“The problem I found, Father, was that I lacked the knowledge that they all assumed I must possess as a member of the Family. I need to know about public affairs before I meet these people again, not that I intend, with your permission, sir, to return to the States!”
He mentioned his meetings with Colonel Miller and his final intrigue, the suspicions that the Colonel was trying to use him as a respectable, foreign front for his own nasty ambitions.
“Rothwell told me that government had received the word from Washington, and that you had played a very sensible part, much appreciated! The Millers will be here next year, you say – I will look forward to their visit, will be all innocence as far their Western schemes are concerned – they will take at least two years to come to fruition. What do you advise? As far as cannon are concerned.”
“Let then buy all they care to, sir, against cash, or Trade Bills at least, but delay, for a very long time, any suggestion of entering a partnership to cast great guns in the States. Partnerships share profits and losses quite equally, I understand, but the partner on the far side of the ocean might well see more of the one than the other!”
“Your decision, my son, and I respect it. We shall keep the Colonel at arm’s length, a customer, no more.”
“On the subject of Colonel Miller, sir – his only child, the adopted son, Thomas, looked remarkably like me, I thought. I am reliably informed, by the way, that the Colonel experiences a certain incapacity that makes him unable to father his own son by blood.”
“His lady wife, Jenny, was in my keeping for a year or so when I was in New York. I heard a few years back that she had had a son who had been adopted by her rich husband – so I thought it best to leave well enough alone. On that topic”, he smiled benignly, “I should mention the existence of your other half-brother, Captain Thomas Burley, a boy who was some six years old at the date of my marriage, and one whose name appears in our accounts, and whom I consider to be a responsibility of the family. I will beg you to continue his income at least for his life, unless you have a violent objection?”
Richard was amused, slightly upset - randy old bugger! - but on balance relieved because it would make it much easier to raise the matter of Judy.
“I seem to be following in your footsteps, sir…”
“Ah, yes – one Judith Winters, Michael informs me. What’s the story there, my son? Not blackmail, I trust!”
“No, sir. Merely a good girl for whom I have more than a little affection, and she for me, I truly believe – but one who is well aware of the realities of life. She knows that she can never be more than my peculiar, and she knows as well that I shall look after her, and any offspring there may be, sir.”
“And quite right too, my son – you relieve my mind of what was only a slight worry – I did not really believe that I need fear for you. House will be in her name, I know. I would suggest, strongly, that the firm should pay her an income – five hundred, say? Not in your name or mine – all correctly discreet. Your mother will inevitably come to hear of the matter, and I shall leave it to her to determine what, if anything, she will say. What shall we do with you next, Robert?”
Robert had thought through the matter of his future very carefully. He had almost been embarrassed in the States and had discovered that that was intolerable.
“Lord Rothwell, sir, if it be possible – I would like to act as secretary to him for two or three years. I do not wish to take a seat and join the Administration in that way, but I would very much wish to come to know all of the younger public men, those who will form the government of twenty years time.”
“We will speak to your mother today – she will be delighted – she always wished to be a political hostess, and I was not interested. What would you intend after that?”
“My first thought is to marry, and take over the Lutterworth estate, sir. Live a quiet, rural, respectable existence for most of the year, busying myself in the County but in contact with the financial side of our affairs, making investments and managing some part of our funds – enough that I become known in the City in my own right. Eventually, when I take our seat in the Lords – not I trust in the near future, sir – I shall be in a position to increase our influence and turn the barony into a viscountcy, at least!”
“Wise and practical, your nose kept clean, no overt business connections. Your mother should start to consider the matter of your marriage, I believe – we should delay that for another three or four years – never a good idea to marry too young – but she will be best placed to determine which of the great families has an eldest daughter possessed of some intelligence, reasonable good looks, a large portion and influence of value to the family. She tells me that it were better for you to wed inside the aristocracy, to maintain our social standing as a family – the blueness of the blood somewhat diluted in this generation and needing to be refurbished, as it were.”
“Well expressed, sir – I must treasure that concept! Your letters said very little of James, sir – is he well, happy in his new life?”
“We have received but one letter from him – which is no surprise, he has slight facility with pen and ink, after all! I understand from other sources that he is the very model of a green ensign – he has shone in his basic training – you are aware that the Rifles actually demand that their officers should gain some knowledge of best practice in the military?”
“Not really, sir – something to do with Moore and Shorncliffe, was it not?”
“Little changed – their officers are expected to be able to match the men in the field, able to march and shoot and take further command as necessary. I rather support the idea!”
“And the boy has done very well in his first months. I am glad, he wanted so much to be a soldier. What next for him, sir?”
Tom shook his head, uncertain.
“He may be posted to the Army of Occupation in France, or to a detachment in Canada, possibly to India. There is war in Ceylon and the government plans to expand our influence throughout the whole of the sub-continent, so he can be kept busy there. Your mother will pull the appropriate strings, I have no doubt.”
“Joseph, sir?”
