by Brian John
“And have you killed, Johnny?”
“Never! Never, Mistress. I swear it on the life of my little Billy. I have bashed in a few heads, and put a few fellows into bed looking the worse for wear, but it was all in innocent fun, and that’s the Gospel truth.”
“He’s right, Susanna,” added Mags. “Soft as a little kitten he is, in spite of that big body and that voice like the thunderings of doom, and the threats of mayhem.”
“Very well. I believe you, and I’ll try to help you in repayment of my debt. Now then -- that picture that you use as a screen for your bathroom. Lord Crawshay, if I am not mistaken?”
“Correct, Susanna. The old master -- grandfather to the present Sir Robert. Painted around 1790, I think. That mad bugger Jenkin Rhys, the smartest Rodney I ever saw, pinched it from Cyfartha Castle for a £5 bet, six months since. God knows how he got it out of there, what with all them battlements and guard dogs and things. He gave it to me, since his cellar was too small to take it. Very kind of him, I’m sure. I have hardly slept since. Come to think of it, I think I’ll take it up onto the cinder tip tonight and send it up in flames. I’ll be glad to get shot of it.”
“Don’t do that, Johnny. I happen to know that there is a £300 reward out for its recovery. It is -- or was -- the prize possession of the Crawshays, and they want it back. I live only a mile away. Tonight I will come under the Jackson Bridge arch, in a carriage, and I will stop here at 8 o’clock prompt. The police patrol doesn’t come out until later, so we should be unobserved except by those from whom you have nothing to fear. Wrap the painting up well, and get it into my carriage. Back at my lodgings, I will clean it up as best I can, and take it to Cyfartha Castle tomorrow. The Crawshays will be beside themselves with delight, and I will be something of a heroine. They will ask me where I got it, and I will simply say that I came across it during my charitable works in a certain poor district. They will happily pay me the £300, and I will say that it will all be devoted to helping the poor and the infirm. That will give them an extra glow of pleasure. Then I’ll pass the cash to you, and everybody will be happy.”
So it was all agreed, and so it came to pass. My plans worked perfectly, with Johnny’s careful cooperation. On the return of the painting I was given a very splendid dinner by Sir Robert and Lady Crawshay, and on the next day (before the police were aware that the painting had been recovered) I called in at the Emperor’s Palace and handed £300 over to Mags and Johnny. They both wept, and in truth so did I. Later Chief Constable Napier, whom I knew to be an arrogant and officious little man, came to interview me personally as to the theft and recovery of the painting, but I told him that a word out of place from me would prejudice not only my good works in the district, but also those of my fellow sisters in charity. He swore and he grumbled, but at last he had to accept the sense of what I was saying, and he agreed that I would henceforth not be disturbed any more by either himself or any of his officers.
A week later, I heard that Mags and Johnny were gone, leaving a vacuum which would no doubt be filled by some other up-and-coming bully and his moll. They were well out of it, I thought, for the days of the Chinese Empire were numbered. With every week that passed, the condemnation of the lawlessness of China became louder in the press and in the more upright parts of the community, and Napier and his police force became more courageous and adept at targeting the chief criminals and taking them off the streets. Prosecutions forced some of the most notorious brothels to close. There were more and more court cases, and more and more transportations. I could see that the iron works which fed both the respectable economy and the criminal economy of China would decline as steel replaced pig iron and as more and more competition came from new works and new processes on the Welsh coast and in Sweden, Germany, Russia and elsewhere; and when that happened, workers would drift away, taking with them the money that kept the whores in business. I tried to imagine China without the cinder tips, the cellars, and the piles of excrement, but as a place of tidy houses and Victorian respectability; it was difficult to make the picture in my mind, but I knew that it had to come, and that nobody would grieve for the passing of the Empire. By that time, I hoped, Mags and Johnny would be happily breeding and tilling the land in Paradise, USA.
rrr
A Glimmer of Light
One evening, about a week after the departure of the Emperor and the Empress from China, there was a knock on my door, and my housekeeper announced “Mistress Ravenhill, there is a tall gentleman dressed in a long black coat to see you, and he has two of the roughest fellows in town as his companions. I don’t like the look of them one little bit. Shall I let them in?”
