2015.285830.Jamaica-Inn by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Format: epub

home? I want it to be a surprise to the squire.’ She stepped into the coach, her petticoats fluttering behind her, followed by her companion with the monocle. Jem looked hastily over his shoulder, and tapped a lad who stood behind him on the arm. ‘Here,’ he said, ‘would you like a five-shilling piece?’ The lad nodded, his mouth agape. ‘Hang on to this pony then, and, when the groom comes for him, hand him over for me, will you? I’ve just had word that my wife has given birth to twins and her life is in danger. I haven’t a moment to lose. Here, take the bridle. A happy Christmas to you.’ And he was off in a moment, walking hard across the square, his hands thrust deep in his breeches pocket. Mary followed, a discreet ten paces behind. Her face was scarlet and she kept her eyes on the ground. The laughter bubbled up inside her and she hid her mouth in her shawl. She was near to collapsing when they reached the farther side of the square, out of sight of the coach and the group of people, and she stood with her hand to her side, catching her breath. Jem waited for her, his face as grave as a judge. ‘Jem Merlyn, you deserve to be hanged,’ she said, when she had recovered herself. ‘To stand there as you did in the market square and sell that stolen pony back to Mrs Bassat herself! You have the cheek of the Devil, and the hairs in my head have gone grey from watching you.’ He threw back his head and laughed, and she could not resist him. Their laughter echoed in the street until people turned to look at them, and they too caught the infection, and smiled, and broke into laughter; and Launceston itself seemed to rock in merriment as peal after peal of gaiety echoed in the street, mingling with the bustle and clatter of the fair; and with it all there was shouting, and callings, and a song from somewhere. The torches and the flares cast strange lights on the faces of people, and there was colour, and shadow, and the hum of voices, and a ripple of excitement in the air. Jem caught at her hand and crumpled the fingers. ‘You’re glad you came now, aren’t you ?’ he said, and ‘Yes,’ she said recklessly, and she did not mind. They plunged into the thick of the fair, with all the warmth and the suggestion of packed humanity about them. Jem bought Mary a crimson shawl, and gold rings for her ears. They sucked 136

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