Shipmate: A Royal Regard Prequel Novella (5 page)

“While, of course, I always hope information
from my travels is of benefit to the Crown, what the king learns
from me must be weighed in the balance with information from
hundreds of others like me in different parts of the world, before
a political or military strategy can be devised. One does the best
one can for one’s monarch, Miss Smithson, but one is a very small
cog in the machine of the British Empire. In the main, at the
moment, I provide the Crown money.”

It was not until much later that evening,
while Bella was lying in her bed, that she was able to judge she
had acquitted herself admirably, mostly without fear, from her
first curtsey to Lord Holsworthy until he handed her down the
carriage steps in front of the Effingale’s town house. She had
expected many things of her first outing with a gentleman, but
never that.

April 16,
1805

The Effingale Town House

Bath, England

Bella and Charlotte shoved each other back
and forth, both trying to be closest to the keyhole in the door
leading to Uncle Howard’s study. Five minutes before, Lord
Holsworthy had arrived at Number 14 Royal Crescent and asked for an
audience with both Lord and Lady Effingale—without having himself
announced to Bella first.

“He’s going to offer for you,” Charlotte
whispered.

“No one will ever offer for me,” Bella
scoffed, pushing Charlotte away from the crack between the doors.
“Besides, he has only spoken to me twice. One picnic is not grounds
for a betrothal.”

“He was quite attentive. Perhaps he was
instantly besotted.”

“Perhaps you are a ninnyhammer.”

They both quieted completely at the tiniest
creak of the door as Bella pushed it just slightly open over the
sudden sound of Lord Holsworthy’s unfamiliar voice.

“So, you see, I am rather pressed for time,
and my request is most unusual.” He coughed. “While I am hopeful, I
rely on those who know her best to assist in understanding the best
course for Miss Smithson.”

“Isabella will be perfectly happy to accept
your proposal,” Aunt Minerva pronounced, but Uncle Howard rejoined,
“I should like to hear more about this situation before I commend
my niece into your care."

"I should hope so."

"You understand her dowry is not
excessive.”

Charlotte’s mouth dropped when Lord
Holsworthy replied, “Miss Smithson’s dowry is of no consequence.
What I propose offers no great measure of security, so any monies
of the sort will be used to ensure her safety and relative comfort
to the greatest extent possible.”

“Isabella will welcome the security of your
name and title. Her dowry will be payment for placing a roof over
her head, and that is all there is to that. It is not as though any
other barons have come calling.”

“Lady Effingale!” Uncle Howard snapped.
“Your comments are unwelcome, and I shall ask you to leave the room
if you do not desist.” In a quieter, but still firm tone, he
returned the conversation to its moorings. “You understand, Lord
Holsworthy, Bella will not be left destitute should she be
disinclined to accept your offer.”

“That’s right,” Aunt Minerva retorted. “She
is perfectly well trained as a governess or housekeeper or
companion. She needn’t marry if she is
disinclined
.”

Bella and Charlotte almost fell over
themselves to escape the sound of Aunt Minerva’s footsteps striding
toward their concealment. Uncle Howard, apparently, had shown her
the door. They had just reached the turn in the hallway where they
could hide when her matronly skirts swept along the floor in the
other direction, leaving the two girls giggling as quietly as they
could.

Their listening post at the door was much
improved by Aunt Minerva’s exit, as in her haste, she had left the
door just slightly ajar.

The sound of her aunt’s retreating footsteps
was followed by the clinking of Uncle Howard’s crystal carafe
against the rim of a glass.

“No, thank you. None for me, though I would
make no objection to tea, if it might be had.”

Charlotte sacrificed proximity, sliding back
down the hall toward the turn, so she could give Bella warning
before a footman appeared to respond to the bell. Bella would not
now leave the side of the doorway unless she were bodily
removed.

“You would ask me to send my niece—my very
shy and timid, very young niece—to sea on a ship filled with
sailors, under the protection of a man whom I’ve met but
thrice.”

“I wish to speak bluntly, if I may.”

There was something reassuring about the
rumble of Lord Holsworthy’s voice.

“There is scant time for social niceties if
I am to put your fears to rest and still have time to adjust my
situation to a wife and prepare Miss Smithson for the journey. To
make matters worse, on the morrow, I must leave for at least
another sennight in Town, at the direction of the prince. I am back
and forth from London at his whim.”

“Pray, speak your mind, Sir.”

Bella heard the creaking of the leather
armchairs before the fire, so the two men must have moved from the
desk to a less formal position, though Bella wasn’t sure if this
were a good sign or bad. In fact, she hadn’t been able to decide
anything to do with Lord Holsworthy since his first bow.

“I am given to understand His Royal Highness
wishes to see you wed.”

“Yes. Well, that is not entirely true. The
prince commands I take up his charge to act as envoy, and my wish
for marriage and a settled life on land was met with his idea of a
compromise. I may be as settled as I like, once aboard ship.”

Uncle Howard’s laugh was only half amused.
“Not fond of compromise, our royal son.”

“No, indeed. I am granted six more weeks to
solve my dilemma or leave the shores of England unwed.”

“It seems there is no shortage of men who
will vouch for you,” Uncle Howard’s measured tones were no more in
favor of one course than the other. Had he decided in favor of an
alliance, a smile would be audible. Against, and his words would be
clipped. “Your name is on all lips in Bath, and none with a sharp
word.”

