Ashton Park (44 page)

Sir William:

I was in the Visitors’ Gallery at the Commons yesterday. It was a powerful speech. I must see you on a matter of some urgency. May I meet you at your flat tomorrow at five?

Sincerely,
Lord Francis Scarborough

Sir William had a small suite of rooms he used during the week when the House was sitting. He kept it clean and neat, an easy task since the furnishings were spare and he always ate out. Brewing a cup of tea, he checked his pocket watch. It was just after five. He poured the tea into a cup and was lifting it to his mouth when there was a knock at the door. He opened it and Lord Scarborough, a tall, heavy man with a ginger beard and mustache came quickly into the room, his cloak swirling about him, a heavy silver-tipped walking stick in one large hand. He did not take Sir William’s hand.

“Sir William.” His voice was deep. “I thank you for seeing me on such short notice. This could not wait.”

“Of course. Will you join me in a cup of tea?”

“I cannot. You will wonder I did not bring this matter up with you some time ago. Truthfully, I was not altogether confident I could control my temper.”

Sir William set down his cup and put his hands in his pockets. “And now you are?”

“No. Not completely. But we must talk.”

“Very well.”

“Let us get right to the point, Sir William. I sent my daughter to Portugal because she was certain she was with child. After several months there this was confirmed. She went into labor yesterday. During the night she gave birth to a son. Her mother is with her.”

“You have a grandchild. Wonderful.”

“Yes. I have a grandchild. And so do you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The boy is Edward’s son. Caroline admitted it several months ago, though she would not tell us at first.”

Sir William stared. “I cannot believe it.”

“You will recall we visited Edward at the Lodge in Scotland last summer. Before he broke off the engagement. It happened at that time. He came to her room in the middle of the night and took advantage of her.”

“I have heard nothing of this from him.”

“Of course not.”

Sir William shook his head. “It is not like Edward to do such a thing. I must write him and hear his side of the story.”

Lord Scarborough’s face darkened. “Yes. Write the monster. Write the coward. You have him safely away from my hands in Canada.”

Sir William’s eyes hardened. “I do not care for those words. This is my son you are talking about.”

“And it is my daughter who has been so ill used by your family. I cannot seize Edward by the throat. But I will get my satisfaction from his father. Oh, yes, I will get it, Sir William.”

“Your satisfaction? What are you proposing?”

“A duel. I will have a duel to satisfy my family’s honor.”

“A duel! Are you mad? There hasn’t been a duel in Britain for over fifty years. They’d throw us in jail.”

“
I
would be thrown in jail.
You
would be thrown in the grave. I don’t mind a few months of jail time to avenge this desecration of my daughter’s innocence.” He smacked the head of his walking stick into his palm. “The coward you raised will not fight. He runs and hides like a cur. So the father must fight for him. Or will you also whimper and whine and flee like a Danforth dog?”

Sir William’s hands came out of his pockets. “Control your tongue.”

“Or what? I am the injured party here. I will speak as I please.”

“Killing me will not help your daughter. And you will be in jail a lot longer than a few months.”

“I am sure a good argument can be made for my acting out of character due to the nature of the situation.”

“I will not fight you, Scarborough. I am a Christian man.”

Lord Scarborough barked a laugh. “A Christian man. Like your Christian son? There isn’t a shred of Christianity in your family. You might as well be a pack of jackals or a swarm of hyenas in heat.”

Sir William slapped him across the face. A thin trickle of blood came from Lord Scarborough’s nose. He did not lash back with his walking stick. Instead a great smile appeared inside his mustache and beard.

“Now I will have satisfaction. Oh, I will have it. If you will not face me I will stalk your daughters and their husbands. I will send men to harass and frighten them. I know about the silly airplanes just outside of London here. I will have them torched. Oh, I will make life miserable for you, Danforth. Unless you face me. If you do, no harm will befall your house. If you do not, I will do everything in my power to break you. Even if I am broken in the process. I swear it.”

“Edward could not have done this to your daughter.”

“Are you prepared to meet with my second?”

“He could not have done it, I tell you.”

“He has done it. The child is mewling and puking in my daughter’s arms as we speak. Are you prepared to meet with my second? Are you prepared to choose a second for yourself? The choice of weapons is yours.”

“Scarborough—”

“I will not relent on this, Danforth. I will not. You dogs must be put in your place. I will send my second to this flat tomorrow at seven before the House sits. He will tell you where and when the duel will occur. You must tell him what weapons you favor. Make sure they are fit for a gentleman. When you have your second appointed you may have him arrange a meeting with mine to be sure everything is as it should be.” He opened the door and glanced back. “I will crush you, Danforth. Make out your will and ensure that everything is in order for your poor wife. There will be no mercy on my part and no intention of wounding. I will kill you, Danforth. Whether it is swords or pistols. I will tear the heart right out of you.”

