XI
The sinking ship
Eighteenth Century
Manchester
Max Hollerford's residence
1775
When Rose wakes up the following morning, she finds April no long there on the other side of the bed. The fire is out and the morning light bursts through the partly open curtains. It takes Rose a moment to remember the events of the day before as she slowly sits up in the large empty bed. She feels groggy and tired, almost as if she could do with having another few hours of sleep. But she knows that she has to do something today. Her first plan is to give Horace another visit and see if she is brave enough to talk to his children once more. If she learns nothing more from them, she wants to return to the church and talk to Nathaniel. And if that does not work Rose doesn't have much of a plan other than speak to people in the city. The story of the Devil must have some sort of link to the weeping angels.
Since they first landed in Manchester only a short while ago, Rose is completely unaware of what day it is. It will only be to her luck if it is a Sunday. If that is the case she will be able to join the citizens for a church service. However is it worth visiting one of the factories and speaking to the workers? Rose's school history lessons about the Industrial Revolution are a little hazy and she isn't too sure where they were up to in terms of progress in 1775.
Rose rubs her eyes as they adjust to the bright autumnal light shining into the bedroom, when she hears voices outside her bedroom. The voices are kept low and are muffled but just from the tone of the two male voices, it is evident that there is some form of a heated discussion.
Rose throws the blanket off and climbs out of bed as quietly as she can. Careful not to step on any creaky floorboards, she makes her way across the bedroom. She presses her ear to the door and tries her best to listen to what is being said.
Rose can only distinguish the occasional word and phrase every so often but she recognises the voices as Max and Master Franklin. Master Franklin seems rather agitated by the mere thought of Rose and April staying in the house as he takes them as unwanted guests. Max tries to stand up for his sister, stating that she needs a place to stay because she is very unwell, but Master Franklin only reminds Max that he is in charge of the house and will continue to be until his dying day. That will be the day when Max will take ownership of the house.
"Remember why I took you on instead of leaving you out in the streets, Maxwell." Master Franklin snarls in a low voice.
Max does not reply for a long time but when he does, his voice is pleading. "If you have not noticed, sir, but since you have been out of city for a while. Things in Manchester have changed greatly since your departure."
"Are you still guilty about the deaths of the Bellingham family?" Master Franklin quizzes. "You knew that there was nothing you could do to help. Once someone catches that disease they cannot get away with it. There is not a cure."
There is a hesitant pause.
"I am sure there must be a way to stop the disease from getting worse."
"I taught you to become a biologist. Why have you not figured that one out yourself? Besides I hear from Doctor Albert Columbus that he is expecting his papers by tomorrow and I can only assume that you still have not done it."
"I am working on it."
"And you have your party to host tomorrow evening. Your sister may have returned but do not let that draw you away from who you really are. You may be twins but you are not the same person," He then lowers his voice. "Remember that this is your big chance. Do not fail."
There is another pause.
"What are my duties for today?" Max asks.
Someone sighs heavily. Rose assumes that it is Master Franklin.
"I have a little task for you, Maxwell," Master Franklin starts. "And I wish to be nice to you to begin with. I have no hope that you will succeed in this task before the sun sets this evening, but I do wish that you will have many stepping stones to find this out for me."
"What?"
"Get inside Heat Miles," Master Franklin says sternly. "I do not care to know how or why. Since my travels I know that they are a threat. I have observed the city since my return and I know that this city is ridden with fear. And Heat Miles will only do so much to make matters worse. Use that brain God gifted you with. Watch people. Listen. The scoundrels would be hiding somewhere in this city and it will terrorise everyone. Mark my words," Master Franklin pauses. "As soon as you find out, let me know," he pauses again. "Where is your sister?"
"She took an early morning stroll I believe," Max replies. "I have not seen her today."
That is when Rose opens the bedroom door and steps out into the hallway still wearing her nightgown. Max and Master Franklin, who are both standing in the middle of the hallway fall silent and looks at Rose.
"Glory be, it is about time." Master Franklin says quietly.
"Good morning, miss," Max says brightly. "There's breakfast waiting for you downstairs."
"Where's April?" Rose asks bluntly.
There is a pause.
"Gone for a walk. Now come, Madam Tyler. I will escort you downstairs." Master Franklin takes a step forward and gestures for Rose to follow him.
They leave Max alone on the landing and walk down the stairs as Master Franklin speaks to Rose. His voice is light and cheerful compared to how it was only moments before. Rose feels like she can't trust Master Franklin. There is something about him that seems like he is always trying to hide something. As soon as Rose suspects this, she knows that he cannot be trusted.
Rose and Master Franklin sit in the dining room in silence as they eat their breakfast the servants brings up for them. Master Franklin reads the day's newspaper and Rose starts to feel rather uncomfortable in the tense atmosphere. Max joins them after a while but he doesn't seem to be in the mood to bring up a subject to talk about.
Rose leaves the house not long after breakfast and is rather relieved to breathe in the fresh air. The clouds are low and grey and it looks as if it might rain later in the day but this doesn't bother her in the slightest. The weather is the least of her concerns unlike last time in the parallel world. Again she wraps herself up in her coat as she makes her way down the streets back to where Horace lives. This time around she feels a lot braver now she has met Horace and seen the children again for the second time. But this time she wants to know more about the weeping angels. If Phillip believes that he saw the Devil, he might know something about the angels. There has to be a link somewhere.
Rose bangs loudly on the front door to the house for she can already hear the voices and laughter from inside. She waits for a moment before the door swings open. The same man opens the front door, halfway through laughing but his face brightens up even more as he looks at Rose.