I was terrified, but I nodded. With the excitement of the Empire and the stolen painting, I had forgotten about the mysterious armed men who had been on my trail. I thought I was finally rid of them. But no. If this was to be my moment of destiny, I thought, so be it. Perhaps I had now done my penance, and it was time for a final reckoning.
I was greatly surprised when my friends Twm and Ianto marched into my room. Between them they held a tall man whom I did not recognize, with his hands tied behind his back. Ianto was holding a knife to his throat. The prisoner was thoroughly dishevelled, and had a cut lip and bruises to his face. One of his eyes was very swollen, and was well on the way to being closed, and black into the bargain. His coat was covered in mud. “This fellow has been snooping about, Mistress Ravenhill,” said Twm, “and asking too many questions into the bargain. He’ve bin following you for days. He’s clearly up to no good.”
“And you have been watching him?”
“Us and others, Mistress. Protecting you, we have been, as instructed by the Emperor before he went off to pastures new. He gave Twm and me £10 each for doing the job. Better pay than in the Guest stables.”
I sighed, and thanked heaven for the Celestial Emperor. “And why, Twm, do you think this fellow’s up to no good?”
“Well, Mistress, he had these in his pocket.” Twm handed me four folded documents. I was bemused, and opened them carefully. They proved to be maps of Carningli, the Common, and the adjacent estates, with the barony land marked in red. I was lost for words.
”Maps, Mistress,” advised Ianto, “but not from these parts. Distant parts of Wales, if we are not mistaken. Shall we slit his throat now and dump him in the Taff? Or we could throw him into a blast furnace........”
“Good God, no! I thank you, Twm and Ianto, for your noble intentions. But who are you, sir, and what do you mean by following me around? Am I some sort of threat to you, as I see out my declining years in charitable pursuits? I hope you do not seek to rob me, since, from the look of your attire, your assets are considerably greater than mine.”
“Far from it, Mistress Ravenhill,” said the stranger, in a voice that was difficult to interpret because of his cut lip, but which I thought to contain a hint of a cultured Irish lilt. “It was foolish of me to allow myself to be apprehended by your fierce friends, but you may take it from me that it is my business to protect you.”
Twm and Ianto roared with laughter. “A funny manner of protecting he has, Mistress,” said Twm, “by lurking in corners and asking questions. Irish he is, Mistress -- they are a bad lot, but I dare say there are one or two Irish buggers who are less bad than the others.”
Ianto added his judgement. “But he is a seriously bad bugger, Mrs Ravenhill, I’ll wager. He had this in his belt..........” He produced a long sheathed knife, and gave it to me.
I gave the Irishman what I hoped was a withering look. “Is this what you use when you are protecting me, sir?” I demanded. “If, so, I do not approve. I abhor violence.”
“The weapon, Madam, is my means of defence. This is a rough place, and you are pursued by rough men.”
“My dear sir! This is preposterous! I know virtually nobody in this place, and nobody knows I am here!”
“Well, I know it, Madam. I have my ways of knowing. But I admit to being surprised that others knew it as well. A
t any rate, I have followed those who have been trailing you.”
“Why should I believe a word of this?”
“I think we should definitely slit his throat, and dump him in the river, or preferably in number five furnace,” said Ianto. “A nasty Irish bastard, if ever I saw one.”
“Yes indeed,” said Twm. “And a smooth tongue, into the bargain.”
“Diawch! Never heard a smoother one, Mistress, in all my years of dealing with magistrates and other vermin.” said Ianto. “Now then, all this talking is leaving me very exhausted, Mistress............ justice must be swiftly dispensed, as a policeman said to me once, may he rest in peace.”
“Hold on, if you please, gentlemen! Now sir, who are you?”
“My name is Donal.”
“Are you the man who encouraged Sergeant Gruffydd to leave me in peace in Newcastle Emlyn?”
