The Governor's Ladies

by Lake, Deryn

  At six o’clock, shaved and washed and in dress uniform he went downstairs to find that Lord Rupert had already arrived, and was sitting in the library sipping a sherry. Judging by the brightness of his cheeks in an otherwise pallid face, Tom took a guess that the young man had been at the bottle ever since he had last seen him a few hours ago.

  “My dear Sir,” he said, rising as the Governor entered the room. “What a pleasure. At least we can still snatch at some vestige of civilisation in the midst of all this turmoil.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Tom answered, somewhat over-heartily, thinking to himself that he ought to try and not drink a lot.

  “A sherry, Sir?” asked Rupert brightly, as if he were the host. “Thank you.” And the Governor sat down.

  Rupert took a chair opposite his, drawing it fractionally closer. “Well, it’s farewell to Mrs. Gage,” he said. Then without waiting for a reply continued, “Tell me your emotions as you saw the ship set sail.”

  “I was sorry to see my wife and daughter leave,” Tom said carefully, “but it was better for them that they did.”

  “Quite so. And now you’re going to be alone in Province House.”

  “Hardly that. There are the slaves in residence, for a start. And to add to that this is also military headquarters.”

  “Indeed, yes,” said Rupert, downing his drink and pouring himself another one without first obtaining permission. “But it occurs to me that you might be lonely. That you might crave some company occasionally.”

  Tom had a sudden dread feeling that he knew where this conversation was heading. Rupert was going to offer himself as a lodger. A terrible thought. Fond of the man as he was, he had no wish to have him under his roof.

  “I have enough companionship, Rupert, truly. Quite honestly, when they are all gone I am perfectly content with my own company.”

  “But how do you know that? You haven’t been on your own so far.”

  “Margaret and I lived reasonably separate lives. A situation forced on us by circumstance. I know that we appeared as a couple before the world. But, believe me, we saw little of each other.”

  At that moment Robin appeared. “Dinner is served, Excellency.”

  “Very good,” Tom answered, thinking that the interruption had indeed been fortuitous. “Shall we go in?”

  Throughout the meal, of which Rupert ate little, a feeling of tension began to build, though why the Governor had no idea. Rupert drank copiously, Tom hardly at all. And the more he drank, the more he talked: about life, literature, anything but the realities of the situation in which they were all currently involved. The Governor found himself surreptitiously drawing his watch from within his coat and examining it, wishing to heavens that Rupert would go home and sleep it off. But almost as if he were compelled to do so, Lord Rupert joined Tom in the library for port.

  “Do you mind if I take off my coat?” he asked, and promptly removed it without consent.

  Tom stared at him, then gave an obvious yawn. “Don’t think me rude, old fellow, but I really must be making a move to bed. It’s been a long day.”

  There was a long pause, then Rupert said quietly, “Would you like me to come with you?”

  Tom answered rather stupidly, “What?”

  At this Rupert flung himself out of his chair, landing on his knees at the Governor’s feet. “Take me to bed with you. Please. You know it’s what I want.” Then, reaching up, he pulled Tom’s face down and kissed him as passionately as any woman.

  Even while he was thinking what he should do, part of the Governor’s brain told him that to knock Rupert senseless would be to lose a good and useful ally. Yet his instinct was to throw him as far away as he possibly could. Denying this, he raised his hands and gently but firmly dislodged Rupert from his fervent embrace.

  “My friend,” he said, “I have a woman who means a great deal to me.

  The tears which had been inevitable, now burst forth in a torrent. “I’m sorry,” Rupert gasped. “I’m so sorry. It was the drink talking.”

  “No,” answered Tom, rising from his chair and gently placing Rupert back in his, “I imagine it was your feelings which spoke. But, my dear old chap, I am not that way inclined. I am not interested in that form of sex. As I told you, I have fallen in love with a woman who is currently expecting my child.”

