The Emperor (2 page)

Her cousin, the Earl of Chelmsford, had come down into the hall to receive her. He kissed her, and then glanced out
into the street, where Lucy's groom, Parslow, was leading
the horses away, and grinned.

‘
Don't tell me you drove yourself in that thing! Yes,
I
can
see from the mud on your face that you did. You really are a
shocking girl, Lucy! And laying out your horses as if you
were at Newmarket, I dare say. Is this your maid? She looksscared half to death.'

‘
This is Docwra — she's new since Christmas,' said Lucy,
turning to smile at the maid, who came into the hall,
pushing back the hood of her cloak to reveal a face snub-
nosed, rather grim, and very pale. She began to regain some
natural colour now that she was on terra firma.

‘
To be sure, me lord, her ladyship's a very fine driver. Indeed she is. I'll soon get used to it,' she said with more
determination than conviction, and a broad Irish accent.

‘
I told her she could come with the luggage if she liked,
but she wouldn't have it,' Lucy said.

"t'wouldn't do for you to be travelling alone, my lady,'
Docwra pronounced firmly.

‘
She fears for my reputation,' Lucy said with amusement
as they started up the stairs. 'I told her that since I dressed up as a boy and ran away to sea when I was fourteen I had
no reputation to lose, but she wouldn't believe it.'

‘
You delight in being shocking,' Charles said, looking her
over with amusement. 'Are you never going to grow your
hair again?'

‘
It's comfortable like this,' she replied. 'Besides, Mother
says that now it is growing out curly, it suits me better. You
can't imagine what a comfort it is to be able to ride fast
without shedding pins everywhere.'

‘I like long hair in women,' Charles said mildly, and Lucy snorted.

‘
You men have no notion of discomfort. Besides, it's very
modish to crop. They call it a
la guillotine,
but I think that's
rather horrible.'

‘
And you have another new maid. That must be the
fourth in a year. What happened to the one you had at
Christmas?'

‘
Oh, you mean Penney? She gave me notice. I never
liked her. She disapproved of me, you know, Charles. Those
expensive lady's maids always do. She told Flora's maid, Mrs Phillips, that I was more in need of a keeper than an
abigail. She said I behaved like something out of Bedlam.'

‘
So you do,' Charles agreed. 'How do you know what she
said to Phillips, anyway ?'

‘Parslow told me. It went all round the servants' hall. But
 
I think Docwra will stay. She's of a very different breed. The
poor thing almost starved to death in Ireland before she got
passage to England. She came from a poor family — eleven brothers and sisters — and worked her way up from kitchen
skivvy to abigail.'

‘
In that case, she must be tough enough to endure life
with you, even if you do make her travel in an open
carriage! But why didn't you come in the chariot? Would it
not have been more comfortable?’

Lucy shrugged. 'I was perfectly comfortable, thank you.
Besides, Chetwyn has the chariot. He has gone up to
Morland Place again, to visit Ned.'

‘
And you did not wish to go with him? After all, we saw
you at Christmas, and we ought not to be selfish, if you
wanted to go home for a visit.'

‘
Oh Charles!' Lucy laughed. 'Calling it home, when I
have been married more than a year! Wolvercote is my
home now, and Chetwyn my husband — though I confess he
seems much more like my brother,' she added, perhaps a
little unguardedly.

Charles said curiously, 'Don't you mind that Chetwyn
spends more time with your brother than with you? You could have gone to Morland Place with him, or he could
have come to London with you.'

‘
Don't be so Gothic, Charles. I know you and Flora like
to spend all your time together, but you will never succeed
in making it fashionable. Chetwyn couldn't live another
minute without seeing Ned and Mother and Morland Place, but I had a lot of shopping to do, that's all. I'm bound to go
up to Yorkshire in
_t
he summer, so they won't miss me.
Where is Flora, by the way?'

‘
She's in her room,' Charles said. 'I don't know how it is,
but she has not been just quite well since Christmas. I have
persuaded her once or twice not to get up in the mornings.
The rest seems to do her good.'

‘
What is the matter with her?' Lucy asked with quick
concern. All her life she had been interested in medical
matters, and it was when she had discovered that women
could not be doctors that she had determined to dress as a
boy and run away to sea, to be a ship's surgeon.

‘
I don't know, except that she seems unable to digest her
meat properly,' Charles said. 'She has bile and sickness, and
sometimes cramps in the stomach. Dr Abse has been dosing
her, but it seems not to have helped very much.’

Lucy looked grim. 'I told you before not to have Dr Abse
in. He is the most abominable quack that ever lived. Don't you remember what he put
in
that remedy he gave Horace
last autumn? Powdered mummy!'

‘
His reputation is very high,' Charles said feebly in self
defence. 'All the people of fashion swear by him.'

‘
All the people of fashion die by him, and the more fool
them! If I had my way, I'd tie him to a bed and dose him
with his own filth until he choked on it. The harm such
people do is not to be believed! Spirits of lead and
powdered dung and ground woodlice; blistering and
fomentations and bleeding; all the old witches' brews and
hocus pocus! Oh, why didn't God make me a man?’

It was her old cry, and Charles could only pat her arm
and say, 'I really can't imagine.'