"Good morning!" The man sings merrily. "Do come in! We have fresh bread straight off the market if you would like some? It is a special treat for us all!"
"No thank you," Rose says as she steps into the small house. "I'm just here to visit Horace again."
"Well that's if he answer's the door," The man says. "I have not seen him for a while."
Rose hesitates as she looks at the man. "What?"
"He has not left his room since your last visit."
Rose stares at the man for a long while as his smile slowly starts to vanish. Rose turns and then runs down the hallway, passing the staircase when Penny and Phillip starts running down in a panic.
"Where is daddy?" Phillip cries.
Rose continues to run in down the corridor until she reaches the door that leads into Horace's bedroom. It doesn't come to a surprise to see the room empty but Rose panics. The blankets have been left in a heap in the corner of the room and there are certain possessions left in his room. But the majority of his stuff has been packed away and taken with him.
"But where would he have gone?" The man asks as he steps into this room. The man's usual bright and cheerful face is now horror struck. His shock horror is almost comical but Rose is too concerned about Horace's whereabouts to laugh.
Rose stands in the middle of the room and looks around, trying to figure out where Horace might have run to. Would he have joined Nathaniel at the church? But why did he pack most of his possessions and leave his children behind? Penny and Phillip are standing together in the doorway. Phillip has his arms tightly wrapped around his sister's waist as tears fill his eyes. Penny only glares at Rose flaggingly.
Rose racks her brain as she desperately looks around the room trying to find some sort of clue, but then she remembers the last conversation she had with Horace and before he asked her to leave, he mentioned that he wanted to get away.
"How often do we import cotton over to Liverpool?" Rose asks.
The man's brow furrows. "Not that often I believe. Why?"
"Because I have a bad feeling he's running away." As soon as Rose says that, there is a sudden loud bang heard far in the distance. It is loud enough to make everyone jump and scream in fright and for the laughter in the house to cease.
The bang sounds like a crash, almost as if something big has just collided into something it shouldn't. Penny and Phillip scream in fear at the sound and hold onto each other tighter.
"Look after the children!" Rose shouts to the man before she runs out the house.
The other people who live in the house step out of the living room and speak to each other in curious but fearful voices. Rose squeezes passed them through the narrow hallway before running out the house and onto the street. There are many other people frantically running down the stone cobbled street in the same direction.
"What's happened?" Rose asks as she stops one of the men.
"The boat in the river. It's crashed and sinking!" The man's voice is wild.
Rose curses under her breath before she runs on ahead following the crowd. They run down the main city streets towards the river. Their shouts and screams echo down the streets and bounce off the building walls. Everyone is in a state of panic and Rose's fear only increases the further she runs.
Everyone eventually comes to a standstill by the riverside. There is a large crowd of people talking to each other in panicked voices and calling out for help. Rose pushes through the crowd to get the front view.
The ship can be seen further up the river. It is tilting right over onto its starboard side. The currents of the river are harsh and the waves pull the wooden ship apart. The winds are strong and Rose stands rooted on the stone pavement in shock as she observes the scene. Every so often Rose is nudged in the back by someone who is trying to push past, but Rose continues to stare at the sinking ship. The ship that Horace is most definitely on.
Rose shakes her head and tries to think of a way to stop this, but it is a rather large ship in the middle of the river, sinking as the harsh currents take over. Anyone who might dare to go into the water to help will be killed instantly from the stormy waves. It is a helpless cause.
However it only confuses Rose to think why the currents of the river are so dramatically big. She tries to remember if there were any major stories about a shipwreck in Manchester in 1775. When Rose realises that there is nothing as such in her memory, she knows that this was no incident in history. This thought only increases Rose's fear to think that something has planned there to be a shipwreck in the river to kill off Horace or anyone else that is on board that ship.
Rose pushes her way through the dense crowd and runs down the road alongside the river, getting closer to where the ship is sinking. There is a gaggle of police and naval officers shouting orders to one another to help everyone off the shipwreck.
"But the currents would kill anyone that jumps into the water!" One of the police officers snaps just as Rose approaches them. The officer only looks at Rose suspiciously before he orders one of the officers to pick a few volunteers to help them.
With that a long rope is thrown into the water. One of the survivors from the shipwreck manages to pull themselves out of the wreckage and grab onto the rope. A group of people on the rope takes hold of the other end of the rope and pulls the man to safety. The man coughs and splutters, gulping for air as he lands on solid ground.
Two more men are saved from the wreckage before the sudden explosion.
Out of nowhere, the ship is up in flames moments before it explodes. The third saved man just about manages to clamber onto the road just as it happens.
The currents pick up speed from the blow and completely washes away what is left from the ship. The crowd screams and everyone ducks to the ground, hoping to avoid any bits of wood that flies at them. But it is only moments later when everyone quickly comes back to their senses and see what is left of the wreckage burning away on the surface of the water. The currents suddenly calm down as it pulls away stray pieces of wood.
"God help those souls." One of the naval officers mutters under his breath as he watches the currents drag a dead body downstream.
One of the other officers tries to order everyone to leave the scene so they can close off the road. Rose is pushed back into the crowd as they are all pushed further and further away from the river.
"No, there's a man on that ship that'll need help!" Rose cries hysterically as she tries to get away from the police officer that is pushing her away. "I need to get him!"
But the officer is too strong and Rose is unable to get away from him.
"We will find out as much as we can." The officer replies bluntly.
Rose and many other people wait on the road for a long time before a list of the dead from the disaster comes to them. And Horace Bellingham's name is on the list.
The fact hits Rose's heart hard for it is her that has to deliver the news. She has to inform Penny and Phillip of their father's death.
