‘Stay mounted, Edward. It would please me to be escorted to my gate in that manner.’
Betsey came close, to take a firm grip on a stirrup leather as Brazier put Bonnie to walking once more, then asked in a soft voice that he recount everything that had happened, which he did with as little invention as possible. This had her conclude that, when he talked of the owner of the Playhouse, he was most certainly a saint. It did not seem politic to Brazier to disabuse her as to his saviour’s sex.
‘I sense you are in pain, Edward.’
‘The physical manifestations of which will pass.’
She got his meaning. ‘I feel I have behaved very badly. Perhaps if I explained—’
‘There’s no need. I am aware that we sailors carry the burden of poor perception and I would own in many cases it is well deserved.’
‘My brother tarred you with it after you left.’
‘Then I hope he was more careful in his language than he was when speaking with me.’
‘He said you threatened to call him out.’
‘I warned him to be careful of his tongue, which I have to tell you was loose enough to warrant such a reaction. But I realised fairly quickly it was no more than an attempt to provoke me, so that you would see me in a bad light.’
‘To which I have just found myself prone.’
Brazier did not want to go there, did not want to admit to his disappointment she had jumped too quickly to a condemnatory conclusion. He surely had the right to hope she would trust him, for if that was so lacking, was there a future? Best to put the thought to one side and return to Henry.
‘Did he specifically say I challenged him?’ She nodded, looking up at him with sad eyes. ‘Well, I can say to you it was not that overt.’
How could she say now that the words of her brother regarding sailors had coloured her thinking as soon as she was told his whereabouts?
‘I came to put your mind at rest and also to tell you I have rented a house in Deal: Quebec House in Middle Street, hard by the Naval Yard.’ The direct look accompanying those words required no explanation, but she got it anyway. ‘What your brother thinks, I care not, but you? I am serious in my intentions towards you; I hope you know that and, if it takes time for matters to be resolved, so be it. I will be here.’
‘Edward,’ was all she could say and it was close to a whisper, before looking meaningfully at the gate to Cottington Court, no more now than a few yards away.
‘You have no idea, Betsey, how much I would like to bend down and kiss you, but I fear if I did, I would fall off.’
‘Then this will have to suffice.’
She put her fingertips to her lips, kissed them, and then stood on tiptoe to bestow them on his. He had to bend to make contact and to do so was agony, but that he masked, for what she was imparting indicated to him that all doubts were laid to rest.
‘I look forward to visiting you at Quebec House, Edward.’
‘While I look forward to the day I carry you across the threshold, which I have to say, will not be soon. More likely, as of this moment it would be you lifting me.’ Brazier laughed as she smiled; it hurt like hell to do so but it was of no account. ‘I intend to move in tomorrow and I hope you will call.’
‘I will, Edward, but I fear I must ask my Aunt Sarah to accompany me. It would not serve either of us to risk scandal.’
‘For your company, the price is worth paying.’
She produced that blush of which he was so enamoured. ‘Goodbye, Edward.’
The walk to the gate was slow and she turned once she had pulled the bell to smile at him, which stood in stark contrast to the glare he got from the keeper, severe enough to make that of the ever-snarling dog look welcoming.
‘Mr Henry was in a rare passion to find I let you out this morning. Threatened me with a whipping.’
‘Then he will just have to get used to my coming and going as I please and so, I fear, will you.’
Brazier got a final wave as she went through the gate, aware he was being examined by the gateman, pulling on the reins as Betsey disappeared, to turn Bonnie round for the slow ride back to Deal. As she walked down the gravel drive, Betsey was thinking that two people could rent houses, though she would not consider Lower Deal as suitable for her. Wherever it was, it would be more convenient than residing at Cottington Court and certainly more comfortable, being without the constraints of her brother, which she knew on entry she was going to be exposed to.