“It was my pleasure,” he smiled.
“And were you shadowing me in Cardigan as well?”
“Again, it was my pleasure. Now then. Does the name O’Connell mean anything to you?”
I perceived that this might be a trap. So I scrutinised the fellow’s face, and read nothing in it. “I fear not, sir,” I said at last. “There are probably many O’Connells in Ireland, and quite a few in Merthyr Tydfil.”
“And one at Garfeth, too, who is indebted to a relative of yours.”
I narrowed my eyes, and wondered how much this man knew. I swallowed hard. “Is blackmail your business, sir?”
“Certainly not, Mistress Ravenhill! Blackmail is a sordid business, always accompanied by avarice, mayhem and in most cases death. I leave blackmail to idiots.”
It was time to find out what was really going on. So I said: “Twm and Ianto, will you please leave us, and ask young Maggie down below to give you some tea and something to eat. Mr Donal and I will also appreciate some refreshments. And I need some warm water and a clean cloth, to tidy up his face as best I can. Take the knife, please, and I will be obliged if you will wait in case I have any cause to summon you to my rescue............”
The two rough fellows looked suspicious, but reluctantly did as they were asked. Over the course of the next hour I dressed Donal’s wounds, and derived some simple pleasure from it, for although he was somewhat damaged he was a very attractive man with strong features and beautiful eyes. While I worked, we talked, and we continued to talk over refreshments. I discovered that he was a relative of Brendan O’Connnell, to whom in a previous incarnation I had given the cottage at Garfeth in 1848.
“Mistress, my cousin Brendan became aware of certain activity in the district some months since,” he said. “He is an honest and peaceful fellow, and refuses to be involved in anything troublesome, but he has sharp ears and good contacts. Certain strangers have been asking questions in the district, and others have been set to closely observe six estates around the mountain, including Llannerch, Llanychaer, and Plas Ingli.......”
“Those owned by Master Wilmot Gwynne, in other words.”
He smiled. “For a stranger to these parts, you are very well informed, Mrs Ravenhill.”
“I listen to things, and I am a fast learner, sir. I count Wilmot Gwynne as a friend, albeit one of recent acquaintance. I have met him now and then, in Cardigan and other places. He chooses to give me his support. Now then -- to these mysterious fellows. I assume we are talking of Iago Woodward and Silas Reynolds?”
He nodded, and I continued. “Do they belong to the Society of Sea Serjeants, which I understand to have caused great distress in and around Newport in the past? ”
“Nothing to do with them, Mrs Ravenhill. According to my contacts, the SSS is finished, thanks to a certain Mistress of Plas Ingli and a gentleman called Amos Jones, who was a dear friend and neighbour to cousin Brendan. And good riddance to those who orchestrated its operations, and those who played the fiddles. They were idiots, obsessed with feuding, revenge and even murder. People like those belong in the last century, not this one. No no, these fellows are much more sophisticated. Some of them come from Swansea.”
“Very strange. Do they work for Jonas Harry?”
He started in surprise, and had clearly not expected me to know that name. Then he gave a little smile and said: “I assume so.”
“Have they had past dealings with Master Gwynne?”
“That I do not know. Now, to the maps. Yesterday I apprehended one of the fellows who has been following you, down by the river, close to his lodgings. He has prominent front teeth, like a rabbit. A little search of his person revealed some interesting things, including one hundred and ten pounds, a small compass and the maps which are now in your possession. There were also some letters, which I have left at my lodgings. I will prefer to keep those private for the time being, if you do not mind.”
“A compass? Was this fellow a mariner?” The stranger shrugged. “And a hundred and ten pounds? That’s a great deal of money...”
“For buying information and paying for services, Mistress. Every well-connected criminal has a budget. You should know it, from your dealings in China. Dirty money. I thought it best to relieve him of it, for the good of the community.”
“I have not the slightest idea what is going on here, sir. I might be inclined to think that you mean me no harm, but I am mystified by one thing -- why did you pay a servant boy in Newcastle Emlyn to spy on my meeting with various people from the Newport district?”
