Cross of St George Read online

  There were a few people in the outer lobby. Beyond them, he saw the falling snow, so clean after what he had attempted to describe.

  One, a civilian, stepped forward and held out his hand. His face seemed vaguely familiar, yet Adam knew they had never met.

  The man hesitated. ‘I am so sorry, Captain Bolitho. I should not detain you further after what you have just experienced.’ He glanced across the room where a woman sat, gazing at them intently. ‘My wife, sir.’

  Adam wanted to leave. Very soon the others would be milling around him, congratulating him, praising him for what he had done, when earlier they would have watched him facing the point of the sword with equal interest. But something held him. As if some one had spoken aloud.

  ‘If I can be of service, sir?’

  The man was well over sixty years old, but there was an erectness, a pride in his bearing as he explained, ‘My name is Hudson, Charles Hudson. You see. …’ He fell silent as Adam stared at him, his composure gone.

  He said, ‘Richard Hudson, my first lieutenant in Anemone.’ He tried to clear his mind. Hudson, who had slashed down the ensign with his hanger while he himself lay wounded and unable to move. Again, it was like being an onlooker, hearing others speak. I ordered you to fight the ship! Each despairing gasp wrenching at his wound like a branding iron. And all the while Anemone was dying beneath them, even as the enemy surged alongside. And Hudson’s last words before Adam was lowered into a boat. If we ever meet again. …

  Adam could still hear his own answer. As God is my witness, I will kill you, damn your eyes!

  ‘We had only one letter from him.’ Hudson glanced again at his wife and Adam saw her nod, helping him. She looked frail, unwell. It had cost them dearly to come here.

  He said, ‘How is he?’

  Charles Hudson did not seem to hear. ‘My brother was a vice-admiral. He used his influence to have Richard appointed to your ship. When he wrote, he always spoke of you so warmly … he was so proud to be serving with you. When I heard about your court-martial, as they dare to call it, we had to come. To see you, to thank you for what you did for Richard. He was our only son.’

  Adam tensed. Was. ‘What happened?’

  ‘In his letter he said he wanted to find you. To explain … something.’ He dropped his head. ‘He was shot, attempting to escape. He was killed.’

  Adam felt the room sway, like the deck of a ship. All that time, the pain and the despair, the hatred because of what had happened; and he had thought only of himself.

  He said, ‘I shall tell my uncle when I see him. He was known to your son.’ Then he took the man’s arm and led him towards his wife. ‘There was nothing for Richard to explain. Now he is at peace, he will know that.’

  Hudson’s mother was on her feet, holding out her hand to him. Adam stooped, and kissed her cheek. It was like ice.

  ‘Thank you.’ He looked at each of them. ‘Your loss is my loss also.’

  He glanced round as a lieutenant coughed politely, and murmured, ‘The port admiral wishes to see you, sir.’

  ‘Can’t it wait?’

  The lieutenant licked his lips. ‘I was told that it was important, sir. To you.’

  Adam turned to say goodbye, but they had gone, as quietly and patiently as they had waited.

  He felt his cheek. Her tears, or were they his own?

  Then he followed the lieutenant, past people who smiled and reached out to touch his arm as he passed. He saw none of them.

  He heard nothing but his own anger. I ordered you to fight the ship. It was something he would never forget.

  Lady Catherine Somervell walked softly toward the window, her bare feet soundless as she glanced back at the bed. She listened to his breathing. Quiet now: he was asleep, after the restlessness he had tried to conceal from her.

  She realized that the night was quite still, and there was a hint of moonlight for the first time. She groped for a heavy silk shawl but paused again as he stirred on the bed, one arm resting on the sheet where she had been lying.

  She looked out at the ragged clouds, moving more slowly, allowing the moon to touch the street, which shone still from the night’s downpour. Across the road, which was all that separated this row of houses from the Thames, she could just discern the restless water. Like black glass in the moonlight. Even the river seemed quiet, but this was London: within hours this same road would be busy with traders on their way to market, and people setting up their stalls, rain or no rain.

  She shivered, despite the thick shawl, and wondered what daylight would bring.

