Chris Nickson - Constant Lovers

‘And it’s his reminder that he can flout the law.’ Nottingham’s eyes were dark with fury. ‘I don’t care what that boy had done, he didn’t deserve to die like that.’ He took a deep breath and reached for his coat. ‘I’m going to see Amos.’

‘Boss-’ Sedgwick began, but the Constable had already left.

He pushed his way through the door and back into the kitchen. Worthy was standing there, leaning against the table and catching the sun through the dirty window. For once the fire wasn’t lit, but the summer heat trapped in the room left it unpleasantly warm.

There were no guards lounging by the back door or against the wall. Worthy was eating in silence, bread and cheese on his plate, a full cup of ale before him. He turned slowly and smiled as the Constable entered.

‘I wondered how long it would be before you showed your face,’ he said. ‘Do you want something to drink? Stop that thirst?’

‘You know why I’m here.’

‘Of course I do, laddie. You think I had something to do with the body you have in the jail.’

‘I know you did, Amos.’

Worthy’s eyes shone. ‘If you’re so certain, you’d better prove it, Mr Nottingham.’ He held up his hands, turning them to show both sides, the skin unbroken. ‘Does that look like I’ve been fighting?’

‘So for once you had someone else do the work for you.’

‘You want be careful, laddie.’ His voice turned colder and more serious. ‘Words like that could seem like slander.’

‘How did you know someone had died if you weren’t involved?’

‘Little birds are always telling me things.’ He broke off some of the bread and began to chew, letting crumbs spill carelessly down over his long waistcoat.

‘They told you fast.’

‘No point in knowing if you’re not the first. It’s old news by the time some other bugger has it.’

‘What about the girl?’ the Constable asked. ‘What have you done with her?’

Worthy put down the bread and stared straight at him.

‘I’ll spell this out to you so you don’t go making any mistakes. I don’t have the girl. But I’ll bloody well find her. And if you think I have summat to do with whoever you have on that slab, go ahead and prove it. I’ll lay odds you can’t do it, though. You want a wager on it?’

Nottingham didn’t react, holding the older man’s gaze for a long time.

‘Get out,’ the procurer said finally. ‘I want to eat.’

The sky was just taking on its evening colours when Sedgwick arrived home. He closed the door with a long, exhausted sigh.

‘Papa!’ James ran to him, clutching at his legs and gazing up with large blue eyes, silently demanding to be picked up. The deputy grabbed him round the waist, tossing him lightly into the air and catching him as the boy squealed with joy. He nuzzled his nose against James’s face, smelling the warm innocence of his hair then turning a circle with his son in his outstretched arms.

‘You be careful,’ Lizzie laughed. ‘He had summat to eat a little while back. If he’s sick you’re going to be the one cleaning it up.’

‘He’ll be fine, won’t you?’ He pulled the lad close and kissed him then let him slide back down his body to the floor. Lizzie came over, holding him and feeling the weariness in his bones.

‘Bad day?’ she asked.

‘Aye,’ he answered, thinking again of the bloody, misshapen face on the slab and wanting to leave it all behind. ‘But I’m home now.’

‘Come on, get your coat off,’ she told him, pulling lightly at the sleeves. ‘You’re settling in for the evening. There’s some food on the table. You want some ale?’

He nodded and she filled his mug. The first long sip tasted good, the second even better. He sat down, moving his head around to try and ease the tension of work out of his neck.

‘One of those days when you wonder why you do it?’ Lizzie asked.

‘Aye,’ he said, taking her hand, and pulling her down so she sat on his lap with a happy squeal.

‘I’m getting heavier, you know,’ she told him and patted her belly. ‘And I’ll be bigger fast enough.’

‘You’ll be lovely.’

With a smile she punched him playfully on the shoulder. ‘You say that now, John Sedgwick. But when I’m waddling round big as one of them houses at Town End you’ll think different.’

‘I’ll love you if you’re as big as the bloody Moot Hall,’ he laughed along with her and buried his face in her hair. He relished his work but he knew that this was what really kept him going, the prospect of coming home to these two. Here he could be a different person, or at least a different shade of the same person, gentler and kinder.

She stroked his hair as they sat, combing through it absently with her fingers, watching James as he played. Gradually he could feel himself relax, enjoying the closeness of this woman who wanted to be with him.

‘We’ll have to get a larger room,’ she said.

‘What?’ he asked absently.

‘Drifting off??’ she asked with a sly sparkle in her eye. ‘I was saying we’ll need a bigger room when the baby’s born.’

‘We could start looking sooner, if you like.’

‘I’d love to have a real home sometime,’ she sighed. ‘Nothing fancy, just more than one room.’

‘Better dream on or find yourself a rich man, then. It won’t happen on my wages.’

‘One day when you’re Constable.’

‘If that ever happens, what with this new lad,’ he said with a sigh. ‘His father publishes the Mercury, so he’ll know people.’

‘Mr Nottingham said he’d speak up for you, didn’t he?’ Lizzie asked.

‘Yes.’

‘Then go ahead and trust him. Look at you, John Sedgwick, you’re worried about someone who hasn’t even been in the job five minutes.’

‘I know,’ he admitted sheepishly.

‘You trust Mr Nottingham, don’t you?’

‘Of course I do.’

‘He’ll do what he said, you know that. And maybe you’ll get me that house after all.’

‘Well, there’s a house with the job.’ He grinned. ‘Just don’t go holding your breath, though. The boss has a few years in him yet.’

‘I know,’ she said. ‘I’m just wishing. And you look like you’re dead on your feet.’

‘I’m fine for the moment,’ he told her and glanced out of the window. ‘It’s not even properly dark yet.’

‘I was thinking we could put James to bed and have an early night. You know.’

‘I suppose I could stay awake for that. Just.’

‘You’d better,’ she warned him with a smile. ‘Fall asleep in the middle and you’ll wake up missing some bits.’

He woke midway through the night, a sudden idea springing into his brain. Even as his eyes opened it began to fade and he struggled to keep it there. Slowly he untangled his arm from around Lizzie, and moved silently across the room, digging a scrap of paper and a pencil from his coat.

As he pulled the sheet back over himself she stirred against him, her breathing becoming soft snores for a few moments before subsiding. He smiled, feeling loved and satisfied.

The morning seemed a little cooler, the air easier to breathe as the deputy walked to work. He could hear the bright chatter of servants through the open windows and the rattle of pots on stoves as they started to make breakfasts.

He’d had some bread and a few sips of ale, enough to set him up for now. He was never hungry first thing, but ravenous by dinner when he usually had a pie from one of the shops or street sellers.

The Constable was already at the jail, his coat draped over the chair and sleeves rolled up to show the hair on his arms bleached pale by the sun.

‘There was a set-to overnight, boss. That’s what Morris the night man told me,’ Sedgwick said with a frown and Nottingham looked up, setting the quill aside.