Watch! (Episode 30 - The Further Chronicles of a Young Lady (and her Maid))

Continued from Episode 29 - Parting

The story so far:  Gwladys and Aefelthrith have started a new life, running a pawn shop, formerly owned by 'Anty Marj',   Gwladys engaged a young urchin, 'Arry, to help clear the back garden of weeds.  Unfortunately, his digging produced a skull, about which  Gwladys swore him to secrecy and quiickly buried the evidence, which gave them a breathing space, until Sergeant Argent of the Watch appeared in the shop.  Fortunately, he was not pursuing his enquiries but was, to her extreme shock and horror, pursuing Aefelthrith, romantically.  Meanwhile, 'Arry revealed that his Mam said the place had always been a shop BUT Anty Marj had originally had a partner, thought to be her sister, whose name was Sarah, who had disappeared.   With this news, Gwladys tried  to persuade Aefelthrith to go out with Sergeant Argent so that they could find out more, to which she eventually agreed but only with the proviso that Gwladys should serve as chaperone.  On their 'date', Sergeant Argent regaled Aefelthrith with tales of the town, much to Gwladys's frustration but he knew nothing about the history of the shop, then Constable John confirmed that there had been a 'Sarah' but that she had disappeared.  Eager to show off his skills of detection, Sergeant Argent insisted on mounting an investigation.  The following day, the Sergeant and his Constable began their search of the premises and were only diverted from digging up the garden by some quick thinking on the part of Aefelthrith.  Meanwhile, Gwladys was surprised to find a rather familiar, and flamboyant, 'sea captain' in the shop, just at the same time that Aefelthrith was dealing with a street urchin with a message for the 'sossij', which turned out to be the Sergeant.  The message revealed that the Watch were needed to apprehend ' a fraud, a trickster and a mountebank', so it was perhaps just as well the the 'Captain' had made himself scarce!  Aefelthrith and Gwladys fell out about the 'Captain' and the torch that Aefelthrith obviously still held for him.  Would he come back, that evening?  When a beggar turned up at the back door, it turned out he had. 'John Thomas' explained that things had not gone well for him, since they left.  Dolly had run off with the Squire's son, the pub had shut as it wasn't commercially viable and their son was now being raised by Dolly's parents, leaving 'John Thomas' to try his hand at fraud again, albeit on his own this time.  And then, just as he was telling them all of this, there came a knock at the door.  It turned out to be the Watch, acting on a tip-off that a beggar had been seen going into the building.  As Gwladys tried to stall them, Aefelthrith tried to get 'John Thomas' to leave but, on discovering he had nowhere to go, smuggled him up to the loft just as the Watch made their entrance.  Gwladys managed to restrict their search to downstairs, by sheer force of character, but she was dumbstruck to learn that Aefelthrith had offered to shelter 'John Thomas' in their loft!  Out of the blue, Dolly showed up, trying to pawn a jet necklace.  It soon became apparent that her version of events was somewhat different to that of 'John Thomas', who seemed to have run away from the loft when he heard Dolly's voice.  Gwladys, much to Aefelthrith's annoyance, decides to offer Dolly and her child a room.  Aefelthrith could not believe that 'John Thomas' had abandoned Dolly and his son and was even more annoyed when Sergeant Argent turned up and asked her and Dolly to go out for a walk.  Whilst Gwladys was trying to amuse young Henry, the baby, she was surprised to hear a voice yelling "YER'VE CHEATED ME!", which was Anty Marj, returned (with Constable John in tow) to accuse Gwladys and Aefelthrith of fraud.  Fortunately, Sergeant Argent arrived on the scene and decreed that Gwladys had no case to answer, which didn't satisfy Anty Marj, who vowed revenge.  That night, Gwladys and Aefelthrith were sharing a bed (again) to give Dolly a room, much to Aefelthrith's annoyance, but it did give them a chance to share their thoughts and memories, ending with the surprise admission that Gwladys had a child that she had been forced to give up.  The following day, with Gwlaldys refusing to talk about her nightime admission, Aefelthrith was coerced into scrubbing the shop doorstep.  Noticing a pile of rags on the street, she shouted to Gwladys who told her to go and get them.   When she bent down to check the 'rags', a hand grabbed her and pulled her into the alleyway, which turned out to be a familiar face.  Clarence asked her to run away with him that night and she went away to think about it.  In the dead of night, Gwladys was woken by the sound of Aefelthrith opening drawers and packing her bag.  She tried to talk her out of it, but to no avail:

 

Aefelthrith felt her way, carefully, to the side door at the end of the hall.  It was certainly not easy, moving around the place at the dead of night, with not a scrap of light anywhere.  She eased the door open, put her bag down on the street outside and tried to close the door again as quietly as possible.

