The River Maid. Dilly Court

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СКАЧАТЬ leaped out of bed and went to close the window, shutting out the noise. Clouds of steam billowed into the sky above the brewery, filling the air with the smell of hops and malt, which was infinitely better than the stench from the river and the chemical works. She returned to her bed and lay down again, closing her eyes but, tired as she was, she could not sleep. There was no saying where the next job was coming from and the money in the pouch would not last long. Her father was well known on the river and work was put his way, but it was a man’s world and she was little more than a girl. She was tolerated because she was Jacob Chapman’s daughter, but on her own she might as well be invisible. For both their sakes, she could only hope that his injury was not serious.

      Next morning, having made sure that her father was ready for another long day on the sofa, Essie set off with money in her pocket. Her first stop was at the pharmacy to purchase a pennyworth of laudanum. That done, she visited various shops in Fore Street to buy enough food to last for a day or two only, as it was summer and milk went sour overnight, cheese grew soft and oily, and flies feasted on meat, leaving their eggs to develop into squirming maggots. Essie bought bread, dripping, two meat pies and a small amount of tea. Then, as a treat, she added a few lumps of sugar. It was an extravagance, but she felt she had earned it.

      ‘Hold on, Essie. What’s the hurry?’

      She glanced over her shoulder and saw her friend walking towards her. ‘Haven’t you any work today, Ben Potter?’

      ‘I’m just about to start now.’ He lengthened his stride, slowing down as he fell into step beside her. ‘How’s Jacob? I heard about his accident.’

      ‘Not very good. I’ve got some laudanum to dull his pain, but I think he ought to be in hospital, or at least see a doctor.’

      ‘What about the bonesetter?’

      ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ Essie said, frowning. ‘But I’ll see how Pa is by this evening. We really can’t afford to throw money about unless it’s going to do some good.’

      Ben nodded, pushing his cap to the back of his head. ‘I’ve got to go or I’ll be late and the guvnor will dock my wages. Old Diggory used to knock me for six when I first started my apprenticeship, but I’m bigger than him now and he’s a bit more respectful.’

      Essie shot him a sideways glance. She had known Ben all her life and when they were children they had roamed the muddy foreshore together, searching for valuables or coins that lay hidden beneath the surface. When he was fourteen Ben had been apprenticed to Diggory Tyce, a waterman who had won the Doggett’s Coat and Badge in his youth, and whose knowledge of the River Thames was second to none. Ben was ambitious, and Essie admired that in a man.

      She smiled. ‘They say that wherries will soon be replaced by steamboats.’

      ‘Aye, they do, and that’s the future as far as I’m concerned, but the guvnor will take a lot of convincing.’ Ben came to a halt at the top of Duke Shore Stairs. ‘I’ll call round tonight when I finish, if that’s all right with you, Essie.’

      ‘Yes, but I can’t promise to be there. It all depends if I can find work.’

      ‘You shouldn’t be working the river on your own. It’s hard enough for a man, but it’s dangerous for a slip of a girl like you, especially after dark.’

      ‘I can beat you at rowing any day of the week.’ Essie blew him a kiss and he waved cheerily as he made his way down the stone steps to the foreshore where Tyce’s wherry was about to be launched. The passengers were already seated, and judging by their appearance they were seamen returning to their vessel from a night ashore, some of them very much the worse for wear. One had a black eye and another had his head bandaged, blood seeping through the grubby dressing.

      Essie sighed, hoping that someone would offer her employment, although it seemed unlikely. She walked on, heading for home. It was still early but White’s Rents was alive with activity. Small, barefoot children had been turned out to amuse themselves in the street, and the boys were rolling around in the dirt, scrapping and testing each other’s strengths like playful fox cubs. The older girls sat round plaiting each other’s hair and chatting while they kept an eye on the babies.

      On the other side of the road Miss Flower was bent double, using her little trowel to pick up deposits left by feral dogs. The smell added to the general stench, but she seemed oblivious to it and trudged on her way, heading in the direction of the tannery where the contents of her wooden pail would be used in the tanning of leather. She said that, on a good day, she could get a shilling for her efforts, but Essie would not have traded places with her for a king’s ransom. Miss Flower’s occupation was almost as unenviable as that of Josser the tosher, who earned his living by venturing into the sewers in search of valuables that had been washed down the drain. Josser and Miss Flower lived at number ten, sharing the house with the night-soil collector, several railway workers and a succession of Irish navvies. Essie wondered how anyone could exist in such conditions, but the poor had to make do in order to survive. She hurried past a group of slatternly women, who stopped talking to look her up and down and went on to whisper and giggle like schoolchildren. Essie was used to this and she walked on, ignoring their taunts.

      As she entered the front parlour she was surprised to find her father sitting up.

      ‘Did you bring beer, Essie?’

      ‘No, Pa. I spent the money on food. I’ll light the fire so that I can boil the kettle.’

      He slumped back against the worn cushions. ‘I need something for the pain.’

      ‘I bought some laudanum, but you’re obviously a lot better. At least you can sit up now – you couldn’t do that last evening.’

      ‘Give me the bottle and I’ll dose meself, Essie, love.’ Jacob’s tone changed and he gave her a persuasive smile. ‘Help your poor old pa, there’s a good girl.’

      She snatched up the basket and headed for the kitchen. ‘I’ll mix some laudanum in water and then I’ll get the fire going. I’m dying for a cup of tea.’

      ‘I’m dying for a sip of ale. You could have bought a couple of bottles. What if I give you the money and you take a jug to the pub and get it filled?’

      Essie hesitated in the kitchen doorway. ‘What if you give me more money so that I can pay the rent on time every week, Pa?

      ‘You’re an ungrateful child, Esther Chapman. Your poor mother would turn in her grave if she could see how you treat me.’

      ‘That’s not fair,’ Essie said angrily. ‘I do my best.’ She closed the door on him and busied herself unpacking the contents of the basket. Her memories of her mother were hazy, and probably enhanced by time, but everyone said that Nell Chapman had been a remarkably pretty young woman. She had come from a good family and had married Jacob to spite her father, who had tried to come between her and the penniless boatman who had captured her heart. The only thing that Essie could recall clearly was the sound of voices raised in anger, and her mother’s tears when Jacob came home from the pub the worse for drink. The sickness that had taken her ma to live with the angels had almost claimed her own life, but Essie had survived, largely thanks to the care of her brother, George. She dashed her hand across her eyes – George had left home after a furious row with their father. She had been only six years old, but that day was etched in her heart for ever.

      But there was no point dwelling on the past. Essie heaved a sigh and returned to the parlour where she used the last of the coal and kindling to light the fire.

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