Page 49 of Miss Whittier Makes a List
He stopped and put his hand on her shoulder.“And whose idea was that?”
“Why, Arthur Wellesley, the Viscount ofWellington. He thought a diversion would get us past the porter.”
Spark stared at her.“Hells’bells, you have been keeping excellent company.”
“He is a fine man, Daniel, and I wish thee would not swear,”she said as she took the dispatch out of the front of hershirt.“Who do I give this to?”
“Give it to that red-faced walrus with the pop eyes,”he whispered.“That is Lord Tichenor.”He hurried her toward the long table, where the lords all stood, surrounded by lesser ranks of officers.“My Lord Tichenor, we request permission to approach the table.”
“This is highly unusual, Sir Daniel,”bellowed the admiral, his voice still equal to any battle or hurricane.“God bless me, itisa woman!”
“Well, more of a young lady, actually, but she will grow,”Spark amended.“Give him the dispatch like a good girl, Hannah.”
She handed it over.“This is from theBergeron,which Captain Spark sank. It makes excellent reading, sir, so we saved it for thee.”
Spark looked around the room until he located Lord Luckingham. He leaned across the table.“My Lord, you may wish to set a stronger guard at the door before you begin reading.”
“As you were!”the first lord shouted.“Find that... that young lady a chair. My God, madam, have you no shoes?”
“Why, no,”she replied, unable to keep the laughter from her voice.“We could not find any that small in ship’s store, and it was warm inPortugalwhen we left.”
The officers in the room laughed. The admiral banged on the table with the flat of his hand, and then stopped suddenly, sniffing the air.“Do I smell smoke?”he demanded in the same rasping voice.
“Yes, sir,”she replied.“My friend Adam had to set fire to the curtains to distract the porter long enough for me to get in here.”
The admiral stared at her. Captain Spark shrugged his shoulders.“Americans, sir. What can one say?”The admiral clutched the dispatch to him and sat down slowly. His eyes narrowed.“Madam, you come from a distempered race.”
“Exactly what I have been telling her, my lord,”Spark said cheerfully.“Come, Hannah, you can have my chair.”
She sat down next to Mr. Futtrell, who flashed her a grin and then turned his attention to Lord Tichenor as he read the dispatch. Captain Spark found another chair and pulled it next to her.“You made it,”he said simply,and took her hand.
Halfway through the dispatch, Lord Tichenor looked up and cleared his throat. He gestured to theDissuade’sMarines.“Stand by the door, men,”he ordered, then returned his attention to the paper. The two other lords stood behind his chair, reading over his shoulder.
“We were almost through,”Spark whispered, leaning close to her.“Naturally, I could not say anything about the dispatch, because I did not have it.”He looked into her eyes.“You are a wonder, Hannah.”
“Iam nothing of the sort,”she protested, but her voice was soft.“How could anyone stand in the chapel at All Saints and see all those wounded men, and not want to do something to end this bloodshed faster?”
He nodded, then turned his attention to the front, where Lord Tichenor was on his feet now. He clasped her hand more firmly, twining his fingers through hers as though he did not wish to let her go again.“About those kisses in the chapel,”he whispered,his eyes still on Lord Tichenor.“Imeant every one of them, Hannah.”
Lord Tichenor rapped on the table for silence. He held out the dispatch toward Lord Luckingham, who sat in the front row, supremely unconcerned.“Lord Luckingham, ispered,aps you might find this document interesting,”he said, and gestured for him to come to the table.
Luckingham strolled to the front, a question in his eyes.
“He doesn’t have a clue,”Hannah whispered.
Lord Tichenor’s voice was all affability now.“Startreading here, my lord. It’s a letter from the governor ofAntigua. Take your time; savor it, you bastard.”
The chamber was silent now, as a hundred officers, men,clerks, and barristers stared at Lord Luckingham. Luckingham snatched up the document from the table. The paper began to rattle in his fingers and the color drained from his face, leaving behind the wide-eyed stare of an animal in a trap.“You can’t possibly believe a document delivered by an American, my lord,”he said at last,turning the word into an epithet.
Hannah was on her feet in a second.“We have dragged that document through hell, my Lord Tichenor!”she shouted.“Ihave seenmen die for it! I don’t care if thee are all pettifogging,arrogantEnglishmen! No nation deserves to suffer a traitor!”
Her words rang out in the chamber. Lord Luckingham threw down the document and leaned against the table, as if his legs would no longer support him. He covered his face with his hands as theDissuade’sMarines led him away. Hannah sighed and sat down again.
Lord Tichenor watched the traitor until the door slammed. He satdown again, a frown on his face,and looked again at the other papers before him.“Now where were we?”he murmured to himself.“Ah, yes, Captain Spark, I believe we have to deliberate now and conclude your court martial.”
Hannah leaped to her feet again.“My lord, I hope thee is not going to cut up stiff because theDissuadesank. Thee was not there to see all that water pouring into the hold and hear those pumps clank.”
The first lord’s lips twitched, but he managed a stern face.“Miss Whittier, sit down!”he ordered.“One doesn’t get to be first lord without hearing pumps. Captain Spark has already been ably defended and does not need American counsel from some barefoot chit.”
