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‘I shouldn’t have said anything, miss. It’s not fair to burden you with my troubles.’
‘You know that I’m good with my needle, Miss Bannister. I helped you before and I can do so again. After all, it will be to my advantage.’
‘I couldn’t do that, miss. What would Mrs de Marney say if she found out?’
‘What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, as Hester used to keep telling me.’
‘Hester?’
‘It doesn’t matter. She’s someone back at home in Devonshire. Now I want you to bring any unfinished garments to me. I will take some of the sewing to the theatre with me.’ Nancy held up her hand as she saw Miss Bannister was about to protest. ‘I’ve done it before and they were used to seeing me sewing when I helped Mrs Lake, so please don’t worry.’
‘I don’t know, miss. It doesn’t seem fair. I will be paid for something I haven’t done.’
‘Nonsense. You will have completed the most difficult part in the cutting and tacking. I will simply sew seams. I find it quite restful, as it happens.’
‘It would help, but only if you’re sure …’
‘I am absolutely certain, and I’ll do my best to see that your bill is paid on time. Mr de Marney is very good that way. I know he settles the household accounts on a regular basis.’
Miss Bannister clasped Nancy’s hands in hers. ‘Thank you, miss. I don’t know what I would have done had you not offered to help.’
‘There you are then. It will give me something to do instead of sitting idly while I wait for Mrs de Marney to call upon my services.’
Miss Bannister left for her rented room in Wych Street, returning an hour later with a carefully wrapped bundle, which she placed into Nancy’s hands. She gave detailed instructions as to what needed doing and Nancy took the garment to her room where she unwrapped and examined it. The shimmering silk in a rich peacock blue ran through her fingers like water and the basic shape of the gown was tacked ready for stitching. Nancy packed it up again and took it with her to the theatre that evening. She found a quiet spot in Wardrobe and worked on it until Felicia sent the call boy to fetch her. When they left the theatre after the performance Nancy hid the bundle beneath her cape and took it back to John Adam Street, where she sewed fine seams until late into the night.
Next morning, her work finished, Nancy decided to take the garment to Miss Bannister’s lodgings. She had considered sending Molly, but Wych Street was not far from the notorious Clare Market and Nancy had first-hand experience of that area. It did not seem fair to send Molly, a country girl born and bred, into such a potentially dangerous situation. Nancy decided it would be quicker and safer if she went alone. But when she was only halfway along the narrow street lined with overhanging Elizabethan houses squashed between pubs and brothels, she was beginning to regret her decision. However, it was fairly easy to find Miss Bannister’s lodging house and Nancy handed over the finished garment. Miss Bannister begged her to stay until she was ready to go out, so that she could make sure Nancy reached home safely, but Nancy had to be at the theatre and she insisted that she was perfectly capable of getting there without mishap.
Nancy noticed a group of young street urchins loitering in a nearby doorway but she walked past them with a confident step. However, she had not gone far when she realised that she was being followed and she quickened her pace. The footsteps behind her were getting closer and Nancy changed direction, hoping to throw them off. Instead of heading towards the theatre, she chose to lose them in the busy streets around Clare Market, but her plan failed and she could hear them baying like hounds in pursuit of a fox. She was alone in alien territory and they were closing in on her.
Chapter Ten
Nancy forced herself to keep calm. She was about to turn on her pursuers and demand that they leave her alone when to her intense relief she spotted Jedidiah Wilkins’s cart. The smell of rancid meat would have led her straight to it anyway, and she began to run. She almost bumped into Jedidiah as he emerged from a tavern, his leather apron bloodstained and his hands red with blood and grease.
He took in the situation with a single glance and raised his fist, shaking it at the boys, who turned tail and ran.
‘What are you doing round here, Miss Nancy? I thought you’d learned your lesson.’
‘I am so glad to see you, Jedidiah. I was trying to get to the theatre and I took a wrong turn because I knew I was being followed.’
‘I’ve delivered my last order this morning. I’ll see you safe to the theatre.’ Jedidiah handed her onto the driver’s seat and climbed up to sit beside her. He took the reins and flicked the whip over the horse’s ears. ‘What was you doing in this area anyway, miss?’
‘I was taking some work to Miss Bannister. She has several creations to complete for Mrs de Marney and I was helping out.’
‘You was?’ Jedidiah turned his head to gaze at Nancy in surprise. ‘That was good of you, miss.’
‘She works so hard, and gets very little in return when you think of the long hours she spends sewing. She often works all night, most probably by the light of a single candle. She’s such a nice lady.’
‘She is indeed.’
‘It’s a hard life for a single lady with limited means.’ Nancy shot him a sideway glance. ‘I’m surprised that no one has snapped her up and married her.’
‘Do you mean me, miss?’
‘I think you like her a lot, Jedidiah.’
‘Which is true, but a lady like Miss Bannister wouldn’t want anything to do with a rough fellow like me.’
‘You don’t know that for certain. I think she likes you, too.’
