The Wages Of Virtue (A Poor Man at the Gate Series, Book 8)

by Andrew Wareham

  "We wish to offer you the Militia Office, Mr Star, if you will accept so onerous a burden. I would beg of you to give the matter your most earnest consideration. You may well wish to pray for guidance, sir. Might I prevail upon you to call on me again tomorrow, sir?"

  Henry shook his head, taken aback by the immense task, or so it seemed; in reality he was hard put not to break into a dance of glee.

  'The Militia - a thousand men at immediate service, one hundred permanently under arms, every able-bodied man between eighteen and forty to answer the call at need - provided they are free and not too brown, that is. Hallelujah!'

  There was an Arsenal as well, with a stock of arms to be maintained and replaced at need. There might be cannon!

  "I shall hope to give the answer that will satisfy you, sir - but I must think, and decide how, if I should accept, my affairs are to be organised for the next five years."

  He had a manager at the plantation and his wife in the background there; the shipyard had senior men in charge of each department, needed one to be promoted to overall responsibility, and there was an obvious candidate out on the slips. He would require an hour at most to hand over everything - they were used to him being away more often than not, in the North, at the plantation, overseas even.

  He accepted the position, and its small salary - a meagre five thousand a year, a sacrifice in itself - next morning, walked into his newly vacated office at noon.

  There were five clerks waiting his arrival - the son and three nephews of the previous holder of the post, and one Creole who did the actual work. He dismissed the four on the spot; none was surprised or made any complaint, all had cleared their desks already.

  "And what is your name, sir?"

  "Jean Poirier, suh."

  "Can you do all of the work on your own, sir?"

  "Could use one boy, suh. Needs to sweep up and keep a coffee pot goin' and take the letters out and do a bit of copyin' besides, suh."

  At a glance Poirier was too young to have a son of his own to do the job, but he almost certainly would have a brother or sister's boy to hand.

  "What do you earn, Poirier?"

  "Thirty a month, suh."

  Too low, a labourer on the roads, sweeping the gutters, would earn more than that.

  "Fifty from this payday, Poirier. Can you hire on a boy? Twenty a month?"

  "Yes, suh, right away, suh."

  "What were the others earning, Poirier?"

  "Hundred a month, suh, and picking up bits and pieces, too."

  "Six months from now, you show me a good office and you go up to a hundred, my word as a Southern gentleman, Poirier."

  Loyalty was easy to buy, Henry reflected.

  Over a week he discovered the contents of the Militia arsenal and the general state of the men's equipment, found to his delight that everything was outdated or ill-kept and needed replacement; he instructed the Colonel Commanding to report to him for the following Monday.

  "Colonel Blake, I am pleased to meet you, sir, to greet you in my office for the first time!"

  Blake was delighted, too.

  Blake was fat, grossly so, could barely force himself between the arms of the chair at Henry's desk. His uniform had been properly tailored, no more than six months before judging by the cloth, but was now bursting at the seams, almost none of the buttons meeting with any enthusiasm; he was not getting any thinner. He wheezed and sweated and seemed likely to melt in the mid-morning heat; he smelt stale, as if he was not quite able to reach far enough to wash the more obscure bits of his great torso.

  "Tell me, Colonel, what exactly does the Militia do in these peaceful days? The war has been over for ten years, and we all know of the glory the men earned then, but what of this year, sir?"

  Blake made the proper reference to Henry's own glory, so well-earned on the field of honourable battle.

  "Our prime duty, Mr Star, and one that is if anything demanding more of us each year, is to keep a proper order out in the plantation lands."

  Blake looked ponderously around, lowered his voice. "The fact is, suh," he whispered, "in the past year alone there have been three insurrections amongst the bond-servants - though we make no great public mention of the fact. Just two months ago no fewer than four white men were killed just forty miles upriver from New Orleans - plantation owner, two sons and his overseer butchered, the remainder of the family much abused, or so it is said, and the better part of two hundred run away, fewer than half having been recaptured."

