The Guinea Thief - Chapter 9 - Delphine in Disguise

Delphine was cold. Her leg had gone numb. She had been keeping watch on the door to the Royal Oak for what seemed like hours. After Georges had gone into the inn she had seen three people leave - a small man and his giant dog, another man she did not recognise and a young boy who had only been inside for a few moments. But that was ages before. All evening the tide had been steadily rising across the harbour, soon she would have to move up onto the wall. It had seemed like a simple enough plan. She had told Albert that Eve had asked her to go to the island to help her and Rosie pickle the winter vegetables and had borrowed his pony, promising to bring it back the next day. Back at Eliza’s house she had taken some of Jack’s old clothes from the trunk in his room, put her hair up into one of Robert’s old tri-cornered hats and dirtied her face a little. Her own boots would have looked wrong with the breeches, so she had borrowed an old pair of Jack’s but even stuffed with newspaper they were much too big. From the conversations she had overheard she knew that her brother was meeting Robert at the Royal Oak in Langstone, but what she wasn’t sure of was where they planned to rendezvous with her father. Once outside of the city she didn’t know the names of the places, Robert had mentioned a church but the name of the village was one she did not recognise, so she had ridden to Langstone, tethered the pony to a hitching post at the end of the High Street. She walked along the harbour wall, passed the Royal Oak and found a hiding place down on the shoreline by the old mill from which she had a good view of the tavern. Georges had arrived some time later, she saw him go in. So why hadn’t he come out yet?
After standing still so long her feet had sunk into the mud. As she pulled them out the left boot stayed behind in the mud. Cursing she fell into the slimy ooze, and put her hands out to break the fall. Her hat fell onto the ground. Up on the quayside she heard the door of the Royal Oak slam shut. Delphine picked herself up. Her hands, her clothes, her face and her hair were streaked green and black. Retrieving the hat and the boot, she reassembled her outfit and pushed her hair back inside the hat. She was filthy and there was the unmistakeable smell of old crab. A man strode along the quayside wall towards her.
“Hi you!” the man shouted.
“Are you alright?”
Delphine tried her best to disguise her voice. “Yus, yus I’m fine.”
The man came towards her.
“Are you lost?”
“No. No. I’m, I’m looking for crabs.”
“In the dark?”
Delphine knew this just wasn’t plausible. She hadn’t got to this point in her in planning.
“You’re right it’s not a good idea.” She paused and tried to deepen her voice a little more. “ I’ll be off then. Goodnight.”
Delphine attempted to walk back across the shore towards the hitching post, but the mud caked boots were making it impossible.
“How did you get here?”
“I rode.”
“Is that your pony back on the High Street?” he said.
“Yes it is.”
“Let me get it. Come this way and wait here on the wall, you’re never going to get across this mud.”
Delphine walked towards him. The light from the tavern lanterns cast shadows across his face. He looked young, well dressed, in a uniform of sorts.
“Thank you. That’s very kind.”
Within a few minutes the man returned with the pony.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
Delphine looked at him. His voice was soft and gentle. She could tell he was not convinced by her attempt at disguise.
“What’s yours?”
He laughed.
“Davy. Captain Davy to you. I’m the Riding Officer for the harbour. Now your name and your business please Miss.”
Davy reached across and took off Delphine’s hat. Her mud encrusted blonde hair fell around her shoulders.
“What’s a Riding Officer?”
“I’m supposed to be the one asking the questions.” he said.
“If you tell me what you are, I’ll tell you who I am.”
He laughed again. “As you will. I’m the Riding Office for Langstone Harbour. I work for the Revenue and I’m here to catch any smugglers. ”
“Surely you don’t think, I’m a smuggler?” Delphine playfully twirled her hair, forgetting her fingers were covered in mud.
“No, I don’t. But I am wondering what you are doing here, and why you’ve come dressed as boy? Or is that what you always wear?”
Delphine thought fast.
“I’m Elisabeth. I was supposed to be meeting a boy. My father would be so angry if he found out. So I dressed up in these clothes and slipped out. Please don’t tell. ”
Davy inspected Delphine’s face.
“Where you from Elisabeth? You aren’t from round here. I’ve never seen you before. And before you give me another one of your lies, there are twenty families here in Langstone, and I’m related to about half of them.”
Delphine smiled. Smiling usually worked, but Davy wasn’t falling for any of her tricks.
“You’re right. I’m not from here. I’m a friend of Rosie’s, she lives over there on the island. I’m staying with her. And I am meeting a boy.”
“Who’s the lucky boy?”
“Matthew. From the Maypole.”
“I know Matthew. He never mentioned a girl.”
“Well it is a secret. That’s the point of a secret rendezvous, no-one is supposed to know. But I should go, I don’t think he’s coming.”
“Elisabeth?”
“Yes?”
“How are you planning to get back across to the island? Does your pony swim?”
Delphine knew that she was in trouble, the Captain was not so easily thrown off. She shrugged her shoulders and waited for whatever fate would bring her. But that night luck was on her side, and not on the Captains.
A boy came running along the harbour wall and nearly collided into the two of them.
“Capn Davy, Sir!”
“What’s wrong Nate?”
“Them’s turned back. The Antigone, is on her way back. I kept watch like Tom asked me, and I seen it, the boat turned round. It’ll be here any minute. ”
“Well done lad. Christ alive I’ll have to go and warn Robert. Take this girl into the pub and ask George to keep an eye on her till I get back. I shouldn’t be too long.”
Davy jumped up on his horse.
“Wait, let me come with you!” said Delphine.
Davy turned his horse round and looked down at Delphine.
“What?”
“I’m Delphine. It’s my father Jacques who’s bringing the cargo in tonight. I wanted to see him. That’s why I came here tonight. I was following my brother as he wouldn’t tell me where the landing was.”
“You’re Delphine? Ah that explains everything. Quick jump on your horse, we need to be away already. You can tell me more on our way.”
The pair rode their horses along the sea wall past the mill and the thicket that hid the entrance to Spook Lane. Davy guided his horse down onto the shore and Delphine followed, once at the waters edge the two of them made much faster progress and galloped through the rising tide. Delphine pushed her hat down firmly over her eyes, and bent her head into the wind. This was fun.