Page 20 of Trouble

‘Do you know him?’ Emily said, a little surprised by all of this familiarity and laid-back lambasting.

‘Yes, yes. Not that well, but our paths crossed in the navy a few times. I was actually thinking of sending him a note – will you deliver it for me, if I go and scribble it now, or will you set fire to it in front of me and then drop it into my pint?’

Emily shrugged non-committally.

‘Of course, I could not ask you to do so without compensation. I have .?.?. hmmm. Three shillings and some lint. I am partial to the lint, but the three shillings are yours.’

It felt important to Emily that she wait at least a few seconds before answering, and that she sound frankly bored when she did.

‘Fine.’

‘Fine,’ said the man, pleased. ‘Excuse me for just one moment.’

He was only gone for a few minutes; when he returned, Emily looked at him properly. He was handsome in a piratical sort of way. She did not exactlytrusthim, but she trusted him to be untrustworthy, which was a sort of assurance in its own way.

‘Here,’ he said, placing the folded note down in front of her, sealed with a blob of candle wax. He had tucked the three shillings into it, so that it was heavier than she expected when she picked it up, and she nearly dropped one of the coins.

‘Careful you don’t lose a hand when you give it to him – he bites.’

‘I’m sure he doesn’t,’ she said, emboldened by the beer and this new comrade in captain-hating. ‘Bitingwould be far too interesting. I could tolerate biting, as part of a broader repertoire of personality traits.’

Emily liked making him laugh, because he didn’t do it out of pity and it wasn’t aimedather; he laughed in a sort of quietly awed way, as if he had discovered something exciting and was pleased to be the first to witness it.

‘Listen,’ he said, leaning closer, careful not to encroach too far. ‘There’s something you might be able to help me with. I have reason to believe that Edwards has been doing something a little untoward. Shocking, I know, but it could be quite diverting if it proves true – and the person who uncovers such a thing would certainly be rewarded handsomely. You seem enterprising, and far too lively to be trapped in Fairmont House for ever. If you hear anything .?.?. see anything .?.?. can I rely on you to pass it along?’

Emily was stuck onrewarded handsomely.

This could be the answer. She wouldn’t need to lie low for weeks, hoping for another opportunity to steal something gaudy from the depths of a cupboard. Collecting secrets was far easier. There was no need to find somewhere in your room to stash the evidence. Captain Edwards was likely involved in some dull crime of a financial nature – some bending of the rules that wealthy people were so fond of – and she would be all too happy to cash in on his arrogant mistakes.

‘Think about it,’ he said. Emily was pleased to discover that her face wasn’t saying an enthusiastic yes on her behalf. ‘And don’t tell the old man, whatever you decide. Stop back here again Saturday week, and we can continue this little chat. Have another drink. I’ll count your fingers and thumbs to ensure you still have them all.’

‘I can manage counting to ten on my own,’ said Emily.

‘Well, there you are,’ said the man, winking. ‘I knew I was looking at a woman of substance. Saturday, next week! Think about it.’

‘I will,’ said Emily.

He offered a hand to be shaken. ‘I’m Charles.’

‘Charles,’ said Emily, taking it briefly.

‘And you are .?.?. ?’

‘The governess.’

Charles seemed to find this little act of resistance amusing.

‘What sort of governess drinks in public houses and lets ugly, brazen strangers bend her ear?’

Emily drank the last of her second pint in one gulp, then set the glass back down and got to her feet.

‘Thissort.’

She kept the note and the shillings clutched tightly in her hot fist all the way back to Fairmont House.

Chapter Eight

Hell had not yet become a destination for ice skating and frost fairs, so Emily did not go looking for Captain Edwards herself.