She would become the butt of public disgrace, and that in newspapers that were distributed throughout the whole country, for if the people who printed them claimed high moral values they would sink to the gutter in a trice for a salacious story of marital infidelity. There would, no doubt, be some artist only too happy to do a very accurate pen and ink likeness and he would not put it past Dundas to distribute pamphlets so the chances of escaping ridicule wherever she went were slim.
The threat of Newgate he had to think was real; again, Dundas was not a bluffer and it would be his word against that of a minister in high office. Even if he talked of what he knew, the experience of the Government, which he had observed his father having to fight, was plain: when they decided to play dirty they did so very seriously indeed. Adam Pearce had never been able to get anything he wrote published in the newspapers, or make a case for his freedom of speech, the very simple reason being that men of power had no trouble making it plain to the editors and proprietors that there was a line they must tow if they wanted to be on good terms with Downing Street.
Oddly, Pearce suspected if he put the case to Emily, despite her fears, she would probably tell him to resist. It was part of what made him love her, that part of her personality that he had first observed when she had stood up to her husband over punishing him and had then, when she found out that he was a both a tyrant and a liar, caused her to move from his cabin to Heinrich Lutyens’ hospital in Toulon. Emily Barclay had a rod of steel in her, added to an innate kindness to go with her outstanding beauty. In short, he was a lucky man and he would not do anything to see her unhappy, and if that meant acceding to the recent request, so be it.
Sailing to the Mediterranean was not all bad for by the time he arrived the high summer heat would have faded to something very pleasant. Toby Burns was there and so, as far as he knew, were the other people with whom Lucknor had corresponded. It was a chance for him to gather evidence of his own, facts which would further enhance his ability to silence Ralph Barclay and truly cow him, for he had in mind something he had not dared even mention to her, the notion of launching a parliamentary bill for divorce. That it was hard, going on impossible, to get such a dispensation was no reason not to try.
Turning his mind to the proposed mission he was not sure that an armed cutter like HMS Larcher, being cramped, was a vessel for such a long voyage. She had been built for inshore work and even the trip to the Ile de Noirmoutier had taxed her ability to carry enough stores to cover for unforeseen eventualities like being held back by foul weather. Mentally he began to calculate what would be required to facilitate a voyage to Gibraltar, where he would be able to revictual, then from there to where the papers told him Hood was, off the northern tip of Corsica.
Lord, he thought, it is so cramped too, that tiny cabin, and that set off another train of thought. It was the sound of Pearce laughing that brought Dundas back and he looked as if he thought him deranged.
‘You have your post boy, Dundas, so prepare your communications and let me know when to collect them.’
‘I am curious to know what made you change your mind?’
‘Certainly you are, but you will never know and I suspect never guess. Now I bid you good day, I have other matters requiring my attention.’
A few miles away, in the City of London, Denby Carruthers was closeted with the Tolland brothers and demanding to know how they had got themselves into such a bind. If the explanation he received was not the entire truth, it was plain that they had put a private matter of retribution against this fellow called John Pearce ahead of what he saw as their duty, which was to get back to their trade and begin to repay his investment, a point he made forcibly.
‘I will not let it rest for all time, Mr Carruthers,’ Jahleel said, which had Franklin nodding too and vigorously. ‘I will have that fellow’s blood, but I see I must set it aside for a while until you and we are in profit and you know you have chosen well.’
‘Of course I must deduct the cost of your freedom from our first transaction.’ Seeing the elder Tolland’s eyes narrow, Carruthers added quickly, ‘Unless it imposes a burden, in which case it can wait until payment does not sting.’
‘Fair enough, but one request, and I promise not to act on it without you being informed. We need an eye kept on the Pearce fellow and we need to know that when the time comes we can gift to him what he has coming his way.’
‘Which is?’
It was Franklin who ran a finger over his throat, then said, ‘And this time we will not stop to talk. The time for that is past.’
The alderman’s next words were tentative, for he had just been informed that the notion of committing murder was not one to trouble these two before him. It had not been something about which he had harboured much doubt but there was a great deal to be said for outright confirmation.
‘I do have in mind another way to settle that debt and perhaps even add to it a payment.’ Denby paused for a couple of seconds then added, ‘A substantial payment.’
‘How so?’
‘If I were to say that I have certain people who trouble me, as much as this Pearce fellow seems to trouble you, people whose removal would add to my contentment, I am wondering if I could engage your services to rid me of them?’
Jahleel Tolland just shrugged.
‘That is good and I will bear it in mind. Now, when can you take possession of the ship I have purchased and when can we set sail?’
‘We?’
‘Yes. You cannot fill its holds without you spend money, my money, and it is a habit of mine when that happens for me to be present.’
‘This is not a game, Alderman, we deal with some right hard bargains and suspicious as hell with it.’
‘Then I shall look to you to protect me and our investment. I ask again, when can we begin?’
‘Got to gather a crew first. Can’t sail a ship without we have hands to man the barky.’
Carruthers frowned. ‘How long will that take?’