The street was as black as could be.  She edged along the wall until she came to the corner with the main street.  She looked both ways, there was no-one about.  She peered past the shop entrance to the opening of the alleyway beyond.  Was there someone waiting there?  She could not be sure but she thought there might be.  She hitched her skirts up, grabbed her bag and made, hurriedly, for the alleyway.  Her heart was pounding with excitement.  Her steps quickened as she drew nearer to the alleyway entrance, past the gloomy shop front.  This was surely the beginning of a great adventure!

“HALT, WHO GOES THERE?”

She swerved around and saw two figures, one tall and stocky, the other short and wiry.  The taller one was carrying a dim lantern.

“It’s erm, it’s me” Aefelthrith responded, somewhat lamely.

The taller one held his lantern up to cast a little more light on the scene.

“Why, it’s Miss Aefelthrith!” He exclaimed.

“Tell ‘er” The short, wiry one was jumping up and down, “tell ‘er she’s out after curfew, g’wan”

“I am afraid my Constable is absolutely correct, miss.  You are abroad long after the curfew bell.  Have you an explanation?”  Sergeant Argent looked at her, mournfully.

“Erm, yes” Aefelthrith thought, furiously, “I was at a friend’s, you see…”  She began.

“Yes?”

“It was for a, erm, sewing circle” She managed, with a rush of inspiration.

“A sewing circle?” Sergeant Argent looked dubious.

“Yes, embroidery and the like”

Sergeant Argent had heard that well-to-do young ladies often amused themselves with embroidery, so he was prepared to believe this.

“But, the curfew…”  He pointed out, reasonably.

“Ah, yes, well I’m afraid we were chatting and gossiping, as girls do” Aefelthrith found herself blushing at her invention, “and simply lost track of time.  I am so sorry if I have, inadvertently, broken the law”

“She ought to go in the lock-up” Constable John pointed out, with a grin, “We allus chuck them in there, what’s out after curfew” He explained to Aefelthrith.

“I do not think it will be necessary to incarcerate my lady Aefelthrith” Sergeant Argent frowned at his subordinate.

“Are yer gonna ask ‘er what’s in the bag, eh?”  Constable John hopped from one foot to the other, “Are yer, eh?  She might be goin’ equipped”

“Going equipped?  Have you taken leave of your senses?  Why would a genteel young lady, such as Miss Aefelthrith here, be ‘going equipped’?”

“I’m sorry, what are we talking about?”  Aefelthrith looked bemused.

“My constable here” He gave Constable John a withering look, “wants me to examine your bag on the incredible assumption that you may be ‘going equipped’.  That is to say, carrying items that would assist you in the pursuance of burglary”

“Burglary?  Me?”

“Quite, miss.  I do apologise”

“Yer should still ‘ave a look” Constable John grumbled.

“I am very sorry, miss, but would you mind allowing us to inspect your bag?” Sergeant Argent blushed, illuminated by the weak light of the lantern.

“Oh, must you?”

“I fear it would be remiss of me not to do so” Sergeant Argent looked decidedly uncomfortable, “it is standard Watch procedure - in the event of apprehending someone out after curfew, I hope you understand, ma’am?”

“’Ere, I’ll search it” Constable John thrust himself forward, eagerly, and made to grab Aefelthrith’s bag, but Sergeant Argent’s arm barred his way.

“I think that Miss Aefelthrith can be trusted to open her own bag” He snapped.

“Erm, there are items of a personal nature in here” Aefelthrith explained, in an embarrassed tone, as she started to open the bag.

“Cor, are there?” Constable John looked most excited.

“Personal nature?” Sergeant Argent enquired, with obvious reluctance.

