The Amorous Nightingale (45 page)

    'Thank
the Lord!'

    Henry's
exclamation was not in response to his father. It was provoked by the arrival
of his brother, who tapped on the door and let himself into the bedchamber.
Greetings were exchanged. When he had enquired after the patient's condition,
Christopher offered something to his father. The Dean of Gloucester looked
suspiciously at the missive.

    'What
is this?' he asked.

    'A
letter,' said Christopher, handing it to him.

    'From
whom?'

    'Look
at the seal.'

    'By
Heaven!' said his father, glancing down. 'It's from the King.'

    'I
had an audience with him only this morning.'

    'You
see, Henry?' said the old man, opening the letter. 'Your brother has been
summoned to the Palace. Think of the honour that bestows on the family. Why
can't you bring such lustre to the name of Redmayne?' He read the letter slowly
then let out a cry of surprise. 'Oh, dear boy,' he apologised, reaching out to
touch Henry's arm. 'I've wronged you. Now I see why you concealed so much from
me. I have the details here,' he said, raising the letter. 'In the King's own
hand.'

    Henry
caught Christopher's eye and received a reassuring wink.

    'What
does His Majesty say?' said Henry, tentatively.

    'The
truth,' replied his father. 'When you were assaulted, you were engaged in
secret affairs of state. Your bravery is commended. This is a signal honour,
Henry. I take back all that I said about you. Well, most of it, anyway. I
misjudged you horribly.'

    'His
Majesty asked me to pass on his personal thanks, Henry,' said Christopher.
'Without you, we'd never have achieved the result that we did. You were superb.
I'll strive to model myself on you.'

    'Did
you hear that, Father?' said Henry, basking in the praise.

    'I
heard and I saw,' answered the old man, clutching the letter as if it were the
tablet containing the Ten Commandments. 'I must show this to the Archbishop.
Royal favour displayed to both my sons! That will send me back to Gloucester a
contented man.'

    'As
long as it sends you back there,' murmured Henry.

    There
was a flurry of farewells as the Dean took his leave.

    'I'd
have been here earlier,' explained Christopher, 'but I went to Mary Hibbert's
funeral.'

    'Had
you come any later, it might have been Henry Redmayne's funeral. Father almost
talked me to death. Thank you for rescuing me, Christopher. Now, what news?'

    'You
know the bulk of it. The villains are all in Newgate and a woman in Greer Lane
is answering awkward questions about the fact that the man who lodged in her
upstairs room was the fourth rogue involved in the ambush. Harriet Gow has her
stolen property back, I can at last concentrate on my house and Mr Bale can
pound the streets of Baynard's Castle Ward again. He was so kind to Peter
Hibbert at the church,' he remembered. 'You'd have thought the lad was his own
son. Oh, and one big surprise. Mrs Gow turned up there as well.'

    'Quite
rightly. Mary Hibbert was in service with her.'

    'The
real surprise came from her choice of companion.'

    'It
wasn't her husband, was it?'

    'No,
Henry,' said his brother, 'but it was a Bartholomew Gow. He goes by the name of
Martin Eldridge. I think that this experience has taught our nightingale the
hazards of consorting with exalted company. She may be better off with a humble
actor.' He gave a sympathetic smile. 'It's going to be a huge disappointment
for Jasper Hartwell.'

    'Why?'

    'He's
so infatuated with her that he conceived the absurd notion of somehow
dissolving her marriage in order to make her his wife.'

    Henry
was aghast. 'Jasper Hartwell married to Harriet Gow! That's obscene,
Christopher. It's like the Dean of Gloucester marrying the Queen of Sheba. In
fact, I'd say that Father probably has more chance of being accepted than the
idiotic Jasper ever will.'

    'I'm
sure that Mrs Gow will let him down lightly.'

    'What
sane woman would marry a ginger periwig on legs?'

    'Don't
mock my client. I need him.'

    'I
know what I need,' said Henry lecherously, 'but how can I have it when I'm in
this condition? It's so unfair. I've just survived three hours of Father in
homiletic vein. I need someone to cheer me up.'

    'The
lady will be here in due course, Henry.'

    'Lady?'

    'Well,
you don't think I forgot to mention you, did you?' said Christopher. 'Harriet Gow
showered Mr Bale and me with thanks. I didn't want you to miss out on the
praise so I told her how you took a dreadful beating on her behalf.'

    'And?'

    'She
insisted on coming to see you this very evening.'

    'Harriet
Gow?' Henry was glowing. 'Alone in my bedchamber?'

    'Just
the two of you.'

    'Wonder
of wonders!'

    'Ask
her nicely and she might even sing you a lullaby.'

    'That
would thrill me more than anything else.'

    'What
would?'

    'To
listen to my own amorous nightingale.'

    A
mischievous thought put a broad grin on Christopher's face.

    'We
could invite Father here to share the experience,' he said.

    Henry
Redmayne laughed so much that his ribs ached for an hour.