Captain's Lady

by Sharon Milburn

  Alice glanced at the grate. There was a much bigger fire in the morning room, which would now go to waste, but what was the sense of annoying Lavinia over a trifle? Happy to have her out of the way for a few hours, Alice left to send a message to the stables and speak to cook about the hot brick and also about luncheon. No doubt Lavinia would linger in Winchester as long as she dared. No doubt too, she would purchase something excessive, but the family circumstances were too well known in the town for her to commit any outrageous folly.

  Lavinia straightened up from the desk when Alice let herself back into the room. A momentary expression of consternation crossed her features before she glanced away. She hurriedly folded a sheet of paper and pushed it into her reticule.

  “I thought perhaps I should write myself a list. It’s such a long way to go only to forget something. Is there any commission you’d like me to undertake for you, Alice?”

  Lavinia’s attempt to be conciliating was almost more disconcerting than her venom in one of her impossible moods. Perhaps she felt like she’d achieved a victory? It was absurd that such a petty thing should change her disposition so completely.

  “Thank you, but I’ve all I require at the moment. I would offer to accompany you, but I’m still expecting Sir Edward’s manservant to arrive. I must give him a message as soon as possible.”

  “Oh, I don’t wish for company.” The implied “not yours, anyway” hung between them. “Has the carriage been brought round?”

  “It should be at the door by now. Enjoy your outing, Lavinia.”

  “Oh, I shall. Have no fear on that score!” With a look of malicious satisfaction on her face, Lavinia swept out of the room.

  There was too much to do to ponder the other woman’s machinations, but Alice felt a niggling sense of unease as she went about her tasks. Of course Lavinia hadn’t bothered to take Penelope with her, so the young girl had to be settled first to some pianoforte practice. How would it be possible to bespeak a new outfit, if her daughter wasn’t there to be measured?

  She couldn’t worry about it now. There was Gabrielle to visit and Essie to talk to as some further arrangements had to be made for the baby’s christening. Lavinia hadn’t made any effort in that direction, either. Finally, just as she was about to return to the accounts, Barlow entered the room.

  “Sir Edward’s man has arrived, Miss Alice. He’s called Seth Harding. I thought you’d want to know directly.”

  “Oh, yes indeed, Barlow. Will you ask him to be so good as to visit me here as soon as he’s settled? No, wait. Should I come down? He must be fatigued from his journey.”

  Barlow disapproved of Seth Harding, she could tell at once.

  “Yes, please come down to the kitchen if you would, Miss Alice. You don’t want him in your morning room, if I may be so bold to say. A regular rum ’un, he is.”

  On her way to the kitchen she picked up the letter Edward had left propped up on the hall table. His bold, slashing handwriting was so in character with his decisive nature just the sight of it brought back the memory of the last time she’d seen him. She paused to run her fingertips over the letters. Had he obtained an appointment yet? Holding the letter carefully she hurried on down to the kitchen.

  A dark-visaged man looked up from the table as Alice entered the kitchen. He sprang to his feet, eyeing her with speculation mixed with a faint hostility. Taken aback for a moment, she silently conceded that Barlow had reason for his comment. With one earlobe missing and two fingers of his right hand little more than stumps, Harding didn’t give the appearance of a gentleman’s valet. More like a pirate! Edward trusted him, though. That was good enough for her.

  “Welcome to The Priory, Harding. I’m Miss Carstairs. Your captain has gone to London, as I expect you’ll have been told already.”

  At his uncommunicative nod she continued. “I’ve been charged with a message for you, but it’s merely to join him there as soon as possible. There’s also this letter for you. You must rest for the remainder of today and then we can take you into Winchester tomorrow. It’s too late to make any arrangements today. Hopefully there’ll be a place on the accommodation coach. In the meanwhile I trust Barlow and Cook will look after you. You must be longing for a hot meal.”

