Moon Cutters

by Janet Woods

  Her mouth tightened; her gaze slid away, then came back. ‘Yes, sir.’

  ‘Good. Make sure you remember it. I’ll have fried ham, eggs and bread. Serve it in the dining room, please. And get this kitchen cleaned up.’

  ‘I haven’t got time to do everything, with no help to speak of … sir.’

  ‘I’ll get you some help if you need it. When Tom returns, tell him I want to see him. And here’s a word of advice for you, Bertha: I’m not the fool you think I am, so take care.’

  She hesitated for a moment, and then, under his steady gaze, she murmured, ‘Yes, sir … sorry, sir.’

  He spoke to Tom in what passed as a study, though it was more like a junk room with piles of paper everywhere and the surfaces of the furniture dull and scarred. He hadn’t been able to make head or tail of the account books, except to notice that they had been neglected for several years before the accounting ceased altogether. Receipts were piled high, and he might have to employ a clerk to deal with it and sort the books out.

  ‘What’s your function round here, Tom?’

  Tom scratched his head and then grinned. ‘Most everything now, I reckon. I started off doing the outside work when I was little more than a boy. Then I went on the boat and learned how to sail her. Now I keep things running, as well, ’cepting for the kitchen. There hasn’t been a manager for the farming side for some time. That’s gone by the by, I reckon.’

  ‘Have we got a housekeeper to oversee the domestic side?’

  ‘We did have once … a long time ago, I reckon. She was a distant cousin to Silas, I recall. Blood kin or no, Silas fancied her. After a while, she went off to work in London, as your mother’s maid. There was talk that she had some idea in her head of becoming lady of the manor.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Not long after, they come back from London and you were born. One day Rosie Jones upped and left without telling anyone. I was just a kid then, about ten. There was a bit of talk because the last baron had died about the same time, but there were a lot of changes going on with Sir James taking over, so it soon faded. Silas named the Wild Rose after her.’

  Fletcher couldn’t help but grin at Silas having such a romantic thought over a woman. ‘Do you remember my father – Adrian Taunt?’

  ‘Adrian Taunt?’ Tom scratched his head. ‘Can’t rightly say I ever clapped eyes on him. Went abroad and died there, I heard.’

  ‘He left my mother and me without support.’

  ‘Reckon that’s the way it was, then.’

  Fletcher’s mind jerked him back to the present. ‘As far as I can see, we have several maids, but, judging by the state of this house, they don’t seem to do much work.’

  ‘It never bothered old Silas.’

  ‘A lot of things that didn’t bother Silas bother me. Would any of the present maids be suitable to take charge of the household?’

  ‘Flora Targett. She’s not flighty like the others, and does her best to keep up with the work. The others laugh at her when she complains.’

  ‘Then let’s give her some authority. Tell her I want to speak to her. I’m giving you fair warning, Tom. Things are going to change from now on. My main income will come from the Midnight Star, and I intend to make the land productive again as soon as I can find a good manager who I can trust. Are you that man, Tom? Let me know when you’ve thought it over.’

  ‘Could be that I am.’

  ‘Where did you take the lugger last night?’

  Tom took his pipe from his pocket and deliberated for a moment, taking a couple of empty sucks before he tucked it away again. ‘We used the rowing boats to do a grapnel creep for fifteen hundred casks we’d lost a week ago, and we dropped fifty pounds of tobacco and several hundred pounds of tea disguised as seaweed fertilizer into Marguerite Cove.’

  Fletcher whistled. ‘Right on my uncle’s doorstep … last night … and under the nose of Simon Bailey?’

  ‘Silas was always hand in glove with your uncle, and your uncle has more nerve than most. He didn’t do it for the money but for the excitement. For Silas, it was a way of life, but he knew he was ill and he wanted to get out of the business.’

  ‘Then why didn’t he?’

  ‘Your uncle had something on him, I reckon. Silas would have sold Sir James the estate except your uncle kept driving the price down. Besides, it’s a way of life for most of the men. Silas and your uncle had a two-way split after the workers got theirs. Your uncle always did have a nose for business.’