Jahleel laughed. ‘No time at all, Mr Carruthers, the coast is teeming with those willing to do the work, men who know how to hand, reef and steer and never be taken up by the press neither.’
‘A week at most,’ Franklin added.
‘Then I suggest today is a good day to begin looking.’
‘That I agree to, but it would be best we look over what you have purchased first.’
The scraping of chairs had Isaac Lavery scooting back to his high desk and by the time the door opened he was over his quill and scratching away. He had not heard everything, only those words made plain when voices had been slightly raised, which left him wondering about this John Pearce fellow, for that name when first used had been near to a shout and accompanied by a loud slapping sound – he assumed a hand on the table. The name resonated, for he had been sent weeks past to visit the Strand offices of Edward Druce, his employer’s brother-in-law, to find out where that very fellow was serving.
‘Lavery, you are to remain here, do you understand, until I return. No errands.’
‘Certainly, sir, and can I say to where you have gone if anyone enquires?’
That got him a glare. ‘No, you cannot.’
With that Carruthers followed the Tollands out of the door.
‘Fishing in dangerous waters seems a strange expression to use Mr Lavery, are you sure it is the right one?’
Looking into the corn-blue eyes of Catherine Carruthers the clerk saw innocence mixed with naivety and it was to him a charming combination. This woman, trapped too young in an unsuitable marriage, could not even begin to make a true assessment of her husband’s nature even if she had shared his bedchamber. She saw him in the domestic setting and if that was strained through past indiscretions on her part, it was, nevertheless, conducted in a polite way. In his business dealings Denby Carruthers was very far from that and, now it seemed, not satisfied with the coups he regularly achieved in legitimate trade, he was about to dabble outside the law.
‘He is mixi
ng with some very strange people and of excessively low character.’
The nod, along with pursed lips, looked like sage acceptance; in truth, Catherine Carruthers could not care less what her husband got up to, outside his need to care for the upkeep of a style of living to which she had become accustomed, and if he got harmed in the process so be it. She listened to this grumbling regarding his activities only to ensnare Lavery to her true purpose, which was to find and reconnect with the man who filled her dreams, Cornelius Gherson, Lavery’s predecessor and the person who had so strained that domestic harmony.
‘It is good of you to keep me informed, Isaac, for it would never do that my husband should overreach himself.’
‘I will seek to ensure he does not and certainly forewarn you of any risk …’
The sentence was plainly unfinished and there was a fear then that he might call her Catherine, but thankfully the moment passed, that being a favour which would have to wait. Her task was to play the old fool, and each step in allowing him familiarities had to be carefully graded so as to avoid anything that might force her to reject him, a game in which she was well practised. Catherine Carruthers had been a precocious beauty and learnt very young how to use her gifts to gain her ends; nothing blinded a man, even a clever one, as much as sexual desire. Lavery would be no different, and if she handled matters correctly he would do her bidding. Having softened him up she could now proceed to the real question to which she required an answer.
‘How goes our search?’
‘I confess, not well.’
‘Then it must be stepped up, surely – widened.’
‘I fear your husband has laid constricts upon my ability to act on your behalf. I must seek his permission to do so.’
‘He has no idea of the nature of …?’
‘None.’
‘Then how are we to proceed?’
It was a bold step to take her hand, and a nervous one that did so, though the charge of electricity that ran through Isaac Lavery’s body was a thrill which he had never before experienced and he looked at Catherine Carruthers for a sign she had undergone the same, taking her frown as evidence that she had. Rationally explained to anyone with sense, his suit would have invoked hilarious laughter – he, of middling years, strained income and no great beauty, making love to a ravishing young woman, and a rich one? But in Lavery’s imaginings all things were possible and here, running up his arm, was proof positive. He had nothing to fear from Cornelius Gherson; if the fellow had held a place in her affections once it had been replaced now.
‘With caution, my dear lady, but proceed we must. I will find Gherson and deliver to him your concerns for his well-being.’
She had been tempted to withdraw her hand and show some displeasure, for which, she was sure he would react like a whipped dog. But in the end she let it rest in his fingers for, to find the man she loved meant everything, the man who would rescue her from her unhappy situation of being wife to a man far too old to understand her.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
‘A voyage to the Mediterranean?’ Emily asked, turning away so he could not see her face; was she troubled or pleased?
‘And aboard HMS Larcher, the very same vessel that I recently commanded. The crew are in the main splendid fellows and since I must go—’
‘Why must you?’
‘Let us say a combination of duty and a debt.’ Turning to face him she looked unconvinced as he added, ‘And since I fear to leave you alone in London, I wish you to accompany me.’
‘What?’
‘I cannot just leave you, Emily, for at sea I cannot protect you. We have already established that your husband will stop at nothing. Well, that might include abduction and incarceration, from which no force of law would be able to release you. Justice is iniquitous in the subject of matrimony and all the rights rest with the man. He could keep you chained in his cellar and nothing could be done short of violence to free you.’
‘I could go somewhere and wait.’
