No one knew when they were arriving, so Jay arranged onward transport for them. Public coaches plied frequently between Lynn and Ely, but it was not a practical way when there were six of them and a fair amount of luggage. They could go post-chaise, but it would need two coaches to take them all. It was Sam who suggested going by river. Boats were as easily hired as coaches; it was the accepted means of transport in the fens. And so it was that Lisette and her father made their slow progress in a barge towed by a big black horse. While the Comte and Sir John rested below deck, Lisette sat on the roof of the tiny cabin and watched the landscape glide past. It was flat and watery and there were a great many seabirds and waterfowl flying in and feeding on the marshy ground before taking off again in great clouds. As the vessel made its way upstream, the marshes gave way to pasture grazed by cattle. ‘Until the draining of the fens over a hundred years ago, much of what you can see was frequently under water,’ Jay said, coming to sit beside her.
