Ah, that's another matter!' said the Colonel more cheerfully. 'And I agree. After your many services to him he could not stand by and see you sent to prison for conduct which, law or no law, all persons of quality would account him justified in obtaining a pardon for you.'
Droopy Ned still looked somewhat dubious, as he remarked: 'Seeing that Mr. Pitt hopes to do business with the Venetian, I fear he will be far from pleased when he learns what has taken place here.'
'It is a private quarrel; so I see no reason why it should prejudice his negotiations. In fact, it may even be of some value in revealing to him that the Senate of the Serene Republic has, no doubt unwittingly, picked a knave to represent them. In any case, I count the Venetians a decadent worthless lot with whom he would do better to have no dealings.'
'Roger,' Georgina's voice was low and urgent. 'On one thing I insist. You must see Mr. Pitt before you embark on this dangerous course and get his assurance that he will secure you a free pardon.'
'Certainly, m'dear,' he smiled at her. 'I'm not quite such a fool as to neglect so elementary a precaution. I will accompany Droopy and Clarissa to London tomorrow morning.'
Now satisfied that he would not run his head into a noose, out of casual bravado, she tinkled the little glass bell that stood on the table before her. The servants returned, bringing in the 'remove', and the dinner proceeded without further reference to the matter that still occupied their minds.
Later that evening, as Clarissa had so much packing to do, she asked if it would be possible to postpone her departure till the following afternoon. It being considered unlikely that Malderini would be sufficient recovered for some days actually to apply to the bench for a warrant for her arrest, the postponement was agreed to. In consequence, it was not until three o'clock on the Thursday that, accompanied by Roger and Droopy, she set out for London.
They arrived at Amesbury House, the family mansion in Arlington Street of Droopy's father, in time for a late dinner. Roger was well known to all his inmates, as he always stayed there when in London, and Clarissa was given a warm welcome. Droopy's invitation to her to stay at Normanrood for an indefinite period was at once endorsed by his father, the Marquess; and as, having been removed from Stillwaters, she was no longer in any immediate danger, it was decided that Monday would be time enough for Droopy to escort her down to Wiltshire.
Next morning, Roger strolled along to Downing Street, and enquired for his master. He was informed that the Prime Minister was at his country home, Holwood House, near Bromley. It would have been easy for Roger to secure a mount from the Amesbury House stables and ride down there, but on learning that Mr. Pitt had business that would bring him to London on Saturday morning, he decided to save himself the journey and call again next day.
Twenty- four hours later he again waited on the Prime Minister. For over an hour he was kept kicking his heels in the downstairs lobby, then a footman took him up to Mr. Pitt's sanctum on the first floor. As he entered it he felt instinctively that the atmosphere was loaded with trouble but, until the storm burst, he had no premonition that it would be upon himself.
For a few minutes Mr. Pitt continued writing without looking up from his big table desk. Suddenly throwing down his quill, he lifted his glance, gave Roger a cold stare, and exclaimed:
'Mr. Brook, I am near speechless from amazement that you should have the effrontery to present yourself before me.'
Only the iron nerve that had more than once enabled Roger to keep his head attached to his shoulders enabled him to reply with a calm lift of the eyebrows, 'And I, Sir, am even more amazed at your reception of me. Pray inform me what I have done to merit your displeasure?'
'Done!' repeated the Prime Minister, coming slowly to his feet. 'Did I not charge you to exercise your charm upon the Venetian envoy. And how have you observed my wish? First you inveigle him into wagering two thousand guineas, then with the help of your unscrupulous friends at Stillwaters deprive him of a fair chance to win his bet. When he protests you and your cronies fall upon him. On his striking out in self-defence you taunt him until he reluctantly agrees to give you satisfaction by meeting you in a duel. Finally, you concert a despicable plot, as a result of which he is shot by an arrow in the back and is thus made easier for you to half butcher without risk to yourself.'
Roger's blue eyes had gone as hard as ice and his voice was equally cold as he refuted the charge. 'Knowing me as you do, Sir, I marvel that you could for one instant believe such lies.'