  ‘How many people know about this?’

  ‘Everyone except Simon Bailey, I imagine. Sir James will find some way of involving him before too long if he can.’

  His uncle would take advantage where he could; that was the nature of the man. Charismatic he might be, but neither friendship nor kinship was allowed to interfere with his business arrangements. Everything came at a price. ‘What was it that my uncle had on him, do you know?’

  The man’s eyes lit on him, considered him. Then he sighed. ‘I reckon old Silas didn’t trust me with that one, Mr Taunt.’

  Tom knew something, but Fletcher wasn’t about to push him. Instead, he changed tack. ‘Do you know who those two young women staying with Sir James are?’

  ‘I heard that the dogs ferreted them out after the older one stole a loaf of bread from the kitchen. The mother was dead over the other side of the woods with a stillborn in her arms. The younger girl was ill, and both were starving.’

  Fletcher frowned at that. ‘What does he intend to do with them?’

  ‘As to that, we’ll know when he does it. Happen you might want to attend church on Sunday. Perhaps he’ll give them an airing. Sir James rarely broadcasts his intentions beforehand.’

  Fletcher knew that all too well. He nodded. ‘I want this estate put to good use. I do understand that the estate workers need a little extra on the side for their retirement, but so much activity and bloodshed along the coast has attracted an increase in the number of officers to deal with it. Even the French are getting involved. And have been for some time. The Midnight Star had to run the gauntlet of French boats on the way in – and they’re heavily armed. Those who work for the crown are getting more coordinated and more ruthless. The coastguard service is run by fully trained officers of the Royal Navy who are fearless, and, with the soldiers on land, they are slowly but surely set to wipe out most of the smuggling along the coast.’

  ‘Aye, Silas was of the same mind, but it remains to be seen if they can.’

  ‘The land here has good pasture for sheep, and wool is in great demand as well as the meat. I’ll be establishing a flock, and I hope to buy a second clipper in the future. In short, I want my business dealings to be clean.’ He remembered the gold and grinned. ‘Well, almost clean.’

  Tom grinned in return. ‘Silas was of the same mind.’

  ‘I’m aware that smuggling is a game to my uncle, but just because I’ve inherited Silas’s fortune, it doesn’t mean I’m going to take up his way of life and the risks that go with it.’

  ‘Aye, Mr Taunt. Silas—’

  ‘If you tell me he was of the same mind again, I’ll pick you up by the seat of your britches and throw you into the cove,’ he said fiercely, and then realized Tom had been leading him on and he’d been preaching to the converted.

  Tom chuckled.

  After he’d finished interviewing Flora Targett, Fletcher sorted the house staff problem out and the cook had an assistant to help in the kitchen. He was a little perturbed about the cook’s relationship with his uncle’s second coachman. He would keep an eye on that relationship. But at least things should run a little more smoothly in the house now.

  He needed to go into Poole and talk to Oswald Avery, to find out how much his legacy was worth. Then he must put out feelers for another ship, via the agent in Southampton. He should be able to pick up another ship fairly cheaply as the big shipping companies changed to steam, and she would pay for herself in a year or two.

  After Fletcher g
ot things clear in his mind, he would go and see his uncle. It had always been his uncle’s intention to unite the two estates. While Silas had made it possible for him to be independent of his uncle, there was no reason why they shouldn’t work together and remain on good terms, as long as he made the effort to restore and maintain their former relationship.

  Apologizing for something he hadn’t done went against the grain, though.

  And he had a good future to look forward to now. He grinned, looking forward to his tryst with Miranda. Would she turn up or would she not?

  Seven

  Aware that Sir James disliked being kept waiting, Miranda joined him in his study on the last stroke of eleven.

  He was seated behind a polished desk, writing in a ledger. Without looking up, he waved her to a chair by the fire. ‘I won’t be much longer. You can pour us some coffee if you would.’

