So Long At the Fair (55 page)

‘I told you,’ she answered without breaking her stride, ‘I want to catch the steamer. I intend to see Iris and Alfred, and go back to the hotel. Then I shall return home to Frome. What you do is up to you.’

‘Abbie, wait. I’m sorry I said that. Please – we have to talk.’

‘There’s nothing to talk about. You’ve said enough.’

‘But you’re way too early, anyway. I told you, the boat isn’t due for ages yet.’

‘Then I’ll wait for it.’ She kept going. ‘I really don’t care.’

They walked on in silence towards the docks and on arrival saw that a number of people were standing on the pier.

‘They must be waiting to go downriver,’ Louis said.

Abbie didn’t answer, but walked out onto the pier. Louis followed and, coming to a stop at her side a little distance from the waiting crowd, looked out into the estuary. A steamer was coming downriver towards them. When he turned to Abbie she did not return his glance – though she could not fail to be aware of it. Her face was as if set in stone. Lips compressed, she stood gazing out over the water at the approaching steamer.

Soon the pleasure boat was close enough to read the name painted on its bows. ‘It’s the
Princess Alice
,’ Abbie said, and with her words turned and moved to join the waiting people.

‘But it’s going the wrong way.’ Louis stepped along at her side. ‘It’s going down to Sheerness.’

‘It’s the
Princess Alice
. And it’ll turn at Sheerness and come back, am I right?’

‘Well, yes, but –’

‘Then that’s all that matters. Besides, it’ll give me a longer time to spend with Iris.’

‘But Abbie –’

‘I’m getting on the boat. You don’t have to come with me.’

The huge, iron-built steamboat came steadily closer, twin plumes of smoke rising from her funnels in the fine, clear air, her paddles churning in their side boxes, their sound set against the band’s music as it drifted over the water. Slowly, smoothly, she came on until she was eventually lying beside the pier. When she was tied up and the gangplank was put down the little queue edged forward. Immediately behind Abbie and Louis came a loud-voiced mother and father and their five children, while in front was a boisterous, good-natured group of three young couples aged about twenty. Two of the young women – though not dressed alike; one was all in blue, the other in red tartan – were obviously twins.

Along with the others wanting to board, Abbie and Louis were forced to wait for a while to allow a number of passengers to disembark, and then they were moving forward again. Seconds later they had reached the ticket seller and there was no more time for debate; Louis was buying their tickets and moments after that the two of them were stepping up onto the gangplank and then onto the deck.

Recalling the seething throngs that she had experienced on some previous trips on the Thames steamers, Abbie was relieved to find that the boat appeared to be relatively uncrowded. As they crossed the lower deck she gestured up towards the source of the music. ‘The band’s on the upper deck,’ she said, ‘that’s where I’ll find Iris.’

Climbing a companionway, they stepped out onto the upper deck, and looking towards the sound of the music saw the seven-piece band raised up on a dais. Among them, playing his cornet, was Alfred, looking very smart in his blue bandsman’s uniform.

‘You go on and spend a little time with Iris,’ Louis said. ‘I’m sure you’ve still got plenty to talk about. I’ll join you later. I’ll probably go into the saloon and have a drink.’

‘As you like.’

‘Would you like me to bring you anything from the bar?’

‘No.’ She was so hurt she still found it difficult to look at him. ‘No, thank you.’ She turned and a moment later was stepping away from his side. He stood for a second watching her departure, then moved back to the companionway and started down.

As she made her way across the deck the band was giving out a lively tune – ‘The Old Wooden Clock in the Hall’ – and a few people were joining in, singing along. There appeared to be many whole families on board. There were numbers of children too – some sitting with parents and siblings, while others ran shrieking and laughing about the deck, getting in the way of the pedestrians. For a great many there, she surmised, the day’s trip on the Thames would be the high point of the year. Also, many had no destination, but were there solely for the boat trip itself; they would not be disembarking at Sheerness, but would stay on board as it turned around and headed back upriver. As, indeed, so now would she and Louis.

As she neared the crowd around the bandstand Alfred caught sight of her and widened his eyes in greeting. She smiled at him and gave a little wave with her fingers. He responded by turning his head slightly to his left and giving a brief little nod. Following the direction of his glance, she saw Iris sitting on a bench near the rail. Reaching her side a moment later, Abbie laughed at the look of surprise on her face.

