“Oh. Idoapologize then. I certainly didn’t mean to disparage your friend. She and Captain Wentworth are a lovely couple.”
It was an odd double standard, Caroline admitted to herself, but it was unarguable that one was acceptable, and the other was not.
None of the other partners found anything else, and Captain Smythe shook his head. He definitely would have preferred to uncover Mr. Belvedere as a villain at once, but all he had uncovered in his cabin was questionable snuff and striped cravats.
Anne was relieved, and since it had taken well over an hour, ready to retire for the evening. Lady Marston also retired at once, although Sir Mark was grieved to be dragged away from the fun.
The captain left to superintend the search over the rest of the hold and the lower decks, and the young people were left to themselves.
“I don’t know about all of you, but I could use a turn under the stars,” Mr. Belvedere said. “It’s not every day your fellow passengers turn on youen masse. I shan’t be able to sleep a wink. What I wouldn’t give for a tankard of homebrew just now!”
“I still have my doubts about you,” Richard said, though in a kinder tone of voice. “I’d like to see your papers in the light of day tomorrow, and have Wentworth look them over as well.”
“You may do whatever you like with them—as long as you do not toss them overboard. Is anyone else up for a turn between the masts?”
The excitement of the evening still flowed through Caroline, and the thought of her tiny cabin, freshly violated, was not appealing. They went up in a group, and—as they all now had a week’s worth of practice behind them—could easily navigate the narrow ladder by the light of stars. The moon was waning into a crescent, and the wind was a bracing revelation.
“This is an odd moonlit parade,” Mr. Belvedere said. “I like it.”
6
Mr. Belvedere’s papers, upon examination, were inconclusive. Caroline was not to be left out now that they were under public comment, and she took her turn at the dining table with the others. Only Mrs. Scott seemed to feel it was not fitting for her to take part. Even Anne, with a gently furrowed brow, sat with the documents spread before her for some minutes.
There were four documents: three letters of introduction, and a letter ofbona fidesfrom a professor at Cambridge. The letters of introduction, ostensibly from Mr. Belvedere’s father, seemed unexceptionable to Caroline. A few turns of phrase did not sit quite right with her—but then, the older generation could be quite careless of proprieties. Witness Sir Mark.
The letter from Cambridge seemed a littletooperfect to her. The professor was,“only too delighted to recommend such an excellent student to your notice. He is not one of the pernicious scholars, only fit to ask questions, but gentlemanly, well-informed, and at ease in company.”
Was this a letter of recommendation from a university or a finishing school? She knew that, in truth, the professors atOxford and Cambridge didnotprefer the most studious students—as who would? She had once heard a professor in company complain of the scholarly ones. No one wanted “to be questioned in their field of expertise or to have their leisure hours used by importunate students who are not satisfied with the course of study!”
Andat ease in companywas a goal of any education… In short, the lettermightbe real, but it might not.
The signature also looked a little like his father’s signature, but then, many men wrote in that careless, florid style.
“I am not a graphologist,” Wentworth said. “So I really cannot say.” They were now alone—the four of them on the deck—and he shook his head in defeat. “He may be a rascal, but whether he is a traitor is a larger question. If not for the mail business, I would have said to let it go. He may be a neck-or-nothing young blood trying to make a cake of us all—but I would’ve considered him harmless.”
“Do we think he really is so young?” Caroline asked. “Once or twice I’ve fancied he’s older than he seems.
Richard shrugged and the others didn’t seem to pick up on the idea, so Caroline let it drop. Maybe she was wrong.
“I think he bears watching in Lisbon,” Richard said. “If he seems like he’s going to hie off there instead of continuing on—well, we might have our answer. If anyoneweregoing to intercept an army dispatch, they would have to do it before Lisbon, when the dispatches will be sent on to our forces.”
“How long until Lisbon?” Caroline asked.
“Smythe says with a strong westerly in spring or fall he could do it in less than two weeks, but in summer—depending on the depth of the doldrums—it could be three or four.”
“In the meantime,” Anne gently removed her skirt from the mouth of the goat, patting its head, “I really feel we shouldn’t treat him as a pariah. Imagine if the poor boy is innocent!And if heisguilty,then we should do our best to put him at ease. Perhaps he will make a mistake; he does not seem impenetrable.”
Wentworth brought her hand to his lips. “What you would like is for him to see the error of his ways and repent, and then you will want me to find him a position to keep him from a life of dishonesty.”
Anne smiled, her cheeks pink. “As long as we are making wishes…”
“Well, I think we are agreed,” Richard said. “We shall leave it for now. Heaven knows it won’t be hard to treat the young man as usual—he is almost impossible to dislike despite my effort.”
Caroline played on the harpsichord for several hours while Anne lay down. The instrument grew in her affections, as she grew in skill. The pressure of fingers and rapidity of motion was different with a harpsichord than a pianoforte, and she flattered herself she now had the knack of it.
Sir Mark came out of his room, tiptoeing and looking a little guilty. He glanced around quickly.
“Is everything well, sir?” Caroline asked.