'Know you!' came the irate rejoinder. 'Having employed you for so long how can I fail to do so? Your intelligence, your gift for languages, your ready wit, unscrupulousness and easy charm make you the best secret agent of your generation. But you are self-willed, and lecherous and, at the least provocation, will whip out the sword you have trained yourself to use with such dexterity. There have been previous occasions when a woman's smile has caused you to forget all else. And I gather there is one involved in this. I have no doubt but that it was due to your pursuit of her that you threw my interests to the winds.'
'Damme, Sir! You go too far. All men are not so sluggish blooded as yourself, and…'
'How dare you stand there and indulge in such personalities!'
With a stiff little bow, Roger rapped back, 'I withdraw that, and will admit that of all the joys of this world I have found none to compare with a woman one loves beside one in a bed. Yet in the final outcome, of no mission you have charged me with have I allowed my love for one of the sex to interfere. In the present instance, no such predilection plays any part at all. As a matter of simple justice I must ask from what source this tissue of lies was poured into your ears?'
'My cousin Grenville passed the night at Holwood with me, and he was full of it. Before he left London the Ambassador of the Serene Republic had requested an urgent audience of him. The Venetian brought with him a letter from his colleague, Signor Malderini, containing this account of your scandalous treatment of him. Bearing in mind the mission with which I had charged you, I could hardly credit your behaviour; yet chapter and verse was given for it.'
'Be good enough to remember, Sir, that on Saturday morning last you relieved me of my mission. The events to which Malderini's letter refer occurred subsequently to that, and…'
'No matter. You knew my mind, and the importance I attached to winning the good-will of the envoy of this powerful State.'
'Should you succeed 'twill do you no more good than securing that of the rottenest Borough in England,' Roger replied tartly.
'How dare you! I am convinced that the Serene Republic could prove a most powerful ally; and it is not for you to question my assessments or decisions.'
'Believe it if you like; but time will prove you wrong. That, though, is beside the point. Such action as I took against the Venetian was fully justified. He is a rogue, a liar and a swindler. He is a faker of occult phenomena and…'
'How can you expect me to believe such charges when he has been selected by his Senate to represent them?'
'That he is rich, powerful, cunning and ambitious would be enough to account for that. I can prove to you that his unscrupulous greed is at the bottom of this whole business and I have come here for the especial purpose of requesting your protection from him.'
'My protection?
'Yes. I have been warned that Malderini intends to Invoke the anti-duelling laws against me.'
'You should need no telling that once the law is set in motion, even a Prime Minister cannot interfere with its course.'
'Nay; but a prisoner having been convicted, there is naught to prevent His Majesty granting him a free pardon.'
'I fail to grasp what you would be at?'
' Tis this. Continue to disbelieve me, if you choose. But no judge and jury will reject the evidence of such reputable persons as Colonel Thursby, Lord Edward Fitz-Deverel, Mr. William Beckford aye, and even Sheridan, for he's too decent a man to perjure himself. I wish to stand my trial and show up this blackguard.'
Mr. Pitt sat down again. For a moment he was silent, then he said:
'Your willingness to do so shows that I have been over-hasty in my judgment. For that you must blame previous occasions on which you have temporarily neglected my interests to pursue your love affairs; and you cannot deny that a young woman is involved in this.'
'True, but not in the way you think. May I take it now, Sir, that I can count on your protection? It goes without saying that I'll be found guilty and, eager as I am to expose this villain, imprisonment for myself is too high a price to pay.'
'So you wish to go into Court with the King's Pardon as good as in your pocket?'
'Exactly, Sir. And to you there is not the least possibility of His Majesty refusing it.'
'That I admit and, were this a private matter, I would obtain one for you; but it is not.' The Prime Minster shook his head. 'It has become an Affair of State. The Ambassador of a friendly power has asked that justice should be done upon you. By now, I imagine a warrant for your arrest has been issued. Should the Bow Street Runners catch you, your trial and condemnation must follow. How, after you have been found guilty, can I possibly take steps to prevent your punishment? To do so would be to inflict a deliberate insult on the Venetians, and at the very time I am most eager to draw them into an alliance.'
