The Guinea Thief - Chapter 7 - The Red Lion gets a new Girl

As they walked along Eliza tried to explain her idea.
“Robert and I thought it might be a good for you to help our friend Albert and Maggie. They need someone to take over when Rosie gets married and you need something to fill your days. “You’ll soon pick it up. I’m sure it will help learn your English, there’s nothing like being thrown in the deep end. Robert learnt his French in the Caribbean, you know, he was a prisoner of war in St Vincent.”
Once again Delphine had barely understood a word that Eliza had said. She nodded and smiled and wondered where they were going, this was not the usual route to the market. So it was with great surprise that she found herself following Eliza into a tavern.
Once inside she saw a large room with tables and chairs. Seated at the table by the window was a group of sailors. A bottle of rum was in the middle of the table, as was a pile of coins. So intent were they on the cards in their hands they did not notice the two women entering. Standing behind the long bar, hands focused on polishing a glass was a dark haired man. He waved to Eliza, she smiled and waved back, then made for the door at the far side of the room. Delphine followed behind, desperately wondering why they were here.
“Come, Maggie will be in the kitchen, she’s really looking forward to meeting you.
They stepped into a long dark corridor, halfway along the passage Eliza opened a door you could barely see in the darkness. Clearly she had been here many times before. Stepping inside sunlight burst through the window panes, pools of light collecting in the white dust that littered floor. More dust particles hung in the air. Momentarily dazzled by the white light, Delphine was unable to make out the shapes in the room. Meanwhile Eliza stepped confidently round the table and greeted an apron clad lady, also dusted in white.
“Hello Maggie, you look hard at work!”
Maggie looked up, she had not heard anyone come into the kitchen.
Maggie put down the rolling pin, ran a floured hand through her black curly hair and smiled broadly.
“Eliza.”
“Hello. I’ve brought you a spare pair of hands. This is Delphine. The French girl.”
“Oh, hello Delphine, I’m Maggie.” She held out her flour covered hand to Delphine, which she took, Maggie clearly unaware that she was covered almost head to foot in a dusting of flour. Turning to the back of the room she gestured behind her “And this is Rosie, my niece. Rosie, this is Delphine”
Delphine had not seen the figure behind Maggie. The cloud of flour hanging in the air had hidden her from view. A red headed young girl, wreathed in steam from the stove, turned and smiled. There was something familiar about her that Delphine could not place.
“Hello. Pleased to meet you Delphine. I’d come over but I daren’t leave this pot for a moment.”
“Come, it’s fine, it’ll keep.” said Maggie.
Rosie came across and shook her warmly by the hand.
“I am pleezed to meet you.” Said Delphine, very pleased at being able to use she what had practiced in front of the mirror that morning.
“So, how are the wedding plans coming along?” asked Eliza.
“It’s all coming together so quickly now. Rosie’s so excited she can barely breathe. The dress needed altering just a little, when I got it out of the box it was a bit yellow. But seeing as I put it away these twenty years ago, it’s not done too badly. Not that I’d fit it anymore.” she said laughing.
“Maggie soaked it in milk for three days and it’s come out as good as new. It’s so beautiful, I can’t believe it’s mine now.”
“The first banns are being read this Sunday. Last week we went to see her new cottage. It’s lovely. I saw young Jack there, he’s been helping John out on the cottage.”
The mention of Jack’s name brought Delphine sharply to attention.
“How was he?” asked Eliza.
“He looked very well. Tanned and fit. I have to say Eliza, island life is suiting him. And he was fit to bursting with all the talk of Rosie and John’s wedding. He’s nearly as excited as they are.”
“I’m not surprised. It’s probably the highlight of the year, it’s a little different from life on the Point. Not much happens. In fact I’m amazed how easily Jack has settled.”
“Amazed and disappointed?”
Eliza laughed. “Don’t that’s not fair.”
“Rosie, why don’t you show Delphine around. Eliza and I have lots to talk about, we can talk as I finish off the pies.”
