I was to remain in that cellar for five days, I think. Jeremiah took a turn for the worse and I had to try a different healing herb. I did not have an exhaustive supply in my bag but I did have some dried Herb Robert; Such a common little plant but with powerful properties in stemming blood flow and relieving inflammation. What I really wanted was some fresh Common Centaury but none was to be found so I made use of what I had and hoped for the best.
They forced me to write a letter to Mrs Jenkins asking that she give Beth to Sam and saying we would return to Lewes once my cousin was healed. Aunt Tilly watched over me as I wrote, she clearly knew her letters but I am not sure either of her sons did. I knew that I would not be allowed to leave as I told Mrs Jenkins but I hoped that somehow I would escape before the wedding service was conducted. I had tried to resist their demands but my aunt, after slapping me about the face, threatened me with abasement by members of the gang. I didn’t doubt for one minute that she would see that through. I looked at Digger with appeal in my eyes but he just shrugged and passed me the quill.
I spent many hours of anguish suffering thoughts of my fate at the hands of these people. I wept and shivered with fear before I calmed myself and thought that I had been in dire straights before now and come through. I had to keep my wits about me and somehow, somewhere I would find a way of escaping. A little voice in my head kept saying that I had only achieved escape before because of others and that there were no others this time round.
Jeremiah and I were together in that dark dismal cavern permanently guarded by the amiable Digger who despite his friendship was no saviour for me. He had pitched his cap in with the gang many years before and there was no other safe future for him. I could look for no help in that quarter. I was glad, however, of his crooked smile and despite his frightening wolfish looks I knew I was safe in his company. It was a small comfort.
Sam had told me with a note of triumph in his voice that he had personally lifted Beth from the arms of Mrs Jenkins and she was now settled in the squalid conditions of the Southease cottage. Mrs Jenkins had taken my note on face value never suspecting that she was assisting in Beth’s kidnap.
That was my lowest point. I wept and keened for my poor child as if she were dead.
Eventually, I was satisfied that Jeremiah would survive and recover fully despite some dreadful scarring and a hole the size of a guinea in his thigh. This realisation was a bittersweet moment for me. I had succeeded against the odds in saving his life but in so doing I was edging nearer to my miserable fate.
We were preparing to leave the cellar one still morning. I was carefully walking out of the barn with Jeremiah at my side on a makeshift stretcher when a body of men arrived singly and in pairs: they materialised soundlessly all about us. These were the men who carried the spoils inland and I heard the sounds of tethered donkeys and horses just beyond the clearing waiting patiently for their heavy loads. Loading would take place in the bright light of day because the smugglers were so confident of their hidden barn; travel across Sussex and Kent would be at nightfall. As I waited for a cart to take me and Jeremiah to Southease and Beth I noticed a boy staring at me. I looked back at him and saw that it was one of the Coad boys, the youngest. It all fitted; the mysterious wagons that purported to carry chalk and other goods that arrived at Coad Farm in the early hours of the morning and were hurried into the depths of the barns before we of the household could get nosy.
I moved over towards him, no one stopped me, they knew I was unable to escape.
‘You?’ he said.
‘Aye it is me.’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I have been kidnapped and so has Beth, your sister.’
His close-set eyes registered that strange thought – that he had a sister. His father’s crime against Becca had obviously been seen as of the moment and he had not registered that the child who was the outcome was, in fact, his sister. I watched him turn the information over and saw a dawning understanding.
‘Aye, she is your sister and she is in the greatest danger. You must know all there is to know about this family and how they treat women. I am to be forcibly married to Sam and what will then happen to Beth when she grows into womanhood? Will you let that happen to your sister? Never mind what you think about me – she needs protection from this family.’
He looked bewildered, he was never the quickest but he was the gentlest and I often thought he could be different if he was not egged on by his older brothers.
‘You must help me to save her. Please?’
‘What can I do?’ he muttered as he raised his hand acknowledging my cousin Sam.
‘You must go to Dr Grieve’s house and tell them we are in dire danger and I only have a few days left before I am force-put to Sam. I doubt they will bother with calling the bans but the result will be the same. I will be wed to all intents and purposes and unable to leave. Beth will become their stepdaughter and they will have power over us both. We will never get away and God knows what will happen to her.’
He walked away from me to sort his merchandise. As he went he turned and whispered
‘Is she bonny?’
‘Aye, as bonny as her mother was.’
He was gone and I had no idea if my appeal had fallen on deaf ears.
The cart we were awaiting pulled up at Jeremiah’s side and I hurried over to ensure he was lifted carefully. He winced at every movement and I offered him some poppy seed tincture to help dull the pain. He refused but thanked me. I turned away and looked gloomily into the woodland that edged up from the brooks.