look.’
He declined to move. ‘What can a piece of paper tell me?’
‘This is a fair copy of part of a transcript of my husband’s court martial, which both you and I know to have been a tissue of concocted lies and perjured testimony before a court hand-picked by Sir William Hotham. It is taken from the original sent to Lord Hood for his confirmation of sentence and it is part of the testimony given by my nephew Toby.’
He had moved closer as she spoke, to stare at the paper she was holding out. Her handwriting was neat and copperplate, so easy to read.
‘You will wonder how I came by such a thing and you may do so till hell freezes over, for I will keep my counsel, but I have the court record in its entirety in my possession, and safe. Should my husband fail tosupport me, these papers will be placed in hands that will see Captain Barclay, and for all I know you with him, had up for blatant perjury. I shall also write to Admiral Hotham to let him know what I am about to do, and he is not a man to suffer disgrace. I daresay any threat to his reputation will see him throw you all to the wolves.’
Gherson was not smiling now; he had on his face a pout that would not have shamed a child denied a sweetmeat.
‘Tell my husband to accede to my request for a meeting. Mrs Fletcher will show you out.’
‘I don’t believe you, madam. You were present at the court martial, these must be notes you made, which renders them useless, since you cannot testify against your husband or proffer evidence against him.’
‘Gherson, I do not care if you believe me or not, you are of no account. Good day.’
‘Your nephew will suffer most, madam, which in turn will bring shame on your whole family.’
That was a telling barb, but she knew Toby Burns to be a liar and a coward; knew he had stolen, with her husband’s contrivance, Pearce’s achievements in Brittany. Any disgrace would break the hearts of her aunt and uncle and she had considered the matter before.
‘Toby has made his own bed, and so must lie on it,’ she replied, well aware that it was far from being that simple.
‘A bed that might well be Botany Bay.’
‘You may face the same fate.’
‘No, Mrs Barclay,’ Gherson replied, with suchannoying and resurgent confidence. ‘I committed no words to the court that could in any way be questioned by another, Pearce notwithstanding, which leaves it as his word against mine.’
‘I am sure you have other crimes that will one day see you transported. Now, get out!’
The slow, elegant bow was infuriating.
Emily was shaking by the time she got back to her rooms, thankful that she had not succumbed to that in Gherson’s presence, well aware the snake had spotted the flaw in her proposition. She could not ditch her husband without also ditching her nephew, who had been the chief court martial witness. Could she pay that price? Should she write to him and give him a chance to repent and if she did and he agreed, how would that affect her future life?
Midday found Toby Burns on the steep coastal hills of East Corsica which ran right down to the sea, creating valleys of varying depth, with the leaders of the army, General Dundas and Colonel Stuart, eying the first of the enemy positions through their spyglasses, a redoubt with half a dozen cannon covering the sloping, intervening ground. Beyond that in the distance, hugging the shore, lay Bastia, with the sticks of ships’ masts, if not the hulls, visible in the harbour.
The old fishing town was between them and the citadel, which protected that anchorage, the white walls of which, even without the magnification of a telescope, looked pretty formidable. That was underlined by the layered defences, which had been set up in between. TheFrench had known they were coming and had made their preparations accordingly. They intended to exact a high price from their enemy before they could even think of closing the harbour and investing the city. From fifty yards’
He declined to move. ‘What can a piece of paper tell me?’
‘This is a fair copy of part of a transcript of my husband’s court martial, which both you and I know to have been a tissue of concocted lies and perjured testimony before a court hand-picked by Sir William Hotham. It is taken from the original sent to Lord Hood for his confirmation of sentence and it is part of the testimony given by my nephew Toby.’
He had moved closer as she spoke, to stare at the paper she was holding out. Her handwriting was neat and copperplate, so easy to read.
‘You will wonder how I came by such a thing and you may do so till hell freezes over, for I will keep my counsel, but I have the court record in its entirety in my possession, and safe. Should my husband fail tosupport me, these papers will be placed in hands that will see Captain Barclay, and for all I know you with him, had up for blatant perjury. I shall also write to Admiral Hotham to let him know what I am about to do, and he is not a man to suffer disgrace. I daresay any threat to his reputation will see him throw you all to the wolves.’
Gherson was not smiling now; he had on his face a pout that would not have shamed a child denied a sweetmeat.
‘Tell my husband to accede to my request for a meeting. Mrs Fletcher will show you out.’
‘I don’t believe you, madam. You were present at the court martial, these must be notes you made, which renders them useless, since you cannot testify against your husband or proffer evidence against him.’
‘Gherson, I do not care if you believe me or not, you are of no account. Good day.’
‘Your nephew will suffer most, madam, which in turn will bring shame on your whole family.’
That was a telling barb, but she knew Toby Burns to be a liar and a coward; knew he had stolen, with her husband’s contrivance, Pearce’s achievements in Brittany. Any disgrace would break the hearts of her aunt and uncle and she had considered the matter before.
‘Toby has made his own bed, and so must lie on it,’ she replied, well aware that it was far from being that simple.
‘A bed that might well be Botany Bay.’
‘You may face the same fate.’
‘No, Mrs Barclay,’ Gherson replied, with suchannoying and resurgent confidence. ‘I committed no words to the court that could in any way be questioned by another, Pearce notwithstanding, which leaves it as his word against mine.’
‘I am sure you have other crimes that will one day see you transported. Now, get out!’
The slow, elegant bow was infuriating.
Emily was shaking by the time she got back to her rooms, thankful that she had not succumbed to that in Gherson’s presence, well aware the snake had spotted the flaw in her proposition. She could not ditch her husband without also ditching her nephew, who had been the chief court martial witness. Could she pay that price? Should she write to him and give him a chance to repent and if she did and he agreed, how would that affect her future life?
Midday found Toby Burns on the steep coastal hills of East Corsica which ran right down to the sea, creating valleys of varying depth, with the leaders of the army, General Dundas and Colonel Stuart, eying the first of the enemy positions through their spyglasses, a redoubt with half a dozen cannon covering the sloping, intervening ground. Beyond that in the distance, hugging the shore, lay Bastia, with the sticks of ships’ masts, if not the hulls, visible in the harbour.
The old fishing town was between them and the citadel, which protected that anchorage, the white walls of which, even without the magnification of a telescope, looked pretty formidable. That was underlined by the layered defences, which had been set up in between. TheFrench had known they were coming and had made their preparations accordingly. They intended to exact a high price from their enemy before they could even think of closing the harbour and investing the city. From fifty yards’
Similar Books
