Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection. Josephine Cox

the other.

      ‘We’re looking for work,’ he told him. ‘I’m a carpenter, and my mate here is first class with a broom and mop.’

      ‘You’re wasting your time here.’ The other man’s answer was swift and clear. ‘We’ve no need of you, so bugger off, before you get the sharp end of my boot.’

      At that moment his brother returned. ‘What’s the problem here?’

      ‘No problem.’ The younger man bristled. ‘These two were just about to leave.’ He glared at John and Archie. ‘You’ve been told. On your way … NOW! Before I have you thrown in the canal.’

      Controlling the urge to smack him one, John retaliated. ‘You can try! But more likely than not, it’ll be you who ends up in the canal.’

      ‘All right! That’s enough.’ Sensing a serious confrontation, the older brother stepped in. ‘I’m sorry, but he’s right. We would offer you work if we could, but we’re fully manned. Sorry … can’t help.’

      John and Archie had no choice but to leave. ‘Is there any point in coming back in a week or so?’ John was bitterly disappointed.

      The older man shook his head. ‘I’m afraid not.’

      As they walked away, Archie glanced back. ‘Seems to me there’s real hatred there.’

      John agreed. ‘It’s a terrible thing when family turns against family.’ His thoughts went to Emily and her uncle, and though he was devastated at losing her, he was glad for her sake that the situation there appeared to have been resolved.

      ‘Look at that!’ Archie drew John’s attention to where a barge was being offloaded. ‘I’m buggered if it ain’t a young lass in charge!’

      John was surprised. ‘It appears so.’ He observed the young woman in question and saw how the men appeared to be taking instruction from her. Not yet twenty by his reckoning, with her long fair hair tied back and the hem of her dark skirt swishing around her ankles, she wore the same kind of boots that the men wore.

      At that moment she turned and smiled at him. Embarrassed to be seen watching her, he returned a nod, and quickened his steps towards the bridge.

      ‘Well, I never. She’s coming after us.’ Brushing his hand over his hair, Archie preened himself. ‘I expect she’s heard about my reputation,’ he said with a naughty wink.

      Her voice carried on the air. ‘Wait a minute!’ She caught up with them on the bridge. ‘Are you looking for work?’ Brown-eyed and with a quick, easy smile, the young woman was not so much pretty as homely.

      ‘That’s right. But it seems they’ve no need of us.’ Like Archie, John felt easy in her company. ‘Why? Are you offering us work?’

      ‘It’s not full-time or anything like that,’ she replied. ‘Only, one of my barges is beached, and I’m losing work because of it.’

      ‘So, how can we help?’ John was surprised to learn that she was not only the owner of that barge down there, but had another somewhere else. A woman of her tender years, owning a business like this and working alongside the men – that was something he had never come across before.

      She explained, ‘It’s my father’s business, but he’s laid up. There was an accident … a crate fell on him and injured his back. Since then I’ve carried on the best I can.’

      ‘You look like you’re doing a good job an’ all,’ Archie answered.

      ‘Thanks.’ Then, addressing herself to John, she said, ‘One of the men down there heard you say you were a carpenter. Is that right?’

      John nodded. ‘It’s right enough, yes.’

      ‘So – will you help me out?’

      ‘Depends on the job.’

      She described what was needed. ‘When the crate fell, it smashed a huge hole right through the deck of our second barge. We managed to get her ashore, but she needs major work.’

      John was curious. ‘And are you telling me you can’t find a carpenter to take it on?’

      ‘Oh, I can find them all right.’ She scowled. ‘I can find any number who’ll take it on, but they think because I’m a woman they can charge me twice the going rate.’ Taking a deep breath, she let it out in anger. ‘Before they take advantage of me, the barge can rot where she is!’

      Archie laughed. ‘Fighting talk, eh?’ He’d always liked a lively lass.

      One swift glance from John silenced him. ‘How far away is this barge?’ he asked the young woman.

      ‘She’s laid up about a mile along the canal. Once she was badly holed, we had to get her out of the water a bit quick. Thank goodness there were men on hand at the time.’

      ‘How long ago was that?’

      ‘A year … eighteen months or thereabouts.’

      ‘Can you take me there?’

      Visibly relieved, she thanked him. ‘I can take you right now,’ she said. ‘The men are just about finished offloading and I’m ready to pull out.’

      As they strolled towards the barge, John introduced himself. ‘I’m John Hanley,’ he said, ‘and this is my old friend, Archie.’

      ‘Hey!’ Archie’s feathers were ruffled. ‘Not so much of the old!’

      The girl shook them each by the hand. ‘I go by the name of Rosie Taylor,’ she said. ‘My father is Lonnie Taylor, of Taylor’s Carriers.’ Her smile was one of relief. ‘If you can put that second barge back on the canal, we’ll both be very grateful to you.’

      Archie was curious. ‘How old are you, to be taking on the responsibility of a business?’

      ‘Older than you think.’

      ‘And how old is that?’

      ‘You’re a cheeky devil!’

      ‘Born like it,’ he chuckled. ‘So, how old?’

      ‘You tell me.’

      ‘Eighteen, mebbe nineteen?’

      ‘I’m twenty-two next birthday.’

      She was the same age as himself, John noted. Archie was about to ask another question, when John gave him one of his warning glances. ‘Right then!’ the little man finished the conversation. ‘We’d best get on.’

      When she ushered them into the barge, both men were impressed by the interior. ‘I’ve been on many a ship in my time,’ Archie remarked. ‘This is the first occasion I’ve been on a barge, and I don’t mind telling you, I’m amazed. I always thought they must be too narrow for a man to move about freely, but there’s room aplenty.’

      ‘People are always surprised at how roomy they are.’ Rosie handed him a cup of sarsaparilla.

      ‘Given the chance, I could laze about here all day.’ Seating himself on the little green sofa, he supped contentedly at his drink.

      John considered the barge to be warm and welcoming, much like Rosie herself, he thought. Moreover, with the little stove, the oblong peg-rug and comfortable furnishings, she had made it a home. ‘It’s a credit to you,’ he said, and meant it.

      In no time at all, they arrived at their destination. ‘There she is.’ Pointing to the rotting hull, Rosie slowed the barge.

      Manoeuvring the vessel into the bank, she tied it up. ‘Before you offer to repair her, you might like to take stock of the damage.’

      All three disembarking, they walked along the towpath to where the barge lay, lopsided, half-hidden by the undergrowth. ‘Careful now!’ Rosie warned. ‘The ground lies a bit swampy just here.’

      They