He frowned. 'Why does his name come to mind? He went down with the old ship.'
Allday sat on a chest while Ozzard forced down the lock.
'I met his widow yesterday. A trim little craft, an' no mistake.'
Yovell eyed him severely. 'I heard about you going to someone's rescue on the cliff lane. Tom the coastguard was full of it. They caught the other man, by the way-the dragoons ran him to earth. He told me something else too, John. About you.'
'If you dare to squeak a breath of it to Sir Richard, I'll…'
He grinned, knowing that Yovell would say nothing about his collapse on the road.
'Tell me about poor Jonas Polin's widow.'
Allday said, 'She was going to Fallowfield. Don't know it meself.'
Yovell smiled. 'I'm the foreigner here, and I'm the only one who seems to know where places are!' He folded his arms across his rotund body and looked at Allday thoughtfully. This was special. Serious too.
'It's on this side of the Helford River, near Rosemullion Head. Tiny place, just farm folk and a few fishermen. Why would she be going there? Old Jonas was a Brixham man, good Devon stock.'
Allday said cautiously, 'Nice little inn in Fallowfield, the Stag's Head, to all accounts.'
'Was, more like. The place has been almost derelict for a year or so.'
'It won't be no more, Daniel. She's bought it. Going to bring it to life again.' Her words still echoed in his ears. You will always be welcome, Mr Allday.
Yovell folded his list and put it in his pocket. 'She could do that. It's a long, long march to the Royal George in the next village.' He seemed to make up his mind, and to Allday's surprise he crossed over to him and gripped his hand.
'I wish you luck, John. God knows you've been hurt often enough, and I don't necessarily mean by the Frogs.'
Ozzard looked up from his knees, but he said nothing and could not smile. The thought of a woman's body brought the memory back instantly, its horror as stark as ever. The room in Wapping. The screams, the blood: hacking and hacking until there was only silence.
Ferguson left them to it and went back into the house, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. He had seen Keen crossing the garden alone, and turned away to avoid him. He kept telling himself it was nothing to do with him, or with anyone else, but the thought only made him feel more guilty.
A little later Tojohns, Keen's own coxswain, came through the door and touched his hat to Bolitho.
'Beg pardon, Sir Richard.' He avoided glancing at the admiral's lady and swallowed hard. Being here in the same house, sharing it all with the two people who were the talk of London and most seaports, was like being with royalty. 'Word's come from the town. The ship is about to anchor in Carrick Road.'
Bolitho smiled. He was suddenly excited, sharing it with her, like some midshipman with his heart on his sleeve.
'We shall board her tomorrow. Ask Stephen to deal with it.'
He looked round as Keen climbed the worn stone steps. What was he thinking? Was he already regretting handing over Black Prince to another? Was he measuring the value of promotion against leaving his young bride here in Falmouth?
Bolitho said, 'Tomorrow, Val.'
'I'm ready, Sir Richard. A captain without a ship, but still…'
'Did someone say that the ship is here?' Zenoria came in from the library. Her eyes immediately went to her husband.
Bolitho said kindly, 'It will not be forever. But I think Val is doing the best for his future, and for yours. A hard choice.' He looked at Catherine. 'But it always is. Only the unhappy find no pain in parting.'
Zenoria stared from one to the other. 'I am sorry, Sir Richard, but I did not know it was his choice. I thought my husband was under orders to take this appointment upon himself.'
Bolitho said, 'It is the navy's way, Zenoria.' To break the sudden tension he said to Keen, 'Will you walk with me a while, Val? I have had more news from the Admiralty.'
When they were alone Catherine put her arm around the girl's shoulders, and said softly, 'Try to love him as he loves you. He needs to know, to be told. All men do. He is a good man, decent and trusting… he must never have that trust tarnished.'
Zenoria said nothing but faced her. There were tears in her eyes. 'I am trying, Catherine. I have tried so hard…'
Catherine heard more footsteps as boxes were hoisted in readiness for loading into the carriage.
'Go to him now. Care for your man as I care for mine.' Her fine dark eyes were suddenly blurred. I love him so much I fear for his every move. Those he has tried to help turn their backs on him, and his true friends are fathoms deep in one ocean or another. But it is his life, and so I knew when I gave myself to him. And yet… there are times when I awake and find him gone, and I think my heart will break…
She saw Allday watching them and said brightly, 'And what is this I am hearing about you? A secret love, the rescue of a maid in distress?'
Allday grinned. He did not know how he knew, but he realised he had arrived at just the right time.
Valentine Keen walked through the shadows, his shoes slipping on damp grass. There must have been a heavy dew overnight, he thought, but now the garden was alive with birdsong at every level. It would be dawn quite soon, whereas the land beyond this place was still hidden in mystery. He could smell the sea in the soft wind shaking the leaves around them, giving him a sense of urgency, even despair.
He tightened his arm around Zenoria's slim shoulders and thought of the night here, the last for some time in England. He thrust the other thought from his mind: what every sailor, admiral or common seaman, had to consider each time his ship weighed anchor. It could be the last, forever.
A robin darting through the grass, revealed only by a swaying mass of daffodils, gave its lively, trilling call.
Keen said, 'It is almost time.' They paused at the old wall as if by some unspoken agreement. 'You will take care while I am away? I leave you in good hands, I know, but…'
She rested her head against his shoulder, and he drew her more closely to him. He said, 'I love you so much, Zenoria-and I am so afraid of failing you.'
In her eyes he saw the first faint daylight. 'How could you fail me, after all that you did for me? But for you…' She fell silent as he touched her mouth with his fingers.
'Don't think of then. Think of now. Think of us. I need your love so desperately… and I fear that I might drive you away. I am so… clumsy. I know so little. I find you one moment, and the next you are gone and a gulf yawns between us.'
She took his arm and turned him back along the winding path, her gown brushing against the stones, wet with dew.
'It has been difficult for me also, but not through lack of affection for you. Don't think of then, you said. But how can I not? It comes back, and I am in terror again.' She hesitated. 'I want to give myself, completely. When I see Sir Richard and his Catherine together I can hardly bear to watch them. Their love is something alive, beautiful…'
'You are lovely too, Zenoria.'
He laid his face against hers and felt tears on her cheek.
'I cannot bear to leave you like this.'
As if to mock his words, they heard horses being led unhurriedly from the stables. The carriage would be waiting.
He tightened his hold, caressing her hair. The light was growing; there was a bright smudge out there, like a careless brushstroke. The first view of the sea beyond Pendennis Point.
She whispered, 'I want to please you… like the girl you once had in the South Seas.'
Keen said, 'I never touched her, but I did love her. When she died I thought I could never… would never be able to love someone again.'
'I know. That is why I despair that I cannot give you my body… as you deserve.'
Keen heard Allday talking with Ferguson. So, if the rumour was true, he had found a woman to love, or one who had treated him with kindness after what he had done.
And I am losing mine.
