Scandal and Secrets Page 14

  “Perhaps it will, but I feel I can suffer it if I can regain my own purpose and freedom.”

  “To change what has been done?” He leaned back to release her and let one arm drop to his side. Did that mean she might be free to marry again? “You welcome the ending of your marriage?”

  “Yes, but please keep your arms about me. I feel stronger to face the future with all my friends’ support.”

  He stared into her eyes, just a faint shine in the lights from the dockside. “Ye do remember my words to you aboard the Medusa . . . on both occasions?”

  “Yes, and appreciated them more than I revealed. At the last time I was in no doubt that my marriage was solid. As we stand here I feel bound to it somewhat less. If it were not from the sanctity of my vows, even as they are questioned, we could speak our minds fully.”

  “I have always attempted to speak as forcefully as was proper in the circumstances, My Lady.”

  “Yes, and I appreciate that. But it is late and I had better leave before we do speak of something not proper. Good night, Sir, and please accompany me to the dockside.”

  “I will do better than that and find a midshipman to escort you.”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Injured Friends and Injured Pride

  The night was half over when Roberta arrived at the accommodation she had secured for her Stephenson employees. Tired as she was she slept but fitfully, with corpses and demons haunting her dreams and the French ironclad sailing to and fro as the backdrop to her troubled slumbers.

  The anchorage seemed deserted when she saw the river in the morning. Two gun-brigs had left, as well as Spiteful and the Regent, and the truth she learned from her visit to the hospital in the morning seemed as distressing as her night-time fantasies. Sixty officers and men killed outright and a like number fighting for their lives ashore, half of the entire complement. Captain Bell refused to leave his stricken ship except upon his own stumps, but with two legs blown off it seemed that his resolve merely ensured his demise.

  She and the First Lord spoke with all the wounded who were conscious and able to speak. It seemed to her that half of the recovering wounded had lost a limb and even then the smell of gangrenous flesh dominated in the wards. Surely she would have experienced horrors no worse aboard the crippled ship itself.

  She felt the greatest personal distress when she found her volunteer lady’s maid, Annie, attempting to nurse her husband in a corridor of the crowded hospital. He raised the stump of one arm when he saw her approach.

  “Tell this fool maid o’ mine ter ask fer her job back. She canna stay wi’ me. Who ever heard of a one-armed carpenter?”

  “This war has given Britain many such crippled warriors,” Roberta said. “The country must take care to look after those who gave it their service.”

  “Aye,” the man answered as they both looked at her. She could say little more, for she knew as well as they that once the peace was signed the memories of the rulers soon shortened, leaving most cripples to fend for themselves.

  “I will not forget you,” she said to Annie. “You must send me a letter to the Stephenson Yard.” She looked toward the crippled carpenter. “Your husband is welcomed of course, for even a yard like mine has need for timber, and no ship can be completed for sea without its furniture. We can employ you as a timber purchaser.” She badgered the nursing staff for a sheet of paper upon which to write her address in Clydebank.

  The First Lord rejoined her as she finished her visit. “Are you ready to come with us to the Admiralty, My Lady?”

  “If there is nothing I can do here. What do you wish of me, My Lord?”

  “I will have the clerks prepare you an itinerary when we reach London, but off-hand we need you to inspect the two yards on the Thames to tell them of Spiteful’s fight and provide advice and motivation for them to hurry their work. Lord knows we must have more ships commissioned soon if the French are progressed to venturing to sea.”

  “What of my work at Clydebank, My Lord? Lord Paulit tells me there is a new request for modifications to Antiochus.”

  “I will show you those details at the Admiralty. I am told they will only bear upon the later phase of construction.”

  Roberta looked at him with a mind full of scepticism but it would not do to utter any complaint until she had seen the new plans. All she knew for a fact was that every little change would delay the commissioning that they were so desperate to hasten.

  “I would also like you to go through Berkenhead on your way north to visit the Laird people and see their ship. They claim to be much closer to launching than is Antiochus.”

  “I do not doubt it, since they began with a complete ship that they could adapt.”

  “Mr. Holmes will go with you to strengthen their regard for your opinions. We really do not have any other experts able to evaluate their work.”

  After the frightful conversation with Elise, Lord Bond took a different attitude to Roberta’s letter querying the possibility of repeating their vows, should the Marquess succeed in annulling their marriage. She had probably meant her words to be taken seriously. He must go to her and end such thoughts in her heart, but in the circumstances it was a very difficult plan to follow through.

  He would have to get to England and back again before the Americans arrived, technically not impossible. There were records of royal messengers carrying vital dispatches reaching Switzerland from London in three days. Of course, that had been in peacetime and without the whole of the French Empire blocking the way. Then, such records had generally been one way journeys, and he would be looking to repeat the feat twice, and take time to speak to Roberta as well.

