Page 48 of The Trials of Alaric
“Yes, indeed, I saw theMistleave. Such a beautiful vessel. Fine lines. The Earl of Claddach’s, I believe. She’s been berthing here quite often recently, as the earl’s lady and her sister have friends in Birkenhead.”
“She is a lovely ship,” Alaric agreed. “We came over from Claddach on her and expected to return this afternoon. We were surprised to find her gone.” That was putting it mildly.
“That explains why the captain was arguing,” said the gentleman. “It was that young pup, Beverley. The earl’s nephew.Thinks a lot of himself, that boy. He must have demanded the captain take him somewhere. Back to the island, perhaps?”
“Beverley!” Luke’s tone made the name into a profanity. “What was he doing here?”
“Putting a spoke in our wheel, clearly,” Alaric declared. “More to the point, how did he get here? There was no ferry until three this afternoon, and it cannot be more than a quarter to three now.”
“Ah, well, it could be the young viscount came in on a fishing smack,” said the gentleman. “He came along the quay from where the fishing fleet docks, and he had a rough-looking fisherman type with him. Fellow pointed out theMistand then went into the tavern, there. I haven’t seen him come out, so I suppose he is still there.”
“Sir,” Alaric said, “could we persuade you to come into the tavern with us and identify him?”
Alaric offered the elderly man his arm, and all three of them crossed the road to the tavern, where the observant gentleman very quickly found a man sitting in the shadows hunched over a mug. “That is him. That is the man who directed Lord Beverley to theMist.”
Alaric recognized him immediately. “Gorry,” he said.
They saw the gentleman back to his bench. Alaric told Luke, “He will recognize me straight away as the man who called the constables on him for breaking his son’s arm.” With that, Luke took on the task of talking to Gorry. He went back to the tavern and Alaric sat with their new friend to watch the boats.
The old gentleman had some questions. “Please tell me if I intrude, sir, but I sense a story. I am burning with curiosity. Is Lord Beverley the villain of the piece? Is that unprepossessing fellow in the tavern? How did you come to be on Claddach, and why are you so anxious to return? Are any of you suitors for the hand of the earl’s daughter? His trials are the talk of the county,and we are all agog to know what is happening. And who is the lady your friend whisked away into the inn? She was not with you on the yacht, so where did she come from? Now you can tell me to mind my own business, sir.”
Alaric laughed. “I will not do that, sir. I shall start by introducing myself. I am Alaric Redhaven, and yes, I am an aspirant for the hand of Lady Beatrice Collister. So is my friend, Lord Lucas Versey. Though I daresay he is not as keen on the lady as I.”
The gentleman inclined his head. “I am Thomas Oxton. Sir Thomas, if we are being particular, but since I have passed the reins to my son, I do not bother much with such details.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Thomas,” Alaric said. “The other gentleman you saw is my brother Viscount Stavely, and we came to Birkenhead to meet his wife and to take her with us to the island. The trials are the reason we need to return quickly. Versey and I have been given leave for today but must be back tonight.
“As to Beverley, he is also a suitor in the trials. Whether he is a villain remains to be seen. I last saw Gorry, the man in the tavern, on Claddach being taken away to await the magistrate’s pleasure. I have no idea why Beverley or Gorry would be here in Birkenhead.”
Sir Thomas chuckled. “To cut you out, Redhaven. You and your friend Versey, who is, I imagine, one of the Duke of Dellborough’s whelps.”
“And here he comes,” Alaric said, not without relief. Sir Thomas might be old, but he was still sharp.
Luke crossed the road and came up to them. Alaric said, “Sir Thomas, may I present Luke Versey. Luke, this is Sir Thomas Oxton. I have just been telling him we are suitors in the trials. Apparently, everyone on this side of the water is just asinterested in them as those on the island. He understands why we need to get back.”
“Beverley has done his best to make sure it doesn’t happen tonight,” Luke told them. “He paid Gorry to bring him across from the island. Gorry put a lot of words around it, but in essence, Beverley found him at the harbor about to steal his erstwhile employer’s fishing smack, and came along for the ride.”
“Stealing a boat? Gorry’s keen to tighten the noose around his own neck, isn’t he?” Alaric commented.
“Gorry reckons he was just taking back his own,” said Luke, with a grimace. “Seems the fisherman who owns the boat bought it off the gambler who won it off Gorry.”
“Then felt sorry enough for Gorry’s family to hire the disgusting excuse for a husband and father to work for him.”
Luke nodded. “Only to fire him for persistently turning up drunk or failing to turn up at all. ‘It’s not right. A man has a drink or two to keep him warm, and next thing, he’s thrown off his own boat.’ According to Gorry, everything that has happened to him is somebody else’s fault.”
“I know the sort,” said Sir Thomas. “What of the yacht, Lord Lucas?”
“Gorry recognized you on the yacht, Alaric. They were close behind us when we landed, and Gorry blames you for his arrest. He suggested to Beverley that the sea trip to Brighton would be quicker and pleasanter than the coach trip to London. Beverley was only too pleased to try to stop you from getting back to the island by Lord Claddach’s deadline.”
“Do either of you gentlemen know how to sail a fishing smack?” Sir Thomas asked.
“I’ve done a little sailing in my brother’s pleasure yacht,” Luke admitted.
“I am a complete novice,” Alaric conceded, “but I can follow instructions.”
Sir Thomas hoisted himself to his feet. “Hmm. We can’t have you drowning on the way over. We’ll have to see if we can do better than that. Come along, gentlemen. We are going to arrange your transport back to Claddach.”
*