  Little more than a month had passed since Richard Bolitho had returned home, and the guns of St Mawes battery had thundered out their salute to Falmouth’s most famous son. An admiral of England, a hero and an inspiration to the men who followed his flag.

  She wanted to go to him now. Not to the public figure, but to the man, her man, whom she loved more than life itself.

  This time she could not help him. His nephew had been ordered to face a court-martial, the direct consequence of losing Anemone to the enemy. Richard had told her that the verdict would vindicate Adam, but she knew him so well that he could not conceal his anxiety and his doubt. His business at the Admiralty had prevented him from being at Portsmouth where the court was convened; she also knew that Adam had insisted upon facing the court alone, and unaided. He knew too well how Bolitho hated favouritism, and the manipulative use of outside influence. She smiled sadly. They were so alike, more like brothers than anything else.

  Vice-Admiral Graham Bethune had assured Richard that he would inform him immediately he heard anything: the fast telegraph from Portsmouth to London could bring a dispatch to the Admiralty in less than half an hour. The court had been convened yesterday morning, and as yet there had been no word. Nothing.

  Had they been in Falmouth she might have distracted him, involved him in the estate’s affairs, in which she had taken such an interest during his long absences at sea. But their presence had been required in London. The war with the United States, which had erupted last year, was believed to be at a turning point, and Bolitho had been summoned to the Admiralty to settle doubts, or perhaps inspire confidence. She felt the old bitterness. Was there nobody else they could send? Her man had done enough, and had too often paid the price.

  She must confront it: they would soon be parted again. If only they could get back to Cornwall. … It might take all of a week, with the roads in their present state. She thought of their room at the old grey house below Pendennis Castle, the windows that faced the sea. The rides, and the walks they enjoyed so much. … She shivered again, but not from cold. What ghosts would wait for them when they took that particular walk, where the despairing Zenoria had flung herself to her death?

  So many memories. And the other side of the coin: the envy and the gossip, even the hatred, which was more subtly revealed. Scandal, which they had both endured and surmounted. She looked at the dark hair on the pillow. No wonder they love you. Dearest of men.

  She heard the sound of iron wheels, the first sign of life in the street. Going to fetch fish from the market, no doubt. Peace or war, the fish were always there on time.

  She slipped her hand inside her gown, her fingers cold around her breast. As he had held her, and would hold her again. But not this night. They had lain without passion in one another’s arms, and she had shared his anxiety.

  She had felt the cruel scar on his shoulder, where a musket ball had cut him down. So many years ago, when her husband, Luis, had been killed by Barbary pirates aboard the Navarra. She had cursed Richard on that day, blaming him for what had happened. And then, after he had been wounded, he had been plagued by the return of an old fever, which had almost claimed his life. She had climbed into the cot with him, naked, to comfort him and hold the icy grip of the fever at bay. She could smile at the memory now. He had known nothing about it. So many years, and yet it could have been yesterday. …

  He had changed her life, and she knew s
he had changed his. Something that went far beyond his demanding world of duty and danger, something only they shared, which made people turn and look at them when they were together. So many unspoken questions; something others could never understand.

  She touched her skin again. Will he always find me beautiful when he returns from another campaign, another country? I would die for him.

  She reached out to close the curtains, and then stood quite still, as if she were held by something. She shook her head, angry with herself. It was nothing. She wiped the window pane with her shawl and stared at the street below, The Walk, as it was called locally. A few patches of moonlight revealed the trees, black and bare of leaves, like charred bones. Then she heard it: the rattle of wheels on the cobbles, the gentle step of a solitary horse. Moving slowly, as if uncertain of the way. A senior officer returning to his quarters at the barracks nearby after a night of cards, or, more likely, with his mistress.

  She watched, and eventually a small carriage moved across a bar of moonlight: even the horse looked silver in the cold glow. Two carriage lamps were burning like bright little eyes, as if they and not the horse were finding the way.

  She sighed. Probably some one who had taken too much to drink, and would be overcharged by the driver for his folly.

  Her hand was still beneath her breast, and she could feel her heart beating with sudden disbelief. The carriage was veering across the road towards this house.

  She stared down, barely able to breathe as the door opened and a white leg paused uncertainly on the step. The coachman was gesturing with his whip. It was like a mime. The passenger stepped down soundlessly onto the pavement. Even the gold buttons on his coat looked like pieces of silver.