Rosie nodded and held out her hand to Delpine and led her back down the corridor. Stepping once more into the dark it took a moment to re-adjust to the gloom after the dazzling white of the kitchen. As they walked the cogs of Delphine’s mind whirred. Rosie is the red headed girl she saw with Jack at the fair. She’s getting married to John. She’s not with Jack at all. Her heart soared, and she smiled a secret smile to herself.
In the bar the men continued playing cards by the fire, their faces flushed red, perhaps from the heat, perhaps from the bottle of rum beside them. All were equally engrossed, money was at stake and it looked serious. Albert smiled across at the two girls, as Rosie’s red hair glistened in the firelight, Delphine’s slender frame cast a pleasing shadow against the wall. Putting the glass and cloth down Albert beckoned the girls over. Albert held out his hand.
“So you must be Delphine. Delighted to meet you.”
Delphine grasped his hand with a firm grip and looked him straight in the eye. He didn’t waver and looked straight back. Delphine felt that she liked him already.
“I hope you like it here. I’m so very pleased that you can help us out now that Rosie is leaving us. It’s going to be hard to step into her shoes, I know, but I can see that you will do just fine. You seem like a girl who could handle yourself in a tavern.”
Delphine smiled and nodded.
“Eliza tells me you’re a good girl, you work hard and you’re a dab hand in the kitchen. So I think you’ll be just fine, eh Rosie?” He ruffled Rosie’s hair affectionately.
“Although of course, no-one could replace you.”

Delphine was aware that smiling and nodding would not work for long in the pub. She would have to speak to people. That evening while Eliza was making supper she asked Robert for help.
“Robert?”
“Oui?”
“I, I’m finding it so hard to understand everyone. I had not expected it to be this hard. It’s so frustrating,apart from you and Georges there is no-one I can talk to.”
“What about the ardent Comte de Bercy. You have no problem talking to him.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“No.”
“I need to be able to speak English, it’s no use. I can’t rely on you to translate for me all the time.”
Robert nodded, waiting to hear what Delphine had in mind.
“”Will you teach me?”
“Teach you English?”
“Is it so impossible?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I can try. I’ve never taught anyone before.”
“No, but you must remember how you learnt French. Isn’t it the same, but the other way round.”
“It’s not quite the same. And I learnt by spending a year as a French prisoner of war. As methods go, I think we will have to find a better one.”
Robert smiled and I smiled back.
“I promise I will be a good student.”
”Alright, we’ll make a start after supper. D’accord”
“Oui, d’accord. Merci Robert.”
“De rien Delphine.”
After supper Robert and Delphine spent two hours on her English. She was hungry for the knowledge and quickly proved to be a better student than either had expected. From then on she spent every spare moment studying. As fast as Robert set work to do she would complete it and he would have to find more. Her days quickly established a new pattern. She got up, dressed, had breakfast with Eliza, studied for an hour, then walked the ten minute walk to the Red Lion down on Broad Street. At night Albert would insist on walking her home, and after the first night she understood why. It may have been less than a mile but the Red Lion was outside the city wall, and once through the gate and onto the Point it was like stepping into another world. The taverns and gin shops of the Point were open twenty four hours, many doubling as brothels. Prostitutes, drunks and thieves made their way along the cobbled streets, stumbling in and out of the doorways, trying to keep out of the stiff west wind which blew onto shore.
Some days she worked from ten in the morning to eleven at night. On quiet nights when the fleet was at sea Albert would say she could go home early and she would curl up by the fire with a battered copy of Robinson Crusoe reading out Roberts favourite scenes which they would translate into French.
Delphine enjoyed being busy. It was such a relief after so many weeks in hiding at home and she had hated feeling so useless when she had first arrived in England. Though she had tried to find ways to help Eliza, most jobs were done before Delphine got to them.
Delphine’s presence at the Red Lion had not gone unnoticed. Albert told her he was sure that the number of customers had increased since he started. Clearly the novelty of a French girl was working.
In fact it was a good thing for everyone. Rosie was very happy to have Delphine to work alongside her as it gave her and Maggie some time to get her wedding plans complete.