Page 29 of By Marsh and By Moor
But it was all too much.Carrie, Penwick, his horse, the press gang… His head ached, and a chasm separated him from the other two men and their smiling faces.He was pleased for Solomon—pleased to see him so happy.But for his own part, he just wanted to get away from here.To hide away and lick his wounds.
“I can’t stay.Got some business in town I must see to.”
Solomon looked alarmed.“Wait!Where can I find you?”
“I don’t know… I’m not sure.”
“Meet me at the Anchor at seven this evening?”
The easiest thing to do was to nod in agreement.
Out in the street, Jed let himself be carried along by the market-day crowd.A fishmonger elbowed him out of the way.A carter cursed him for not getting out of the horse’s path quickly enough.Jed scarcely noticed.
He had nothing in mind.No destination.No plans.A deep, instinctive part of him shied away from making any.He did have acquaintances in Barnstaple—people he’d done business with in the past, who might be able to help him to a job.But he didn’t want to think about that.To think about it would be to admit that he might not be able to return to work in Ledcombe.
He would, at the very least, need to find somewhere to sleep tonight.There was a lodging house in one of the narrow streets around the merchants’ exchange, a cheap, clean place where he used to sleep when he was in Barnstaple too late to return home to Ledcombe before nightfall.The woman scrubbing the front step stopped her work long enough to promise to keep a bed for him.“You can come any time after nine o’clock.”
That done, he wandered away.It was late afternoon by now, far too late to think about trying to get out to High Bray to see Penwick’s man of business.Jed went to the Anchor and sat over a pint of ale, ignoring anyone who tried to engage him in conversation.
Solomon arrived at seven.A flicker of something that looked almost like relief crossed his face when he saw Jed.But it was gone before Jed could be sure.
He sat down opposite Jed and pushed a fresh pint across the table to him.“How did you go on today?Get your business seen to all right?”
Jed shrugged.“Some of it.”He had found a place to sleep, at least.That counted, didn’t it?He picked up the full glass and raised it in salute.“Thanks.”
For the blink of an eye, he was just a carrier having a drink with a friend, his horse and cart waiting outside.But that man—that carefree fellow who’d never been to sea, never knuckled under to an officer’s orders… That man was dead and buried, six foot under.
He met Solomon’s eye with a grimace.“I confess, I did nothing all afternoon but sit here and drink.”
Solomon’s mouth twisted in sympathy.“Listen, I called in at the carrier’s yard behind the Boar to see if they might be looking for hands.And indeed they are.We’d have to go back tomorrow morning to see the proprietor, a Mrs Drake.”
We?Jed thought.
Solomon went on, “I spoke to Mrs Steele—she’s the landlady at the Boar.She’s well acquainted with Mrs Drake, of course, and she said she’d put in a good word for me as a friend of Wallace.You too, if you want.”His voice trailed off.Probably he had been hoping for a more enthusiastic response from Jed.“Maybe you’ve other plans?”
Jed was touched and a little overwhelmed.Not knowing what to say, he settled on, “So you mean to bide here in Barnstaple, then?”
“Yes.Me and Wallace, we talked it over, and we’re staying for the now.”He eyed Jed, still waiting for a real answer.
Jed ducked his head, rubbing the back of his neck.He didn’t get the impression that Solomon was a man who often put his head over the gunwale, risking being shot down.Jed felt like he’d been offered some rare gift.
But coming to Barnstaple had never been part of his plans, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of being adrift, unmoored, in dense fog.These past five years, he’d doggedly followed the same heading, and now he was dangerously off course.
“Listen, I—I have to think about it.”The change in Solomon’s expression was subtle, but it made Jed hurry on, trying to soften the blow.“I’m setting to be my own master again, you see.Don’t want to be following orders from some Mrs Drake and her head yardman.”
It wasn’t the whole truth, but it was the only part of the truth that he could manage to put into words.
“Of course.I understand.”
Silence fell between them.
Solomon leaned back in his seat, one arm stretched casually along the back of the bench.“I’ll be outside the Boar at seven tomorrow morning.”
Jed nodded.For a moment, they just looked at each other.
Then Jed got to his feet.“I’m going to head out.Get some fresh air.”
Outside, night had fallen, and the street was painted in patches of light and darkness.Jed stood motionless in the shadows outside the Anchor, not knowing where to go.A passing watchman stopped to shine his lantern in Jed’s face.