  And then Richard was beside her, gripping her waist, and she imagined she must have called out, although she knew she had not.

  He looked down at the road. The sea-officer was peering at the houses, while the coachman waited.

  ‘From the Admiralty?’ She turned toward him.

  ‘Not at this hour, Kate.’ He seemed to come to a decision. ‘I’ll go down. It must be a mistake.’

  Catherine looked down again, but the figure by the carriage had vanished. The bang on the front door shattered the stillness like a pistol shot. She did not care. She had to be with him, now, of all times.

  She waited on the stairs, the chill air exploring her legs, as Bolitho opened the door, staring at the familiar uniform, and then at the face.

  Then he exclaimed, ‘Catherine, it’s George Avery.’

  The housekeeper was here now, muttering to herself and bringing fresh candles, obviously disapproving of such goings-on.

  Catherine said, ‘Fetch something hot, Mrs Tate. Some cognac, too.’

  George Avery, Bolitho’s flag lieutenant, was sitting down as if gathering himself. Then he said, ‘Honourably acquitted, Sir Richard.’ He saw Catherine for the first time, and made to rise. ‘My lady.’

  She came down, and put her hand on his shoulder. ‘Tell us. I can hardly believe it.’

  Avery gazed at his filthy boots. ‘I was there, Sir Richard. I thought it only right. I know what it is to face the possibility of disgrace and ruin at a court-martial.’ He repeated, ‘I thought it was only right. There was heavy snow on the south coast. The telegraph towers were hidden from one another. It might have taken another day for the news to reach you.’

  ‘But you came?’ Catherine saw Bolitho grip his arm.

  Surprisingly, Avery grinned. ‘I rode most of the way. I forget how many times I changed horses. Eventually I fell in with the fellow outside, otherwise I doubt I’d have found the place.’ He took the glass of cognac, and his hand shook uncontrollably. ‘Probably cost me a year’s pay, and I don’t think I’ll be able to sit down comfortably for a month!’

  Bolitho walked to a window. Honourably acquitted. As it should be. But things did not always end as they should.

  Avery finished the cognac and did not protest when Catherine refilled his glass. ‘Forced a few coaches and carts off the road –’ He saw Bolitho’s expression and added gently, ‘I was not in court, Sir Richard, but he knew I was there. Your nephew was going to see the port admiral. Someone said that he has an extended leave of absence. That is all the information I have.’

  Bolitho looked at Catherine, and smiled. ‘Seventy miles on dark and treacherous roads. What sort of man would do that?’

  She removed the glass from Avery’s nerveless fingers as he lolled against the cushions, and was asleep.

  She replied quietly, ‘Your sort of man, Richard. Are you at peace now?’

  When they reached the bedroom they could see the river quite clearly, and there were indeed people already moving along the road. It was unlikely that anyone had noticed the sudden arrival of the carriage, or the tall sea-officer banging on the door. If they had, they would think little of it. This was Chelsea, a place that minded its own business more than most.

  Together they looked at the sky. It would soon be daylight, another grey January morning. But this time, with such a difference.

  She held his arm around her waist and said, ‘Perhaps your next visit to the Admiralty will be the last for a while.’

  He felt her hair against his face. Her warmth. How they belonged.

  ‘And then, Kate?’

  ‘Take me home, Richard. No matter how long we must travel.’

  He guided her to the bed, and she laughed as the first dogs began to bark outside.

  ‘Then you can love me. In our home.’

  Vice-Admiral Graham Bethune was already on his feet when Bolitho was ushered into his spacious rooms at the Admiralty, and his smile was warm and genuine.

  ‘We are both abroad early today, Sir Richard.’ His face fell slightly. ‘Although I fear I have not yet had news of your nephew, Captain Bolitho. The telegraph, excellent though it may be in many ways, is no match for our English weather!’

  Bolitho sat down as a servant removed his hat and cloak. He had walked only a few paces from the carriage, but the cloak was soaked with rain.

