Chapter Twenty-Four
E dith received a missive from Lord Ashford soon after her father left the townhouse for his appointment.
I do not want to alarm you, but there is the possibility that Lady Sandhurst may be involved with the disappearance of our veterans. There are rumors a woman is involved. Please do not relay this information to your father. If you can keep him close to home for now, do so.
Charlotte and Diana have promised not to become involved further in the matter of the missing veterans. Going forward, I hope you and Lady Louisa will take care if you decide to investigate further.
She immediately shared the letter with Louisa.
“Lady Sandhurst? I don’t believe it.”
“It is possible.”
Louisa raised a brow. “You want to think she is involved.”
Edith changed the subject by saying, “I also think Ashford is subtly chastising us for our search of the registry office.”
“He wants us to be cautious. I doubt your father would be pleased to hear how involved we are in investigating the disappearance of the veterans.”
“Be that as it may, are you interested in attending the reception this evening?”
Louisa nodded. “We might learn something that will help us locate our missing veterans.”
After a hurried dinner, Edith and Louisa accompanied Edith’s father to the reception at the Royal Institution building at 21 Albemarle Street.
“I’m surprised ladies are allowed to attend the reception,” she said to her father after they were seated in his coach.
He replied from his place on the bench across from her and Louisa, “Because it is not a meeting or a lecture. Several ladies are patrons of the Royal Institution.”
Although Edith supposed one of the female patrons to be Lady Sandhurst, she wasn’t concerned as her father would not be alone with the woman at the reception and would return home with Edith and Louisa.
The carriage halted in front of a simple Georgian terraced house in Mayfair. They exited the coach into a chilly evening under a clear sky.
She shivered under her cloak. “This year has been uncommonly cold.”
Once inside, their outerwear was taken by footmen, and they were escorted to a large, well-lit room. Despite the chill outside, the numerous lit candles made the room more than warm enough.
Her father approached a lady Edith didn’t know. There was a man beside her that Edith was familiar with: Lord Kettering.
“Lord Essex! It is good of you to come.” The earl smiled at Edith and Louisa. “And you brought companions. May I present Mrs. Lambourne. Her husband is our guest of honor.”
While she studied Mrs. Lambourne, her father made the introductions. “My daughter, Lady Edith, and her friend, Lady Louisa.”
“A pleasure,” Mrs. Lambourne replied softly, with what Edith thought was a trace of a cockney accent.
“It is lovely to see you ladies. My wife tells everyone about your delightful singing voice, Lady Edith.” He paused. “Lady Sandhurst sends her regrets.”
“That is unfortunate.” Her father’s expression was crestfallen for a moment.
“Excuse me,” Mrs. Lambourne said with an apologetic smile. “I believe my husband is trying to get my attention.”
Once the woman had moved away, Lord Kettering commented, “I’m surprised two young ladies would be interested in our soiree.”
She replied smoothly, “I’m very interested in the process of transportation and ensuring the men and women transported are done so humanely and within the letter of the law.”
“Valid concerns, Lady Edith.” Lord Kettering nodded vigorously.
She continued, “I do hope innocent men and women won’t be transported merely because the landowners in New Holland need more labor for their sheep stations.”
Lord Kettering replied, “That is my concern as well, Lady Edith. We should discuss the subject with Mr. Lambourne, do you not agree?”
The man held out his arm.
“I do indeed, my lord.”
She took his arm and was escorted away, relieved that Lady Sandhurst was not at the reception. Her father and Louisa could keep each other company.
They approached a tall, weatherbeaten man nearly surrounded by distinguished gentlemen of the ton . The man smiled when he saw her companion. “Lord Kettering, I see you have acquired a lovely friend. Your daughter?”
“Lady Edith is the daughter of a colleague. She is most interested in speaking with you.”
“Wanting tales of faraway New Holland, no doubt?” His words and accompanying smile were patronizing.
She raised her chin. “Not at all, Mr. Lambourne. I should like to discuss the transportation of prisoners from England to New South Wales.”
* * * * *
C aptain Blake had been the physician on the HMS Cressy when Nathaniel was aboard and now had a private practice at 13 Queen Anne Street. His office clerk escorted Nathaniel and Ashford to the doctor’s office.
Blake rose to his feet from behind a mahogany desk. “Harbury! What a pleasure to see you. It has been a long time.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t looked you up before now. May I present my friend Lord Ashford.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Ashford. Do be seated. Would you care for tea or something stronger? I was just about to have a glass of port.” Dr. Blake winked. “For medicinal reasons, mind you.”
