by Dilly Court
‘Oh, no. Poor Rufus.’ Jane covered her face with her hands and rocked to and fro. ‘He’ll be maimed for life.’
‘Why don’t you go and see for yourself, ma’am?’ Robert asked gently. ‘If Nettie says it’s not serious, I believe her.’
‘What does she know?’ Jane shot a malevolent glance at Nettie. ‘What was he doing to get himself shot, and how do you come into it?’ She raised her lorgnette again, staring at Nettie as if she could see through her. ‘Why aren’t you dressed properly?’
‘Yes, Nettie,’ Robert added suspiciously. ‘Why are you in such a state?’
A series of excuses flitted through Nettie’s mind as she looked from her father’s concerned face to Jane Norwood’s tight-lipped look of disapproval. She decided that the truth, however far-fetched it might seem, was the best way. ‘I went for a dip. It was such a lovely evening and I was hot and dusty after a day working in the hop garden.’
‘Are you mad?’ Jane demanded. ‘A girl was drowned in the river just a short while ago.’
‘Nettie! How could you?’ Robert stared at her aghast. ‘You can’t even swim.’
‘I was in a shallow pool when Rufus came upon me, purely by accident. I hadn’t realised there was danger and he helped me out of the water.’
‘Hussy!’ Jane spat the word at her. ‘I knew you weren’t wearing any undergarments. You should be ashamed of yourself.’
‘Forgive me, ma’am, but this isn’t about me. The fact that your son was hit by stray shotgun pellets was an accident.’
Jane rose to her feet. ‘I’m going to see my boy. You will wait here with your father. I haven’t finished with you, miss.’ She stalked out of the room, leaving the door to close slowly in her wake.
Nettie eyed her father warily. ‘Really, Pa, it had nothing to do with me.’
Robert moved swiftly to a side table and picked up a cut-glass decanter. He poured the amber liquid into two small glasses and handed one to Nettie. ‘I know that, dear. It sounds like a fuss over nothing, apart from young Norwood getting shot – but that wasn’t your fault.’
Nettie sipped the sherry. ‘Mrs Norwood thinks I’m after her precious son, but that’s not true.’
‘She is the most difficult sitter I’ve ever had. She twists this way and that, and she talks incessantly about nothing in particular. I think longingly of those golden days in the castle when I was painting Lisette’s portrait. It was a shocking thing to have to leave it behind.’
‘I know, Pa. We’ve had hellish bad luck since we left London. I just hope we can settle down again safely when we return.’
Robert downed his drink in one and refilled his glass. ‘I can’t complain, my love. I’m being well looked after here. I’ll say this for Maurice, he’s a good host and we get on well together, but I don’t know how he stands that woman. And yet,’ he added thoughtfully, ‘he seems devoted to her. People are very strange.’
Nettie was about to answer when the door opened and Maurice strode into the room. ‘The doctor’s away delivering a baby in the next village. He might be gone all night.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ Robert said earnestly. ‘Is there anything we can do?’
‘My lady wife is distraught, and demanding that something must be done, but I’m at a loss.’
‘The wounds should be cleaned,’ Nettie said slowly. ‘And I should think the shot needs to be removed as soon as possible.’
‘Good girl. That’s sensible.’ Maurice grabbed a decanter and a glass. ‘My boy will need a few tots of brandy to dull the pain. Come with me, missy.’
‘Me?’ Nettie stared at him in horror. ‘I’m not a nurse. I don’t know what to do.’
‘You just told me what must be done. You’ll need hot water, cloths, bandages and an instrument of some kind that will extract the pellets, and carbolic soap to clean the wounds. I’ll send the maid to fetch what you need.’
‘Tweezers,’ Nettie said faintly. ‘They might do the trick. Perhaps Mrs Norwood has some.’
‘Good Lord, I don’t know about such things. You’ll have to ask her.’
‘The condesa has all manner of things to do with her appearance. I’ll go and ask her.’
‘No. You must come with me,’ Maurice said firmly. ‘Robert, will you see if the good lady can help? And hurry, please.’
‘Of course. Delighted to do something useful.’ Robert drained his glass and set it down on the table. ‘I’ll be as quick as I can.’
‘Come with me, Nettie.’ Maurice hurried to open the door.