Not having mentioned Dundas’s threat – and he did not trust the man one inch – he felt the need to press. ‘Like Lymington, which is no different to any other town in the country and a damn sight better than most. A strange woman alone, you will be a subject of interest. What will you do for company, and will you be comfortable with the lies you have to tell, for people will probe?’
‘You are asking me to embark on a very bold step.’
‘I am asking for your companionship on voyage to and from the Mediterranean, to make life more bearable than separation, and you can depart in secrecy – no one will know you are aboard whom we do not wish to have that knowledge.’
She finally smiled; it was not acquiescence but a sign of a break in her resistance. ‘Run away to sea, as boys do in tales of adventure?’
‘Think of it in the nature of us getting to know each other.’ Pearce produced a wide grin then as he recalled how he had come to the thought originally; it had been none other than the notion of that little cabin and the propinquity its size would force on two occupants. ‘Which we will do even if disinclined, for the cabin we will occupy is so very tiny we will forever be in each other’s way, from which I for one will take great pleasure.’
That got a becoming blush. ‘Is it fitting, John?’
‘It’s a damn sight more discreet than taking a house in some out of the way place while I fret that you might be in danger.’
‘And when we get there you will have duties to perform.’
‘Only one, to deliver a private letter, and then it is a happy return.’ He could see the flaw and so could she – her presence would be known throughout the fleet as soon as he joined, so he came close and embraced her. ‘I will drop you in Leghorn, proceed on my mission, then sail back to collect you when it is complete.’
‘You have such freedom.’
‘I would like to see the fellow who could infringe on that.’
The knock at the door was this time anticipated and Pearce opened it to the hotel servant, who had come to grumble as well as respond to a summons.
‘That big Paddy of yours is in the stables a’sleeping on hay an’ snoring fit to wake Lucifer. There’s not a soul in the hotel willin’ to seek to rouse him, for he was threatenin’ to mince them when he barrelled in last night an’ he might have done them in if he had not passed out.’
‘Tell them that, when sober, he is a lamb.’
‘Never in life – wakin’ him is a task for you, sir.’
‘Very well, Didcot, I will see to it shortly. Now I wish someone to begin to pack my sea chest – Mrs Barclay’s trunks and valise too – to be ready for departure either tomorrow, or I think at the latest the day after.’
‘You is leaving, your honour?’
‘We are.’
‘An’ might I ask to where you is headed?’
‘I am off to sea gain, Didcot, but Mrs Barclay is going to King’s Lynn in Norfolk.’ The intimation that he had said too much was well performed as he dropped his voice. ‘But I would be obliged if you would keep that bit of knowledge to yourself. I’m sure I can trust you.’
‘Lips is sealed, your honour,’ Didcot responded, mentally rubbing his hands while in fact touching his forelock. ‘I shall see to it that all is clean afore it is packed away, an’ all.’
‘Good man,’ Pearce said, slipping him a coin.
Door closed behind him Emily began to shake with laughter, Pearce with a finger to his lips to insist she should not do so out loud lest Didcot hear her.
‘You are so sure he will let on?’ she asked, still not fully in control.
‘Near certain,’ Pearce replied, again keeping the Dundas business to himself, ‘and maybe I would be the same if I had his life. It may mean nothing, yet it may also send your husband on a wild goose chase if he seeks to find you. Now I must go and rouse out Michael and tell him we are off to sea again.’
If, when he woke, Michael had a sore head, he also had Celtic powers of recovery, aided by the swi
ft despatch of a tankard of ale, so that washed and shaved he looked to have no ill effects from his nocturnal debauch; his eyes were as bright and his grin as wide as ever. The day was spent in preparation, with the Irishman acting as escort and protector when Emily went shopping, carrying a small club, not so very different from a marling spike, inside his short blue coat. Pearce received from the Admiralty, by hand messenger, not only confirmation of the extension of his commission, but also the order and flag that would see him sail under their pennant, which precluded any other officer from impeding his passage all the way up to admirals.
With his papers he went to the Victualling Board to enquire as to where he could draw supplies for HMS Larcher, very little of which would be available at Buckler’s Hard. He departed Somerset House with a sum of money for purchases plus the written authority he required to draw on any naval stores at any dockyard en route, including Gibraltar. His last call was at Downing Street to pick up the communication he must carry and another bout of traded invective with Dundas, who seemed afire to know what he was going to do with his lassie.
‘I have told you twice now, it is none of your damned business.’
The man could not help himself; he had to show off and there was a lopsided smirk to go with it. ‘A nice quiet place in the county would suit, I hazard. I hear Norfolk is bonny at this time of year.’ Seeing the look that got, he added, ‘Oh, your secret’s safe with me, Pearce, but it does mean there’ll be no backsliding or finding reasons not to complete your task.’
‘Don’t you repose trust in anyone?’
‘Not many and certainly no one bearing your name, so put that letter in a weighted sack and if anything should happen to make you think it might fall into the wrong hands chuck it in to the briny. Until then, guard it with your life.’
A Sea of Troubles Page 20