  The dogs were asleep in an untidy heap. Nero lifted his head and thumped his tail against the floor. Roma yawned, and Caesar opened one eye and shut it again before rolling inelegantly on to his back with his back legs splayed open.

  It must be nice to be a dog and unaware of how comical you looked at times. But, then, perhaps Caesar thought she appeared just as silly folded on to a chair.

  Miranda looked around her while she waited. The room was half-panelled, with shiny gold embossed paper decorating the top half. Leather chairs and a floor-to-ceiling bookcase gave it a manly feel, as did the portraits of horses and dogs. Above the stone fireplace was a picture of a ship in full sail. She had a long hull and three masts, and the water arched realistically where her prow sliced into the sea and foamed along her side.

  ‘Beautiful, isn’t she?’ Sir James said, and he placed the pen on the inkstand and came round the desk to take the seat opposite her. ‘She’s named Midnight Star.’

  ‘What a lovely name for a ship; she’s a clipper, isn’t she?’

  ‘She is. She was built and designed by Donald McKay, who is a noted designer in North America. Her captain is George Mainwairing, the son of a former business acquaintance.’

  ‘Is she your ship, Sir James?’

  He hesitated, and then said firmly. ‘I’m a part-owner with a fifty-per-cent share in her. My nephew owns the other half. He runs the business side of things.’ Taking a sip from his coffee, he said, ‘Tell me about you and your sister, Miss Jarvis. Who educated you?’

  ‘We went to church school, and our parents encouraged us to read and answered any questions we had. My father taught me numbers.’

  There wasn’t much to tell that he didn’t already know, but when she finished, he said, ‘Do you have any relatives who would offer you and your sister a home?’

  ‘None that I know of.’ Her heart sank. So he was not going to allow her to work for him, as she’d hoped. ‘Is this because of what happened yesterday?’

  ‘Is what about what happened yesterday?’

  ‘You’re going to turn us out, aren’t you, because you think I lied to you?’

  ‘The thought crossed my mind, but after talking to my lawyer last night I have tentatively made other plans.’

  She sat forward. ‘What are they?’

  ‘I will inform you when they are finalized and I think you need to know.’

  The rebuke brought colour to her cheeks. ‘I will need to have some consideration in any plans concerning myself and my sister.’

  ‘Then I will tell you that, up until the revelation of your position in life, I was considering making you both my wards.’

  She should have felt heartened by such a generous gesture from a man she’d tried to steal from, but uneasiness came to the fore. ‘Why would you go to such lengths when Lucy and I are strangers?’

  ‘If you are looking for an ulterior motive, there isn’t one. To be honest, your plight touched me.’

  ‘And now?’

  ‘You seem to be a capable young woman, and you are right about having consideration. Perhaps you could now consider your plight and tell me what I should do with you?’

  ‘As I said before, I’m good with figures and have learned how to keep ledgers. You could employ me. And Lucy and I could sleep in the maid’s quarters. She could make herself useful in the kitchen, perhaps. We wouldn’t be a nuisance.’

  ‘I keep my own books; that way I’m sure everything is above board. I don’t look upon you or your sister as nuisances, but rather I enjoy your company. Neither do I need another employee. I was thinking of getting married again.’

  ‘To Sarah Tibbets?’

  He raised an eyebrow. ‘I’ve considered the possibility. It would be useful to be related to her brother. But do I look like a man who would marry Sarah Tibbets? My preference in brides would be a young woman – one pleasing to the eye and biddable. Do you know anyone like that?’

  He said nothing more, but nothing more really needed to be said. Even so, she struggled to absorb the shock of it and she stared at him, wary of what her mind was telling her. No … he couldn’t … she wouldn’t.

  He could!

  ‘Think about it, Miss Jarvis: you would have a comfortable home here for life, and so would your sister until she married. You would also have a social position, an income of your own and jewellery. Neither of you would want for anything, and I’d treat you well.’

  ‘But we hardly know each other.’

