The Triple Goddess (53 page)

There they left her on the floor, for her to await being hauled downstairs and released on her own recognizance whenever they might feel up to it.

Thoughtfully Carew replaced a Meissen vase, which he had had the presence of mind during the episode to move into a corner, on the mantel over the fireplace. Gradually, under the influence of more good Rhenish wine, the parties relaxed; to the extent that the senior Ralegh, fingering his bruises and ruefully surveying the wreckage, gave a staccato bark of amusement, and commented that Mr Pepys had not done half so good a job.

This drew belly laughs from the Earl and Grammaticus and prompted dry acknowledgment from Carew and Arbella. And then they were all talking at once about the brawl, and who had done what to whom.

Finally Sir Walter wiped his good eye and held up his hand. ‘My thanks to ye all. I do not think I have enjoyed myself so much since I laid my cloak over an open sewer for Essex to walk upon. It was my best one, but it was worth it.’

Ralegh bowed to the Earl. ‘My compliments to you, Henry Percy, my staunch and sturdy partner in war as in peace. And Grammaticus, thou didst splendidly.’ The peer made a leg and fluttered his fingers in acknowledgement, and the grizzled servant’s face tautened at the rare compliment.

‘But now,’ Ralegh resumed, ‘we must turn to the matter of what hath transpired in the course of the last few days. It hath not, I am sure, been lost upon anyone that a capital event is scheduled to take place on the Green. At noon tomorrow…as it may happen.’

Through the window came the sound of drunken laughter and cheering, and Sir Walter gave a wry smile. ‘The head that will tumble is mine. I have it on the authority of the Wiz, whose expertise in such matters I freely confess greatly exceeds my own,’—again he bowed to Lord Henry, who returned the courtesy—‘that this time the axe will be wielded to better effect.

‘Ye all must understand, that I am looking forward most fervently to at last receiving my quietus; to being granted quittance from this mocking world, which, disobliging fate and destiny, and the Deity, I have encumbered for so far too long.

‘That is the sum and substance of it…but before I say anything more, let us put the cat out. For I fear that if we leave the baggage where she is any longer, the vitriol in her veins shall burn through the bindings. I do not know about yours, but my constitution is not equal to another such contest. I am, after all, a very old man.’

Chapter Thirty-Five

‘Something hath come to light,’ Ralegh resumed, after his wife had been dumped outside on the pavement; ‘something so fantastic that I am still trying to believe and understand it myself. My good friend Lord Henry, by way of bringing to conclusion our competitive strivings in assaying the composition of my Balsam of Guiana, and how it might be purged from the human system, hath at last succeeded in establishing that it hath a built-in obsolescence.

‘Put another way, by a complicated process of mathematical calculation, rather than the chemical experimentation which I pursued for so long, the Wiz hath identified that there is a date beyond which the vegetative matter I utilized in my concoction ceases to be therapeutic—though I find it hard to assign it so beneficial a description—in immunizing one against the natural causes of mortality and the ravages of disease, and the effects of accident and infliction of such physical wounds as are normally conducive to the expiry of the sufferer.’

Carew said impatiently, ‘
En bref
, Father, please. You are not writing your memoirs.’

‘What I am saying, firstly, is that Northumberland—my servant Grammaticus—my younger son—and I are at last to assume the mantle of immortality that should long ago have been draped around our shoulders. We shall become as immaterial as the ether into which our souls would have fled at the moment of our appointed deaths.

‘Secondly, the Earl hath also determined, through a complex combination of theoretical and empirical analysis that I am incapable of comprehending, calculated the precise second at which the wretched Cordial’s power to arrest our departure will be nullified. That moment is due to occur...let me see…’—Ralegh stroked his beard in an affectation of forgetfulness—‘ah, yes, it is to be
on the stroke of noon tomorrow.
’

Arbella, Carew, and Grammaticus gasped, and Arbella looked at her watch. She said, ‘You mean that in only...’

‘Tomorrow, then, not only am I to be released, but also those whom I unwittingly caused to partake of the same infusion, the same bane: Lord Henry, Carew, and Grammaticus. Nor is my wife to be excluded, though I should not be surprised if Death, tasting her poisonous flesh, spat her back into the world. Tomorrow are the years to roll back, and Time, so long prorogued, will reassert itself as if it had never been deprived of its sovereign sway over our bodies.

‘It is therefore now most incumbent upon me to tell you how sorry I am, not only for what I have been responsible for—though it is surely too late to atone for my prideful interposal in Divine matters—but for the short period afforded ye to make such preparations as ye may wish for your departure into the hereafter.’

Ralegh looked embarrassed. ‘A detail: I do not mind confessing my embarrassment at learning from the Wiz that, of the twenty-six ingredients in my Cordial, fully twenty-five of them contributed nothing but flavour, and not in each case good flavour. By keeping their names to ourselves we intend to take the secret of the one with us.’

It was Carew who broke the silence. ‘Well, I can’t say that this doesn’t come as a relief, Father, as well as a shock. To have defied Nature for so long places an extraordinary burden upon the spirit, which each of us has experienced in ways that have largely, at least so far as I have been concerned, remained unshared. Perhaps there was little point in discussing them.

‘But Father, the most important thing is that you must not think that I in any way blame you for anything.

‘I do have a single question, however: since I am the only one of us who has been active in the modern world, the only one who will be missed, though I should not take such for granted of my mother, I wonder what shall be made of that?’

Ralegh exchanged glances with the Earl. ‘I already put that question to the Wiz. The answer is that what public record remains of Master Carew Ralegh, Gentleman, will relate only to his historical existence. I exclude Arbella from my generalization, for she is close and privy to our secret and will remain so.