Roger's face expressed his consternation. 'But, Sir,' he burst out, 'consider the alternatives. To escape prison I must go into hiding, or take refuge abroad."
'I appreciate that; but you are used to travelling, and in a few months this affair will have blown over.'
'Perhaps! But in all but having broken a law which it is common practice to ignore, I am innocent. And I resent being driven from my country.'
Mr. Pitt spread out his slim hands. 'I fear there is no help for it. The best I can do is to ensure you a clear start. I will give instructions that on some technicality the execution of the warrant should be suspended for a week. Meanwhile I will speak to my cousin Grenville and see if he can suggest some suitable employment for you while you are in exile.'
Roger, as was usual on such occasions, had been standing in front of the Prime Minister's desk, with his hat beneath his arm. Cramming it violently upon his head, he cried:
'You may save your breath, Sir! If into exile I must go, it will not be in your service.' Then he strode out of the room.
He had arranged to meet Droopy Ned at White's, to which they both belonged, and tell him there over a pint of sack the result of his interview with Mr. Pitt; so, still seething with rage, he walked across the Park and up St. James's Street.
Droopy was already in the Club and listened sympathetically while Roger poured out his disgust at his master's having sacrificed him rather than give offence to the Venetians. When he had done, Droopy said:
'I hesitated to say so the other night, but I had a feeling then that Mr. Pitt would put his interest with them before yours. What will you do? My invitation to lie low at Normanrood is naturally still open.'
'Thanks Ned, but no.' Roger shook his head. 'For one thing, the constant presence of Clarissa might prove too great a temptation to me. I've no wish to marry again, and I'd be ashamed of myself did I make her my mistress. For another, I have never been a great lover of country pursuits and after a week, with no company but woman, I'd be prodigious bored. I see nothing for it but to go abroad.'
'At least Mr. Pitt is giving you seven days in which to make your arrangements; and that is something. To what country will you go?'
'Heaven knows! If I return to Paris I'll get myself involved in political affairs, and I've no mind to start tightrope-walking again as yet. I could go to my little chateau near St. Raphael in the South of France. I bought it early this year so that I might tell Barras and his cronies that I'd been sojourning there for my health as cover for returning in secret to England whenever I wished; but I'd be even more lonely there than I would confined to the estate at Normanrood. I'd like to go to Italy or the Rhineland again, but the war, with its hordes of soldiery marching and counter-marching, must keep both those countries in a constant turmoil. It seems that I must go further afield.'
For half- an-hour they discussed the attractions and drawbacks of numerous countries, then Droopy suggested, 'Why not make a voyage to India? I am told that society in Calcutta is now both civilised and gay. You could winter there in the sunshine and return here by next summer.'
At that, Roger brightened and, after a moment's thought, said, 'Strap me, Ned; I believe you've hit on it, I've always wanted to see the gorgeous East, and I'll have no better opportunity. What of a passage, though? I've an idea that most of the sailings take place during the first half of the year, and that after June there is only one more in September.'
'You are right in that, but I think with luck you might just catch the summer convoy. Only yesterday someone mentioned in my hearing that it had not yet completed mustering in the Downs. The rub is that all the best accommodation must already be bespoke.'
'Oh, I'd share a cabin if need be; though, naturally, I'd rather have one to myself.'
'You really mean, Roger, that you are set on making this voyage to the East?'
'Indeed, yes. The prospect of seeing Rajahs weighed down with diamonds, and going tiger shooting on an elephant, holds such fascination for me that I am already near inclined to forgive Mr. Pitt his churlishness.'
Then, as I have some influence with the Company, I will do my best to get you a comfortable passage. This afternoon I have an appointment in Hatton Garden to view a ruby ring said to have been fished up from a Spanish galleon sunk at the time of the Armada. I'll go on from there to the India House in Leadenhall Street.'