“Ah, that was another tall man with a long black coat, Mistress. A friend of the one who kindly gave me the map and the other things. Very clumsy of him to hire a naive serving-boy. I observed it all, and was greatly entertained when the child came rushing out onto the street as if he had a red-hot iron attached to his shirt-tails! A lot has happened since then, and you have led all of us a merry dance.”
I buried my head in my hands, convinced that there were now too many people who knew too much. To my surprise, the stranger put his hand on my shouder in reassurance. “Do not worry, Madam. I have already told you that it is my purpose to protect you.”
“Are you then a guardian angel, sir?”
“Far from it, Madam. Shall we say that I am a free spirit who acts in the interests of my countrymen and of those whom we count as friends. I have no interest in prying into areas which are none of my business.”
“Then may I ask who gives you instructions?”
“I think it best, for your sake, that I do not answer that question just now. But I have a certain interest in the activities of Jonas Harry of Swansea and South Kensington.”
“You are very diplomatic, sir. So what did you find out from the fellow from whom you obtained these interesting items?”
“Not very much, I am afraid. When I had relieved him of his possessions, and held my knife to his throat, he blurted out: “That there Mistress Ravenhill -- she is not what she seems! Take it from me, sir, she is not what she seems!” I think I knew it already, but I wanted to confirm who pays him, and what for. But then his friend came looking for him, so I whispered into his ear that if I should ever see him or his fellow spy again, I would arrange for both of them to be killed. I pushed him into the Taff and retired gracefully, leaving him to be rescued by his colleague. That was quite entertaining, since neither of them could swim. But they climbed out of the water in the end, wet and slimy but otherwise unharmed. Feeling quite pleased with myself, I went home and had supper.
“Today I came up here and took up my observation post again, in the coal-yard across the road. I was just pondering whether I should knock on your door and introduce myself. That was when your friends Twm and Ianto jumped on me, proving that I am just as incompetent as my enemies. Damned undignified, Madam -- and I dare say I will take a long time to recover my self-esteem. You know the rest.”
I smiled, and then became serious. “May I call you Donal?”
“Please do, Madam.”
“Donal, what do you know about me?”
“Why, that you are just what you seem to be, Mrs R
avenhill. An elegant and beautiful lady with eyes that have, I surmise, sent many gentlemen mad with passion, and who has known a good deal of pain and pleasure over a long and fruitful life.”
“You are very kind. Is that all?”
“That you come from London, and speak surprisingly fluent Welsh. And that your presence in Cardigan, Newcastle Emlyn and Cardiff has generated considerable traffic originating from the Newport district.”
“It is clear to me that you have spoken to landladies and that you have also read The Cambrian. You probably wonder why I keep on moving from one place to another?”
“Indeed I do.”
“Let us say, Donal, that I am a restless soul, and that as I approach the end of a long life I am on a quest. There are certain things which I regret from the past, which I now seek to put right. I keep on moving on partly because I am afraid, and partly because am searching for evidence relating to my roots and the roots of those whom I love. I have discovered a loose and yet very precious link to a close family which now seeks to support me, in spite of the tragedy which has recently struck Plas Ingli. To their eternal credit, there are a number of good people from Cilgwyn who might have been preoccupied with the process of grieving for the dead, but who consider it more worthwhile to help the living. That extremely unwelcome notice in The Cambrian was meant to help me, but it was profoundly embarrassing, and made me very angry.”
“I can quite understand your displeasure, Madam. I feel that I begin to know you. You are a lady, and I consider myself a gentleman. Indeed, I once owned an estate in County Cork until events -- and certain near neighbours of mine -- conspired to take it from me..............that damned Hunger!” He looked away, and said nothing for a while. And then he said: “Would you take offence if I call you Susanna?”
“Not at all. If you tell me that your name is Donal, and I tell you that mine is Susanna, we have the foundation for mutual trust.”
“And will you take offence if I say that I am concerned about your circumstances, and give you most of the money which I have confiscated?”