  "What did the Governor do?"

  "Nothin', sir, plain sat down an' wept, was all!"

  "What did you recommend to him?"

  "I told him, suh, that the Militia was at his disposal, eagerly awaiting his orders!"

  Henry spent a few more minutes with Blake, informed him that he wished to make a formal inspection of men and barracks at the earliest moment, say at ten o'clock on Wednesday morning. There was a chance that he might discover an active junior; if not he must recruit a major and probably a captain as well. He believed there were several veterans of the Napoleonic armies to be discovered in New Orleans.

  A month and Blake had resigned his commission, unable to take the mounting levels of activity, and the new Governor had accepted Henry's proposal for mounted Militia patrols to be located in each parish, settled in their own barracks and establishing the presence of an armed force within reach of every plantation. There would be patrols out on all of the roads, visible during the day, and known to work the nights at random; every man who might not be free could expect to be stopped and, at minimum, questioned - they would carry horse whips.

  Henry sat with his ledgers open on the desk, totting up the results of his burst of activity.

  "Eight hundred horses, and one hundred more of remounts to be bought each year; stables and barracks being built; uniforms for seven hundred mounted Militiamen; eight hundred carbines and one thousand rounds for each, to allow for practise and replacements; eight hundred of sabres and scabbards and saddles and buckets and accoutrements. For the infantry, a standing reserve of half a battalion, four companies of eighty, newly equipped with rifles and a scattergun apiece for riots; uniforms and boots. Rations and fodder for all."

  It was expensive, but the need had been obvious - the plantation hands, probably seduced from their habitual obedience by Northern agitators, must be returned to a state of calm, and their natural masters must be protected. The money had been found, nearly a million dollars in the first year and three quarters of that pledged for each of the next five. Henry estimated that he had diverted a hundred thousand into his own accounts from the first burst of expenditure and expected to take fifty a year thereafter - he had finally made the leap from riches to wealth.

  "And if, Heaven forfend, the state should become calm, then no doubt the occasional little insurrection can be arranged here and there," he reflected happily.

  The formation of a Coast Guard must be the next step, six or so of gunbrigs would be sufficient, perhaps with steam engines to power them in calms. The state might then be in a position to offer to take over the anti-slavery patrol, freeing ships of the federal navy to perform other important functions.

  After that, what? The state had just bought the whole of its powder and ball from the North - surely some degree of autonomy would make more sense - perhaps they should investigate the detailed practicality of setting up Louisiana's own powder-mill.

  There was no end to the possibilities, it seemed, so much so that it might seem wise to build up a small faction of supporters in the State Assembly - not a party, as such, but a group of like-minded men who could shout down petty-minded criticism and prevent any silly investigations taking place. It would not cost too much and would supply a basis for power in the state; ten good years and Henry could make himself uncrowned King of Louisiana, and a millionaire several times over. Never Governor himself, though - that would be too visible a place for a wise man.

  He must find time, he decided, to journey up the
River to tell Grace the good news and spend a few days with his son. It was time for a second child and she would no doubt welcome the prospect, and he could provide very well for any number of children now.

  "Word has reached me, my lord, that you should consider spending a few days at the Hall. The Dowager, my lord, has sent me a brief note - feeling, I understand, that if she addressed you directly then she must commit more to paper than seems discreet."

  Michael's words struck a chill in Robert - there was a whiff of scandal in the air. He could not afford any public attention at the moment when he was concerned to establish just how very respectable the family was.

  "Lord Rothwell?"