“But for the circumstances of my elevation
and position in trade.”

“But for those,” Uncle Howard admitted, “But
neither is a reputation for less-than-gentlemanly conduct. There is
no rumor of that.”

“That is gratifying.”

Charlotte hissed from around the corner, so
Bella scurried into a niche in the wall until the footman had
entered the study with a rolling glass cart, trimmed in gold
filigree and holding a silver service of no less than ten pieces.
Even from her position twenty steps away, Bella could hear the
clinking of china and muted echo of male voices making themselves
comfortable, as the footman had left the door ajar. After Uncle
Howard dismissed him, though, the far-too-conscientious servant
shut the door tightly on the way out. Once he had cleared the hall,
Bella crept back to the door, this time leaning down to place her
ear to the keyhole.

“I see there is truth to the rumor you do
not imbibe.”

“Every sinner chooses his own virtues and
vices. I am a moderate man of sober personal habits, endeavoring to
live simply by the laws of God and Man.”

“Please forgive, but both religious fervor
and abstinence seem out of character for a sailor.”

Lord Holsworthy’s voice bristled, as though
he were tired of making the same argument, though had said not a
word on the subject before now.

“Contrary to popular opinion, all sailors
are not cut from the same cloth. I can assure you my youth was
properly misspent in my early years at sea, but I was fortunate to
find the grace of our Lord and Savior, and learn to live by His
precepts, as a relatively young man.”

“Which brings me to the point of greatest
concern. You are very nearly a pirate.”

“Pirate? I think not, Sir, and I beg you not
defame me so again. I formerly captained a privateer, for which I
was richly rewarded by the Crown. I am now owner of forty-two
ships, and soon to represent England’s interests abroad. And I hold
myself to a high moral standard in any company.”

“Yes.” Her uncle’s tone was noncommittal.
“That is the rumor. There will be how many other men on this
ship?”

“Approximately one hundred.”

“Do they all hold themselves to a
high
moral standard
?”

Bella could almost see Uncle Howard’s raised
brow, but Lord Holsworthy did not sound cowed.

“Half I have travelled with for many years
and trust implicitly. None will treat a wife of mine with anything
less than the utmost respect, and assuredly, the same can be said
of the fifty men the Prince of Wales will contribute to the
enterprise, all subject to the discipline of the Royal Navy. Many
captains’ wives travel on shipboard, and as the family and
ambassadorial quarters have not been completed, we can find ways to
accommodate a lady.”

“I am sorry if I don’t place so much trust
in men who live for months on end—years, quite possibly—with no
female company but for the type one finds near docks.”

“I understand your fear and do not deny the
risk, though less, I think, than you believe, given the type of
justice meted out in a small community forced to close proximity.
And far less a threat on my ship than many others, as I do not take
up sailors and pirates from any port, but rather, maintain a
tightly knit crew who will neither steal from me, nor otherwise
cause trouble. It is also my hope she will not long be on board, if
you take my meaning, Sir. Should a blessed event occur, she will
return to the barony or to my parents’ cottage in Saltash. If the
Lord is willing, we will not make it far before returning to settle
Miss Smithson in England.” After a long pause, Lord Holsworthy
asked, “Pray, might I call her Isabella?”

“Bella,” Uncle Howard said absently. “We all
call her Bella.”

“An apt name, as she is a lovely girl.”

Bella thrilled at the compliment, as no one
outside her family had ever called her lovely before. Of course, he
was lying to ingratiate himself with Uncle Howard, but she would
enjoy it nonetheless. A few moments later, she sighed at her
uncle’s only response to the encomium: “She is so quiet. So
bashful. I am afraid such a voyage might scare her to death.”

Lord Holsworthy chuckled, “Bella is made of
sterner stuff than she shows—likely more than she
knows
. She
will be a good mother and an excellent diplomat’s wife, and once
she finds her voice and her sea legs, she will be a fine sailor.
She will not yet believe it, but she is equal to this.”

Bella was so intent on the conversation, and
so curious about what made Lord Holsworthy believe her equal to a
life at sea, that she didn’t hear or see the man sidling up the
hallway, until he had the back of her dress in his hand. Choking on
sudden terror, she squeaked and tipped onto the balls of her feet
to try to control the angle at which she might be tossed against
the door jamb.

Myron began to
explain his intentions for Miss Smithson’s dowry, but before he
could finish his first thought, the study door was thrown open and
Lord Effingale jumped to his feet. A man with a passing resemblance
to Lady Effingale held Miss Smithson by her collar, so tightly she
was mincing forward on her toes to keep from choking. Myron had
thought she looked frightened while meeting the Pinnesters, but no
mere nobles had claim to terror like this. This was a well-worn
fear that fit as tightly as her stays.

Pushing her inexorably into the room, the
man sneered, “You know this one likes to eavesdrop, Effingale.
Should set guards before you discuss things that don’t concern
her.”

Myron eyed the man’s grasp on her dress, and
the hair falling from Bella’s neat bun. Lord Effingale’s forehead
wrinkled and eyes narrowed. “Let her go.” The man shoved her
forward so hard she nearly fell to her knees, his smug smile
begging to be wiped from his face with the back of a hand.