The Vagabond Duchess. Claire Thornton

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СКАЧАТЬ quick eyes as she lifted the frightened child into her arms.

      A few minutes later Nellie snatched Katie into her own embrace, scolding and crying over her restored daughter.

      Jack took the key from her and opened the shop door, lifting the lanthorn he held high to provide light for the others as they stumbled inside.

      ‘Now we eat,’ he said. ‘What have you got in your larder?’

      ‘Eat?’ Temperance rubbed her face, smearing tears and ash across her cheek. ‘I don’t know. There’s some bread. Bacon. Cheese, I think…’

      ‘Now there’s a feast for a hungry man. Will you give me a share, even though I can’t play for it?’ he asked, a hint of his former teasing manner in his voice.

      ‘Of course.’ Temperance was too worried to reply in kind. How was she going to save her goods now? All the previous day she’d seen tradesmen packing their wares and household belongings into carts and barrows. They’d found Katie, and she’d never regret the hours they’d spent looking for her, but would there still be time to salvage her belongings?

      Fear compelled her up the stairs, past the kitchen and on to the attic. Horror stopped her breath as she stared towards the fire. In the daylight it had been bad enough, in the dark it was a terrifying sight. The flames lit up the sky almost as bright as day. They were closer now, leaping over rooftops, dancing like obscene devils over church spires.

      She gazed, transfixed, by the nightmarish spectacle. Jack came to stand by her side.

      ‘You’re right,’ she said, her voice harsh with anxiety. ‘We have to pack up and leave.’

      ‘After we’ve eaten,’ he replied.

      ‘There’s no time—’

      ‘There’s time to eat,’ he said firmly. ‘The fire looks more fearsome in the dark, but it is still no closer than Cannon Street.’

      By the time dawn was casting a shrouded light over the city, Jack had found a cart for Temperance. She didn’t ask how he’d persuaded the carter to go with him, or what he’d paid to hire the cart. She’d seen for herself how the price of carriage had multiplied since the start of the fire. Porters, carters and watermen were all charging whatever their customers were capable of paying—and if one person didn’t have the money, another one, richer or more desperate, was sure to accept the exorbitant price.

      Temperance didn’t let herself think about how deeply she might now be in debt to Jack. She’d ask him later. For now she concentrated on wrapping and loading the bales of cloth from her shop. Sarah had returned to her own family that morning, too frightened to remain close to the advancing flames, so it was only Jack and Isaac who helped load the cart.

      She paused to catch her breath and noticed Agnes come out of her shop door. After today Temperance didn’t know when she’d see her neighbour again. She’d had many arguments with Agnes, but she didn’t want to part on bad terms, so she went to speak to her.

      ‘Where are you going?’ Agnes asked.

      ‘Covent Garden. What about you?’

      ‘My niece, Fanny, in Southwark. You remember her?’

      ‘Of course. What about your belongings?’ Temperance could see Agnes’s shop was already stripped bare.

      ‘St Paul’s,’ said Agnes. ‘No fire will burn the cathedral. I was lucky I managed to get my goods inside in time. Everyone was rushing there yesterday. I didn’t know you knew anyone in Covent Garden,’ she added suspiciously.

      ‘I don’t. Jack does. Where are Ned and Eliza?’ Temperance asked, referring to Agnes’s apprentice and servant.

      ‘They’ve gone ahead,’ Agnes said. ‘I’ll be on my way soon. I just came back…’ Her throat worked as she patted the doorjamb of the shop, her home for forty years. ‘I can’t stand here gossiping, girl,’ she said. ‘I’ve got things to do.’ She went inside without a backward glance.

      Temperance walked over to Jack. He paused, one hand resting on the side of the cart.

      ‘We’re nearly done in the shop—why don’t you start upstairs?’ he suggested.

      She nodded and went inside. It was agonising deciding between what she could take and what she would be forced to leave behind.

      ‘What’s going?’ Jack asked from behind her.

      She pointed mutely, making ruthless decisions with tears in her eyes. Jack picked up the largest item and started downstairs. They finished loading the cart in silence.

      ‘Is that everything?’ Jack asked at last.

      ‘I think so.’

      ‘Good.’ He glanced over her shoulder, and she saw his expression change. She spun around, then clapped her hands to her mouth in shock.

      The fire had reached Cornhill. For the first time she could see the flames when she was standing at her own front door.

      ‘Oh my God!’ she whispered. ‘It’s nearly here.’

      For a moment her feet seemed frozen to the ash-covered cobbles. Then life surged back into her limbs. She dashed inside the building and rushed up the stairs. When Jack caught up with her she was flinging open cupboard doors and dragging drawers from the old dresser.

      ‘What are you looking for?’

      ‘Everything. Nothing. What if I’ve missed something important?’ She stared around in panic, then headed up another flight to her bedchamber. ‘What if I’ve missed something?’ she kept repeating, as she tossed discarded items left and right in her distress.

      Jack’s arms closed around her from behind. ‘You can replace anything except life,’ he said gently. ‘It’s better to live to fight another day than to take on a foe you can’t beat. Now be still and think quietly. You’ve already taken a little carved box. I know it’s important to you because you put it straight into your pocket. Is there anything else here that means so much to you?’

      ‘My brother made the box,’ she said, her thoughts going off at a tangent.

      ‘Where is he now?’ She felt Jack’s breath against her cheek as he held her from behind.

      ‘He died when I was thirteen.’

      ‘I’m sorry. Then of course you must keep it safe. Is there anything else here so important to you? Just close your eyes and rest a moment.’

      His voice was so soothing and unhurried she did as he bid. Just for a few seconds she relaxed enough to let her mind range over her belongings and all the years to see if there was anything she’d forgotten.

      ‘My mother’s sewing box.’ She made an instant move to fetch it, dismayed she’d forgotten it until that moment. What else had she forgotten?

      Jack held her still.

      ‘Anything else?’

      ‘I don’t know.’ Panic began to rise in her once more, СКАЧАТЬ