have only just found you again.'
He said quietly, 'There is none braver than you, Kate.' He had to leave; it was best to do it quickly, for both their sakes. 'Kiss me.'
He felt her mouth mould into his body as if to hold them together for ever. Then they were just as suddenly apart. Allday held open the carriage door and raised his hat.
She handed him Bolitho's cloak and stood very upright on the bottom step, her body framed against the chandelier-lit hallway.
She said, 'I ask of you again, Mr Allday. Take the best care of him! '
Allday grinned, but felt the sadness like his own. 'We'll be back afore you knows it, m'lady.' He went around the carriage so that Bolitho could watch her from the window.
Bolitho said, 'You hold my heart, dear Kate! ' He might have said something more, but freed from the brake and with the sharp crack of the coachman's whip, the words were lost in the din of wheels and the jangle of harness.
The carriage had been out of sight for some time before she eventually turned, oblivious to the cool air, and entered the house. How empty and alien it seemed without him.
She had considered returning to Falmouth, but something, a hint in his tone had made her believe that her place was here. Was it only a short distance he was going this time? She thought of his sea-chest, the fine new shirts she had forced him to buy in London. She smiled, remembering again. Her London. He certainly was not carrying enough baggage for a lengthy mission.
She found Yovell waiting for her, to discover her requirements.
'Why him, Mr Yovell? Can you tell me that? Is there no limit to what they can demand?'
Yovell removed his small gold-rimmed spectacles and polished them vigorously with his handkerchief.
'Because he is usually the only one for the task, m'lady.' He smiled as he replaced his glasses. 'Even I do not know what he is about this time! '
She looked at him proudly. 'Will you sup with me tonight, Mr Yovell? I would take it as a favour.'
He stared at her, trying not to let his eyes stray over her hair, the way she lifted her chin, the very presence of her.
'It would be a privilege indeed, m'lady! '
She made for the staircase. 'There is a price, Mr Yovell. I will wish to hear everything you know about the man I love, more than life itself.'
Yovell was glad she did not press him further. Her frankness, the light of defiance which seemed to shine from her eyes, was like nothing he had ever experienced.
He took off his glasses and polished them again without even realising what he was doing.
And she trusted him. The woman who had created the gossip and lies but had just spoken so fervently of her love, could have done the round-shouldered secretary Daniel Yovell no greater honour.
It was four o'clock in the morning when, stiff and painfully aware of the fast drive from London, Bolitho finally stepped down from the unmarked carriage and tasted the salt air in his mouth.
It was pitch dark as, followed by Allday and two seamen who were waiting to carry his chest, he walked towards the gates of the guardhouse. When he looked up at the low clouds he saw just a hint of the castle's solid silhouette. It could easily have been a ridge of rock, a miniature TableMountain.
He heard Allday cough, then stifle it with his hand. His coxswain was probably as glad as he was to have arrived in one piece. Thank God the Dover Road had been deserted, because the coachman had driven like a soul possessed. Bolitho had the feeling he was well used to this kind of work.
'Halt! Who goes there?'
Bolitho tossed his boat-cloak back from one epaulette and walked into a circle of lanternlight.
He heard Jenour's familiar voice, saw his pale breeches as he hurried out to greet him.
'Bravo, Sir Richard! You must have been blessed with wings! '
Bolitho shook his hand. It was cold, like his own, and he was reminded of Catherine's words about the coming winter.
Allday muttered, 'That bugger nearly did what the Dons an' the Frogs has failed to do many times! '
The Officer-of-the-Guard joined them and doffed his hat. 'Welcome to Dover, Sir Richard.'
Bolitho could feel the lieutenant's scrutiny even in the dark. Recognition again, curiosity too.
Bolitho had never really liked Dover. He found it difficult to forget the months before the outbreak of war-what was it? Thirteen years ago? It did not seem possible. He had been unemployed, still weakened by the fever which had struck him down so cruelly in the GreatSouthSea, and which had all but killed him. Too many captains, too few ships. In peacetime the fleet had been cut to the bone, sound vessels laid up to neglect and rot, sailors thrown on the beach unwanted with no jobs to go to.
Bolitho was still very bitter about it. Like the shantyman's song which had ended on that same note, Now we have naught to eat and drink, For you have naught to fear… Would it be the same when this war was finally won, and a part of history?
More than anything he had wanted a ship then. To forget his experiences in the GreatSouthSea, to begin all over again with another fine frigate like his Tempest had been. Instead he had been offered the thankless task of recruiting men at the Nore and the Medway towns, and at the same time seeking out deserters who had fled the navy for the more lucrative and brutal trade of smuggling.
His work had sometimes brought him to Dover. To see a smuggler kick out his life on the gallows, or to pit his wits against the authorities, the men of power who were hand-in-glove with the Brotherhood, as it was called. But the guillotine's blade which had fallen on the neck of France 's king had changed all that overnight. Not a frigate; they had given him the old Hyperion. It was as if she had been destined for him. Now like so many faces, she too had gone to the bottom.
He realised the others were waiting and said, 'What ship?'
The lieutenant swallowed apologetically. 'My orders are-'
Bolitho snapped, 'Don't waste my time, man! '
'She lies out at anchor, Sir Richard. The Truculent, Captain Poland.' He sounded crushed.
Bolitho sighed. Like a family You either lost touch completely or faces and ships reappeared again and again. He knew that both Zest and Truculent had joined the North Sea squadron and would eventually serve under his flag once Black Prince was in full commission. He forced himself from going over the mystery of Keen's. silence again and asked, 'Is there a boat waiting?'
'Er, yes, Sir Richard.'
Jenour hid a smile as the lieutenant led the way with a lantern, half-shuttered as if the dock area was filled with spies and French agents. He watched Bolitho's quick stride and was glad to be with him again. Jenour had enjoyed his freedom, which he had spent with his parents in Southampton, and yet when the messenger had brought his orders he had felt something like elation, without even the hesitation which might have been expected after his recent experiences.
Feet shuffled on cobbles, and as they turned a corner around some victualling sheds the sea-breeze swept amongst them like a boisterous greeting.
Bolitho stood on the edge of the jetty and stared past the other moored vessels, the gaunt shadows of rigging and furled sails, to the riding-lights of ships at anchor. He rarely thought about it at sea, but now, standing here on the wet cobbles which would soon reveal themselves in a grey dawn, it was a strange, unnerving
feeling. Out there in the darkness, no more than twenty sea-miles away was the enemy coast. In a man-of-war you could fight or run as your wisdom dictated. Along these shores, thinly protected by gunboats, the sea fencibles or some local militia, the ordinary people had no such choice. They more than any others probably thanked God for the weather-beaten ships of the blockade which day and night rode out storms and calms alike to keep the enemy bottled up in his harbours.
'Boat's ready, Sir Richard.'
Bolitho nodded to the Officer-of-the-Guard. 'How sets the tide?'
The man's face looked paler in the gloom, or was it imagination? He replied, 'It'll be on the ebb in two hours, Sir Richard.'
'Good.' It would mean a quick start. But who was the one chosen to give him the information he needed? He relented slightly. 'You keep a good watch, Lieutenant. It is just as well in this port! '