  Rupert sobbed uncontrollably. “Forgive me, please. Everything has been too much to bear recently.”

  “I know, I know,” Tom answered soothingly. “Now, you collect yourself together and I’ll get Andrew to take you home.”

  “I can’t apologise enough.”

  “Think nothing of it.”

  Rupert wiped his eyes with a white handkerchief. “Tom…”

  “Yes?”

  “I may as well say it, now that the truth is out. I love you. I have always loved you, right from the time we met in that stagecoach going to New York. Of course I’ve had other affairs, I am human after all, even though it is your idea of corruption. But know that I would do anything for you. Anything at all. You have only to ask.”

  Despite the memory of the kiss, which still burnt his lips with a strange and cruel sting, Tom was touched by what he had just heard.

  “Thank you. I might do that one day.”

  Rupert’s expression became earnest. “I just wish you would, Tom. I await the moment.”

  “Now, are you ready to leave? I really need to go to bed – alone.”

  “Of course.” Rupert stood up, tottering slightly.

  Tom rang a bell. “Tell Andrew to harness up the chaise. Lord Rupert is going home.”

  Robin ran his eves over Rupert’s dishevelled figure. “Yassir.”

  “Straight away, Robin.”

  “Yassir, Master Governor. Immediately.”

  *

  It was too late to see Sara, Tom thought, looking at his watch. Feeling more disturbed by Rupert’s advances than he cared to admit, he climbed up to the master bedroom and got into the big bed. Margaret’s perfume had pervaded the bedcover and the Governor, closing his eyes, tried to picture her as she settled down in her small cabin for the night. He prayed then that she and Charlotte would get back to England safely, that the Charming Nancy would not run into any difficulties on her perilous voyage across the seas. Then he fell asleep and dreamed that he had welcomed Rupert’s kisses and that the outcome of the evening had been different indeed.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  August, 1775

  It was the sound of Sara’s laughter that struck Tom to the heart as he approached the little house at the end of the alley. He thought that it had been a while since he had heard her laugh like that, quite wild and free and full of fun. The very noise made him want to join in and he knocked at her door feeling more hopeful than he had for a long time.

  It was answered by Calico Joel and over his shoulder Tom could glimpse Sara sitting in her bath chair, which had been custom-built by one of the few master carpenters left in Boston. This man had had the thought of putting wheels at the side so that the occupant could move themselves around. And this was what Sara had been doing – in fact still was – as the front door opened and Tom looked inside.

  She turned her head on hearing him. “Oh, Tom, look! I’m mobile. I can wheel myself about.”

  “Sara, how wonderful. When did the chair arrive?”

  “Three days ago. I been practising.”

  “I’m so pleased. I shall go and pay the carpenter straight away.” Her face fell as she misunderstood. “Oh, don’t go so soon. I ain’t seen nothing of you.”

  “My darling, I’m not going now. I can stay for an hour, I promise you.”

  It was August, 1775, six weeks after the debacle of Bunker Hill, and Gage was now deep in conference with his fellow officers about the advisability of leaving Boston and setting up military headquarters in New York. It seemed to him to be the only proper base from which to re-establish British power in the Colonies, and most of the others agreed. However, they had decided to ask t
he Cabinet in London for permission to put the scheme into action. So he had written to the Earl of Dartmouth and was currently awaiting a reply.

  But now he was with Sara, and she was laughing again, and the world felt a happier place for a brief while.

  He took her hand and said, “How have you been, sweetheart?”

  “I’ve been well, Sir. And the child is getting bigger. Feel it now. It’s moving.”

  Tom put his hand on her abdomen and beneath it felt the rise and fall of an independent life. He couldn’t help himself but smile with pure pleasure.

  “It pleases you, doesn’t it? Why, when you have other children?”

