Chapter 1

“Ruby, Robby,” their father James called to the little redheads playing in the garden. “Please come in for a minute, sweethearts? I’ve something to say.”

“OK, Daddy, coming,” the little girl said, putting the hoops-and-pegs game she was playing with in the playbox and running into the house. The almost identical-looking boy threw the ball he’d played with at the box, which hit the top and bounced under the hedge, hidden from view. The boy shrugged and went inside.

Ruby found the kitchen empty but saw her father sitting in the middle of the living room settee, leaving room for Ruby and Robert to sit either side of him. She picked her father’s right side because he loved to cuddle her with his right arm and tickle her with his left. James was a right-handed architectural draughtsman and careful to protect his drawing hand. Ruby knew he could tickle just as well right- or left-handed so it didn’t matter to her and always chose to sit on his right side. Robert dropped into the other side of the settee with a thump.

“What’s this talk about, Daddy?” Ruby asked, turning her face to her father, sure it was about their 10th birthday next week. She knew it wasn’t going to be a normal birthday, not just because the twins’ age were going into double figures, but the COVID-19 lockdown meant they couldn’t have a birthday party with friends. But maybe they could go to McDonalds? Ruby didn’t mind if it was just the three of them, after all, there had always been just three.

She noticed he had a letter in his hand and a fairly flat brown paper parcel on his lap, tied up with string wrapped down and across, knotted and sealed with red wax, just like old fashioned packages she had only seen in illustrated books.

“Well,” James said, “how’d you like a train ride up to London on your birthday instead of a boring old lunch at McDonalds?”

“London?” Ruby asked, unable to remove the surprise in her voice. She’d never been to London before. She wasn’t sure if Daddy had ever been to London, if he had he’d never said.

“Yes, London. We could go for the whole day, perhaps go on the London Eye-”

“I expect everything’s closed, Daddy,” Robert interrupted. He was quite excited about going to London because for a long time they hadn’t been able to go anywhere except school. Then he wondered if he had dampened Daddy’s idea. “I think it’s a great idea, Daddy, even if everything’s closed we could see a lot from the top deck of a London bus, you know, the Palace, bridges, river. Maybe we could take one of their bus tours, and see the Tower.”

“Would we go by train to Paddington?” Ruby asked. It was the only London station she knew.

“King’s Cross, Rube, our station. Once there we can use the Underground to anywhere, would you like that?”

“Yes, Daddy, if we’re going together I’d love it,” Ruby giggled with excitement.

The envelope from his late wife Mary’s family lawyers contained a covering letter, another envelope with a letter from Mary, written hastily at the time of writing her Will before birth complications from twins set in. She “knew” she’d have a daughter and left James the note and a “Doggets token” a cheap gun metal disk. She didn’t leave a present for Robert because having twins was a surprise to both midwife and father.

The parcel came with the envelope and felt soft and light and they left it until the twins’ birthday before Ruby opened it. James bought them both tablets for their birthday, and an extra jumper for Robert as James was sure the present for Ruby was clothing.

When Ruby cut the string and unwrapped the brown paper covering, she found it contained a black dress covered in whirling patterns of tiny pearl shell buttons, so thin they weighed hardly anything. Although the patterns of buttons looked lovely, the material seemed rather worn and old fashioned with a v-neck, was too long and miles too big for Ruby. But it least it smelt clean and fresh.

Robert’s jumper had a picture of Harry Potter on it and he was pleased to wear it straight away.

“Put the dress on, Rubes, just for a few minutes. It must’ve been your Mummy’s and she wished you to wear it on your 10th birthday. If it’s uncomfortable or you hate it, change back into normal clothes for our London journey.”

However, as soon as she put the dress on, it fitted snugly around her as if tailor-made, it turned out that it was only as long as her knees and she thought she must have been very unobservant because it really had a comfortable folded buttoned down collar and three proper buttons at the front.

“It’s lovely, Daddy, I love it and it would be a great party dress. But too much for walking around outside or sitting on a train.”

