‘Because I wanted you to know about it, too,’ she explained. ‘I wanted us to have somewhere that was ours, where no one else can find us. And in summer. .’ Her eyes twinkled; he imagined the hollow hidden by bushes and leaves and grinned. Emily took his hand and began to slide her fingers between his. ‘Papa told me some things while he was recovering,’ she began, her glance flickering to him, then away and back again, and he knew they’d reached the true reason for coming here. He waited; she’d continue when she was ready. ‘Do you remember Amos Worthy?’
‘Of course,’ he replied, taken aback by her question.
‘He knew my grandmama. He loved her. That’s what Papa told me. I think it surprised him when he learned that.’ Lister was certain that it had. ‘He left me some money in his will.’
‘What?’ The word flew out of him.
‘He told Papa that he wanted to give me freedom. I’ll receive it when I come of age.’
When she came of age, he thought. That was still four years away, a lifetime, one he wanted to spend with her. But he knew Emily; if she was talking about it, she needed to make a decision about this now, otherwise it would rub at her every day and leave her raw.
‘It would be my money.’ Her eyes widened. ‘My money. Enough to live on.’ She paused. ‘For us both to live on.’
‘You know what he was, don’t you?’
She nodded, her lips pushed together.
‘What do you want to do?’
‘What would you do?’ she countered.
It was a long time before he answered, allowing his thoughts to form and the words to take shape. He held her hand as she watched him.
‘I think I’d say no. But I’d wish I’d been able to say yes.’
She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. ‘That’s what I told Papa I’d do. He said I should wait, that I might change my mind by the time I’m twenty-one.’
But she wouldn’t. He knew her well enough by now to be certain of that, and he loved her deeply enough to be grateful for it.
‘I love you,’ he said quietly. They sat for a few more minutes as the darkness grew around them, then made their way back to the house on Marsh Lane.
‘We were wondering where you two had been,’ Mary Nottingham said brightly, and Rob saw her glance swiftly at Emily’s clothes to make certain she was properly dressed.
‘Sit down, lad,’ the Constable told him. ‘I need to talk to you before we eat.’
Lister lowered himself on to an old joint stool. The warmth from the fire started to soak through his clothes and into his skin. ‘What is it, boss?’
‘What do you know about Jeremiah Darden?’
Rob pursed his lips and tried to recall things he’d heard. ‘Nothing, really. No more than anyone else.’
Nottingham nodded slowly. ‘What about your father?’
Lister let out a long breath and held his hands out to the blaze as if he wanted to cup its heat between them. ‘I’m sure he’d know chapter and verse,’ he replied. ‘Why?’
‘One of Darden’s servants thinks he might be Gabriel.’
Rob raised an eyebrow. ‘Did he think that before or after the reward was posted?’
‘Before.’ The Constable waited a moment before continuing. ‘I’d like to you talk to your father and find out what he knows about Darden.’
‘Boss. .’ Rob said warily. ‘You know he might not want to speak to me.’
‘He will,’ Nottingham told him with a confident smile.
The shutters were closed at the office of the Leeds Mercury, no light leaking through. He knocked on the heavy door that stood to the side and heard the sound of footsteps on the stair. The servant held up a candle, eyes widening to see him.
‘Mr Robert!’
‘Hello, Sarah,’ he said with a smile. ‘I’ve come to see my father. Is he upstairs?’
‘He is. Come on in.’
He passed by, the smells of the house, of cooked cabbage and wax, as familiar as if he’d never left. James Lister was in the parlour, sitting before the fire in his favourite chair, a volume of Defoe page-down on his lap. He looked up as Rob entered, cocking his head questioningly.
‘I’d not looked to see you here again,’ he said. There was no warmth in his words.
‘Hello, Father,’ Rob said. He looked around the room. It was exactly as he remembered it, books filling the shelves along the walls, candles lighting the place.
‘Given up on the lass, have you?’
Rob shook his head. ‘I’m here on business, nothing more.’
‘Oh?’ James Lister sat upright, his face suddenly alive and interested. ‘What do you need?’
‘Information on Jeremiah Darden.’
The older man rubbed his chin. ‘Why do you need to know about him?’
Rob gave a small smile. ‘I can’t tell you, and there’s nothing you can print, Father. Just as if you were dealing with Mr Nottingham.’
Lister chuckled. ‘You’ve a long way to go yet before you’re Constable, lad.’ He paused and narrowed his eyes. ‘Is this to do with the reward?’
‘What would make you think that?’
‘Timing. I take it you don’t need the common knowledge?’ He waited a moment for an answer then plunged on. ‘The Corporation wanted Darden to be mayor a few years ago. He’d been an alderman since he was a young man. He turned it down and resigned. Paid the fine to be allowed to leave and that was it. Hasn’t done much since.’
‘Why?’ Rob asked.
The older man mulled over his reply. ‘He’s never said, although plenty of people had their ideas. Honestly, I don’t know.’ He offered a small shrug. ‘It’s a mystery. I do know he pulled back from business around the same time.’
‘How is he as a man?’
Lister removed his spectacles and wiped them carefully on the elaborate silk of his waistcoat. ‘Not especially social. He never was, I suppose. More so when his wife was alive, perhaps. I remember they’d go to assemblies and balls sometimes. He married young and doted on those daughters of his. Now they’re all married off he doesn’t seem to have much in his life.’
‘And his temperament?’
Lister gave a smile. ‘Jeremiah Darden’s never been one to suffer fools.’
Rob laughed. ‘You mean he’s an awkward bastard.’
His father pursed his mouth. ‘Your words, not mine.’ He cleared his throat. ‘How are your lodgings?’
‘Good enough for what I need. You’ve no idea why Mr Darden stepped away from public life? That’s unlike you.’
‘There’s nothing queerer than folk. That’s what they say and it’s true enough. You should have learnt that in your job by now. There were a few rumours about him and a girl.’
‘A girl? Who was she?’
‘A very young girl,’ Lister said pointedly. ‘No one really believed it, but he left the Corporation.
‘What were the rumours?’
The older man waved them away with his hand. ‘Tittle-tattle. Whispers behind hands.’ He made a face. ‘It seemed ridiculous. Just folk making trouble. I didn’t believe it then and I won’t believe it now. Jeremiah Darden’s an upright man, always has been. He’s given plenty of his wealth to charity over the years.’ He paused. ‘You didn’t know that, did you?’
‘I don’t know anything about him,’ Rob pointed out. ‘That’s why I came to ask you.’
‘And I’ve told you.’
‘Then thank you, Father.’ He gave a small bow and turned.
‘Come for your dinner some Sunday,’ Lister said quietly to his son’s back. ‘Your mother would love to see you again.’ Rob took two paces down the stairs. ‘Bring that girl if you like.’ Rob nodded and left the house.
The cold air felt clean against his skin. His father had taken him by surprise, ambushed him. What was behind that offer? Did he really want to reconcile or was he hoping for a chance to humiliate Emily? God alone knew. But he needed to put it out of his mind for the moment.
Maybe his father had been wrong to discount all the gossip about Darden and the girl. They’d need to investigate that.