It took all Maurice’s powers of persuasion to make his wife allow Nettie to attend to Rufus’s wounds. The patient himself had been given a hefty dose of laudanum, and was lying on his bed with a glass of brandy in his hand, and a wry smile on his face.
‘You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?’ Nettie said in a low voice as his mother was tearfully ejected from the room.
‘No one has made such a fuss of me since I broke my arm falling out of a tree. I was ten at the time and you’d think I’d broken my silly neck the way Mama carried on.’
Nettie dipped a cloth in a bowl of warm water and applied a little of the strong-smelling soap. ‘This might hurt, but I have to clean the wounds.’
He took another sip of his drink. ‘Go ahead. I’m sure you’ll enjoy inflicting pain on me.’
‘I need a steady hand – don’t make me laugh.’ Nettie bent her head over her work, using gentle strokes to wash away the dried blood. His upper arm was peppered with shot, but he had been quite a distance from the hunter and, as far as she could see, the pellets were not too deeply embedded. She looked up and met his gaze squarely. ‘Wouldn’t you rather wait for the doctor? I’ve never done this before.’
‘I won’t feel a thing,’ Rufus said cheerfully.
‘I wouldn’t count on that if I were you.’ Nettie washed the tweezers in carbolic soap and dried them on a clean cloth. ‘Just say if it’s too much to bear and I’ll stop.’
‘Can we get this over and done with, please? I promise not to make a fuss.’
Nettie concentrated on the task in hand. The first few pellets came out easily and Rufus did not utter a sound, but she found that more disconcerting than if he had cried out, and she kept looking up to make sure he had not fainted from the pain. Each time he managed a smile, but there were lines etched on either side of his mouth, and, when having to dig deeper, she felt his body tense.
‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured. ‘There are only a few more.’
Maurice handed his son another glass of brandy. ‘Drink up, son. This will deaden the pain.’
‘Thanks, Pa, but it’s all right.’ Rufus winced as Nettie probed for yet another piece of shot. ‘One thing is for certain, now I know how much it hurts I’ll never go out shooting rabbits again.’
‘I agree,’ Nettie said earnestly. ‘We’ll live on bread and vegetables from now on, or maybe a few fish, and I’ll keep away from the river.’
Maurice patted Nettie on the back. ‘You’re doing a splendid job, my girl. You and your friends will eat with us every night from now on.’
‘I don’t think your other workers would appreciate that, sir.’
‘I don’t give a damn what they think or don’t think. It’s my business and Rufus is my son and heir. You might have saved his life tonight, young lady. You will be repaid in kind, and treated as respected guests.’
‘Please don’t go to any trouble on our account, although a few handouts from the kitchen would be most welcome – just to tide us over until we’ve learned how to look after ourselves, you understand. We’re grateful for the work, sir.’
‘All right, but I’ll double your hourly rate – that should make things easier for you.’
‘Well said, Pa.’ Rufus winced as Nettie extracted the last pellet.
She washed the wounds again, patted them dry and applied the bandages. ‘There you are. All done.’
‘I’ll have that brandy now, Pa.’ Rufus raised himself on his good
arm. ‘Thank you, Nettie. You’ve done a splendid job. You should be a nurse.’
She smiled. ‘That’s the brandy talking. You won’t be so complimentary when the effect wears off.’
‘Well done, young lady.’ Maurice patted her on the back. ‘And you need to sleep, son. You’ve had a shock and you’ll remain in bed until the doctor’s seen you in the morning.’
‘I’m not a child, Pa,’ Rufus said wearily. ‘I’ll rest for a while, but then I’m getting up. I want to find the person who’s going round taking pot shots.’
‘You’ll stay in bed even if I have to lock the door.’ Maurice reached out to smooth a stray strand of hair from his son’s forehead. ‘You might still come down with a fever, so you’ll do as you’re told.’
Rufus pulled a face, lay back and closed his eyes. ‘I’m twenty-two, Pa.’
‘And I’m your father. What I say goes.’ Maurice shooed Nettie from the room, closing the door behind them. ‘You did very well, Nettie. Thank you.’
‘I hope he’ll be all right, sir. I can’t help feeling responsible. If I hadn’t gone in the river this might not have happened.’
