Chapter 7 #2
A vast shipment of wood had recently arrived from the Nova Scotia colony, which would be used as part of the construction efforts at the forts.
It was to be used not for the main fortifications themselves, but to construct some of the smaller buildings within the walls.
Sheds, storage units, inner appointments to the fort’s rooms, and the heavy doors all owed their origins to the vast forests in the New World.
The piles had been sitting in the open area just outside the walls of the fort, ready for transport both into Fort St Catherine itself, as well as to be dragged up the hillside to the smaller fortification there.
The crew of soldiers tasked with the construction efforts had just finished their morning meal and had stepped out to commence their duties, Richard a step behind them.
He was not strictly needed, for he had full confidence in the chief engineer of the unit, but such secondments of officers were not uncommon, and this set of construction was technically under his command.
That must be, he supposed, why he had been tasked with that strange shipment of extra materials some months past. As far as he knew, nobody had claimed it, and it still lay in one of the storage rooms, gathering dust.
The day was bright and warm, and the men organised themselves into their crews to begin the work.
“What’s that there?” One of the soldiers shouted, capturing Richard’s attention from the set of plans he had been examining. “Sorry, sir,” the soldier corrected himself. “I thought I saw someone in the trees yonder.” He pointed to a stretch of woods that climbed the hillside behind the fort.
Richard turned his gaze to the trees. He saw nothing, but there was ample room for an interloper to disappear into the forested area. Probably one of the local boys from St George’s, interested in the uniformed soldiers and matters technical.
“Thank you for your attention, soldier. Let me know if you see anything else. Carry on.”
The men began to sort the timbers into the respective piles that were needed when another shout came from their midst.
“Quick, bring water! This wood’s on fire!”
Richard dashed over to look. There, buried in the middle of the stack of wood, a red fire burned hot.
Now exposed to the air, the flames leapt and smoke began to rise from the pile.
The cry from the men had brought others out to see what the matter was, and between them all, water was carried to the area and the flames quickly doused.
But this was most disturbing, nonetheless.
Although there had not been much recent rain, the wood was still not too dry, and it was almost unthinkable that the fire had started spontaneously.
He peered closer. No, there was no doubt.
There, amongst the tall towers of wood that had once been trees, was a dark tracing that led from the gravel at his feet into the stack, and directly to the remains of a package of some sort.
It was clear what had happened. The dark line was a twine, a thin rope, attached to something that would burn.
The kindling had been placed within the pile of wood and the twine set aflame, where it burned like a wick in a candle.
Once it reached the kindling in the package, it set the wood alight.
Did the arsonist plan to cause massive destruction?
Richard thought not, for the flames had not been strong or hot enough for any great damage to be done. But there was a mischief-maker about!
“Someone set this,” Richard growled, “and recently. Men, fall out and scour the woods. I do not imagine we shall find the perpetrator, but we must look. Form four teams and off you go!”
This was done quickly, and the men soon dispersed into the woods, but when they returned much later, they had little to show for their efforts.
“Nothing but this, sir,” one of the junior officers said, holding out in his hand a single brass button.
“This is new.” Richard frowned. He recognised the button all too well.
Whilst each soldier on the island had been tasked with replacing the hardware on his coat, he doubted this button came from one of the men at Fort St Catherine’s.
All had been present at the morning meal, after all, and none would have had the time to sneak out of the fort and set the flame that was designed to burn the wood.
It might have been a man from the redoubt up Retreat Hill, but Richard could not imagine why any such person would attack his own compatriots.
Much of the timber was planned to support efforts at the redoubt, anyway.
Nor did any of them have any personal antipathy towards him.
No, that previous glimmer of suspicion was growing into a flame.
Sabotage! Someone was trying to sabotage his operation, and he was certain he knew who.
Weekes!
“You have no reason other than instinct to blame Major Weekes?” Emily asked as they enjoyed their usual tea in the grounds behind the lodgings building.
Richard had been back for a week, but with the stack of forms and correspondence that had appeared on his desk during his absence, this was the first opportunity there had been for any sort of conversation with her.
The early November sky was grey, but the temperature was still warm enough to sit out of doors.
They were far enough from the main building and from the outlying sheds that Richard was not concerned about eavesdroppers, but the fact that he had to consider this rankled.
“He requested a few days’ leave and the use of a horse to ramble about the islands just as I set off for the other forts.
” Richard picked up his teacup but did not drink.
“He would have had ample time to arrive at the area around St George’s, do his damage, and return.
And this is far from the first time he has set about causing me trouble. ”
“So I have heard from your reports to Father. But have you any real proof that it is he?”
Richard sighed and shook his head. “He is always close at hand when there is an incident and yet has every reasonable excuse to be where he is. Furthermore, most of the time, he is not the only person nearby. And for this last occurrence at Fort St Catherine, nobody saw him; even the soldier who thought he saw a man in the woods could not say for certain that it was not a trick of the light. There is that button we found, but it might have fallen off any man’s uniform, despite the new thread.
Heaven knows there are plenty of soldiers in that vicinity.
No, I have no direct evidence against Weekes.
Still, I am quite convinced that he is the culprit. ”
“And all for jealousy?” Emily wrinkled her nose.
“Or monetary gain. My promotion did come with an increase in my stipend. But none of us will become wealthy men from our positions. But I wonder if there is something else behind this. I only cannot, for the life of me, think what it might be.”
