low, Boyo nodded. ‘Well don't go decking to the boss, right? What goes on down here in the yard is between us men and don't you forget it.'

Boyo was not likely to, not with Smithers' big shoulders leaning towards him in a way that could only be described as threatening. In any case, Boyo had other things to think about, he wanted to be alone in his narrow bed, he wanted to look out at the star-studded sky and most of all, he wanted to reawaken his happy thoughts of April O'Conner. All at once Boyo was frightened and excited at the same time, the thought of intimacy with April was too exquisite to bear. He brushed the notion aside, it was improper and irreverent. Yet he was roused, he knew he was, whenever he was near her, smelt her sweetness, saw the soft swell of her breasts beneath her bodice, he wanted to hold and protect April, he wanted to possess her. Well, there would be an awful lot of water under the bridge before anything like that happened.

Monday passed in a dreary haze, the cold winter weather seemed to creep into all the nooks and crannies of the grinding house. Boyo kept his spirits high, even as he carried the bags of oak bark chippings to the yard. There was no sign of Smithers, he'd gone with the wagons to fetch the leather goods from the saddler and Boyo was relieved.

‘Bugger off,' Harry said, ‘you might as well finish early, you're like a cow with a musket there, lad, no use to anyone.'

Gratefully, Boyo stripped off his clothes, regardless of the cold and stood at the pump in the yard, washing the stink of the tannery from his body. Shivering, he went to his room at the top of the house and sank onto the bed, lying back for a moment, considering the evening's pleasure before him. First, he would contrive to sit next to April at the mass. Later, they would be together at the social, drinking home-made pop and eating biscuits.

One or two of the bolder youngsters would give what the father called ‘a turn' singing or reciting, playing to the audience. Boyo cared for none of that, all he wanted was to be close to April. It was afterwards that the testing would come, would April let him walk her home? All the way uphill to Honey's Farm, it was a delicious thought. Perhaps her father, he of the large build and the fierce beard might come to meet her, that would certainly be a blow to Boyo's plans for taking April's soft little hand in his. He looked down at his own hands, they were calloused from handling the oak bark, stained and brown in places as though he had smoked many cigars. He couldn't help that, it was proof of his honest labour, no girl could object to that could she?