‘The fault is with the person who doesn’t know how to handle a shotgun. I’ll have the perpetrator up before the magistrate, if he’s caught. Anyway, you look a bit pale, my dear. Come downstairs and have a tot of something to ward off the chill, and then I’ll see you safely back to your hut.’
They reached the entrance hall in time to see the maid open the front door and Percy entered, dragging a youth by the scruff of the neck. He gave the boy a shove that sent him sprawling on the floor at Maurice’s feet.
‘What’s this?’ Maurice demanded.
‘Tell Mr Norwood what you did,’ Percy said angrily. ‘I caught this fellow red-handed. The shotgun belonged to his father, who claimed he didn’t know the boy had taken it.’
‘What’s your name?’ Maurice glared at the youth, who was cowering at his feet.
‘Billy Coggins, sir. I never meant to shoot no one, sir.’
‘He’s just a boy,’ Nettie said hastily. ‘I’m sure it was an accident, Mr Norwood.’
Billy nodded. ‘It were an accident – that’s the truth, sir.’
‘What’s going on?’ Jane Norwood emerged from the drawing room, followed by Robert. ‘Who is this urchin?’
‘There’s no need to concern yourself, my love,’ Maurice said hastily. ‘I have the matter in hand.’
Jane pointed a trembling finger at the culprit. ‘He’s the one, isn’t he? He’s the young villain who nearly killed our son.’
‘I never meant to hurt no one, ma’am.’ Billy buried his face in his hands and sobs shook his body. ‘Me dad will kill me.’
‘That would serve you right,’ Jane snapped. ‘Send for the constable, Maurice. Have this lout arrested and thrown in prison.’
‘He’s very young, Mr Norwood,’ Nettie said firmly. ‘It really was an accident, and Rufus will recover in a day or two.’
Jane rounded on her. ‘Keep out of this, miss. I suggest you return to your quarters, where you belong.’
Robert cleared his throat. ‘Ahem, might I make a suggestion, Mrs Norwood?’
‘Well, what is it?’ Jane eyed him suspiciously. ‘Say what you have to say.’
‘As my daughter said, the boy didn’t shoot your son on purpose. I’ve no doubt that he’ll be in trouble with his father and the rest of his family.’
‘Sack them all,’ Jane cried passionately. ‘We don’t need ruffians like that creature on our land.’
Billy wiped his eyes on his sleeve. ‘Please, missis, don’t throw us out. We need the money.’
She bridled, eyeing him with a tight-lipped scowl. ‘You should have thought about that before you shot my son.’
‘The boy has a point,’ Maurice said slowly. ‘His family need the money and we need to get the harvest in. What’s your father’s name, boy?’
‘Harry Coggins, sir.’
Maurice nodded. ‘I know him. He’s a good man and his family have been coming here for years. Get up, Billy. We’ll let your father decide the punishment, since you took his gun without his permission.’
‘He’ll skin me alive, sir.’
‘Very likely, and no less than you deserve. Firearms are to be treated with respect.’ Maurice beckoned to Percy. ‘You will see Nettie safely back to the hut, and I’ll take this fellow to his father. If I know Coggins he’ll be more severe than any magistrate, and the boy will have a lesson he won’t forget.’
‘I think you’re being too soft on him. A spell in prison would do him the world of good,’ Jane said angrily. She turned to Robert with an attempt at a smile. ‘Pour me a glass of sherry wine, Mr Carroll. I feel I need sustenance after all this upset.’
‘I think you’d better instruct your maid to wait on you, ma’am,’ Robert said slowly. ‘I’m done with being your lackey.’
Maurice stared at him in surprise. ‘What did you say?’
‘Pa is upset.’ Nettie had seen the stubborn set of her father’s jaw many times in the past. He was slow to anger, but she could see that he was silently fuming.
‘Yes, Nettie. I am upset. I have seen a side of Mrs Norwood that I cannot condone. What’s more, I don’t wish to continue with our sittings. I’m sorry, Norwood, you’re a decent fellow, but all things considered, and the fact that my daughter might well have been the victim this evening, I think our time here is at an end.’
‘What are you doing, Pa?’
‘I’m coming with you, my dear. My place is with you and my friends in the hut. We’ll be leaving tomorrow.’
