The Lady's Maid (48 page)

Kate would have run after him, but Harry stopped her. ‘Let him go, my love. We can’t do any more here and we must hurry or the causeway will be under water.’

‘I won’t let him do this,’ Kate said, clenching her hands. ‘I’m going to tell Josie everything and we’ll take him home. I swear to God that we’ll make him change his mind.’

When Kate broke the news to Josie and Molly there were tears of joy, and then, as they realised that Sam had meant what he said, there was astonishment followed by anger. Josie stared at Kate in disbelief at first, but then her stubborn jaw stuck out in a mirror image of how Sam had looked earlier in the day. ‘Stay with the monks, will he? We’ll see about that. Harry, I want you to take me to this place now.’

‘Unless you can swim like a porpoise, you haven’t a hope of getting to Lihou until tomorrow morning.’

‘Then that’s when we will go. I’m going to bring
Sam
back. I don’t care if he is a cripple, I love him and I won’t allow him to hide away in a monastery.’

‘But Josie, dear, what will you do?’ Kate asked gently. ‘How will you live?’

‘I can work,’ Molly said, jumping up from the window seat where she had been quietly listening to all that was said. ‘I can earn money.’

‘I’ll take him to my people,’ Josie said firmly. ‘You can come too, Molly, if you wish. My mother is queen of the Roma, and she’ll help us. All we need is a vardo and we will live as the Romany people do. They look after their own.’

Kate moved a little closer to Harry on the sofa. She curled her fingers around his hand and felt a comforting pressure in response. ‘I would do the same,’ she murmured. ‘If circumstances were different, I would work my fingers to the bone for you, Harry.’

Regardless of their audience, Harry drew her into his arms and kissed her. ‘There’s no need for anyone to suffer hardship,’ he said, punctuating his words with kisses. He turned his head to encompass Josie and Molly in his smile. ‘You will always have my help. Whatever you need, you will have. And if it had not been for you Josie, I would never have met my darling Kate. For that I owe you everything.’

Josie tossed her head, laughing. ‘I’ll hold you to that, Challenor.’

Next day, at low tide, Harry and Kate stood on the sand watching Josie and Molly striding out purposefully along the causeway towards the priory.

‘Do you think they’ll manage to persuade him?’ Harry asked, wrapping his arm around Kate’s shoulders and holding her close.

‘I don’t doubt it for a moment, Harry. It’s amazing what one determined woman can achieve, let alone two. Sam won’t stand a chance.’ Kate raised her face to gaze into his eyes, and she sighed with happiness. ‘Perhaps we could have a double wedding?’

‘Absolutely not. I won’t have you jumping over a broomstick, or whatever the gypsies do. I am going to marry you with all the pomp and ceremony I can muster. I will have your snooty Aunt Marjorie eating wedding cake out of my hand with a slice of humble pie for good measure. We’ll honeymoon in Paris, or Monte Carlo, or anywhere you choose.’

Kate smiled, shaking her head. ‘I would like to honeymoon here, in this enchanted island, where we have all found happiness.’

‘Then we will. That is a promise, my love.’

Author’s Note

I have taken liberties with the history of Lihou, an island off the west coast of Guernsey, in that the priory, established by Benedictine monks in the twelfth century, would have been a ruin in the nineteenth century. However, vraic (seaweed) was harvested on the island but the industry ceased during the German Occupation.

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Published by Arrow Books 2012

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Copyright © Dilly Court 2012

Dilly Court has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work

This novel is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

First published in Great Britain in 2012 by Arrow Books
A Random House Group company

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A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN
9780099562559