It was thus a pleasant surprise to find him out of the house and, according to Aunt Sarah, who delivered the message with barely disguised annoyance, not expected back until late.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The rider who returned to the Three Kings was exhausted and in physical pain, for which his emotional well-being hardly compensated. Even the ever-eager Ben, who quickly appeared to take Bonnie to the stables, did not get the accustomed smile of greeting. Indeed, one look at the swollen face had the lad declining to meet his eye and bustling away. Thankfully Brazier was spared the nosiness of Garlick not, as normal, at his hatch.
Food he ordered by bell, only half of it consumed and washed down with brandy to dull his aches, which was followed by a restless night with little sleep, taken only partially undressed. The dawn had him writing a note to Admiral Braddock as he ate a slow breakfast, asking to be excused dining that day due to an unfortunate riding accident. He also enquired if the surgeon on station – there was bound to be one – could attend upon him, a request to which Braddock responded to with alacrity; the fellow in question called within the hour, introducing himself as Thomsett. A second note had, in the meantime, got off to Vincent Flaherty requesting him to visit, if possible before midday.
Thomsett was a small fellow with a pair of spectacles perched on a snub nose who came over as excessively fussy and apologetic, with any number of unnecessary expressions of regret. It was sorry this and sorry that. His wig was a far from perfect fit, while his coat showed that when he ate or took snuff there was little care in ensuring it all went to mouth or nose.
He was, however, brisk when it came to his trade: a complete change of demeanour, quick to get off the garments in which his patient had slept and unwind his bandages. This exposed the heavy bruising at the point where he had taken that swinging boot. Gentle probing was accompanied by stifled gasps as Thomsett sought and found the seat of the crack in the rib. The face had already been examined with the pronouncement that only time would heal his lumps and contusions.
‘You were attended to by a local doctor, Captain, and not long after the time of your fall?’
‘I was and, while I will not say he did me harm, his interest in the brandy bottle was an equal part of his ministrations.’
‘He wrapped you well, more like a mummified body than a patient. Was the man being paid by the bandage yard?’ The surgeon sniggered at his little joke, then went to his bag to dig out a couple of small bottles, holding one forward. ‘I would recommend a tincture of laudanum to relax the muscles, which I will also rub with this herbal preparation, known to ease pain.’
‘A concoction distilled from Melissa leaves, herbs and brandy, by any chance?’
Thompsett was surprised. ‘You know of it?’
‘My father was a naval surgeon, sir, and swore by it. He was less enamoured of laudanum, saying it could become an addiction and I did have some last night.’
The surgeon pulled a spoon from his waistcoat pocket and tipped a small amount of the opiate out, holding it forward for Brazier to consume. ‘Then you will be pleased to know I use it sparingly.’
Next he dripped liquid from the second bottle onto a hand and gently began to massage it into the area around a large bruise shown to his patient with a mirror, the effect first cooling, to soon become numb around the pained area.
‘A riding accident, I was told, Captain.’
‘I was a fool to try the hedge.’
Out of Brazier’s eyeline, the fact that Thomsett did not respond was taken as co
ncentration on his task; he did not see the look of scepticism. He did, however, hear the low, serious voice. ‘Given your parentage, you will know the ailments with which we naval surgeons normally deal, and I do not refer to the pox.’
Getting no response the surgeon carried on. ‘Most of our work is on wounds caused by falls and accidents, both aloft and in the holds, bones breaking, skulls cracked or fingers and limbs lopped off. But, given the nature of those who man the ships of the navy, endemically prone to dispute with each other, I am no stranger to what happens when the infirmities are brought on by a bruising physical contest.’
‘Is it so obvious?’ Brazier said after a gap of several seconds; there seemed little point in denial.
‘To an eye accustomed to the results, yes.’
‘I would ask you to oblige me in holding to the notion of a riding accident.’
‘Even when Admiral Braddock asks me how you fare?’
‘Especially then.’