Chapter Seventeen
Nothing that Maurice could say would change Robert’s mind.
‘But the portrait,’ Maurice said when all else had failed. ‘You can’t walk away and leave it unfinished, Robert. It’s such a splendid likeness.’
Nettie stood by the open door, breathing in the cool night air. The chance meeting with Rufus in Dover had brought them here, but the prospect of leaving so abruptly was disturbing. She crossed her fingers, hoping that her father’s professional pride might come to the fore, but he shook his head.
‘I’ve put up with your wife’s carping and criticism for days, Maurice. You’re a decent fellow and you’ve been good to us, but the time has come to move on. I should never have accepted the commission in the first place.’
‘Are you going to stand there and let him insult me, Maury?’ Jane cried, mopping her eyes with her hanky. ‘Let them go and good riddance.’
‘Can I go, too, guv?’ Billy pleaded. ‘I promise never to touch me dad’s gun again.’
Maurice fixed him with a menacing look. ‘You deserve a beating, but that’s up to Coggins.’ He signalled to Percy, who was standing beside Nettie. ‘Get him out of my sight and take him back to his hut. Tell Coggins what happened and let that be an end to the matter.’
‘That goes for us, too. I’ll sleep with my friends on our last night here.’ Robert crossed the floor, ignoring the accusations that Jane hurled at him. He hesitated in the doorway. ‘On second thoughts, I will honour my commitment. I’ll take the canvas with me. I can finish it without any more sittings, and I’ll return it to you when it’s finished.’
‘If you think my husband will pay you after what you’ve just said, you’re very much mistaken,’ Jane cried angrily.
‘There will be no charge,’ Robert said calmly. ‘Never let it be said that Robert Carroll is not a gentleman. Consider it as payment for my board and lodging.’
Maurice walked over to them with a measured tread. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a leather pouch. ‘I’m sorry to lose you, Robert, and I’m grateful to your girl for looking after Rufus. Take this as payment for the work your friends did in the hop garden. I may not be a gentleman, but I’m a man of honour and I pay my debts.’ He thrust the pouch into Nettie’s hand and went to comfort his wife.
They left next morning, setting off on foot. Nettie had expected Lisette and Co
nstance to protest, but the fact that they would not have to spend the day stripping hop bines seemed to outweigh their reluctance to walk to the nearest railway station. Byron and Percy carried the heaviest cases, and Robert strode on ahead with the half-finished portrait clutched in one hand, and his bag of paints in the other. Nettie was left in charge of her father’s small valise as well as her own, and she was thankful that they had been forced to travel light.
They had reached the brewery, which was about half a mile from the big house, when they were overtaken by the Norwoods’ carriage and the coachman drew the pair of horses to a halt. He leaned over and beckoned to them.
‘Mr Rufus sent word that I was to take you to the railway station.’ He climbed down and opened the carriage door.
‘That was very civil of him.’ Robert helped Lisette in first, followed by Constance, leaving Nettie to the last. She found herself squashed against the squabs, seated opposite her father and Percy, while Byron opted to ride on the box with the coachman.
‘Well, this is jolly,’ Constance said brightly. ‘I wasn’t looking forward to a long walk.’
‘It was kind of the young man to think of us,’ Lisette added. ‘But I, for one, am delighted to be away from that place. My hands are ruined, and I long for a hot bath with scented soap and soft towels.’
‘I hope Rufus is feeling better,’ Nettie murmured, more to herself than to the other occupants of the carriage.
Percy gave her a sympathetic smile. ‘It was lucky for him that you knew what to do. He’s a good chap, but I don’t suppose I’ll see him again after what happened last night.’
‘The shooting wasn’t Nettie’s fault,’ Constance said sharply. ‘Now, if I’d turned a gun on Duke that would have been different. I would have intended to kill him.’
Percy reached out to take her hand in his. ‘You have me to protect you now, querida.’
Lisette yawned, as if bored with the conversation. ‘I, for one, am grateful to you, Robert. You certainly put that creature Jane Norwood in her place.’
‘I don’t know how I managed to hold my tongue during the sittings,’ Robert said, sighing. ‘She was difficult from the start – always wanting to jump up and see how far I’d got, and grumbling that she was stiff, or cold or simply bored.’