Dilly Court - The Summer Maiden

Caroline went to the door. ‘Shall I call a constable, Aunt?’

‘Let him speak first.’ Sadie leaned against the desk, folding her arms across her chest. ‘We’re listening, Mr Parkinson.’

‘You’ll find out sooner or later anyway.’ Parkinson put the bag down by his feet. ‘The business has been floundering for months, ever since the loss of the Mary Louise .’

‘But surely we were insured with Lloyd’s?’ Caroline stared at him, frowning. ‘Weren’t we?’

‘We could not afford the premium for such an old vessel, Miss Manning. It was a total loss and that, together with the expensive refit on your uncle’s ship, simply added to our difficulties.’

‘There’s something very wrong here, Parkinson,’ Sadie said angrily. ‘You need to give a full account of your dealings to Mr George.’

‘The paddle steamers we owned were sold at the beginning of the year, and I don’t know when Mr George will return, but whenever it is it’s too late to save the company, Miss Dixon. I’m getting out before the bailiffs arrive.’

‘It can’t be as bad as that.’ Caroline looked from one to the other. ‘We own the house in Finsbury Circus. Mama is a wealthy woman.’

Parkinson shrugged. ‘Tell that to your creditors.’

‘Aunt Sadie?’ Caroline crossed the floor to stand beside her aunt. ‘Tell him that the house must be worth a great deal of money. Tell him.’

‘You’re right, of course, Carrie, dear, but I’m afraid it’s rented. Your father wanted the world to see how successful he’d been and he insisted on moving to Finsbury Circus, even though your mama was happy living in the Captain’s House.’

Caroline stared at her in a state of shock. The safe and secure world of her childhood had been swept away with a few ill-chosen words. ‘I remember living in that old house, and I loved it, but then we moved to Finsbury Circus. I thought we owned our home.’

Sadie laid her hand on Caroline’s shoulder, her eyes moist with unshed tears. ‘I’m sorry, my dear. This must be a terrible shock, but things are not always what they seem.’

Parkinson clutched his hands to his breast in mock horror. ‘Poor child, my heart aches for you.’

Caroline rounded on him. ‘Hold your tongue, you horrid man. This isn’t a laughing matter.’

‘Indeed it ain’t, for you, anyway. I’m saving meself, Miss High and Mighty. Take my tip and find yourself a rich husband before the news gets out.’

‘Shut up, Parkinson,’ Sadie said wearily, sinking down into a chair. ‘At least we still own the Captain’s House. Thankfully, whether out of sentiment or for a more practical reason, Jack rented it out.’

Parkinson curled his lip, reminding Caroline of a snarling cur. ‘Then the bailiffs will seize it first.’

‘I hate to disappoint you,’ Sadie said smugly. ‘But Jack had the forethought to put it in my name. I own the Captain’s House – it was to be my dowry.’

‘I remember that it had a lovely friendly atmosphere and a wonderful view of the river.’ Caroline closed her eyes, trying to envision her room at the top of the old house. ‘Pa’s housekeeper told me that the captain who had built the house still kept watch over it, and sometimes I could smell tobacco smoke in my room, but I wasn’t afraid. If it was a ghost, it was a friendly one.’

‘Your mother loved the place, and I think she would have been content to live there for ever, but Jack wanted only the best for his family.’ Sadie sighed and turned her head away. ‘Life was simpler then, and we were all much younger. Anything seemed possible.’

‘This is all very interesting, Miss Dixon,’ Parkinson said sarcastically, ‘but the creditors haven’t been paid for weeks. The firm is facing bankruptcy and the sooner you realise that the better.’

‘I find that hard to believe.’ Sadie faced him angrily. ‘I think you’ve mismanaged the business, and now you’re running away.’

‘If Mr Manning hadn’t died he would have been held to account, but I don’t intend to take the blame for the collapse of the company. I’ve got an interview with one of our competitors this very afternoon. I want that job and I need to get out of here before all this becomes public.’

‘But there must be something left,’ Caroline said slowly. ‘Uncle George will make things right when he returns.’

Parkinson leaned over to open a drawer and produced a ledger, which he slammed down on the desk. ‘Study this, ladies. It lists all the ingoings and outgoings, the profits and the losses, of which there are many. The Esther Manning should have docked three days ago, but I reckon Mr George has seen the light and has decided to stay away. Maybe he’ll start up a business of his own in the Americas. That’s what I’d do if I were him.’

‘No, that’s so unfair.’ Caroline struggled to speak as her throat tightened and she had to force back tears. ‘Uncle George wouldn’t do such a thing.’

‘Of course not,’ Sadie added angrily. ‘You’re the villain here, Parkinson. Did you pay off the clerks and have you taken your wages from the money in the safe?’

‘It was ours by rights.’ Parkinson opened a second drawer and took out a bundle of documents, tossing them onto Sadie’s lap. ‘Unpaid accounts. I’m sick of being dunned by angry suppliers of everything from coal to caulking. Sort that out, if you can, but maybe you’ll believe me when you see how much the company owes.’ He snatched up his bag, opened it and tipped the contents onto the desk. An apple, a red spotted handkerchief, a tobacco pouch and a pipe spilled onto the grimy wooden surface, which had once been polished to a conker shine. ‘That’s all I’m taking from here, miss. It’s true I paid the clerks because they all have families to feed, and I took my wages, too, but not a penny more.’ He stowed his belongings away and rose to his feet. ‘Now, I’m going. Call a constable, if you wish, but I ain’t done nothing wrong. You’d best face up to the fact that it’s over. You’re like the rest of us now. You’ll have to work to earn your daily bread.’ He stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.

‘Do you think he was telling the truth?’ Caroline asked anxiously. ‘Surely it can’t be as bad as he says.’

‘I think I’d better study the books,’ Sadie said slowly. ‘It’s a while since I worked here, but I don’t suppose the system has changed very much.’ She handed the documents to Caroline. ‘Look through these and see what you make of them, Carrie. I can’t do it all.’

Caroline smoothed the crumpled papers. ‘At least I can do something useful. Maybe we’ll discover something that he’s missed.’

‘Maybe.’ Sadie shook her head. ‘It doesn’t look good so far, but at least the Captain’s House is safe. Your ma knows all about it, Carrie. When the Mary Louise was lost your pa must have known that things weren’t going too well. He changed his will and left the house to me in case the worst happened, and it looks as though it has.’

‘Why didn’t he leave it to me or to Max?’

‘I know it must seem odd to you, love. But your ma and I go back a long way. We had such adventures you can hardly believe, and I helped them to build the business until it was a genuine rival to the Colville Shipping Company. Jack knew that he could trust me, and that I would never let his family down.’ Sadie took a hanky from her pocket and blew her nose. ‘Come on, love. We’ve got work to do.’

After two hours the desk was littered with papers and Sadie had discarded her mourning bonnet and black lace mittens. Strands of fair hair were tucked behind her ears and there was a smudge of ink on the tip of her nose. Caroline reached over to retrieve a particularly large bill for engine oil and placed it on top of the pile.