Blood on the Line

baulking at the notion that he’d have to travel with Tallis. ‘It would be wrong to tear away a senior officer from a job that he does so well. The sergeant will come with me, I’m sure. Victor knows where his duty lies.’

‘It’s with my family,’ said Leeming, disconsolately.

‘Don’t mention that word to me,’ said Tallis, treating him to a withering glare. ‘When you’re inside this building, you don’t have a family. Your first duty is to obey orders.’

‘Yes, sir, I know that.’

‘If I tell you to sail to America, you’ll do so without complaint.’

‘That’s what you think,’ said Leeming to himself.

‘In fact, all three of us can go together. Oxley is armed. He has nothing to lose, so he’s bound to resist arrest. It may need three of us to overpower him.’ He slapped his desk. ‘The matter is decided. I shall speak to the commissioner at once.’

Jumping to his feet, he marched out of the office. Leeming was in despair at the thought of being away from his wife and family for so long. Glad that his plan had the superintendent’s approval, Colbeck was sobered by the threat of having to share the voyage with Tallis. It was not an alluring prospect.

‘It was your own fault, Inspector,’ said Leeming. ‘You should never have persuaded him to return to work. You should have left him in retirement with his portrait of the Duke of Wellington.’

Irene had never expected it to be so noisy. The bellowed commands at the point of departure, the bustle of the crew, the whistle of the wind, the flapping of the sails, the creaking of the timbers, the smack of the water against the hull and the strident cries of the gulls all combined to buffet her ears. With the deafening new sounds came a collection of new sights and sensations. Irene had never been on a ship before and its design intrigued her. When it left the mouth of the river and hit the open sea, she was staggered at the vast expanse of water ahead of them. Covered in white-capped waves, it seemed to stretch to infinity. Sailors were climbing the rigging or hauling up other sails. Passengers were standing at the bulwark to give a farewell wave to the mainland.

Like them, Irene felt the salty spray on her face, the wind on her hair and the rocking-horse rhythm of the deck beneath her feet as the Arethusa rose and fell through the surging tide. She was gripped by a fear that was only partly allayed by a sense of adventure. A ship so small would be no more than a splinter of wood on a huge and turbulent ocean like the Atlantic. The excitement of leaving dry land had now been replaced by the uncertainty of ever arriving at their destination. Irene had no means of control over what was happening to her. All that she could do was to pray.

She felt a comforting arm being wrapped around her shoulder.

‘Welcome to America, Mrs Colbeck,’ said Oxley.

‘There’s a long way to go yet,’ she reminded him.

‘Yes, but the most important part of the voyage is over. We’re clear of the coast now. We’ve escaped from the clutches of the law.’

‘They have policemen in New York, Jerry.’

‘Granted – but they don’t know us, do they? We’ll be looked upon as ideal emigrants. We’re young, respectable, intelligent and financially stable. That’s all they’ll see.’

‘I’ll just be grateful to get there safely.’

‘The Arethusa has crossed the ocean dozens of times.’

‘You keep telling me that but it doesn’t stop me from worrying. Now we’re at sea, the ship feels so small and fragile.’

He stamped hard on the deck. ‘It’s as solid as a rock,’ he said. ‘That’s seasoned English oak beneath our feet, Irene. Nobody could build ships the way that we did. If you still feel nervous about sailing, remember Nelson. He won all those naval battles because he had complete faith in the shipbuilders.’

She gave a pale smile. ‘I wish I could share it.’

‘You’ll come to trust the Arethusa in time.’

For his part, Oxley was in a state of quiet jubilation. After a successful criminal career in England, he’d reached the point where it was about to be terminated on the gallows. Recent events had taught him that there was nowhere safe to hide from Colbeck. The inspector’s pursuit of them was unrelenting. It was only a matter of time before he finally caught up with them. There was no danger of that now. Oxley had severed his ties with England and was embarking on an adventure that, he felt sure, would yield endless opportunities for a man with his well-honed skills. He just wished that Irene could relish the same jubilation.

‘Are you still thinking about your father?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ she confessed. ‘I’m bound to, Jerry.’

‘You gave him far too much money.’

‘I had to bribe him into silence.’

‘Twenty pounds would have done that. There was no need to give him the best part of a hundred.’

‘I could afford it and I felt guilty about him.’

‘He’ll be dead before he has time to spend it. That money came from the robbery in Birmingham. We could have used it in America. It was wasted on him.’

‘We have plenty of money, Jerry. My father has none. Giving it to him made me feel good and stopped him from going to the police.’

‘You’ll never see the old fool again.’

‘I know that.’

‘Does that trouble you?’

She pursed her lips in thought. ‘No,’ she said, eventually. ‘I don’t think it does.’

‘I’m taking you to America and not your father.’

She kissed him. ‘I couldn’t be more grateful.’

‘You have to let go of the past, Irene. When we get to New York, I don’t ever want to hear you talking about your family.’

‘You won’t, I promise you.’

‘How can I be certain of that?’

‘I’m not Irene Adnam anymore,’ she said with conviction. ‘I’m Mrs Robert Colbeck and I no longer have any family in England. What’s more,’ she added, gazing across the undulating waves, ‘I’m going to put my trust in the Arethusa and enjoy every second of this voyage.’

Madeleine Andrews felt as if she’d just been hit over the head. For a moment, she was too dazed even to speak. She’d been overjoyed when Colbeck turned up unexpectedly at the house. They’d kissed and held each other in silence for a long time. When he released her and told her his news, however, it made her stagger back as if from a blow. He steadied her quickly with a hand. She had to shake her head to clear her brain.

‘You’re going to America?’ she cried.

‘They have to be caught, Madeleine.’

‘But it’s so far away and the ocean is so treacherous.’

‘In the interest of arresting the fugitives,’ he said, stoutly, ‘we’re prepared to take any risks involved. At least,’ he went on, ‘I certainly am. Victor is less committed to the enterprise. He hates being away from his family for any length of time.’

‘How long will it all take, Robert?’

‘That depends on the speed of the Arethusa. We’ll be sailing in an iron-hulled steamship that’s much faster. Some of the Cunard fleet have been known to reach New York in as little as ten or eleven days. In fact, the Blue Riband is held by a vessel that went even faster.’

‘What’s the Blue Riband?’

‘It’s a notional award for the fastest crossing between Liverpool and New York. It’s currently held by Persia, an iron ship powered by paddles, launched two years ago. It crossed the Atlantic in nine days and sixteen hours.’

‘It’s not the speed I care about,’ she said, ‘it’s the lack of safety. Remember that I’ve been reading that copy of American Notes you loaned me. Charles Dickens describes the voyage he made in a steamship as a nightmare from start to finish. He feared for his life a number of times.’

‘That was several years ago, Madeleine. He sailed in the steam packet, Britannia.