  He read the letter before he replied, making her wait. Really, this Harding was little more than a boor! As he looked up though, she could see the hostility had vanished. He spoke with a northern accent. “Thank you, miss, for your kindness. I’m sure I’ll manage. I’ll have to ride, though and not take the coach. ‘Twill be a lot quicker. The Cap’n will be fair vexed if I don’t meet up with him soon.”

  Alice could not resist the temptation to talk about Edward with someone who knew him well. She gestured for Harding to sit down again. “You’ve been with him a long time?”

  “Aye, man and boy, you could say. He was a lieutenant on the old Brunswick, then, newly appointed from the Ajax. I transferred with him when we took a prize, just the six of us and got this when we ran down on an avviso during the night.” He waved his hand at her.

  Alice sat down at the table, entranced. Harding was like any old sailor, always ready with a yarn. Cook interrupted for a moment, but only to place a tankard of ale in front of the traveler. Harding took a long pull, wiping his mouth with his crippled hand when he’d finished. Alice waited until she regained his attention.

  “An…avviso? What is that, pray?”

  “You’d call it a mail packet, or dispatch boat, or such like. No bigger than a schooner really, but with more men than we could rightly handle. That didn’t worry Lieutenant Masterman, though. By God it didn’t! Scared them half to death, he did. Not a peep out of them until it was too late. They thought we were one o’ their own, see, with the recognition signal burning like we’d found her the day before. He soon changed their minds, though. More like they thought it were the ghost of Nelson hisself come to haunt them. Of course, it wasn’t until we searched the ship that we realized what she was carrying.”

  He paused to take another draught of the ale. He was stringing her along, but Alice didn’t care. “And what was that?”

  His eyes lit up. “Gold, Miss. Wages for the garrison on one of Boney’s godforsaken islands. I’ve forgotten the name of it, now. But there were just the six of us, like I said, only the one officer, the lieutenant and not another ship in sight. The Admiralty prize court bought her in for twenty thousand pounds, not to mention the other prize we had as well.”

  Twenty thousand pounds? It was a fantastical amount of money, almost unheard of riches. Edward’s share of such an amount would have been…she could hardly begin to guess. Even with the admiral taking his share and the crew, he would still have had the lion’s part to himself if he was the only officer present.

  So Edward had amassed a fortune in prize money? It must have been at least ten thousand pounds. How wonderful! She felt a surge of fierce joy for him. He deserved every penny. The knowledge explained so many things. Not his generosity, but his ability to exercise it. Surely this man must also be well off, then, if not actually wealthy.

  “And yet you’re still his servant?”

  Harding looked affronted. “As if I would ever leave the Cap’n! I would be dead if it wasn’t for him, aye and I’ve guarded his back often enough. We’re shipmates, captain or no captain.”

  Such allegiance, but Edward was that sort of man, wasn’t he, to form such staunch friends. Alice reached out to lay her hand over Harding’s. “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand. I admire you for your loyalty. I’m very glad to discover Sir Edward has at least one good friend about him and no doubt more. He deserves that, surely.”

  His gaze sharpened. Was he was assessing her motives? What had she said? He made her squirm with that long, hard stare, much like the one Edward had given Scripps at their first meeting. She felt heat rise into her cheeks.

  “Happen he needs something more than a few good men, these days. I’ve been thinking he needs a wife and family.”

 
; The heat threatened to burn her. She really must attend to the accounts. Rather hurriedly, Alice rose from the table. “We all wish the best for him. Barlow will look after you. I have duties to attend to. Please excuse me.”

  * * * * *

  It was no use. The accounts just wouldn’t come right, no matter how many times she added up the column of figures. Her head ached. Alice sighed as she pushed the ledger away from her and threw down the quill. What was the matter with her? The fact of Edward marrying someone had to be faced sooner or later. Which would be worse, to have him sail away for years, or to live here in the presence of his wife? And what wife would want to keep her around, anyway? She would surely wish to employ her own servants. It was only her relationship to Lavinia that had brought her here in the first place and Lavinia wouldn’t stay after Edward married.

  She shuddered and shook her head. Useless to pine over what couldn’t be mended. Worry about it when it happens, Alice! Seizing the quill, she bent once more to her tiresome task.

