“Are you—sorry to go?” Caroline asked her.
“A little. But not very.” Looking at her closely, Caroline was again struck by her surprising beauty. The dark, plain clothes were deceiving, but she would be a handsome woman anywhere.
“Pray forgive me if I should not ask,” Caroline said, “but are you acting as companion to the Marstons?”
Mrs. Scott’s eyes flashed with a force of will and resentment that Caroline instinctively recognized, but Mrs. Scott cast her eyes down to hide it. “Yes, indeed. I am a sort of aide-de-camp to Lady Marston, which is a stroke of great fortune for me.”
“Ah, of course.” Caroline did not envy herthatposition. She felt sure Mrs. Scott had been in better circumstances once. There was breeding and intelligence in her face. As they watched Cornwall recede into a gray line on the horizon, Caroline spoke of art, music, and even books, and found that Mrs. Scott was a woman of taste, though her experience had been narrow and she was ignorant of recent trends.
The men joined in with their conversation, although Captain Wentworth’s gaze strayed to Mr. Belvedere, who was jovially getting in everyone’s way near the bow. He seemed to be trying to get the parrot to speak.
“That is Mr. Belvedere,” Richard said, “supposedly on the Grand Tour.”
“Well, he is making a nuisance of himself. Mr. Belvedere,” Captain Wentworth called, seeing that the first mate looked ready to throttle him. “Come away. It is not a passenger’s part to bandy words with the crew when they have duties.”
Mr. Belvedere came away cheerfully. “How do you do, sir? At your service. I apologize if I was in the way. I always was aknock-in-the-cradle! My friends say it’s a wonder I don’t have to be told how to put one foot in front of t’other. But I have a great interest in ships! I was quite mad to join the Navy at one time. Shame how those things never quite work out.” He didn’t look at all cast down, however, particularly as he took in Mrs. Scott.
She was even more noticeable in the cloudy daylight than she was in the dining room below. The wind had put color in her rather pale cheeks as well as tugging some of her hair loose to curl around her neck.
Mr. Belvedere bowed. “I could barely see anyone down below, terribly dim. It’s Mrs. Scott, is it not?” Caroline was not above being amused by this small tableau, which could be titled,Young Gentleman Agreeably Surprised by Beauty.
After a further round of introductions, Caroline asked, “Would anyone care to play cards? Perhaps we could make up foursomes for whist.”
“By all means,” Mr. Belvedere said. “It’s a bit of a slow game for me—whist—but I don’t mean to complain. It’s capital to find anyone on this packet that enjoys cards!”
“I’m afraid I must decline,” Mrs. Scott said. “I should check on Lady Marston; please excuse me.”
Mr. Belvedere was cast down, but Richard clapped him on the shoulder. “No time like the present then—you offered to show me your letters of recommendation, yes?”
“If you wish to do anything so dull, I’ve no opposition to make. Let us go down.”
3
Caroline was a little curious to see Mr. Belvedere’sbona fidesherself, but she would content herself with asking about it later. On returning to the dining room, a large wooden case distracted her. It was about four feet by two, an odd shape that was reminiscent of?—
“Why, a folding harpsichord! How quaint,” Anne said.
Caroline noticed the captain just leaving his own quarters, the door closest to the ladder stairs. “Excuse me, Commander Smythe. Is this a harpsichord? Whose is it?”
Packet Commander Smythe looked a gentleman and wore a uniform very like a British naval captain, although this was not a military ship. His sparse gray hair and coarse red features showed that he had spent many decades in sun and wind. “Why, it is mine, ma’am! You may call me Captain Smythe, if you like—Packet Commander Smytheis a mouthful. Anyway, I keep this little musical beauty stowed, but when I have ladies aboard, as on this trip, I have it set up.”
“How considerate! I do love music,” Caroline said.
“Do you play? Or you Mrs. Wentworth? We all love a concert.”
Anne smiled. “I play the pianoforte, but rarely the harpsichord. I shall need to practice.”
Wentworth had just come down, and he put his arm around her. “Very considerate, Captain, we shall all enjoy it. I have been admiring your ship above. How many crew?”
“Thirty, sir, although we could do with twenty in a pinch! I know it’s none of your frigates—but she’s a good, tight ship.”
“I don’t despise it, I assure you. Many’s the time I’ve been thankful to have a schooner or a sloop nearby. Not as many guns, but there’s nothing to touch them for maneuverability.”
“Exactly, Captain Wentworth! You’ll have noticed the guns. Six cannon and two swivel guns. My own addition.”
“A very wise precaution.”
The captain doffed his hat. “I’ll have two of the men set the harpsichord up for our journey.”