When they had finished their wine they left the Club and crossed the road to Arlington Street. In the big library they spent some time hunting out books on India that had illustrations of the country and its peoples. Later, Droopy suggested that Roger should accompany him down to the City, but he had other plans for the afternoon; so he declined and, as soon as Droopy had gone, went in search of Clarissa.
She knew London very little and had spent only one night in it since her return from the West Indies; so when Roger suggested taking her for a walk round the shops she was delighted. The most fashionable ones then lay south of Piccadilly; so they made a leisurely progress along Pall Mall, up through the Opera Arcade, down the Haymarket and round by way of Cockspur Street up to Leicester Square, where the house still stood in which King George had spent most of his boyhood.
Early in this little expedition, Clarissa admired a bonnet in a bow-fronted window; so he insisted on buying it for her and, in other shops, despite her protests, he bought her a long-handled parasol, scent, gloves, handkerchiefs, a lace scarf, a reticule, a fan and several pounds of sweets for her to take with her to Normanrood. Then, on their way back through Piccadilly, he took her into the Egyptian Hall to see Captain Tom Thumb and his performing fleas. When they parted in the hall at Amesbury House, Roger to seek Droopy and Clarissa to go up and change for dinner, they agreed that it had been a lovely afternoon and that they had enjoyed themselves immensely.
Droopy had good news. The refitting of one of the Company's ships, the Minerva, Captain Finch, had been delayed; so that it had been feared that she would not be ready in time to sail with the convoy. In consequence, it was not until forty-eight hours earlier, when it had been found that great efforts could make her ready after all, that any passenger accommodation in her had been on offer. As few people had left their bookings so late, she was still half empty and Roger had been allotted a good large cabin. She had just completed taking on cargo at Gravesend, and was due to sail again the following day.
This last piece of information somewhat damped Roger's gratification, and he said, 'I am once more your debtor, Ned; and if I miss the Minerva at Gravesend, no doubt I can pick her up off Margate. I would, though, that I had had a day or two's grace; for I am loath to leave the country without having made my farewells to Georgina.'
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'You can still do so,' Droopy replied cheerfully. 'Without Minerva it will be two days yet before the muster is completed; and even when a convoy is complete, almost invariably it has to wait several days for a favourable wind to set sail down Channel. Knowing that they will be cooped up in close quarters for so long a voyage, few persons of quality ever take ship from London, or even Margate. There are good inns at Deal from which an eye can be kept on the convoy riding in the Downs; so they spend the time of waiting in them, and go aboard only when the warning gun is fired to give notice that the ships are about to sail. Providing you are at Deal by Tuesday, you may be sure of not being left behind.'
Much relieved, Roger said, 'I'll go to Stillwaters again tomorrow then, and post cross-country to Deal on Monday. I pray you, though, say nothing of this yet to Clarissa, as I wish to break the news to her privately of my intended long absence.'
He took the opportunity to do so after dinner. The great mansion had a terrace behind it and a small garden, that adjoined the Green Park. It was still twilight and after the long hot summer day a little oppressive, so he suggested that they should go out onto the terrace for a breath of air. She readily assented and they walked out of the candle-lit drawing-room side by side.
To their right lay Piccadilly with its long range of houses running down the slope, many of their windows brightly lit; to their left front, the dark silhouette of the upper part of Buckingham House stood out above the trees. For a moment they stood looking out across the Park in silence, then she said:
'Roger, I have not thanked you half enough for this afternoon, and all those lovely things you bought me.'
'You will, I fear, be less pleased when I tell you my reason for taking you upon our little outing,' he replied quietly. 'It was in the nature of a farewell. I have much to do tomorrow, so shall be up and gone early. After tonight we'll not be seeing one another for many months, perhaps even years.'
Her eyes grew wide and she laid a hand quickly upon a big stone vase beside her. 'But Roger! What of your determination to stay and fight it out with Malderini in the Courts? That was so typical of you and made me even more proud to be… to be your friend.'
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