  Moments later a commotion in the hall disturbed her concentration once more. Surely there was more than one voice? Was that not a man she heard speaking? Oh, it was and not Barlow’s voice, either. Filled with a sudden excitement she sprang to her feet. Could it be? Had he come home? Raising her trembling fingers to smooth her hair, she hurried for the door, only to pull up in blank astonishment.

  A burly stranger stood there next to Lavinia. She’d never seen him before, but his dress and demeanor proclaimed him as a man of some minor authority. What in the world had Lavinia done now? She appeared to be in a state of high excitement.

  “There she is, the wretch!” Lavinia’s exclamation and pointing finger drew everyone’s attention. A further figure stepped forward from behind the first man. Alice stared and then stared again. Scripps! How dare he!

  “Constable, do your duty!” Scripps exclaimed with dramatic fervor. “Take the wicked, scheming thief where she belongs.”

  It could not be happening. It was a mistake, a nightmare. Alice looked from Scripps’ malicious righteousness to Lavinia’s malevolent satisfaction and on to Barlow’s horrified bewilderment. The constable approached with a stoic expression on his set features.

  “Alice Carstairs, a complaint has been sworn against you with the Magistrate in Winchester. You’re to come along with me.”

  After the first stunned shock, Alice came to her senses.

  “No, wait. There’s a mistake. This is all a plot to deceive you. I’m acting on the authority of Sir Edward Masterman.”

  The weasel spoke up, his voice loudly melodramatic. “A likely story, with his attorney and his sister-in-law standing here to say otherwise!”

  Scripps’ assumed outrage infuriated Alice. She turned on him in a rage. “You’ve been dismissed for dishonesty. And now you are compounding your guilt with outright lies. How dare you? Every servant here knows the true tale.”

  Lavinia sneered. “Servants’ gossip! As if they are to be trusted above my word and that of a well-respected attorney! No doubt you have bribed them with your stolen money. Seize her, constable, if she will not go quietly.”

  “Mama, what’s happening? Has Alice done something wrong?”

  Penelope! Why didn’t Lavinia send her away at once? The child shouldn’t be witness to this hideous scene. Alice stood her ground and faced them all.

  “I tell you, I have written authority. It’s in the drawer in the book—” Alice broke off, dismayed. Enlightenment struck her as the smirking expression on Lavinia’s face told her all she needed to know. They would find no letter in the book room. It was long gone. Alice had even seen her fold it into her reticule. What an abject fool she was to have left her alone for even a minute!

  “You’ll never get away with this. Sir Edward will find out.”

  Scripps gloated as he taunted her. “And who is to tell Sir Edward? I’ve heard he’s gone to the admiralty. He’s very likely to be away for months, if not years. Who knows where his new appointment will take him? And when he returns he’ll hear the sad tale of the woman who cheated him and ended her days at Botany Bay.”

  Botany Bay! That hell on earth. The full horror of her predicament flowed over Alice, leaving her cold and shaking. They would have her transported?

  Scripps leered. “You should have been nicer to me when you had the chance, Madam. No blandishments will save you now. First you robbed your employer of her gold earrings when she was lying in childbed and in no position to defend herself and now you’ve stolen money from Sir Edward. No doubt it will come to light when we search your chamber.”

  Her wages! There were thirty golden guineas lying in her chamber. How neatly Lavinia had worked her evil. Her face was a picture of gloating satisfaction. In desperation, Alice turned to the constable. “You cannot believe them! It’s all lies. I’ve never been dishonest. Barlow will tell you the full story, won’t you, Barlow?”

  Lavinia interrupted her anguished appeal to the butler before he could say a word.

  “Barlow will take himself off to the kitchen this instant, if he wishes to avoid being dismissed without a character and without his pension. He has already involved himself in this affair more directly than is wise. Haven’t you, Barlow?”