Sir William was not able to sleep. He read his Bible, prayed on his knees by his bed, paced, and made tea. Finally he collapsed in his leather armchair and fell into a doze about four o’clock. At seven a knock at the door woke him. When he opened it a man in top hat and a dark coat asked to come in.

“I am Henry Bishop. I will be Lord Scarborough’s second. Have you given any thought to who your second will be, sir?”

“I have not. Would you care to have a seat, Mr. Bishop? Can I brew you a cup of tea?”

“No, thank you. I am here strictly on business.”

“Business? It’s madness. I have made up my mind to go to the authorities after I see you gone.”

“Ah. That would be a mistake, sir. Lord Scarborough thought you might be inclined in that direction, and I must inform you that actions have been taken against the South England Air Service your son and sons-in-law own and manage.”

Sir William’s face whitened. “What? Have you harmed them?”

“No one has been harmed, sir. A petrol tank was set on fire and it exploded with no one near. In addition, one of the aircraft was damaged and will require moderate repair.”

“You rogues!”

Bishops’ face and body were stiff. “It is a matter of honor, Sir William. Something very important to Lord Scarborough and something that ought to be important to you as well. Certainly it is important to our king and country and empire. If you avoid Scotland Yard and carry through on your agreement to meet Lord Scarborough nothing further shall happen to your family, even after your death. But if you renege, the wrath my lord visits upon your sons and daughters will be terrible. May I take it you wish to be a man of your word and face Lord Scarborough on the field of honor?”

Sir William stared at Bishop a moment and rubbed his hands over his face. “Yes, yes.”

Bishop brought a folded sheet of paper out of his coat pocket and opened it. “Here is a map with precise directions. You take the main road east out of London here—” he tapped the map “—and at an inn called Old Fellows you turn south. Eventually the road becomes no more than a wagon track and peters out altogether. There is an orchard of wild apple trees a hundred yards ahead. The trees are situated on the banks of a small stream, the Strunk.” He looked up. “Dawn on Saturday, April ninth, sir. A little over a week from now.”

Sir William took the paper and ran a hand over his uncombed brown hair. “I know Old Fellows.”

“Have you given a thought to your choice of weapons, sir?”

“I have not. But it comes to mind I have a brace of pistols in silver and ivory my father left me.”

“Are they in any sort of condition to be fired? Are there cartridges?”

“I and my second will make sure the revolvers are in working condition. And that the cartridges I have in storage are usable.”

“I shall test fire both pistols, of course, sir, before the duel commences.”

“Naturally.”

“How many rounds can each revolver hold?” asked Bishop.

“Six.”

“That is well. You appreciate Lord Scarborough sees this as a duel to the death? That he will keep on firing until you are down? That he will go so far as to administer a
coup de grace
if you are wounded and not dead?”

A flash lit Sir William’s eyes. “You take a great deal for granted, sir. Suppose it is Lord Scarborough who is lying wounded on the ground? Would it please you if I stood over him and finished him off with a bullet to the head?”

Bishop’s smile was thin and laced with ice. “Lord Scarborough was the crack pistol shot of his regiment in the Boer War, sir. The best you can hope for is a swift death and a bullet to the heart. An honorable end. It will appease Lord Scarborough. He has in mind to see your wife receives annual stipends. Anonymous, of course.” Bishop tipped his hat. “I should like to meet with your second on Friday, April eighth, at Tollers. Four in the afternoon. I shall be wearing a white rose in my lapel. That is how he will know me.”

Sir William stood staring at the closed door after Bishop had left. He began to compose a telegram to Harrison in his head.

“Hello, my boy, how are you?”

“Is that you, Father? The connection isn’t much good.”

“I’ll speak up. How are things at the airfield?”

Sir William could hear Kipp’s voice tighten up over the phone. “We’ve had a run of bad luck. A fuel tank burst the other night, and the next day one of our SPAD S.XXs was vandalized. Someone tore great holes in the wings. It’ll be out of service for a week and we’ll lose more than a thousand pounds in fees.”

“Do the police have any leads as to the identity of the perpetrators?”

“Not at all.”

“What steps have you taken?”

“Ben hired on two chums from his army days that he swears by. They’re tough Lancashire lads, actually, and so far have proved utterly reliable. One has the twelve-hour day and the other the twelve hour night. They’ll switch over every two weeks. I doubt much will get past them.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Everyone is all right?”

“We are. No one was injured by the blast. The lot of us were safe and sound in our beds in the village. Though the sound did wake us. We thought it was some sort of army thing.”

“How’s our Victoria feeling?”

“She still has her moments. Ben was thinking she’d do better at home with mum around. Emma’s talked about heading down to Ashton Park with her boys and taking care of Vic.”

“I wonder if that might not be best. It’s very good that you look after one another. After all, your mother and I won’t be around forever.”

“What’s that? Are you doing all right, Dad?”

“I’m fine. Must get ready for the House now. Give my love to everyone. I’ll ring you up again in a few days.”

“Splendid. We’ll talk to you then. God bless, Dad.”

“Yes. God bless, my boy.”