Treason by Jo Macauley

Author:Jo Macauley [Macauley, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Curious Fox
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen - Tower Wharf

With Ralph taking the lead, the newly-formed team slipped silently through the night-time thoroughfares of London. The more important streets were lit by lanterns, and by law people were supposed to hang candles or lanterns outside their houses at night for the benefit of pedestrians, but few bothered. On some streets, linkboys might sometimes be found carrying flaming torches, and for a small fee they would light the way for travellers. But Ralph stuck to the unlit side streets and alleys as they made their way to the docks, seeming to know every inch of the city’s maze of streets like the back of his hand – which Beth suspected he probably did. It was quiet by this time, but every now and then they came across some theatre-goer straggling homeward, a group leaving a tavern, or some other late-night wanderer. Where possible, they crossed the street or darted from one narrow lane into a yet narrower one, always glancing back furtively over their shoulders to make sure they weren’t being followed.

When the stink of dead animals and human waste began to sting Beth’s nostrils, she knew they were near the river - the place where it was all too easy for Londoners to dispose of anything and everything they no longer needed. John stuck close to her, and although she worried a little about how he would cope if danger struck, the way he had met the challenge when she had beckoned him on stage gave her hope. And anyway, even though Ralph Chandler’s underworld skills might prove useful, it was good to have the company of someone “normal”, a young man who was not caught up in darker side of life – not to mention someone who seemed good-hearted and who she felt she could trust. She tried to tell herself that the fact that he was good-looking had nothing to do with her professional assessment...

When they found themselves swallowed by the shadows of the daunting walls of the Tower of London, a grey hulking presence against the black sky, Beth knew the wharf was only a short walk away. They all instinctively slowed to a more cautious pace. It was hard to see each other’s faces, but Beth somehow sensed that John was growing increasingly edgy.

“How do you fare, John?” she said.

“To be truthful,” he whispered, “I’m petrified. But my determination to rescue my friend is greater than my fear.”

Beth reached out for his hand and gave it a squeeze of reassurance. She heard him give what sounded like a rather self-conscious swallow and smiled a little to herself in the darkness.

They came to a huge warehouse, one of several that lined the river here, and Ralph led them along its back wall to the corner. They peered warily around towards the wharf and the river. Beyond the shadowy outline of piles of packing cases, barrels, and the wooden cranes like long-necked birds perched on the river bank, they could make out the naked black masts of numerous moored ships swaying gently on the current.

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