  "He is resident in London at the moment, my lord, in the Grafham's town house, enjoying himself with a few harmless excursions about Town. He made the acquaintance of one of the men about town and was enticed into one gambling house, not realising the nature of the establishment until he had sat down at the tables; he then showed far more astute than one might have expected, my lord, or so my informant tells me. He lost a little, then won more and lost some and consented to the stakes being raised, as is the normal procedure. He made a slight noise of the fact that he was absolutely committed to family business in the morning, must be in bed by midnight and could play only an hour more, then enquiring whether they would be open next evening. The proprietor was sure that he had placed his hook, that he would return, and lost a thousand in gold to him as a come-on, expecting to reel in ten thousand next night. Rothwell left, pockets bulging, and returned no more, visiting me to enquire whether he had done right and should he organise some sort of bodyguard."

  "I believe these men can be dangerous, Mr Michael."

  "So can my acquaintance, my lord. Lord Rothwell is quite safe, the gambling-house proprietor being given to understand that his neck will be the price of any harm coming to the young gentleman. I believe in fact that the word has gone out that he is to be left strictly alone - far too dangerous a mark!"

  "Good, I would not like him to come a cropper - I like the young man."

  "He is a pleasant young gentleman, my lord. I have directed a message to his man to point him towards a very respectable house where he will learn no untoward habits and remain undiseased."

  Michael knew everything, Robert reflected - that could only be a comment on Joseph's troubles. Possibly he had information on where Joseph had been introduced to his pipe...

  "Investigations are in hand, my lord, necessarily on an informal basis, but leading to a possibly interesting result. We have come across a gentleman recently, comparatively speaking, come to England from India. It will take a year and more to obtain the information we require from Bombay, unfortunately, so we are more or less at a stand for the while, can do little more than watch him. It is quite possible that the man in question is no more than a merchant, dealing in a wholly lawful trade."

  "Then I shall wait, Mr Michael. What of this man who led Rothwell to the gaming house?"

  "A spendthrift who will have been dropped a commission for his efforts - or possibly secured remission of some of his own debts. As well, there is any number of young men on the fringe of Society who make a living by being pleasant chaps and friends to the rich friendless and introducing naive young men from the country to Town pleasures. They will have tips to offer on the races, commonly very good; they will know of horses for sale, sometimes of the very best and cheap; they will be able to introduce handsome young women, always very bad and expensive; finally, they will have the entree to the most exclusive gaming halls, those patronised by the men in the know, or so they will say."

  "Can we take up the man who attempted to beguile Rothwell?"

  "We could, my lord, but I had rather, to be perfectly open, blackmail him. There are always a few foreigners in Society, men we would wish to keep an eye on - Americans and Frogs and Germans and Russians; self-styled Hungarian Counts and Italian Barons are not uncommon as well. Another source of the good word, emanating from the less reputable fringes, is always useful. Eventually, of course, he will be blown upon, and then it is very likely that one of the foreign services will have his throat cut, which will be of little gain to them and no loss to us!"

  It occurred to Robert that Michael was being remarkably open with him; the family had always known the Michaels to have contacts in the demi-monde of government but he was actually admitting that he was involved in the day-to-day business of intelligence. Men in his trade never mentioned the fact, except they had the best of reasons. He wondered what would eventually be demanded of him, what he had to offer; he corrected himself - what did they want to take.

  "What of this damned scandal at the Hall, Mr Michael?"

  "I am unsure, my lord, but understand the matter to be one that is causing, or has the potential to cause, 'a significant, albeit rudely amusing, local furore'."

  "Oh my God! I shall leave at dawn, Mr Michael."

  Robert arrived at the Hall late in the afternoon, was greeted, gravely, by the butler, was told he would dine at seven; he knew just how much effort that would cost the kitchen and made his thanks.

  "Is the Dowager in residence, do you know?"

  "She is, my lord."

  "Too late to visit her today, I fear."

  "Yes, my lord."

  The children were in the nursery, all awake and welcoming. He spent an hour in their company, his first for three weeks, before going off to change for dinner.

  "Will Mama come home soon, Papa?"

  "She will be here next week, Thomas. She wishes to stay a few days longer with her own Mama and Papa before she comes back to the Hall. Then she will stay here for a long time, for the whole of the summer at least."

