‘No, no,’ he said, with a gentle hand on her shoulder, ‘stay where you are, Mrs Rossiter. I’ll come down to you.’ He lowered himself to the floor. ‘My name is Canon Smalley and I’m the chaplain here.’
‘I don’t believe in God,’ she said, belligerently.
‘A lot of people say that when they first come here and even the most devout of us sometimes question His existence. But that’s not what I came to talk to you about, Mrs Rossiter. I’m here to help. I’m here to listen to what you have to say.’
The softness of his voice and the kindness of his manner were soothing. He was not at all like the male nurse who marched her to the room and locked her in it. While the nurse had treated her like a prisoner, Canon Smalley was treating her like a human being and giving her a mild sense of dignity.
‘They wouldn’t let me go to the funeral,’ she said.
‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
‘It was my right.’
‘Why do you think that, Mrs Rossiter?’
‘We’d planned to marry one day,’ she insisted. ‘Before too long, I’d have been Mrs Heygate, living with the most wonderful husband in the world.’
‘I knew the stationmaster at St David’s. He was indeed a splendid man.’
‘It was a joy to work beside him.’
‘Tell me why,’ invited Smalley, patting her arm. ‘Tell me why it gave you so much pleasure to work with him. And there’s no need to hurry, Mrs Rossiter. I’ll listen for as long as you wish. That’s what friends should do.’
Disguise was an important component in Browne’s continued freedom from arrest. His ability to change his appearance had saved him time and again. As soon as light began to filter into the cabin, he got up, collected a bowl of water from the estuary so that he could wash and shave, then donned his latest outfit. Adeline laughed in approval.
‘You look a proper gentleman from top to toe, Bagsy,’ she said. ‘Where did you get hold of the frock coat and top hat?’
‘They fell into my hands, Ad.’
‘In other words, you stole them.’
‘I borrowed them for just such a day as this.’
In fact, he’d purloined the clothes from the room of one of her neighbours in Rockfield Place. As he was coming down the stairs in the wake of Adeline’s arrest, he heard the telltale grunts of a client thrusting away inside the woman he’d hired for an hour. Browne had eased open the door, seen that both of them were too busy to notice him and grabbed the man’s discarded clothing and shoes. They were rather tight on him but he was prepared to stand the discomfort.
Adeline had also disguised herself. By cleaning the powder from her face, she’d added a decade to her age but no longer looked like a whore. Her hair was pinned up so that it could disappear under her hat and her coat was buttoned up to the neck. To Browne’s eye, she seemed almost wholesome. The belongings she needed were packed into a valise. Everything else had been burnt on their fire.
‘I can manage on my own, you know,’ she said.
‘I wouldn’t dream of letting you go alone, Ad. I’ll see you off.’
‘Thank you, Bagsy. I’d appreciate that.’
‘Everyone will take us for a gentleman and his servant,’ he said.
‘They wouldn’t have done that if they’d seen us celebrating last night,’ she said with a crude laugh. ‘The owner of this boat will have a shock when he sees that we burnt the doors and shutters to keep warm.’
‘It was a very special night, Ad.’
‘I hope we have others like it.’
He wouldn’t be drawn into making a commitment. Instead he offered his arm.
‘Right,’ he said, ‘let’s get you on the train to Plymouth, shall we?’
Woodford was hovering like a bird of prey. The moment that Dorcas turned up for work that morning, he pounced on her, taking her by the elbow and guiding her into the gap beside the waiting room.
‘I need to have a word with you, young lady,’ he said.
She was frightened by his intensity. ‘What have I done, Mr Woodford?’
‘You told a lie about me.’
‘I’d never do that.’
‘According to Inspector Colbeck, you said that you’d mentioned Mr Heygate’s diary to me whereas you did nothing of the kind, did you?’
‘Yes, I did.’
‘No, you didn’t.’
‘But I did, Mr Woodford. You wanted to know what the inspector had been asking me and I told you that …’
Her voice petered out in fear when she saw the look he was giving her. Though she was limited in many ways, Dorcas had a good memory. She knew what she’d told Woodford and she couldn’t understand why he was denying it. Patently, it was a matter of importance to him. He stressed the fact by seizing her shoulder.
‘You’ll have to apologise to the inspector for making a mistake,’ he said.
‘Why should I do that?’
‘It’s what I’m telling you to do, Miss Hope.’
‘You’re hurting me.’
‘Do you like working here?’
‘Well, yes, I do. It’s my job.’
‘If you wish to keep that job, do as you’re told.’
She was scandalised. ‘I can’t tell a lie to Inspector Colbeck.’
‘You’ll do whatever I say,’ he warned, tightening his grip and making her squeak in pain. ‘Do you understand?’
‘Mr Heygate never made me tell a lie,’ she said.
He grinned. ‘Mr Heygate is dead. I’m the stationmaster now.’ He released her but applied more pressure with a threat. ‘If you don’t do as you’re told, Miss Hope, I’ll see that the canary is taken away from you.’ Dorcas let out a gasp. ‘I thought that might make you change your mind.’
‘Am I interrupting anything?’ asked Colbeck, spotting the pair of them. ‘Good morning, Miss Hope,’ he added, touching his hat. ‘I’m sad to say that you have the look of a young lady who’s being bullied.’
‘That’s nonsense,’ said Woodford with a dismissive chuckle. ‘I was just giving Miss Hope some instructions.’
‘Did they relate to a diary, by any chance?’
‘Yes, they did,’ said Dorcas.
‘No, they didn’t,’ countered Woodford, shooting her a glance.
‘I had a feeling that this might happen,’ said Colbeck. ‘That’s why Sergeant Leeming and I decided to come along and establish the full truth of the situation. Victor,’ he went on, turning to his companion. ‘Why don’t you take Miss Hope to the refreshment room so that she can begin work?’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Leeming.
‘There’s a train due very soon, so she’ll be needed. Oh, and you might ask her once again if she ever mentioned that diary to Mr Woodford.’
‘I will, Inspector.’
‘The girl was mistaken,’ said the stationmaster as Leeming led her away. ‘She’d have told you so.’
‘What threat did you use to coerce her into dishonesty?’
‘I used no threat at all.’
‘Your stance was very menacing when we came along and Miss Hope was palpably scared.’ Colbeck met his eye. ‘Let me issue a threat of my own,’ he said. ‘If that young lady is harassed in any way or even dismissed from her job, I’ll report you directly to Mr Quinnell. Is that clear? Leave her alone, Mr Woodford. If you value your position as the stationmaster here, you can stop bullying your staff and learn to tell the truth.’
‘All right,’ confessed Woodford, giving ground with reluctance, ‘I’d forgotten that Miss Hope had mentioned the diary to me. It was an honest mistake. I’ve had so much else to think about since I took over Mr Heygate’s