He raised his teacup again and took a sip. The hot drink was bitter on his tongue. “Some months ago, I wrote to England, asking after him. I wished to know a bit more of his story. Has he ever spoken to you of his family and background?”
Emily gazed into the far distance. “No. I admit to spending as little time as possible in his company. When first he came, he was... inappropriate towards me. I believed at the time that he wished for some casual dalliance, that he thought I was the sort of woman who would be open to intimate male companionship. I stopped that notion very quickly, but I have never been comfortable around him. We have had no long discussions.”
“I had wondered about that. I am sorry for the experience.” The sun was setting, and with the grey overlay of cloud, the sky was growing quite dark.
Nearly as dark as Richard’s mood. “He does fancy himself a favourite with the ladies and must have been rather annoyed at being refused.” He stood and walked a few paces in each direction before returning to his makeshift seat on an old barrel.
“I recently received a response to my inquiries into his family,” Richard said at last. “He is the youngest son of a country gentleman of no great standing or wealth.
His older brother inherits the estate, and like so many of our sort, Weekes must make his own way in the world.
He had an adequate but indifferent education and was no great scholar.
I cannot imagine him declaiming sermons or practicing the law, hence his commission in the army.
“However, my correspondent—not an army man but another with access to this information—reports that he had, as a student, a history of profligacy. He was always one to spend above his income and quickly turned to wagering to support his habits. He had a way with cards, even as a lad. Not enough to live on, but enough to supplement his wages. He was also suspected of lightening others’ pockets, but nothing was ever proven. ”
“He is still profligate,” Emily replied. “From what I hear, he spends a great deal more than he has when he goes to Hamilton.”
“Where does the money come from?” Richard shook his head. “I hear he loses as much as he wins when he is at cards.”
“Furthermore, what has this to do with his attempts against you?” Emily screwed up her brow in thought, and Richard fought the urge to smooth her skin with his hand.
“My income is not great, but it is adequate for a decent life. But more significantly, my rank allows me access to more important people. It is not inconceivable that I shall retire as a colonel, or even a general, should I remain long enough in my position. And Weekes, having been passed over for promotion once, remains less and less likely to attain a higher rank. Some commissions one can purchase, but not the ones he aspires to. One rubs along with more brass and more disposable money as a general than as a major, and this, I believe, is what he wants.”
“So, it is jealousy and greed.”
“I can think of no other reason. He wanted my position and promotion and the opportunities they might give him and was not offered them. I have tried to treat him fairly over the past year and a bit, but I can only imagine that his anger overwhelmed his sense, and that he is taking revenge on me for something I did not do.”
“But he cannot possibly think to achieve your position should something happen to you. He would be suspect at once!” Suddenly Emily’s eyes filled with tears, and she took a shuddering breath. “Oh heavens…”
“Emily? Are you well?” A cold wave of alarm flooded Richard’s veins.
She exhaled sharply. “I am… I am well. But I had not before imagined that something might actually happen to you. The very notion of that has struck me more deeply than I could have thought. I am sorry, Richard. I should by now be made of stronger stuff, having lived all my life around such rough men.”
He resisted the inclination to wrap an arm around her shoulders.
The urge, and those dreams, were stronger than he liked.
“Think nothing of it, my friend. I am fortunate to have someone in my life who cares like that. Most of my acquaintances see me only as another uniform. I shall cherish your constitution. And fear not, Emily, you are as strongly made as the fiercest of men I know. There is no supposed woman’s weakness to you. ”
Without words, Emily poured another cup of tea for each of them, and they sat in silence for a time.
“Have you heard from your family in England?” she asked at last. It seemed she had no wish to return to the previous topic.
“Not unless there is a letter in the ship that arrived yesterday. The storms of late have delayed some of the mail. Major Weekes is sorting through the piles today, and tomorrow we shall see. Although,” he paused, “he tends to leave my personal correspondence to the bottom of his stack. When there is mail to be had, mine is the last to be delivered.”
“I would so like to hear more of your cousin Georgiana.” Suddenly Emily seemed all femininity, so changed was the look on her face as she asked after the young girl.
“She seems like someone I would like to have known in my youth, and I cannot contain my curiosity about her summer in Ramsgate. I do hope Mrs Younge was exactly the companion she needed to help her blossom in the sun.”
“You and I both. Georgie was so much younger than us, but for all that, I think we felt an extra level of protectiveness for her. My cousin Darcy was twelve when she was born, but never did he seem to resent her, or… Was that a noise?”
Richard leapt up from his barrel to look around. There was nothing to see. No figures lurked in distant shadows, no curtains flickered at the windows, no shutters were left swinging.
“I heard something too.” Emily also rose to her feet, and she shuffled to the closest shed, several yards away. “Here, the door is open. But no one is inside.”
They stared at each other for a moment. Then Emily whispered, “Weekes?”
“The door faces away from our tea spot, and there, the path leads straight to the muster grounds where any number of people will be assembled. There is no chance to find him.”
“Be calm, Richard. He could not possibly have overheard us. The distance is too great, and you said nothing that could be taken amiss. Caring for your relatives is not the sort of matter that will see you placed in courts martial, or that might undermine an advance in your career. And perhaps it was just the cat, always seeking his next meal amongst the mice. Come, there is exactly enough tea for one more cup. And then we shall find Father and tell him of this latest incident.”