  “Because this is yours and mine. We made him – or her. I hope it looks like you, not me, incidentally”

  She pulled a face at him and looked round to see whether Calico Joel was listening. But the scout had gone, leaving the house as silently as ever, moving quietly as a shadow. Seeing that they were alone, Tom leaned over and kissed her. She put her arms round his neck and kissed him in return.

  “Oh Sara, I’ve missed you so much,” the Governor said quietly.

  “I hate it when you don’t come to see me.”

  “Listen, there’s a plan afoot to move headquarters to New York. If so, I shall take you with me. I want to be with you when the child is born. Whatever happens, we mustn’t be separated.”

  Sara smiled. “And will you introduce me to your fellow officers?” Then before he could answer, said, “I wouldn’t expect you to. I come from a humble background and am more than aware of it. But I’ll happily go with you. What life would I have without you?”

  For answer he picked her up and carried her to the bed and lay down beside her.

  “I could sleep,” he said.

  “Then why don’t you?”

  “Because you’re lying next to me,” he answered, and kicked off his boots.

  It was as it always was between them, fiercely sweet and tender. Tom did his best not to hurt the girl but she, moving as best she could, would not allow him to hold back. So instead he plunged into a world of beauty and ecstasy, and by controlling himself as best he could, brought Sara to completion just before he came himself.

  Afterwards they lay close together, staring at one another, sleeping a little, laughing as he traced the lines of her beautiful face with his forefinger.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “What about Mrs. Gage? Did you love her?”

  “I did, certainly.”

  “And now?”

  “Despite all she did, I am still fond of her.”

  “What did she do, Tom?”

  “Something bad which I prefer to keep to myself.”

  “Very good, Master.”

  Tom looked at her suspiciously but knew from her smile that she was teasing him.

  “What shall we call the child?” she asked. “Thomas?”

  “No, I have a son of that name. Besides, it may be a girl.”

  “So can I choose?”

  “Of course you can, sweetheart.”

  “Then I shall call him Jasper for my father, or Jemima for my mother, if you think those names suitable.”

  “They are beautiful names, both of them.”

  “Then it is settled,” said Sara, and slept in Tom Gage’s arms.

  *

  Ever since he had written to London to tell them of the massacre of British troops at Bunker Hill, he had, deep within himself, felt the strong conviction that the Cabinet would take punitive measures against him. The more he thought about it the more sure Tom became. Yet he knew that his conscience was clear. That he had done his best in an ever-worsening situation. Yet he wondered now whether his reports to London had been too honest. He had told them fairly and squarely of the dire losses his army had suffered, had urged the Cabinet to send out additional troops, and implied that the major reason for his lack of achievement in Boston was London’s constant ignoring of his warnings. He had played straight with them. None the less, the Governor feared the worst.

  Meanwhile, the food situation grew worse, fresh meat being exceedingly scarce and reserved for the wounded. The poor diet and the over-crowding led to disease spreading – and also to Gage’s unpopularity amongst the rank and file. No man could have been more wretched or unhappy with his life than Tom was at this time. If it hadn’t been for the fact of Sara and her coming child, he might seriously have considered shooting himself.

  He discussed the situation with the Earl, one of the few people who remained loyal to him.

  “I think my time is drawing to a close, Hugh.”

  “What do you mean, Sir?”

  “I believe I am going to be recalled to England. They need a scapegoat to lay the blame upon and I am the obvious target.”

  “But they can’t do that.”

  “Oh yes they can. Mark my words, when the next boat from home arrives it will bear my orders to return.”

  Hugh had given Tom one of his sideways glances. “I hope you are wrong, Sir.”

  “Wait and see,” the Governor answered with an air of finality.

  Then, at the end of September, his worst nightmare became reality. On the 26th HMS Scarborough sailed into Boston harbour with sealed orders for Gage. They were that he should return to London as promptly as possible. Opening the letter alone in his study, the Governor put his head in his hands. The axe had fallen just as he had known it would.