  He smiled. ‘Adam was honourably acquitted.’ Bethune’s astonishment was a pleasure to see. They had met several times since Bolitho’s arrival in London, but he was still surprised that Bethune’s new authority had not changed him in some way. In appearance, he had matured a good deal since his days as a midshipman in Bolitho’s first command, the little sloop of war Sparrow. Gone was the round-faced youth, his complexion a mass of dark freckles; here was a keen-eyed, confident flag-officer who would turn any woman’s head at Court, or at the many elegant functions it was now his duty to attend. Bolitho recalled Catherine’s initial resentment when he had told her that Bethune was not only a younger man, but also his junior in rank. She was not the only one who was baffled by the ways of Admiralty.

  He said, ‘My flag lieutenant, Avery, rode all the way from Portsmouth this morning to tell me.’

  Bethune nodded, his mind busy on another course. ‘George Avery, yes. Sir Paul Sillitoe’s nephew.’ Again the boyish smile. ‘I am sorry. Baron Sillitoe of Chiswick, as he is now. But I am glad to know it. It must have been hard for your nephew, losing ship and liberty at one blow. And yet you appointed him to command Zest at the final encounter with Commodore Beer’s ships. Remarkable.’ He walked to a table. ‘I sent my own report, needless to say. One has little confidence in courts-martial, as we have seen many times for ourselves.’

  Bolitho relaxed slightly. So Bethune had found the time to put pen to paper on Adam’s behalf. He could not imagine either of his predecessors, Godschale, or particularly Hamett-Parker, even raising a finger.

  Bethune glanced at the ornate clock beside a painting of a frigate in action. Bolitho knew it was his own command, when Bethune had confronted two large Spanish frigates and, despite the odds, had run one ashore and captured the other. A good beginning, which had done his career no harm at all.

  ‘We shall take refreshment shortly.’ He coughed. ‘Lord Sillitoe is coming today, and I am
hoping we shall learn more of the Prince Regent’s views on the American conflict.’ He hesitated, momentarily unsure of himself. ‘One thing is almost certain. You will be required to return to that campaign. What is it now, a bare four months since you engaged and defeated Commodore Beer’s ships? But your opinions and your experience have been invaluable. I know it is asking too much of you.’

  Bolitho realized that he was touching his left eye. Perhaps Bethune had noticed, or maybe word of the injury and the impossibility of recovery had finally reached this illustrious office.

  He answered, ‘I had expected it.’

  Bethune observed him thoughtfully. ‘I had the great pleasure of meeting Lady Somervell, Sir Richard. I know what this parting will mean to you.’

  Bolitho said, ‘I know you met her. She told me. There are no secrets between us, and never will be.’ Catherine had also met Bethune’s wife, at a reception at Sillitoe’s house by the river. She had said nothing about her, but she would, when she judged that the moment was right. Perhaps Bethune had an eye for the ladies? A mistress, maybe.

  He said, ‘You and I are friends, is that not so?’

  Bethune nodded, not understanding. ‘A small word, for what it truly means.’

  ‘I agree.’ He smiled. ‘Call me Richard. I feel that rank, and the past, stand in the way.’

  Bethune strode to his chair, and they shook hands. ‘This is a far better day than I dared hope.’ He grinned, and looked very young. ‘Richard.’ Another glance at the clock. ‘There is another matter, which I would like to discuss with you before Lord Sillitoe arrives.’ He watched him for a few seconds. ‘You will soon know. Rear-Admiral Valentine Keen is being appointed to a new command, which will be based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.’

  ‘I had heard as much.’ Full circle, he thought. Halifax, where he had left his flagship, Indomitable, upon his recall to England. Was it really so short a time ago? With her had been their two equally powerful prizes, Beer’s U.S.S. Unity and the Baltimore, which together carried as much artillery as a ship of the line. Fate had decided the final meeting; determination and a bloody need to win had decided the outcome. After all the years he had been at sea, pictures could still stand out as starkly as ever. Allday’s grief, alone among all the gasping survivors as he had carried his dead son, and had lowered him into the sea. And the dying Nathan Beer, their formidable adversary, with Bolitho’s hand in his, each understanding that the meeting and its consequences had been inevitable. They had covered Beer with the American flag, and Bolitho had sent his sword to his widow in Newbury-port. A place well known to men-of-war and privateers; where his own brother Hugh had once found refuge, if not peace.