  He did not even know where to find her . . . at Chatham, in London, or in Scotland? Sir Cedric and the Admiral spoke forcibly against such an endeavour when he broached the matter of having a family problem to attend to. “You must rely upon your father to attend to such matters until you return,” Sir Cedric had said, not knowing that it was the actions of his father that had created the problem.

  He inquired about arranging for horses along the route, a difficult feat without assistance along the way to ensure that stable hands would have a fresh mount ready each time he made a new arrival. Then there was the matter of taking ship for England―he must go through Stralsund again, and there would be no guarantee of an available ship when he arrived.

  In the end, it was a relief when the Americans arrived early and put the whole matter to rest.

  The identities of the American peace commissioners did not please him. A politician called Henry Clay, who had been one of the most vocal proponents of the war in the first place; the son of an earlier president, John Quincy Adams, who had been ambassador to Russia when the Tsar had offered to broker an end to the war while London was not ready to negotiate; and then an American of Swiss ancestry who had been Secretary of the Treasury for some years and would surely be more useful helping Ambassador Crawford negotiate the French loan—if there was any possibility of receiving one.

  Of course, he would not be deeply involved in negotiating with them, merely ensuring the discussions were not spied upon by others. They had brought several secret agents with them as well as the amateur Paine, and his first task had been to coordinate their efforts to best satisfy the needs of both parties. He had decided not to include Madame Timmins at her Governess position in Bern as one of his team at the chateau―he might use her in the city to determine whether the Americans had more resources and assistants than they had declared.

  As an alternative to his race across Europe he sat down and penned a most temperate and loving letter to Roberta.

  My darling Wife.

  I did not realise how concerned you were that the Marquess may find success in his wicked attempt to separate those who the Almighty has joined together. I assure you that if he succeeds in his attack upon our lawful union the once, he will be unable to succeed again. The very fact of our repeating our vows will disarm him completely from attemptin
g a second assault.

  If you prefer, we might wait a few months before we have the banns read again and in the meantime live completely chastely as a betrothed couple while I become the most devoted swain the country has ever known and wait upon you constantly to convince you unreservedly of my suitability as a husband.

  I did not realise how much the strain would prove in our marrying just hours before entering into such dangers as were entailed in our intrusion into France. I assure you that all of my misdemeanours were brought on by my lack of thought for anything but the task of deceiving the French. I do not pretend that there were no actions of mine that gave you reason for very earnest deliberation of my capacity as your husband. That I am ashamed of my treatment of you does not encompass the extent of my utter humiliation.

  I have endeavoured to make a journey to see you since I arrived in Bern, but it could not be accomplished before the other side of our discussions arrived. I admit that it was nothing more than the prospect of losing you that had impelled my impossible attempt to leave my duties here undone in order to fly to your arms.

  While I write of these matters that keep me from you, I must confess to not informing you of the presence here of someone who may possibly alarm you greatly. Lord Liverpool’s Government had sent Herr van Ee and Madame Timmins as an advance party to secure our mission before I arrived in Stralsund. They are still with us in Bern, but I have assigned Madame Timmins to be our courier in the city while our deliberations and accommodation are in a chateau some few miles into the country. She is living with the family of the English Consul to the Canton of Bern as a governess named Miss Smith. I assure you that it would prove impossible for her to have access to me while we are here.

  He read his letter through and sat for a while contemplating it. It could be improved, no doubt, but had accomplished much of the explanations she was entitled to. He had to re-read his explanations of the acts that had so upset her, and found their humility and honesty gave him such a profound feeling of penitence that she could hardly not fail to receive them with renewed love for her husband. He had never expected to think he would ever happily write such an epistle. Perhaps that outrageous conversation with Elise the other day had been a boon after all.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  A New Spousal Letter

  More than a week after leaving Chatham, Roberta arrived at Clydebank on a blustery March day with more than half a month’s duties to catch up on. The Laird people had been polite but somewhat dismissive of her opinions and advice; the Thames shipbuilders were pleased to learn of the Spiteful’s exploits on the other side of the channel, but seemed to think that the vessels they built were to be stationed at the mouth of the Thames to keep Napoleon away from London. Mr. Holmes had returned to the Admiralty in as poor spirits as she.

  The one happy event was the imminent launching of the Urquhart and McArthur vessel with the honours of the launching going to Lady Catherine Colquhoun. Roberta made a day of festivities by showing the lady over the secret Antiochus and then discussing her imminent return to the status of commoner.

  “Look at it on the bright side, My Dear. It is all too rare for a bride to learn of her mistake after the ceremony with the opportunity of making a clean start,” Lady Catherine said. “You do have a new husband in mind, I presume. You have attended the Kirk with too many lovely men this past eight months, not to have set your cap.”

  “I suppose you are right, My Lady, but I am apprehensive of my recent status becoming an obstacle.”

  “Nonsense. If you have the brain to tease all these pieces of iron into a ship, you should have no difficulty in teasing a man into a husband.”