  ‘Look on it as a business arrangement – most marriages are, you know. I would be your means of support and would provide you with a generous allowance. In return, you would afford me certain privileges.

  ‘You would expect …?’ She blushed and gazed down at her hands.

  He lifted her face with a firm finger under her chin. ‘Not only would I expect, but I would insist, since the purpose of marriage is to breed and create a family. There is much pleasure to be found in the bed-chamber, as you are yet to discover. The act that leads to creation need not be unpleasant; in fact, there is much to be gained from desire and anticipation, and the act of loving for its own sake. Men have needs beyond copulation for heirs alone. I’m many years older in years and experience than you are, Miss Jarvis, but I still function, and I do require an heir as a matter of urgency. I think it possible I’ll live long enough to raise a child or two into adulthood.’

  Panic struck Miranda, making her feel twitchy. Her throat constricted. There was something cold-blooded about what he was saying. She felt trapped, and forced out, ‘I hadn’t expected this.’

  ‘I know, and I won’t push you for an answer just yet, since I don’t want you to feel pressured. Just promise me you’ll think about it.’

  She couldn’t see past the surface of his eyes, as though they had captured a dark soul in their depths. They reflected the firelight – two flames dancing in unison … as though he’d come straight from hell. She jerked her head away, took a step back. ‘What will you do if I refuse your offer?’

  ‘To be honest, a refusal is not something I’ve given serious consideration to, but I’ll think on it. There are other options in which your debt to me could be addressed, no doubt. I will expect an answer by the end of June at the latest.’ He brought out two coins and two rings from his waistcoat pocket and dropped them into her skirt. ‘I found these sewn into the hem of your mother’s skirt. Obviously they were precious to her, and I thought you’d like to have them.’

  He could have given them to her earlier. She picked them up and folded her hand around them. ‘They’re my parents’ wedding rings.’

  ‘Not much of a legacy, I fancy. Perhaps they’ll serve as a reminder of what poverty is like. On the day our marriage is consummated, I’ll give you a thousand such coins … and a thousand more when you produce an infant. I imagine your mother and father would approve of such a match for you. It would be a considerable step up in your status.’

  But rather than consider Sir James’s desires and needs, or any need of her own for an improvement in fortune and her status, Miranda was thinking more along the lines of how far she and Lucy could travel
on the two coins she already had.

  At least he’d given her several weeks to plan their escape if she needed to.

  He moved back behind his desk, the barrier making her feel more comfortable. ‘Before you go, my dear, under the circumstances I’d prefer that this be kept to yourself rather than have it provide exercise for idle tongues.’

  As if she would want it to become common knowledge! When she reached the door, she turned.

  An eyebrow arched. ‘Is there something further you wish to discuss, Miranda?’

  So, he was sure enough of her to start using her Christian name. ‘I thought you already had an heir – your nephew.’

  ‘Did you … did you indeed? Unfortunately, he has chosen to turn his back on me.’ His smile was polite but regretful. ‘Shut the door on your way out, my dear.’

  About to do so, she stayed the motion when he said, ‘Lucy tells me it’s your birthday in a week or so.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Good. I’ll be going into Poole on Thursday if the weather is fine, and I thought that you and your sister might like to have an outing in the carriage. There are several shops in the High Street, and I daresay we could find you an outfit or two as a gift … Lucy as well, of course. I don’t like seeing the pair of you wearing my late sister’s clothing.’

  When she opened her mouth to speak, he said, ‘You’ll disappoint me if you refuse without due consideration. Having two young ladies in the house is a source of pleasure to me.’

  Her heart fell. She’d been going to meet Fletcher Taunt on Thursday.

  ‘That’s very kind of you, Sir James.’

  Thursday came quickly. To Miranda’s relief, Sir James rode astride his horse while she and Lucy had the carriage to themselves. Lucy was exuberant with excitement. ‘Two new outfits – imagine that, Miranda! Sir James said I should pick a gown the colour of bluebells, to go with my eyes. Oh … do look at the daffodils; they’re so pretty! I love it here, don’t you?’