Dilly Court - Ragged Rose

‘But what about the victim? What do you know of his temperament?’

‘Absolutely nothing.’ Rose lowered her voice. ‘I didn’t like him, but then I hardly knew him.’

Scully leaned back against the wooden settle and sipped his ale. ‘I need to ask these questions, you must understand that.’

Rose made as if to stand but he motioned her to remain seated. ‘There is one other thing.’

‘What is it?’ She was growing impatient now. They were attracting unwanted attention and she was desperate to leave before someone recognised her.

‘Money, Miss Rose.’ He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, which he spread out on the table in front of her. ‘My services were engaged by the lawyer defending the case. He wanted you to be aware of the costs that you will incur, and he needs your permission to proceed on that basis.’

Rose scanned the figures and her heart sank. She and Cora had saved every penny of their earnings at Fancello’s, but it would take months to raise such a large sum, if ever. She gulped and swallowed. ‘I understand perfectly.’

‘And you still wish to proceed?’

‘Of course I do. My brother’s life is at stake. If found guilty he will suffer the ultimate penalty, and I know he is innocent. I’d stake my own life on it.’

A slow smile spread across Scully’s craggy features. ‘That’s all I need to know, miss. Rest assured that I will do my best.’

‘Perhaps you would discover more about the person in question if you visited his college in Oxford.’

‘That is next on my list, Miss Rose.’ Scully beckoned to Bobby, who was warming himself by the fire. ‘See the young lady home, boy.’

Rose folded the sheet of paper and tucked it into her reticule. ‘I’ll keep this, if I may, and then I can refer to it if need be.’ She stood up. ‘I know you will do your best, Mr Scully, but I beg you to double your efforts. You will be saving an innocent man from the gallows.’

Scully raised his tankard. ‘I’ll drink to that. Rest assured that everything that can be done will be done.’

Rose made her way out of the taproom, half blinded by smoke and fumes as well as the hot tears that burned the backs of her eyes. Scully’s visit had made the threat to Billy’s life a reality instead of a vague possibility, and now more than ever she knew she must raise the money to pay for his defence. She did not feel like going home to face a barrage of questions from Cora, and she needed to find out exactly how much they had managed to save. Aunt Polly had been entrusted with keeping the money safe as it was not possible for the sisters to open a bank account, and hiding the money in the vicarage was not an option. Rose set off for the house in Old Street, having forgotten that Bobby had been charged with her safety, and it was not until she was on the doorstep that she realised he had followed her. She hesitated with her hand on the doorknocker. ‘Thank you, Bobby. You can go now.’

His freckled features creased in a worried frown. ‘But I was told to see you home, miss. This ain’t the vicarage.’

‘It’s my aunt’s house, so you need not worry.’

‘I got to see you home,’ he said with a stubborn set to his jaw. ‘That was me instructions from Mr Scully, and I don’t get paid unless I tell him I done so.’

Rose knocked on the door. ‘I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a while.’

He leaned nonchalantly against the railings. ‘That’s all right, miss. I got nothing else to do, and I need the money for me night’s lodgings.’

‘Haven’t you got a home to go to?’

‘I doss down wherever I can.’

Rose was about to question him further when Maisie opened the door. ‘Good afternoon, miss.’ She grinned and threw herself at Rose, almost knocking her off the step as she wrapped her in a warm embrace. ‘I ain’t half pleased to see you. I was afraid you might not come again.’

‘Here, you be careful, like.’ Bobby leaped onto the step and steadied Rose, who had staggered backwards and was in danger of toppling over. ‘Watch your manners, nipper.’

Maisie stepped away, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. ‘And who might you be?’

He snatched his cap off his head with a flourish and bowed from the waist. ‘I’m this lady’s protector, just for today, you understand. Anyway, who’s asking, if I might be so bold?’

Rose suppressed a chuckle. ‘Behave yourselves, both of you. Let me in, Maisie, I want to see my aunt.’ She turned to Bobby. ‘Thank you, but you’re free to go. I might be a little while.’

‘I was told to see you home,’ he insisted. ‘And see you home I shall.’

‘Then you’d better step inside because it’s starting to rain.’ Rose glanced up at the darkening sky. Large spots of rain had begun to fall and the gathering clouds promised a sharp downpour. ‘Maisie will take you to the kitchen where I’m sure Cook will find you something to eat and drink.’

Bobby bounded into the hall and closed the door. ‘Ta, miss. I wouldn’t say no to a bite to eat. Come to think of it, nothing has touched me lips since last evening when I bought a baked tater from a cart. Very good it were, too.’

Maisie gave him a cursory glance. ‘You could do with a wash, boy. You’re very dirty.’

Rose could see that this might turn into a squabble but she left them to sort themselves out and went in search of her aunt. At this time of day Polly was usually to be found in the small cubbyhole she called her study, where she pored over the accounts. As Rose had expected, Polly was seated at her desk with a pair of steel-rimmed spectacles balanced on the bridge of her nose.

She looked up. ‘Is anything wrong, Rose?’

‘I’ve just been speaking to a private detective, a Mr Scully. Billy’s lawyer hired him to find out what he could about Gawain Tressidick.’ Rose perched on the edge of the desk. ‘I couldn’t tell him much.’

‘Did he think you and Tressidick were close?’

Rose stared at her in horror. ‘Good heavens, no. Why would he think like that?’

‘If true, it could have been the reason for the fight between William and Tressidick.’

‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ Rose said slowly. ‘But I barely knew Gawain, and what I did know I didn’t like. I told Scully that much, and now he’s gone to Oxford to see if he can find out anything there.’

‘So what is the problem, Rose?’

‘It’s money, or rather the lack of it.’ Rose took the bill from her reticule and laid it on the desk. ‘We have to find that much in order to pay Mr Scully, in addition to the lawyer’s fee and expenses. I doubt if we have that much saved.’

Polly studied the figures. ‘No, indeed. That’s a hefty bill. I hope he’s a good detective.’

‘Billy’s life depends upon it, Aunt Polly. We have to raise the money quickly.’

‘I’d help you if I could, but we barely manage day by day and we rely entirely on charity.’

‘You’ve done more than enough. It’s up to Cora and me. Perhaps we can squeeze a few more performances in, if the pay is right. There has to be a way.’

Signor Fancello listened with his head on one side and a calculating gleam in his dark eyes. ‘Two shows a night,’ he said, twirling the waxed end of his moustache round his index finger. ‘And that means every night of the week, shall we say for a month?’

Rose swallowed convulsively. ‘We cannot work on Sunday, signor. It is impossible.’

‘You ask me to give you more employment and then you try to bargain with me.’ He threw up his hands. ‘You English, you do not know what hard work is. How do you think I built up my business when I arrived in London?’

‘We have to attend church on Sundays, signor. We cannot work on the Sabbath day.’