  The pieces of iron that were to be teased into a ship were her greatest problem at the moment. The Lords of Admiralty had argued long and loud over the latest change to the ship the First Lord had told her, but the minds full of caution had prevailed over those of a more sanguine nature.

  Essentially, the perceived problem was of the possibility of the French sailors, whose usual tactic was to board and try to capture an enemy vessel, having a perfect opportunity to attempt that against Antiochus while the ships were locked together by the force of the ramming. It was the firm desire of Their Lordships that the French crew should be obliged to remain on their own ship and go down with it.

  Roberta considered all manner of boarding nets as obstacles to ingress but at the end had decided on letting the boarders try their best and then mowing them down for their industry by placing two smaller cannon in casemates beside the armoured conning tower of Antiochus that would sweep the decks with grape-shot.

  To keep the survivors from mischief she had provided strong iron doors for all the access hatches and companionways, making the chance of penetration into the interior of the ship minimal. While she was adding these features, she decided to place the watch officers on a level higher than the weather deck, where the boarders could not reach them. This idea led to the solution of another problem, that of providing good all-round vision for the captain when thick smoke from the funnels was apt to obscure the view aft. She shaped the raised watch level into a kind of walkway or bridge, reaching to both sides of the ship so the officers could walk out to see around the funnels.

  Their Lordships had also demanded the addition to the crew of fifty armed marines to throw the defeated Frenchmen into the sea, but Roberta, with a little sleight of hand, turned thirty of them into her gunners for the 32 pounders and now the 4 pounder anti-boarding cannons―leaving only twenty new men to be accommodated into the ship’s company.

  “So now you’re pleased to deceive Their Lordships, Lassie,” her father said. “What will you say when they learn what you have done?”

  “By that time it will be too late to change, and by the discussion I had with the First Lord, I came to suppose that he was one of the sanguine sort who had been over-ruled. I will rely on him to protect me from the anger of the others.”

  The changes to the ship’s lines were done in a couple of days, and Roberta put in a requisition for the two smaller cannon. The work on the slips and in the graving docks went on apace, leading her to believe she might send two more completed vessels south before the end of April. As a consequence of her preoccupation with the problems and solutions of the shipbuilding, she lost track of the rest of the world . . . and particularly of events unfolding in London and in other places in Europe.

  She was taken by surprise to receive another letter from her husband so soon after the previous one in which he had admitted the presence of Elise in Switzerland with him. He made a number of excuses to account for his failure to provide this information before, and she believed none of them.

  To my dear wife, Roberta my dearest, you will learn from this letter that the Old Man has surrendered on the issue of my disinheritance, for which I must give thanks for your able persuasion of His Royal Highness. As a consequence of this I will petition the Fathers of the Church for the removal of the writ of mensa et thoro and the long awaited prospect of our resuming our wedded state when I return to England from my present duties in Switzerland.

  Roberta’s free hand flew to press against the lips of her wide-open mouth. Lord, this was not what she had looked for. She took several moments to return to a state of composure before she continued to read.

  I regret to have to tell you that such date is at present a secret of state―as are the details of my life and duties in Bern. In point of fact I do not have any firm idea of the date for my departure. All I can say on the matter is that the parties have agreed very many of the considerations to be dealt with and optimism reigns all around.

  Roberta stopped reading to consider the possibilities. Her future happiness now depended upon the Marquess’ investigation into the legality of their marriage―and whether some important matter of canonical law had been forgotten when the applicable documents were prepared.

  Although the marriage license itself was lost, there was a presumption that the clerks at Canterbury had made
themselves a copy of the license that had been issued. As long as the original and the copy were exactly alike―not a given if different clerks had prepared the two documents―and the surviving copy showed no errors in its instructions, her marriage had been solemnized according to canonical law.

  But that was not what she hoped for. What if the original had been in error but the copy was not? She would have lost her freedom over a quirk of fate―harder to bear than if―. Oh nonsense. Her mind was shying at shadows.

  She turned her attention to the letter again.

  Although I had never been involved with such negotiations before—and admittedly think some of the disputes are no more than splitting hairs—they promise to gain me some similar appointments after the present is ended. It would be disappointing in that it would lengthen the time we are apart, but it would give me the latitude to interrupt my schedule enough to return to Britain for a week or so, when I would visit you. To that end, I would like you to inform me in your letters . . . most welcome and looked for, but far too scarce . . . when you expect to be away from Clydebank and for how long. Indeed, if at all possible we might want to arrange a meeting in London or in one of the coastal ports for a few days.

  She shook her head. His words might sound obliging and generous to him, but as she read them, she could not but see her future as an aristocratic wife sacrificing the whole of her shipbuilding career on the altar of his rights and obligations. She did not want to spend her time attending functions and having house parties with other noble wives―she wanted to continue the challenges and intellectual rewards she had today as the manager of such a triumph as the spitefuls had become.