“Yes, you know…” Aefelthrith swallowed hard, “…underthings”

“Might I ask why you have such items in your bag, miss?”

“Embroidery?” She suggested, without a great deal of conviction.

“You are in the process of embroidering your…items of a personal nature, is that correct?”  Sergeant Argent looked surprised.

“Coo, I never knew them sewing circles got up to that sort of thing” Constable John grinned, lasciviously.

“It’s a…it’s the latest fashion” Aefelthrith shrugged, “I believe it is all the rage in France” She added with a burst of creativity.

“Ah, well,” Sergeant Argent raised himself up on his toes and eased back down, again, “Their ways are not our ways” He added, darkly.

“Are yer gonna ‘ave a look?” Constable John was beside himself with excitement.

“I do not think we need to trouble the lady Aefelthrith, any further” Sergeant Argent shook his head.

“WHAT?” Constable John looked shocked, “she could ‘ave owt in there” He pointed to the bag, which Aefelthrith had still not fully opened.

“She has advised us of what it contains”

“Ar, but we’ve only got ‘er…”  Constable John began, and was stopped with a stern look.

“That is enough, Constable” Sergeant Argent said, firmly.  “Now, I think we have detained Miss Aefelthrith for long enough”

“Oh, can I go now?” Aefelthrith smiled sweetly at him.

“We will, of course, escort you back to your home”

“Oh!” Aefelthrith turned and glanced back at the alleyway entrance and her heart sank.  If there had been someone waiting, they certainly were not there now.

“Come, ma’am” Sergeant Argent held out his arm, “let us get you safely back home”

“Thank you, Sergeant” Aefelthrith said, miserably, linking her arm with his.

They retraced her steps, back to the side door of the shop.  Sergeant Argent took his truncheon and hammered, loudly, on the door.

“OPEN, IN THE NAME OF THE WATCH!” He bellowed.

There was the sound of footsteps making their way down the stairs and into the hall.  The door was jerked open and Gwladys peered out into the gloom.

“What the ‘ell are yer playin’ at, makin’ that row at this time o’ night?”

Sergeant Argent looked affronted at being scolded.

“We have returned my lady Aefelthrith who we found, wandering the streets, after curfew” He explained.

“I had been at my sewing circle and lost track of time” Aefelthrith blurted out, glaring at Gwladys to stop her saying anything to the contrary.

“Oh, yeah, sewin’ circle, that’d be it” Gwladys nodded.

“Ooh!” Constable John looked like he had had a bright idea, “Can I ‘ave a word, sir?”

Sergeant Argent looked at him with annoyance.

“Not at the moment, Constable.  We have business to attend to” He turned to Aefelthrith and said, “now, ma’am, I must warn you that I will have to report this matter”

“I understand, Sergeant” Aefelthrith nodded, glumly.

“I will recommend that no charges are brought, but it is not a matter over which I have full control”

“Yes, but…” Constable John was hopping from one leg to the other, again.

“Will you be quiet, Constable!” Sergeant Argent snapped, and turned once again to Aefelthrith, “As I was about to say, ma’am, I would not concern yourself about this.  Just get a good night’s rest and I will see you on the morrow”

“I’ll tek good care on ‘er” Gwladys assured him, grabbing Aefelthrith by the arm and guiding her into the hall.

“Goodnight ladies” Sergeant Argent bowed, slightly and turned to go, “Come, Constable”

The shop door slammed shut and the two law enforcement officers strode away, at the regulation pace.  After a few steps, Sergeant Argent came to a halt and turned to address his Constable.

“Now then, what was so important that you needed to interrupt me in the conduct of my duties?”

“Werl, it just ‘ccurred to me…” Constable John scuffed his shoes and looked down at the ground, “if she’d been at a sewing circle…”

“Yes?”

“An’ she was on ‘er way ‘ome, like?”

“Of course”  Sergeant Argent nodded.

“Then, ‘ow come she’d walked past the shop when we stopped ‘er? ‘Eadin’ in the wrong direction as it might be, eh?”  He looked up at the Sergeant with a raised eyebrow and a superior grin.

You can find the previous adventures of Gwladys and Aefelthrith in both Kindle and paperback formats at The Chronicles of a Young Lady (and her Maid (link is external)