‘Very well. Time to bind you up again, though I will use only half of what I removed.’ Another snigger. ‘The rest, when washed, the navy will take as a gift.’
Was that agreement regarding Braddock or not? It seemed that to ask would underline a thing Brazier wanted kept quiet – and tasked to explain why, he would struggle, apart from the fact he especially did not want Betsey to know.
Having finished, the tight bandage being pinned on his chest, he was looking at the top of Thomsett’s scrub wig when the surgeon spoke again. ‘I wouldn’t recommend riding for two weeks, Captain Brazier; we would not want you taking a tumble again, now would we? I will call on you again at your convenience.’
‘Will that not interfere with your duties, sir?’
‘Captain, we are at peace and the level of the establishment is low, so my responsibilities are slight. Send for me when you feel you might require another examination, which will save me from boredom.’
‘It will not be here, Mr Thomsett: I have rented Quebec House. Do you know it?’
‘I do, sir, having had the good fortune to dine there once or twice.’
‘Then I hope to be able to offer you the chance to do so again.’
‘Should I leave the laudanum?’
Brazier shook his head. ‘The Melissa water yes. I can ask one of Mr Garlick’s servants to apply it.’
Flaherty, when shown up, found him sitting dressed in clean linen, writing, with half a dozen notes sealed, addressed and ready to be sent, Brazier asking to be excused so he could finish the last. That sanded and sealed he turned in a rather stiff manner to face his visitor full on.
‘You don’t seem eager to ask about my condition.’
‘Saoirse went out riding this morning. Naturally we talked on her return and your name was mentioned.’
Brazier made a poor fist of hiding his irritation. ‘She told you the truth?’
‘She told me you’d fallen off Bonnie when attempting a too-high hedge, which I must own to, made me laugh.’ The look of curiosity from his host obliged Flaherty to explain. ‘Two things did not make sense. The first was a man trying a hedge who, only two days past, was careful just trotting over a grounded pole.’
‘Two reasons?’
‘I have hunted on Bonnie and she has only two modes of behaviour. She will either take a hedge with brio, and one you would doubt she could clear, or pull up well short thinking the person on her back a fool. These points I made to Saoirse, who knows the beast as well as I.’
‘And then she told you what happened?’
‘I reckon only part of it and with reluctance.’
‘Then I will tell you the rest. Knowing you as I do, I best order up some wine from Mr Garlick’s cellar.’
‘A long tale, then?’
‘Not long: painful to both body and soul.’
It was not the telling that took time, but the speculation that followed. Flaherty was sure no one would ever refer to Hawker as Daisy if they wished to stay whole, while the only people of that name would surely be female. He would struggle to recall any he might have met, what they looked like, and would have no idea where they lived even if he could.
‘You could ask around, Edward,’ Flaherty said. ‘To find out.’
‘I could, but not without bringing attention to myself. I would stick out like my black eye, which could well earn me another or worse.’
‘Whereas I?’ Brazier nodded, adding a quizzical look. ‘It may be a risk to do so. If someone arranged to have you duffed, they will not take kindly to enquiries of the person making them. I have made a few friends here in Deal in the two years I have been here and, as far as I am aware, no enemies. This seems like a good method to uncover and create some. And what if I do find this mysterious Daisy?’
Brazier lifted the sealed pile. ‘These are letters to some of my old barge crew, including my coxswain.’
‘These men read?’
‘No, but the letters are addressed to a local scribe or a person who reads for them and pens their replies. I have already sent asking my servant to come to Deal, but these fellows are scrappers, men who have stood alongside me more than once and probably are, at present, without a ship. I am asking they stand by me once more.’
‘Are you looking to start a war?’
‘I’m looking for the person who inflicted a beating on me for no reason I can fathom. I would like him to know that to do such a thing does not come without retribution.’
‘That sounds very like war to me.’
‘Will you do as I ask?’
‘Up to a point, Edward. But I will heed any warnings which come my way.’