‘What are you doing here so soon?’ Iris said. ‘We were expecting to see you on the way back.’

‘A change of plan,’ Abbie said. ‘We decided to get on the boat as it went downriver.’ She bent and gave Iris a hug. ‘For one thing it will give us longer together.’

‘Oh, indeed it will. It’s grand.’ Iris cast her eyes about her. ‘Where’s Louis?’

‘He’ll join us later. He said we should have a little time on our own. He’s gone to the saloon for a drink.’

‘Well, it’s just as well he gets it now. The boat will be quite crowded on the way back.’

‘Really? And I was just thinking how nice it was to have a little space – not to have all that seething mass of people around.’

‘Oh, they’ll be here, don’t worry.’

‘Well – nothing to be done about it.’

‘Here – let’s make room if we can,’ Iris said. She pressed up on the bench, smiling encouragingly at an old woman beside her. The woman, who was just finishing taking some snuff, put away her snuffbox and moved up slightly, enabling Abbie to sit down.

Abbie thanked her, then turned back to Iris. ‘Well, little sister,’ she said, ‘you’re looking very smart today – and very fashionable too.’

Iris inclined her head in self-conscious acknowledgement of the compliment. She wore a blue dress with a large ribbon bow at her throat and a number of smaller bows running down the front of the bodice. Her hat was a small blue Tyrolean affair trimmed with ribbons. Looking at Abbie, she saw something in her expression and immediately showed her concern. ‘Abbie, are you all right?’

‘Yes, I’m fine.’ As Abbie spoke she felt the boat give a shudder and begin to move. ‘We’re off,’ she said.

The boat was gliding away from the pier, out into the deep water. Near Abbie’s back the paddle box thrummed and vibrated with the turning of the paddle, while higher up on the bridge she could see the captain standing at the wheel. As Abbie glanced at him Iris followed her eyes.

‘That’s Captain Grinstead,’ she said. ‘The crew say he’s so nice. I believe he has his wife and two little daughters on board with him today.’ She turned and looked through the rail at the swiftly receding bank. ‘It won’t be long now till we get to Sheerness.’

‘You must have done this trip a good many times, have you?’

‘Oh, yes, a good few – since Alfred joined the band. He likes it if I can be on board when he’s working. I do too, of course.’ Turning, she pointed back upriver at a steamboat that was heading for the pier just vacated by the
Princess Alice
. ‘That’s the
Duke of Teck
,’ she went on. ‘She’s timed to sail ten minutes after the
Alice
. Alfred’s played on board the
Teck
a few times as well.’

The tune that the band was playing came to an end and Abbie saw that the musicians were putting away their instruments. ‘That’s not the end of the music, is it?’ she asked.

‘Just for a little while,’ Iris replied. ‘They’re dry and they need to wet their whistles. We can go with them if you like – down into one of the lower saloons.’

‘Well – I’d rather not.’

‘As you please. It’ll get very crowded down there anyway, before long.’

Alfred joined them a few moments afterwards and he took Abbie’s hand and gave her a self-conscious peck on the cheek. ‘We didn’t expect you yet,’ he said. He enquired then after Louis, and Abbie replied that he was having a drink and would be joining them later.

Standing behind Iris, Alfred wrapped his arms round her, pressing his face to hers. Iris grinned at Abbie from the circle of his embrace. ‘Abbie and Louis decided to catch the boat on the way down,’ she said.

‘Well,’ Alfred said, ‘lucky for us.’

Behind him his fellow musicians were heading for one of the companionways. Alfred asked the two sisters if they wanted to go with him for a drink, but Iris replied that for the time being they would remain on deck. ‘But you go on and get your ale,’ she said, ‘otherwise you’ll be too dry to play.’

‘Yes, that’s right.’ He planted a kiss on Iris’s cheek and straightened. ‘Can’t have that, can we.’

Alfred left them then to rejoin his colleagues and the steamer continued on downriver. ‘Would you like to go for a little stroll around the deck?’ Iris asked. ‘It would be a good idea before it gets too crowded. Though we mustn’t be too long, or Louis won’t know where to look for you.’

‘Oh, Louis, Louis!’ Abbie said with a note of exasperation in her voice. ‘Why is everyone so bothered about Louis?’

‘Abbie . . .’ Iris looked at her with concern. ‘I didn’t mean anything by it. I just – wondered about him, that’s all.’ She paused. ‘What’s wrong, Abbie?’