“Wear your long anorak, it zips up and is long enough to cover it completely and keep you warm. Stations can be draughty and we’re going down close to the river, requested by Mummy’s letter.”

The train ride was long, over an hour and a quarter, but Ruby enjoyed looking out of the window at the fields, stations and people getting on and off. Robert enjoyed it at first, but was soon bored and buried his nose in his new tablet.

When Ruby felt relaxed, she took her coat off and lots of passengers complimented her on her beautiful pearly dress.

One dear old lady, with a slight London accent, called her “A Pearly Princess, and even with your mask on I can see from your eyes that you’re the prettiest princess I’ve ever seen. Just seeing you has lifted my day. When I was your age I lived in London, Peckham it was. The Pearly King and Queen and their lovely Princess would come around collecting money for charity every Saturday and it was considered good luck for anyone who pressed a coin into the Pearly Princess’s hand, so here, dearie, have this on me.”

And the dear old lady pressed a two-pound coin into her hand. “It’s all right dear, I used the cleansing gel on my hands when I got to the station.”

“But I’m not collecting for charity,” Ruby protested, “We’re going to London for our birthday and having lunch at McDonalds.”

“I know you’re not collecting, Dear, you’ve not rattled a single tin at me,” the dear old lady giggled, “but spend it on a drink and an iced bun for tea. I mean, if you don’t accept it, my good luck would go down the drain and you wouldn’t want that now, would you?”

“No,” agreed Ruby. “Thank you, I will put it in my pink pig when I get home, saving up for Christmas.”

“You do that, Dear, and you and your brother have a great birthday.” She turned to Robert and handed him a coin too, “well, I can’t leave you out, can I, young man? You look after your sister, now.”

“Wow! Thank you,” Robert blushed, glancing at his father and, seeing him nod, gave the dear old lady a grin, “I will,” before putting it in his pocket.

Ruby and Robert did enjoy their birthday in London, they did have lunch at McDonalds and went on the Underground and a red double decker bus. Later in the afternoon, towards evening, their Daddy hailed a taxi and they were driven to the address in Ruby’s mother’s letter that was sent with her pearly dress.

The “Guilded Barge” public house was at the end of a short street in the East End, right on the river. It looked old, squat and ugly, its brickwork dark and dirty. All around it was surrounded by towering, gleaming glazed office buildings. It was late afternoon on Saturday and the offices were empty and silent, but from inside the pub the lights blazed merrily through the brightly coloured stained glass windows and they could hear a plinking piano and lusty singing from within.

James, Robert and Ruby put on their face masks and James pushed open the door. As soon as they entered, the music and dancing stopped and everyone in the crowded bar looked at them. James pushed Ruby and Robert in front of him, holding them close with an arm on each child’s shoulder.

‘It was my beloved Mary’s wish that I bring Ruby here on her 10th birthday and I will not be intimidated by anyone here,’ he thought to himself, only in his nervousness he also said it out loud but very quietly.

But it was suddenly so quiet in the pub that you could hear a pin drop so, of course, every single word that James whispered was heard by all.

A cheery red-faced woman immediately in front of him smiled and said, “Well, in that case Dearie, you beh’her come in, then. Shut the door’n keep the ‘eat in, won’t yer Lovey?” then she turned and slapped a man next to her, saying in a scolding tone, “Come on, make way fer the gentleman an’ ‘is lovely kids, let ‘em frew ter the bar!”

Suddenly a pathway opened in the sea of curious bodies and the little family nervously made their way to the bar, where a large and equally red-faced woman in thick make-up and blue hair behind the bar asked, “What can I get yah, ducks? My, you’re a pretty young lady, you don’ wanna ‘ide herself under that coat, ain’t yer got nuthink pretty ter wear on a Sat’dy night, Sweetheart?”

Ruby unzipped her coat, revealing the glittering pearly dress to the red-face landlady.

“I got this for my birthday, from my late Mummy,” Ruby proudly said to the landlady, with her head held high and her chin jutting out.