It was a stiff Edward Brazier who made for his bed when Flaherty departed, to seek to sleep, which did not come easily. It might have been an idea to hang on to the laudanum Thomsett had offered.
Betsey faced the morning and the dining room with a firm jaw − at least it had looked so in the hallway mirror − as well as deep resolve to change matters to her advantage. She came across Henry and her aunt already at table, going to the sideboard to take a plate and helping herself from the silver serving dishes: kedgeree, kidneys and smoked ham. Sitting down to silence, and receiving no return to her looks of enquiry, she employed the staple opening gambit, given it was raining outside.
‘Not such a nice day, I observe.’
Henry did not look up from his plate. ‘Not, then, a day for walking? But yesterday was hardly that either, which did nothing to deter you.’
A glance at Aunt Sarah showed her eyes glued to her food, but there was no movement of cutlery.
‘I found it quite pleasant, Henry. A rare chance to experience a habit of my younger self, to see the world in a happily remembered light. I really would recommend it, for I came home far from weary, but refreshed.’
‘And not alone? I am told that your Captain Brazier accompanied you. He also looked to have been brawling, hardly a surprise given his profession.’
That information could only have come from Tanner, who would have been still on duty when Henry returned home, asleep probably, but obliged to rise and unlock. Betsey had lain awake listening and according to the clock chimes; when the horse’s shod hooves rasped on the courtyard gravel, it had been past midnight.
‘I was fortunate enough to have an escort, yes, and one who was willing to be that even after a heavy fall from his horse.’
Tulkington was genuinely shocked, so it was not a faked response. ‘He fell off his horse?’
‘A brave man is inclined to try high hedges, Henry.’ There was a dig implicit in that; Henry was no hunter. Being delivered with a mischievous smile, it was wasted; he wasn’t looking, so Betsey added, ‘For all his travails he is yet gallant and chivalrous, for which you should be extremely grateful, as I suspect you were concerned for my welfare.’
His cutlery was thrown noisily down, to have him finally look up to glare at her. ‘There seems little point in my having any concerns at all, since you choose to flout any notion of my legitimate reservations.’
‘They would be.’
‘This is all most distressing,’ pined her aunt, her voice weak and hinting at the approach of tears. Betsey thought it might well be an act, then castigated herself for her unkindness. Sarah Lovell liked harmony at Cottington Court, which meant, for her, security.
‘I agree, Aunt Sarah, but I might suggest it is more distressing for me to be treated like a child than that you should be obliged to hear me remind my brother I am not.’
‘You have no care for whom you hurt, do you?’ Henry demanded.
‘Given I am not the cause of the pain, why would I?’
‘You consort in a public place with that scoundrel Brazier, with no thought to the reputation of this house or the feelings of your relations.’
Now it was Betsey’s turn to chuck the cutlery. ‘You will oblige me by never referring to him in that manner again, Henry. Perhaps it is you that is so warped that you cannot see virtue when it stares you in the face.’
Her brother threw his head back, to emit a very forced and insincere cackle.
‘Virtue forsooth. I would be willing to hear how such an appellation can be applied to a man who could well be a grubby fortune-hunter. He says he has no need of your fortune, but I take that as smoke and mirrors. He insisted his prize agent would provide figures on his holdings. Such things can be drawn up in a moment but need not necessarily be true.’
‘If you do not know that to be a falsehood, let me set your mind at rest. Edward Brazier—’
‘Edward now, is it?’ he barked.
‘Most certainly so and the familiarity is of my choice. I have no idea how much to the pound or penny Edward gained from his capture of a Spanish plate ship, which, our aunt will tell you, was the talk of Jamaica, but I suspect it is enough to match what you can muster. I would also remind you that he is a post captain in the King’s Navy. If anything, it is I who would gain from our union, not him.’
‘Elisabeth,’ Sarah whined. ‘You surely have not gone so far as to—’
The Contraband Shore Page 17