Tom explained the decisions which had been made relating to their third son and his future, pointing out the advantages to the family of keeping a firm hold on the reins of their various enterprises. He explained as well that Joseph would stand in line for a much larger inheritance than would otherwise have been the case.
“If he marries, sir, then that money will be lost entirely to our family.”
“He will marry – I believe that Lord Star’s third girl has made certain plans there – a redoubtable lass, I understand. Your mother and I will be visiting the Stars in the New Year – will you come?”
“I would like to, sir. Perhaps we can discuss this matter of Joseph’s inheritance at some length at a later date, sir. It occurs to me that it might be possible to specify that a large proportion, a half, say, of the increase he makes to our wealth, should accrue to him in addition to a percentage of Roberts?”
Tom nodded – obviously Robert was implying that his brother should receive a relatively small share in the existing firms, should be rewarded primarily from the fruits of his own endeavours – and that could lead to a degree of resentment, and perhaps to Joseph setting out on his own, in competition to Roberts. The matter would need to be very carefully discussed.
“As well, sir, before we join Mama, I came back in a Post Office packet, its master, Captain James, remembering seeing you in Antigua?”
“That could be a damn’ nuisance, my son. I had much rather no-one remembered my doings there, not, at least, to make any connection to me now.”
Robert blinked – perhaps the whispers of piracy were closer related to the truth than he had imagined.
“Ah… he did say that you had made some, ah, I think his words were ‘remarkably profitable’ captures.”
“Bugger!”
“Oh!”
B
etter make a clean breast of it, Tom thought – otherwise the boy would start digging on his own accord, determined as he seemed to be to discover the truth.
“Briefly, my son, with Joseph Star at my side, I was senior survivor on a privateer, the Star. You may note the coincidence of names there?”
“Lord Star?”
Tom nodded, grinning.
“He had no surname before that, took the ship’s name, it being the source of his new fortune and life. Italian forbears, was it not, Papa? ‘Star’ a foreshortening of the original name, we were told, somewhat untruthfully, I suspect. If he had no name, then either he needed his original to be forgotten or he was truly nameless. If the latter, and in the Sugar Islands, and him with a skin that always appears sun-browned… Escaped slave?”
“Freeman, a mixture of African and Carib and English blood. A very brave and intelligent man; one who fought well and saved my life more than once and played a great part in building our businesses. Mark my words, my son, there has been no charity there on my part – I have given him nothing, indeed I strongly suspect the boot may be on the other foot!”
Robert took a deep breath, the foundations of his universe more than a little shaken.
“That must be why Colonel Miller seemed so surprised when told of his title. Did he ever meet Lord Star, sir?”
“When he met me – and Joseph was playing the part of my house slave at the time. Slaves are viewed as dumb animals, as you know, so he was able to keep his ears open and pick up many a valuable confidence which he was supposed to be too stupid to understand!”
Robert began to laugh – even the most liberal of northerners, those most deeply opposed to the special institution, regarded slaves as morally and intellectually inferior to whites, and Miller had hardly seemed the most enlightened of men.
“Right, sir – that changes my understanding of the world as well, for I have always loved and dearly respected Lord Star, and always will! Not necessarily a bad thing to learn, I suspect. You said you were the effective captain of your privateer, sir?”
“Yes, Robert, I managed to stay alive. The ship was, rather unusually, wholly owned by her captain, a disgraced naval officer, one who had been disowned by his relatives and seemed to have no close family, certainly no obvious set of heirs. To cut the story short, I was able to persuade the prize agent that he should entrust me with the whole of the captain’s and ship’s shares to take back to England and deliver, all on the quiet, to certain eminent gentlemen who were the actual but discreet owners, so prominent that they must not be seen to dirty their hands with a privateer. They existed, I regret to say, only in my imagination, but the very real cash, in company of myself and Joseph, ended up in New York and there provided us with the basis of our fortunes.”
“So… in effect, sir, you are saying that you stole perhaps ten thousand pounds?”
“Twenty, actually.”
“Bloody hell! And to think the rumourmongers only accuse you of piracy! If they really knew…”
“I have taken some pains to ensure that they do not, Robert. You are the only person in this country, other than Joseph Star, who does know.”
“Including Mama?”
“Just so, my son.”
Robert thought for a few seconds then nodded to himself, one of his father’s mannerisms that he was quite unaware of.
“Best it should stay that way, sir. My own eldest boy, assuming there should be such, will hear the tale, but only him, I think. The story should be remembered in the family, but I doubt it should be mentioned outside, or not for a few years yet.”
“No – it is not as if I am Archbishop of York, after all.”
“The buccaneer, sir? He was rather proud of his past, I am told – but he was Church of England, after all!”
“And anything goes there – I am told Blackburn was a buccaneer and a spy for Charles the Second before returning to England where he received in very rapid succession a rich living and a bishopric and then Archbishop. He was well rewarded for whatever he did and was quite happy for it to become public knowledge. I doubt I would be regarded with quite such a degree of tolerance, however.”