“Well, let me get you, Princess, a fresh glass o’ lemonade, one fer yer ‘andsome twin and a pint o’ Porter fer yer Dad, while you undoes yer coat so we can all ‘ave a butcher’s at yer lovely dress, Darlin’.”

As Ruby took off her coat and handed it to her father, the whole pub gasped. One man in front shouted out to the people at the back who couldn’t see, “She’s a prop’her Pearly Princess! An’ the prettiest one ever, I’ll be bound!”

This set up a hubbub throughout the pub and in seconds, the piano started plinking again and the whole crowd were singing “My Old Man...”

“Well, me ducks, that’s on the ‘ouse,” said the cheery landlady to James, setting down a couple of glasses of fresh lemonade and a foaming pint of dark beer on the bar in front of her latest guests, “I’ll bet yer’ll be wantin’ a Boatman in a mo’, eh?”

“Well,” James said, pulling the Doggetts’ token from his pocket, “We do have this, I don’t quite know what it’s for.”

“Ah! That’s ter pay the Boatman fer a trip across the river,” the landlady smiled, then she stretched up on her toes and bellowed down the bar, “Andy, Andy Harry, where’s the bloomin’ Boatman when yer needs ‘im?”

“Don’t get yer knickers in a twist Rosy. I’m ‘ere, ain’t I?” said a strapping young man, but instead of casual clothes, he was wearing a bright red coat with a large silver badge on the upper arm of his left sleeve, showing the word “Liberty” and a horse, similar to that engraved on the token. “Ah, young lady, or I should say ‘Your Highness’,” the newcomer said, emphasising the ‘H’ in ‘Highness’, with a smile on his open face and a short but definitive bow, “I’ll take the three o’ yer to the Ait as soon as yer’ve finished yer drinks.”

The lights from the pub helped getting down the 14 slippery steps to the boat, but Andy also held Ruby’s hand down to an open rowing boat, the only one moored thereabouts, while James helped Robert descend.

Andy stepped into the boat first and helped Ruby into the gently rocking vessel, whipping away towels keeping the two pairs of passenger seats dry, before guiding her to sit. Then Andy turned to her twin and father and helped their entry and seating. Andy untied the boat, sat in the front of the boat facing them and drew a stroke on one oar, to take them away from the steps, and then rowed them with deep, strong strokes into the main channel of the River Thames.

“Where, exactly,” asked James, “are we going?”

“Ah, now there’s a question, Mr West, to a place called ‘Aitthames’ is the simple answer.”

“How do you know my surname?” James asked, “we only gave our first names in the bar.”

“That’s ‘cause I’ve been expecting yer,” Andy replied with a grin, “I don’t wears me Doggett’s coat and badge ‘cept when I’s workin’ and I ‘ardly ever works on a Satd’y night an’ get Old Betsy out o’ the shed, unless it’s a Princess what’s callin’.”

“Old Betsy?” Ruby asked.

“Me wherry,” Andy replied, “me boat, it was me grandad’s an’ me dad’s before me, an’ I on’y gets it out on special occasions, like a particular Pearly Princess’s tenth birfd’y.”

“Who told you we were coming?” James asked, frowning.

“The previous Pearly Princess, Kathy,” Andy replied, “She wus yer Great-Aunt, Princess, older sister of yer grandmother. She was 94 last year, but several years ago she warned us that she was close to the end and that we wus to welcome Princess Ruby on her 10th birffd’y, so I’ve been waiting tonight and your other birffd’y nights since you was 8, in case Kathy couldn’t make it. Her birffd’y’s next monff, so I guess I won’t be seeing her.”

“But Mary’s Aunt Katherine has been bed-ridden for years!” James exclaimed, “Even before the twins were born.”

“Ah, no matter how old you is, yer cannot stop a Pearly Princess coming here on her birffd’y.”

“So, Aunt, er Kathy, came here every year until now?”

“Yeah, every 23rd of March, fer as long as I remember, an’ I was ‘er only Waterman fer the last seven, an’ me Dad wus her Waterman for many years before that.”

“So,” Ruby asked, “where are we going again? And where is this place ‘Items’?”