Page 45 of Earl of Excess
“My sister mentioned you had survived the saffron fever,” she quipped. “It is a nasty punch in the gut. If we only knew for sure how it spread or even what causes it, it would help so much. There are beliefs, of course.” She tugged lightly at the scarf around her neck. “We use these to keep the foul air from getting into our bodies. It is all we know to protect us.” She turned and tapped her walking stick. “My sister thinks a lot of your... Lord Longueville. And certainly, my niece does as well,” she chortled.
“I was rude to your niece—not meaning to be. I apologized,” he said simply. It was all he could say. All he could do. “I must return to the city if I am to plan his lordship’s return home.” It was hard to miss this woman’s blindness. He wondered briefly if Miss Phillips had had her aunt in mind when she brought Long Longueville here.
“To England? Good luck. The only people that might visit England would be merchants and perhaps, the pirates,” she acknowledged softly.
“Yes, you make a good point. We may have to stay a little longer until a ship becomes available.”
“Let us focus on getting the colonel well,” a woman’s voice said behind him. “Aunt Theo, Grandmère wanted to know if you could meet her in the kitchen.”
“Certainly. Thank you,mon petit.” The older woman took her cane and tapped down the hall to the kitchen.
He noticed Miss Phillips waited until she was gone before turning to him. “I do not know what to make of this, Mr. Sinclair, but there could be a danger. A Mr. Caleb Smoot was spotted in the area. I would ask that you stay for a day or so, just in case. The man was in my house before we left. He tried to steal our boat and knows Matthew is English.” Her voice trembled.
“Yes. You will need to tell me more, but perhaps, not outside Lord Longueville’s room. Are you sure it would not be too much to put me up? I can help with food. I have more questions... there are some things I would like to discuss.” Sinclair wanted to know more about Matthew’s sight. He had noticed the way the young man looked towards the door when Aunt Theodosia had cut their visit short.
“I will speak with Grandmère and Aunt Theo. However, I am sure we can make room for you.”
“I plan to go to New Orleans and try to secure passage as close to England as I can manage—if any ships head that way. I expect commerce will pick up now that the war is over.”
“Wait. What? The war has ended?” Bethany gasped. “We did not know.”
“Yes, both sides signed the Treaty of Ghent in December, but with communication being what it over an ocean, it was just acknowledged within the ranks. The British ships recently cleared out of the area without another battle. There was still tremendous strength within their ranks, including almost sixty ships. Speculation was, an assault on Alabama was aborted when they were informed of the Treaty of Ghent.”
Miss Phillips looked stunned. “Where did you get this information?”
“I only heard it when I was in New Orleans. News has been slower to make it to these shores, because of the war,” Sinclair explained.
Her eyes glistened. “That’s wonderful... that the war is over,” Bethany exclaimed.
He noticed she did not ask who had won. She had not seemed to care. Her only concern had been that it was over. Matthew Romney was very lucky to have been found by this woman, he mused.
“May I hang this scarf somewhere, for the time being? I am astonished to see the measures being taken in your home, Miss Phillips, to prevent illness.”
Bethany gave him a wry look. “You have not met our neighbors. Very good people—and generous—but sadly, afflicted with leprosy. Indeed, it is something we do not want. But we have been able to be friends with them safely for years, which Grandmère attributes to wearing the scarves dipped in an herb mixture.”
“To keep away the foul smells in the air emitted from breath...” He let the sentence die as he thought back to his studies in school and recalled the leather mask used during the black plague. The practice had enabled physicians to attend to victims. And he knew they still did it in some form, as people would dip bandanas in vinegar to restrain foul odors and smoke from entering their lungs. He smiled. “Lord Longueville has been lucky,” he murmured.
“I thought he could heal before finding his way back to England... here. Few people come through this part of the canal because of the colony,” she admitted.
“I saw it was relatively quiet but did not know why,” he said, with unmistakable awe.
“The lady that owned the plantation died and left it to them. She left this home to my aunt. They had been friends most of their lives,” Bethany said.
“I should speak with your grandmother and your aunt,” he said as they made their way into the kitchen. The two ladies were at the table, their heads bent in deep discussion.
“Aunt Theo, Grandmère, Mr. Sinclair just advised me the war is over. There was a treaty.” Bethany shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe we are at the end.”
“Mr. Sinclair, you will join us for dinner. I pulled up a crab basket this morning early. We will eat good tonight,” the grandmother spoke.
He smiled. “I would be delighted. I would like to see how Longueville—Matthew, as you know him—does before I go to New Orleans to secure some sort of transportation back to England. The war might be over, but it could be a while before travel between the two countries resumes. I would like to earn my keep, however.”
“We could use a couple of strong hands around here if you are willing,” Grandmère spoke up. “I have a couple of places where the fencing needs a little mending. I have the bricks to replace the broken ones with,” she added.
“I have seen the work done before and think I can help with that. I would also like to learn more about this man, Caleb Smoot. Miss Phillips told me he tried to steal her canoe, and that they had to secure him. While I cannot profess to understand how she and Lord Long... Matthew... could do that, I am concerned that he knows Matthew is English. Judging from her tension over it, Miss Phillips seems to feel that knowledge could be a liability.”
“You are perceptive. I had not admitted that,” she breathed.
Her aunt snorted. “If you marveled at their ability to secure Smoot, ask her about the alligator they killed on their way here,” her aunt said.