  "Good. When will we be old enough to go to London, Papa?"

  "Not this year, boys. I must attend Parliament for a few weeks, in duty. I shall be back as soon as I can be and I shall stay here with your Mama. I will have to go to the works in the North first, to visit with your Uncle Joseph, who is not very well at the moment. Next year you will be old enough to make a visit to your cousins in Liverpool and I shall take you there as well."

  "Papa?" Iain, slightly the quieter twin, possibly already aware that he was the junior, was not to inherit. "Can we have ponies, sir?"

  "I do not know the answer to that, young man! I must ask the head groom - he will make that decision, being the finest horseman at the Hall."

  The boys must be brought up to respect the senior staff, to remember that they might be the masters but there were many skills possessed by others that they would never learn.

  "Good! He says we should, sir, told us to ask you when next we saw you."

  "I shall make the arrangements then, Iain. It will take a week or two, I should imagine, to go to the market and buy, unless Mr Barney has any stock at the Old Waste."

  The boys fell silent, stared anxiously at each other, rather nervously said that they thought Mr Barney was busy with other things at the moment, and could say no more.

  "How the hell can Barney, of all people, be the cause of a scandal?"

  Turton, who had had twenty minutes in the company of the butler, pursed his lips, rather primly sought the best words.

  "I believe that Mr Barney is of an age to seek a wife, my lord, and that his mother, who is now advanced in years, has been pressing him to do so. Captain Thame is himself to be wed very soon, and his sister, Miss Thame, has stayed with him these few weeks to bear him company and aid him to furnish the agent's house in proper mode to receive his bride."

  "Oh dear!"

  "Mr Barney had a new horse, a mare that had been poorly treated and was to be brought back to condition, and Miss Thame was interested to see how he was to go about it, being a horse person herself."

  "And the obvious result occurred?"

  "Quite, my lord. Captain Thame discovered them to be on cordial terms and forbade his sister, who is not yet of age, to see Mr Barney more. Their father is dead and he has her guardianship. He sent her home, sh
e choosing to ride, the journey barely ten miles. She reached as far as the Old Waste, where she dismissed the groom escorting her and remained. She has, one understands, her own bedroom there, and opinion is divided on whether Mr Barney is sharing it with her."

  "She must marry Barney, that I think cannot be disputed. What then?"

  "A very good question, my lord."

  "My position is untenable, my lord. I must leave the estate."

  It was perfectly true - Captain Thame would find it impossible to deal with the other tenants, for they would certainly be laughing behind his back, and as for rebuilding a working relationship with Barney, that would be a humiliation no military man could tolerate.

  "I will find an occupation for you elsewhere, if you will permit me, Captain Thame. Would you be willing to go overseas, with your bride, of course?"

  Thame had thought he must postpone his marriage, possibly for several years, was very willing to leave the country if that was the price to keep his lady.

  "I believe it will be possible to take up large landholdings in the Cape, Captain Thame. Lord Star has mentioned an interest in the merino sheep and would no doubt be willing to engage with me in a venture in wool production. For the while, I must find a replacement for you and you should go to Wales to oversee the construction of the new house there. If that is done before you are to leave the country then there will be a similar need in Lancashire before too long."

  Thame made his thanks, said that he intended to return to his parents' house for the meanwhile, if my lord would permit.

  "Well, Mr Barney?"

  "It warn't all my idea, my lord. It just 'appened, sort of. Soon as Miss Thame be of age, two months that'll be, we'll go to church, my lord."

  "Have the banns called immediately, if you would, Mr Barney. Captain Thame has given his consent."

  "Be better that way, my lord. I'll see parson this afternoon as is."

  "Your tenancy is wholly safe, of course, and your son to walk in after you. There will be a new agent, and you may inform Miss Thame that her brother is to work for the family at the Cape."