‘Be competition for you, eh Fred?’ Ern added, his eyes bright with mischief. Isabella saw her uncle’s lips tighten but he wasn’t about to be drawn.
‘Enjoy your drink, gentlemen,’ he said, raising his hat.
‘Oh ah,’ they chorused and promptly returned their attention to their ale.
Her uncle was silent as they resumed their journey, but Isabella was bursting with curiosity.
‘How come everyone round here knows who I am?’ she asked. He shrugged.
‘That’s country living for you. News flies quicker than the pigeons.’
‘But they thought I was staying,’ she persisted.
‘Thinks they knows everything that goes on around here. And what they don’t, they make up. Gives them something to chat about. Look, there’s the open sea over there,’ he said, gesturing to their right. ‘Be on t’other side of the railway line now.’ Realizing he was trying to divert her attention but determined to get some answers to her questions, she turned to face him.
‘What was Mama like?’
‘Well now,’ he murmured. ‘She were lively and inquisitive, like yourself.’
‘But do I look like her? Grandmother said the strangest thing earlier,’ she began.
‘Ah, she often do,’ he agreed.
‘She said I must have rinsed my hair in clotted cream. Auntie thought she’d mistaken me for Mama and it got me wondering. Don’t you think it’s strange she had dark colouring when I’m fair and have blue eyes?’ she asked. He gave her a considering look then shrugged.
‘Offspring can take on the colouring of either parent.’
‘Yes but . . . ,’ she began, about to pursue the subject when she saw a carriage heading their way. Maxwell’s was similar, she thought, her heart flipping happily. But even as she leaned forward in her seat, it veered off to the right.
‘Oh,’ she gasped. Her uncle drew his brows together.
‘Something wrong, girl?’
‘That carriage, if it’s Maxwell, he’s gone the wrong way,’ she cried.
‘Driver’s bound to know where he’d be going. Anyhow, that’s the visitant route to Powderham Castle,’ he replied.
‘Oh, I see,’ she said despondently.
‘If the Earl of Devon is entertaining, it might be an idea to see if his guests want posies for their ladies’ fancy frocks,’ he muttered, oblivious to her frazzled emotions. ‘Got to up the stakes if Furneaux’s muscling in on my business.’
Isabella hardly heard him for she was peering along the lane where the carriage had turned off. Already it was just a speck in the distance and her heart sank. Obviously it wasn’t Maxwell. Why was he taking so long? Perhaps she should pen him another letter. She could write to dear Papa too. He’d be pleased to know she’d arrived safely.
‘Nearly there,’ her uncle said, breaking into her thoughts. As the trap slowed, she noticed a peculiar-looking red building towering above them. She was about to ask what it was, when the blast of a whistle sounded. ‘Come on, Silver,’ he urged, tugging on the rein. As they juddered to a halt in front of the station, two men, smart in their railway uniforms, ran over and began unloading the trap.
‘You’re late today, Fred. Train’s almost here.’
‘Been one of them days, Den,’ he replied, jumping down to help.
‘Bill’s flowers are already on the platform. Said you should drop by later. Got something important to tell you, apparently. Probably be about Furneaux and his new venture.’
‘Carry on like this and we’ll have to put on a train specially for the violets,’ the other man chuckled as he lifted the last of the boxes onto his trolley.
The rumble of the approaching engine galvanized them into action and they pushed their loads towards the platform. There was a hiss of brakes and once more Isabella found herself enveloped in a cloud of steam. When it had cleared, she saw all three men had disappeared, leaving her alone in the trap.
How ill-mannered, Isabella thought, staring around the empty yard. She looked up at the strange-looking building they’d passed earlier and decided that rather than sit waiting, she’d take a closer look. It was quite unlike anything she’d seen before. The walls were built from large blocks of dark red stone with light grey surrounds picking out the window and door openings. Her hands itched to get it all down on paper and, not for the first time that afternoon, she wished she had her watercolours with her. Then she noticed the tall, ornate square tower on the far side of the building and stepped back to see the top of it.
‘Ouch,’ cried a voice. Spinning round, she saw a young man hopping up and down on one foot. He was wearing a brown high-button sack coat over a waistcoat and sporting a soft cap on his dark hair.
‘Oh goodness, I am so sorry,’ she cried.
‘Don’t worry, I expect the infirmary can mend it,’ he sighed, gingerly touching his foot to the ground.
‘Is it that bad?’ she gasped. He looked at her wryly then gave a cheeky grin.
‘Not really,’ he admitted, mischief glittering in his green eyes. ‘It’s not often I capture the sympathy of a pretty young lady so I thought I’d capitalize on it. Only you looked so anxious, I couldn’t keep up the pretence.’
‘I’m sorry for stepping back on you but I was curious about this strange building.’
‘Then please let me make amends for my teasing by telling you something about it,’ he offered.
‘Oh, would you?’ she cried. ‘I’m only visiting the area and would love to know what it’s for.’
‘It is a remarkable structure. You will have heard of the great engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, of course?’ he asked, looking at her for confirmation.
‘Indeed,’ she agreed, not wishing to appear ignorant.
‘Well, he designed the Atmospheric Railway that originally ran along these parts, and this building with the Italianate tower you were admiring was one of the pumping stations. The pumps in there pushed air through pipes to move the carriages along.’
‘Goodness. You said originally, though. Do they not use it anymore?’ she asked, eager to appear intelligent.
‘Alas, the local rats developed a taste for the leather and grease which formed the seals in the pipes.’
‘Rats?’ she shuddered, pulling her mantle tighter round her.
‘Yep, gobbled them up faster than they could be replaced, so that was the end of that, as it were. This building is all that remains.’
‘And