  The old man stammered and stuttered, looking from Alice, to Scripps, then the constable and Lavinia before turning his attention back to Alice again. His mouth opened and closed. He clenched his fists and drew a deep breath, as if determined to speak out.

  She couldn’t let him do that. “It’s all right, Barlow. Go back to the kitchen. You can help me best there now. I can only wish that Sir Edward could be told of this outrage, but you see it’s impossible for me to do anything.”

  Not for the world would Alice have him jeopardize himself on her account. And besides, none of these people here knew of Harding’s presence. But would Barlow understand? Would he know to send a message? He must. Her life depended on it. She could only hope.

  As the old man turned away the constable took her by the arm. “You’ll have to come along with me.”

  “Yes, I’ll come, but let it be known I protest my innocence! Wait only until I find my cloak.”

  Scripps snapped at her. “You’ll take no cloak from this house! You’ve cheated your mistress long enough!”

  The constable turned to him. “Now, sir, surely the lady can take her cloak? There’s a right chill wind blowing today.”

  “Nothing, I said! She has cheated and stolen from this estate for long enough. She deserves no favors from us. Take her away.”

  He was going to blame the missing money on her. She could see it all now. The courts would believe him, too, with Lavinia verifying his version of events.

  As Alice was led out into the bitter March wind the only sound she could hear above the measured tread of the constable’s feet on the gravel was Lavinia’s laughter ringing in her ears.

  “What will happen to me?” Alice asked as she was pushed up the step into the waiting gig.

  “You’ll be held in Winchester Jail until the assizes.”

  Oh, dear God! Winchester Jail? How could they? She swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump of terror that clung to her throat. “Is there no one to defend me?”

  The constable turned back to look at Scripps. “Them that has the money can always find someone to defend them.” He sounded surprisingly bitter as he added, “Them that has the money can make it very hard for those of us that don’t as well, as you’ve found out. I’ll not be joining you on a long sea voyage by disobliging Scripps and that’s for certain.” He seemed to lose interest, occupied by his own thoughts. So he was afraid of Scripps, too. She had to try one last time.

  “You know they’re lying. Why are you doing this? Can’t you find it in your heart to help me?”

  “You’ll have your time in court.” His curt reply severed the conversation. Alice slumped down in despair, getting what shelter she could from his bulk. He was more afraid of what Scripps might do to him than worrying about justi
ce. By the sound of it, he probably owed him money.

  Already her teeth were chattering and her fingers turning blue. What had she done, to be punished like this? It could not be happening. Surely it was a nightmare.

  Chapter Six

  Cold. It was so cold. Something rustled in the filthy straw and skittered across her feet. She shuddered with revulsion and kicked out, but there was nowhere to go to escape the rats. How long had she been in this stinking cell? Days? Weeks? In truth it seemed more like years. She’d been so sure she’d be rescued in a day or two, but she’d been here an eternity with no one to help her.

  Her very bones ached as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. A bare glimmer of light from the grated window illuminated huddled silhouettes. Condensation trickled down the rough stone wall next to her face. Her clothes were damp, too thin to form any sort of protection against the bitter chill.

  How much longer could she hold out? Not long. She would freeze to death, if the jail fever didn’t claim her first. Where was her cover? She felt around, finally locating the rough hessian near her feet. She sent up a little prayer of thanks that it hadn’t been stolen. It was her only asset. Crazy Mary, one of her fellow inmates, had given her an old sack to use as both bed and overcoat. Crazy Mary, jailed for drunkenness and prostitution, had shown the only spark of humanity Alice had experienced since she’d been dragged away.

  What sort of a man would deny her even a shawl to protect her from this bitter weather? Scripps’ sort, of course. How he must be gloating. And Lavinia. Alice pondered again on Lavinia’s duplicity. Why had she not thought to check for Edward’s letters? She’d stolen them and gone straight to Scripps. The rest was child’s play. Edward had not taken the time to acquaint anyone else with his wishes and plans. Her word alone could never stand up against the venom of Scripps and Lavinia combined. Poor Edward, to be so cheated and robbed by the likes of them.