‘
You must promise me you won't have Abse in again,
Charles. I'll do what I can for Flora. If Abse has not
poisoned her, Docwra and I will make up something for her,
and we'll have her on her feet in no time. Docwra is the
greatest help to me, you know. She had the doctoring of all
her brothers and sisters in Ireland, and brought her mother through the childbed fever. And when I had to pull a tooth
last week — one of the housemaids at Wolvercote, and,
Lord! you would think I was going to murder her, the noise
she made — Docwra held her down for me. It is a knack, you
know, Charles — not everyone can do it.'

‘
I begin to see her attraction,' Charles smiled. 'Penney
was right about your not needing an abigail.’

They arrived at the door of Flora's room. Charles
scratched upon it, and they went in to find Flora lying on
the day-bed by the window. Lucy was shocked at the change
that had occurred in her in the two months since she had
last seen her; but Flora's face lit up at the sight of Lucy, and
she began at once to get up.

‘
Dear Lucy, I knew you would come. Now I shall be
comfortable again!’

*

A few days later Lucy's elder sister, Mary Haworth, arrived
at Chelmsford House, on her way back to Morland Place
from Portsmouth. She had just had three days' blissful
reunion with her adored husband, George Haworth, who
was a sea officer, commanding His Majesty's ship
Cressy.
The
Cressy
had put in for some necessary refitting after
eighteen months at sea, and had now gone back to resume
her task of bottling up the French ships in their harbours.

Mary and Flora were old friends, for Flora had been brought up with the Morland children before Lucy was
born. When Flora married Charles in 1782, Mary had
gone on their honeymoon tour with them as bridal companion, and thereafter had made her home permanently
with them, until her own marriage two years ago.

Mary presented a very different picture from her younger
sister, for where Lucy was only quite pretty, Mary was truly
beautiful. Introduced by Flora into society, she had become
a leader of the
ton,
and had had scores of suitors of the
greatest eligibility. Barons and earls had been dying for love
of her, but she had led them all a dance and remained
provokingly heart-whole, so that Flora began to fear that she would end as an old maid. Then when she was almost
thirty, and more beautiful and sought-after than ever, Mary
had fallen in love almost at first sight with a very unremark
able sea-captain, a friend of Flora's far more dashing naval
friend, Hannibal Harvey.

Marriage and motherhood had not diminished Mary's
beauty nor affected her style. She arrived at Chelmsford
House with all the dignities of a post-chaise, a maid and a
man, and a suitable quantity of luggage; wearing moreover
an extremely modish pelisse of
bleu celeste
velvet and carry
ing an enormous muff of black sable. Her gloves were of
French kid, and her glossy dark curls fell from beneath a
perfectly distracting Russian hat of the same fur, decorated
with a red-and-white hackle.

‘
I hope you can stay for a good, long time,' Flora said.
‘Apart from my party to celebrate the Prince of Wales's
marriage, which I must have you for, you know that Louisa
 
is in Town, with John, to shop for her confinement, and I
know she would value your opinion on what to buy.'

‘
She had far better ask yours, ma'am,' Mary smiled.
‘After all, you are her mother; and besides, your budget is
closer to hers than mine is. I am only a poor sea-captain's
wife: I can't afford to patronise the shops you and Louisa go
to.'

‘
How can you say that, when you arrive in the most
delicious hat I have seen all winter?' Flora said. 'Where did
you get it?'

‘
I designed it myself, and Farleigh made it up. She is
wonderfully clever with her fingers.'

‘
You and Lucy have maids perfectly suited to your
needs,' Charles remarked. 'Farleigh dresses hair and makes
hats, and Docwra dresses wounds and holds down patients.'

‘
Hush, Charles! You will stay, won't you, Mary? Louisa's
John will beg off my party with some excuse about being
needed at the House, unless I tell him you are to be there.'

‘
I'll stay with pleasure, if you think I won't spoil your
numbers,' Mary replied, wisely ignoring the last part.

‘
Oh no, as to that, I shall invite Lord Tonbridge for you.
He has not courted any woman since you refused his offer,
you know. Everyone says he stays single for love of you.'

‘Everyone?' Mary queried with a wry smile.

‘
His mother,' Charles elucidated. 'It will be most cruel of
you to invite him to have his heart broke all over again, my
love, for Mary is prettier than ever. And it will do nothing
for your numbers, because you will have to invite his mother
too. She certainly won't let him come without her.'

‘
Never mind,' Flora said peaceably. 'I shall ask Horace to
bring along some single men. There are some quite respect
able officers in his regiment.'

‘
I should think there may be!' Charles exclaimed, amused
at this slight upon the Prince of Wales's own regiment.

‘
And Hannibal shall bring one of his fellow admirals. I'm
sure there must be plenty of them in London, for one
cannot walk down Bond Street without bumping into half a
dozen. It makes me wonder who there can be at sea.'

‘
It's a good system, which allows for keeping the bad
sailors on shore while the good sailors command at sea,’

Mary said from the depths of her two-year acquaintance
with matters nautical. 'But you must be so pleased that your
friend is raised to flag rank at last.'

‘
Indeed I am,' Flora said. 'Now he will be able to pay his account at Fladong's. I never knew anyone build up debts so fast! If he did not eat here three days of the week, I am sure he would starve to death. It is a very good thing, you know,
Mary, that you did not accept him, because I am sure you
would not have been happy, though I thought otherwise at
the time.’