  He felt at that moment that he had two alternatives: to get blindingly drunk or go to see Sara and hear her opinion of the matter. He chose the latter and going to the stables, put the horse that pulled the chaise into the traces. Driving through the town, realising that soon this would be the last time he would see the place, Tom felt close to tears.

  Tonight the slave girl had a lovely bloom about her face. She was in the fifth month of her pregnancy and the Governor had to admit that the state became her. He thought that he had never seen her look more attractive and wondered, yet again, about the girl’s ancestry. Could her grandmother have been of noble birth by any chance? A high-born creature forced into a life of prostitution in order to eat.

  Staring at her, he said, “I have never seen you more beautiful.”

  She sighed. “Even in my wheelchair?”

  “Even in that. Sweetheart, do you detest the thing?”

  “Yes, I do. But Calico Joel is trying to make me walk again, an ancient cure used by the Indians. So maybe I will some day.”

  It was heart-rending to see her lovely face so earnest and sincere when Tom knew full well that such a thing was not possible. Yet he had a certain faith in the Indian’s powers. But now the orders from London meant that she was going to be deprived of that help, that is if she agreed to go with him to England.

  “I see. But listen to me. I have been ordered back to England and I shall be leaving in the next few days. Sara, I want you to accompany me. I will set you up in a house in London and I can spend as much time with you as possible. You said you would go to New York but now that has all changed. Sweetheart, I am asking you to come with me and live as my mistress.”

  She stared at him. “Oh Tom, is what you are saying true?”

  “Perfectly. I received my orders today. My time here is up.”

  “But how can I go with you?”

  “Very easily. We shall board a ship and sail away together.”

  “I didn’t mean that. I meant how can I leave my native land?”

  Tom’s highly charged emotional state suddenly exploded. “You call this place that? Your native land! What have the Colonies done for you or for your parents? You were born a slave, as was your father. Your mother became a plantation child against her will. You owe the place nothing. Nothing at all.”

  “But Tom, I was born in this country. I know nothing else. I am a Yankee when all is said and done.”

  “A Yankee, a colonist!” he repeated bitterly. “Oh, my girl, how can you be so naive?”

  “Because it is true,” she answered with dignity. �
��I love you but I also honour my country. And because of that honour I must refuse your invitation to accompany you to London. I shall stay here and let my child be born an American.”

  “Oh, Sara. I’m begging you. Come with me please.”

  “No, my friend. I knew that one day we would have to part and now that day has come. I shall write to you – my writing is much better, thanks to your efforts – and tell you all about the baby. But go with you I cannot.”

  The Governor turned away from her and wept bitterly, feeling that her rejection of him was personal. Then her arms came out and folded themselves round his waist.

  “Oh, Sir, please don’t cry. I truly want to come with you but I just can’t. Surely you understand.”

  With a mighty effort, Tom controlled himself, wiping his eyes and blowing his nose before turning to face her.

  “Sara, I admire your loyalty but, believe me, it is false. I am offering you the chance of a lifetime but you refuse it. So you leave me with no alternative. I shall depart alone. But I will make every effort to see that you are cared for in my absence.”

  It was her turn to cry. “Oh, Master Governor, you are so kind and good. I cannot bear it that you are going to leave me.”

  “Then come with me.”

  She shook her head dumbly. “Don’t ask it of me.”

  “Very well. You have made your choice. I shall come and see you once more before I go. Goodbye, Sara.”

  And with that he turned on his heel and walked out into the night, all feeling dying inside him.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  October, 1775

  Quietly, without complaining, Gage set himself the task of packing up. All his papers were placed in white pine boxes, his personal goods in chests, his private effects in trunks. He conferred with Sir William Howe, the man who had led the forces at Bunker Hill, who was to replace him, and gave him as much instruction as he thought wise. Then, before he left, he sent for Lord Rupert Germain, who had been hiding away ever since the night when he had confessed his love. However, he need not have been afraid for Tom held out his hand as soon as Rupert entered the room.