‘Wrong? Nothing.’ Abbie waved the question away.

‘Come – let’s go for our walk.’

Together the sisters got to their feet and, linking arms, set off to stroll around the deck.

After they had walked a little distance, Iris said, ‘Abbie, don’t be cross with me, but – oh, it’s none of my business, but it’s clear that things aren’t going so well with you and Louis. I could see that yesterday. You were both all right with other people, but with one another you seemed – oh, I don’t know – constrained.’

‘Well,’ Abbie said, ‘I have to admit that things are not as good as they might be.’

‘Oh, dear. I’m so sorry.’ Iris looked at her sympathetically. ‘Is it – is it because of Oliver . . . ?’

Briefly Abbie closed her eyes. ‘Well, Oliver’s partly the reason, but – it’s other things too.’

‘I wish I knew what to say.’ Iris’s small face was a picture of concern. ‘I hate to see you miserable. You deserve to be happy. I’ll never forget how you looked after us when Mother went away. All that responsibility you had. We depended on you so. I didn’t realize at the time, but later I came to be aware of all the things you had to do. And you were so young.’

Abbie waved a dismissive hand, but Iris went on, ‘It’s true. And when Mother came back you looked after her – and broke off your engagement in order to do so. But when you and Louis got married and had Oliver I thought . . . well, that everything was going to be so good for you – that all your troubles were over at last. And now . . .’ She pressed Abbie’s arm under her own. ‘Oh, I wish I could help in some way.’

‘It’s all right,’ Abbie said. ‘We shall get things sorted out in the end. One way or another.’

‘I hope so.’ Iris gave a sigh. ‘I’d just like everyone to be as happy as we are, Alfie and me.’ She remained silent for a moment as if debating whether or not to speak further, then she said, ‘Yesterday Louis and I talked about Beatie.’

‘Oh?’ Abbie’s tone was suspicious. ‘What about Beatie?’

‘Well – nothing in particular. He said that you had never spoken of – of Beatie’s death . . .’

‘Well, of course not,’ Abbie said, a little sharply. ‘It isn’t the kind of thing one wants to dwell upon. I don’t want to talk about it now, either. And I don’t particularly like the idea of being the subject of gossip.’

‘Oh, Abbie, don’t scold me,’ Iris said. ‘It wasn’t like that at all. I’m not trying to interfere.’

Abbie groaned. ‘I’m sorry, Iris. I know you only mean well. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.’ Briefly she touched a hand to Iris’s cheek. ‘I do love you, my little sister – you know that, don’t you?’

Iris smiled. ‘Yes, I do.’

The sisters continued on, their conversation moving onto safer ground, speaking of more mundane matters, of Eddie and Violet and their two little girls, of Lizzie and Adam and their small son, of various friends and neighbours in the vicinity of Flaxdown. When Iris spoke of Jane, and asked whether Abbie had seen her recently, Abbie replied in the negative and changed the subject. So their talk went on, with Abbie doing her best to keep it safe.

In a while Abbie noticed on the shore up ahead the buildings that marked out the little town of Sheerness situated on the Isle of Sheppey, and soon afterwards the boat was moving to pull up beside the pier. As it did so Abbie could at once see that Iris and Alfred were right with regard to an increase in the number of passengers on the journey back upriver. On that fine September day Sheerness had been the destination for many day trippers from London and Kent, and now those holidaymakers were ready to start on their journeys back home. A great throng of people – several hundred, it appeared to Abbie – were waiting to get on board, and after a relatively small number of passengers had disembarked, the throng surged forward. A minute later they were pouring onto the decks, both upper and lower, taking every seat available and crowding at the rails so it seemed that soon there would be scarcely room to move. ‘I can’t believe it,’ Abbie breathed, watching the new passengers swarming about. ‘There’s not enough space for them all.’

Over the voices and the laughter came the sound of the band striking up again. Iris turned towards it. ‘They’re back,’ she said. ‘Shall we go back too? We’ll be leaving Sheerness any minute now.’

Side by side they made their way to the bandstand, both giving Alfred a wave as he sat playing his cornet. A couple vacated their seats as the two arrived and they sat down. No sooner had they done so, however, but Iris said, ‘Abbie – I’m concerned about Louis. I wish he’d come and join us. It would be so nice if he were here too. You’ll be going back to Frome tomorrow, the two of you, and there’s no telling when I’ll see you both again.’