“No, sir – I might find it a fraction embarrassing too – better keep it quiet for the while. What an excellent thing that I am reconciled to respectability!”
Jonathan Quarrington came to visit them over the Christmas week, his eminently eligible wife and children in his train. He explained that they would go to Gloucester for the New Year, his parents being able to tolerate festivities then although utterly eschewing the paganism of Yuletide.
“We are in fact, my lord, in process of changing our abode – we shall not return to Bristol. My father has made me free of the manor house and estate at Appleby and I intend to return to my agricultural roots, as it were. I have disposed of the business, sold out in entirety, retaining no interest at all, my hands now clean, following your whisper and at my father’s most earnest request. He, I believe, is in some expectation of looking God in the face in the relatively near future and wishes his heir to be acceptable in all ways to the local squirearchy. The old gentleman is closer to seventy than sixty now and is no longer in a state of high preservation and it is only courtesy to fall in with his wishes; as well he will be able to see more of his grandchildren, which will please him much.”
“I am pleased to hear that you are leaving the trade in Bristol, Mr Quarrington. No occupation for a landed gentleman when all is said and done.”
Mrs Quarrington showed agreement in the background – her voice had probably been influential in the decision – she was a Minchinhampton, after all, the ultimate in respectability.
Wife and children were disposed of to Verity’s hands while the two men retired to the library for a glass and an hour of serious, private discussion.
“I had to stop running out of Chepstow last year, Thomas. The payments demanded by the harbourmaster and other officials suddenly became prohibitive and then you sent me word that the trade was to be most actively suppressed so I decided to leave Liverpool as well.”
“Wise indeed, Jonathan.”
The two had reached first-name terms some years earlier, a sign of very close friendship.
“The children look well, Jonathan.”
“They thrive, Thomas!”
“Young Jonathan is, what, five now?”
“Coming up to that, the girls two and a half and a twelvemonth. My lady wife has done very well by me, Thomas.”
Neither mentioned Miss Hawker, Mrs Plenderleith as she now was, or her daughter – there were limits to even the closest friendship.
“You are still very close to Lord Star, are you not, Thomas?”
“My oldest friend, a brother in all but birth.”
“He has a son, I believe.”
“Seven, in fact, and three daughters.”
“My word! An enthusiast! However, it is only the one who has come to my attention, John Star, a gentleman in his early twenties?”
“About twenty-three, I think, and away from home these last five years, his parents hearing nothing of him in that time. Does he live?”
“Not if I get my hands on him, Thomas!”
“Let me fill your glass, Jonathan.”
Slightly calmed by a second glass of Tom’s excellent Madeira, Quarrington gave the round tale.
“One of my ships, Thomas, her name does not really matter, engaged in the Triangular Trade, out of Chepstow to the Coast laden with gin and powder and muskets, thence to the Sugar Islands and returning to Liverpool or Bristol, depending on consignee, running fast with a high-value, low-bulk cargo to catch the market – the ordinary trade.”
A slaver, in fact, Tom noted.
“She reached Jamaica, June of ’13, three parts of the crew and half of the cargo gone of the Yellow Jack, lucky to make port at all. They sold the remainder of the cargo at a good price, of course – they were salted against the fever, strong and long-lasting, by definition. They waited out the hurricane
season, not much choice – too few men aboard to take her out and the captain the only officer alive. A private man of war came in, pumping three hours out of four, the crew would have mutinied but they would have sunk if they had taken long enough off the pumps! Her captain had put her on a reef and taken no prizes, was not well-loved by the people. The Third Mate led the bulk of the hands signing aboard my ship, taking First himself. They loaded for Liverpool and brought her in quickly and well – good hands, all of them. The captain sailed her round to Bristol and recommended me to sign them on for the next season, which I did unquestioning, wanting her out again quickly.”
Tom nodded – all seemed quite normal so far. The fevers were one of the great risks of the trade – every hand could expect to go down with one of them once at least, about a half typically surviving. Merchant seamen towards the end of the long wars were earning as much as six pounds a month, but hands on the slavers would expect at least one hundred for six months out.
“I had loaded my other ships and given this one up for lost, so had almost nothing in my warehouses and I was scratching about for a cargo when the young First Officer came to me. Mr Star said he knew of the whereabouts of two thousands of the new rifled cavalry carbines, surplus at the makers, they having hoped that the Heavy regiments would be armed with them as well as the Hussars. Two pounds seven and sixpence he could get them for, delivered at Bristol dockside. I had every one checked over – all were good and I paid cash on the nail and was glad to do so – they were coming in at less than a Bess would cost. Powder and ball was easy enough to obtain, as always – a few guineas into the right Quartermaster’s hand and military cartridges are always available! I expected young Mr Star to be making a bob or two on the deal, of course, and rightly so – they were his commission. They sailed, forty men in the crew, thirty of them from the privateer and a supercargo and a pair of mates known to Mr Star and urged upon me by him. Never a word have I had of her since.”
Born To Privilege (A Poor Man at the Gate Series Book 3) Page 14