‘Otherwise, the extension of life that followed the date of thy naturally appointed decease will be, at the moment of our departure, “cancelled from inception”...as I believe the phrase is in thy risky business.’

Arbella decided that this would be an appropriate time for her to withdraw, out of respect for the men’s privacy, and leave them to continue to assess the implications of the revelation. As she walked quietly to the door, she took the Ralegh slip from her case and approached Carew with it, laying her hand gently on his arm where he stood with head bowed.

Carew roused himself from his brown study and accepted the document. ‘Thank you for reminding me, Arbella…please don’t go just yet. Father, changing the subject for a moment, we were on a mission when we came to visit you this afternoon: to deliver your completed contract.

‘Though it is no longer of any consequence, and will be forgotten by the subscribers as if it never existed—for my identity will be lost, and with it the recollection of all those who followed me onto it—its importance is undiminished by our new circumstances, which it preceded in reality.

‘As such you must therefore know that it was only through the conviction of Miss Arbella, the ingenuity of her design, and her unshakeable resolve, that it was brought to fruition.’

Ralegh reached out and took the slip.

‘You will see,’ continued Carew, ‘that it confirms the public esteem in which you still are held. The percentages represent the commitments of various syndicate underwriters on behalf of numerous private individuals who have agreed to wed their fortunes to yours. This contract is the mark of the greatest confidence in your integrity, your intelligence, and your ability. In sum, it honours your reputation.’

Though Sir Walter seemed to read the slip through several times, Arbella got the impression that he was not taking in much, but instead was taking the time to absorb the significance of Carew’s comments.

Then he said, hoarsely, ‘Of all the recognitions I have received in my life, this is without equal, and I am deeply appreciative, Arbella, of thy selfless work on my behalf. I only wish that I were able to fulfil my end of the bargain: in so saying, I hope in some small measure to convey to thee how much it means to me.

‘May I also assure thee that thy efforts were not in vain, for this does much to prepare me for the journey I am to take, in one direction only, outward bound to a destination where I will hope to remain forever in the company of those I love. I will accept this, therefore, in all humility, as a “Westward Ho! and Bon Voyage!”’

Ralegh went to the table, poured more wine, and passed the cups around. Raising his, he said, ‘On this final occasion that we are gathered together in private, then, I say to my lady Arbella: I wish you health, long life, and great happiness. In the short time of our acquaintance, thou hast done much to divert me from my brooding, and disperse the gloom of centuries. Thou hast reminded me of the pleasures of conversation, which I used to enjoy so much before I grew stale and quarrelsome.

‘In return but not in recompense…and I should have mentioned it before but something held me back…I would like to tell thee that such was my confidential relationship with my elder son, Wat, that he confessed to me on several occasions his profound love for your namesake, Lady Arbella Stuart. In my opinion it was not misplaced, for I memorialized it in my
Walsingham
poem.’

To her surprise, although Carew had already informed her of this, and recited the poem to her in full, Arbella felt tremulous at hearing first-hand confirmation of the connexion, as she spoke the lines,

‘

...true love is a durable fire

In the mind ever burning;

Never sick, never old, never dead,

From itself never turning.

‘Next,’ said Sir Walter, ‘I confirm my fond love for Lord Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland: despite the misfortune of your northern heritage, you have, dear Henry, for the longest time been my valued friend and companion, as well as my fellow scientist, partner in outlandish schemes, sparring partner in debate...and valued source of revenue at the card-table. Thank God for Harry Percy!

‘And to Grammaticus, who has stood by me through thick and thin, and endured my moods and intemperances, I can only say that my suffering would have been impossible without thee. Impossible to bear, I mean,’ added Sir Walter with a droll smile. ‘Thank you for thy comradeship and support, loyal Grammaticus.’

Grammaticus cleared his throat and looked away.

After a pause Sir Walter cleared his throat, and looked Carew fully in the face. ‘To my son, I will begin by saying this: though your more recent achievements, and they have been numerous and impressive, will be forgotten, I do not forget them and I commend thee for them. I applaud thee for thy energy and independent spirit, which hath far exceeded mine own during this extended period of our after-life life.’

Ralegh dropped to his knees. ‘Carew,’—it was the first time that Arbella had heard him address him by name—‘Carew mine, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the constant love that I have received from thee. Despite the neglect and indifference I have shown thee from thy earliest days, thou hast borne mine anger and boorish insults with unfailing tolerance.

‘Only the most loyal and loving of sons could have put up with such behaviour. I do not presume to ask for thy forgiveness, because I do not deserve it. My greatest regret is that, though I have always known the degree of my cruelty to thee, it is now too late to make amends. However I give thanks to God for his mercy in allowing my undeserving role in enabling thee to pursue the career that thou hast, and to accomplish so much, and to permit me to have the opportunity of acknowledging it and telling thee how sorry I am for the misery I have caused thee.

‘I take comfort in the fact that we will be embarking upon the greatest adventure of all together: father and son, we will go forth together into the great unknown.’

Carew, very pale, took his father by the hands and raised him to his feet. They embraced, and as they stood together facing the others, to Arbella it seemed that, though they had never been able to give it expression, neither had ever doubted the love of the other.

Sir Walter raised his cup again. ‘To ye all!’ he said, and they drank. Then Grammaticus went out to fetch a bottle of Madeira from the cellar and, having brought it back and opened and poured it, without any affectation of accomplishment wheeled in a trolley on which were plates of delicacies, including what Arbella took to be songbirds roasted on wooden skewers, and larks’ tongues served on Ritz crackers.

Arbella so admired the unforced light-heartedness of the others that, though she did not eat anything and only took a small glass of Madeira, she did her best to keep a brave face and say nothing that might weigh upon the rising spirits of the others.