“That is a splendid idea,” Nathaniel replied as he and Ashford were seated on a pair of leather armchairs.
Both men accepted a tiny glass of the blood-red liquid.
“Here’s to good health.” The doctor raised his glass in a silent toast. “How are you, Harbury?”
“I’m not here for a medical problem. I came to see you because I need some information on the transportation of prisoners. I need to speak with the Transport Board, but I am not acquainted with any of the commissioners. I believe you are familiar with Commander Rupert George?”
The man nodded. “The Chairman of the Transportation Board? I am indeed. He is a dreary fellow and quite the advocate of transportation.”
“Would he consent to speak with me about the process of transporting a convict?”
Blake was silent a moment. “You would have more luck with the only physician on the board: Dr. John Harness. I served with him before my time on the Cressy. He’s a member of the old guard but with an open mind. I'm sure he would be willing to help you."
“Very good. And the board is located in Dover Square, Westminster, just off Canon Row?”
“It is.” The doctor pulled a card from the interior pocket of his jacket. “Proffer my card. It might help. Is there anything else I can do for you, Harbury?”
“That is all I needed, thank you.”
“How are you sleeping?” The physician studied his face.
He shrugged. “As well as I can.”
“We all have voices that won’t let us sleep. It’s a matter of knowing which ones are worth listening to. If I can be of further help with this matter, don’t hesitate to call on me again.”
Nathaniel rose to his feet, placing his glass on the corner of the desk. He would leave the office before his old friend asked more questions or offered to examine him.
Ashford swallowed his port in one gulp, placed the empty glass on the desk, and stood up. “Thank you for your help, Dr. Blake.”
Once outside on the street, Nathaniel advised his coachman to proceed to Dover Square.
After they were seated in the coach, Ashford observed, “Dr. Blake didn’t ask why you wanted to know about prisoner transportation.”
“I didn’t expect him to. John is known for his discretion.”
The ride along Duke Street and past Berkeley Square took over thirty minutes due to traffic congestion at that time of day. When the coach halted in front of a rose-tinged stone building, he and Ashford descended from the carriage and proceeded into the building.
When Nathaniel entered the lobby, he spied a young seaman seated behind a small, battered oak desk. “How may I help you?”
Nathaniel pulled the card Dr. Blake had given him from his pocket. “I was referred to Dr. Harness by Dr. Blake. I’m Lord Harbury, and this is my friend Lord Ashford.”
“I’ll see if the doctor is available for visitors.”
A moment later, the young man returned. “Please follow me.”
They followed the sailor down a corridor to an open door. A gray-haired man was inside the room, standing behind a desk. “Do come in. Refreshment, my lords?”
Both men declined.
“That is all, Jasper.”
The clerk closed the door behind him, Dr. Harness was seated, and Nathaniel and Ashford followed suit.
Their host smiled briefly. “How is Dr. Blake? When we served together I found him an exemplary sailor and an even better physician.”
Nathaniel replied, “He is well. I had the honor of serving with Captain Blake on the Cressy.”
“Did you? I thought your name was familiar, Lord Harbury. I was one of the Royal Navy investigators that dealt with that nasty business involving Lt. Cooper.”
Dr. Harness knew who he was. Coupled with his earlier meeting with Blake, perhaps he had undertaken too much interaction with the navy that day. He felt slightly agitated. Nathaniel took a deep breath and marshaled his thoughts. He was here now, and finding the missing veterans was a priority. Now was not the time to lose focus, to settle into melancholia.
“Lord Harbury? How can I help you?”
He shook himself and replied, “We need information about transport ships. We’re looking for three men who may have been put on a ship by mistake.”
Dr. Harness’s forehead furrowed. “By mistake? Although men may claim their innocence, they are on those hulks for a reason.”
“Are you saying no one who has not been tried and convicted is ever smuggled onto those ships?” he asked with raised brows.
“Lord Harbury, such a thing is unheard of.” Dr. Harness’s face had reddened.
He took a breath. “After my years in the navy, sir, I would not discount the possibility. These ships are, after all, not under the control of the navy but the treasury.”
“You are correct. What are the circumstances of the men you are searching for?” Dr. Harness’s tone had changed from skepticism to conciliatory. Nathaniel now knew how Lady Edith felt when patronized.
He replied, “They are all Navy veterans who have gone missing in London within the last week. They have not been press ganged, nor are they candidates for kidnapping.”
“And you think the men were taken to be transported?” The doctor’s tone was now curious.
“I'm not sure why the men were taken, but I imagine getting them out of England is the primary goal. It would be a challenge to get them into one of the land-based gaols, so I would guess they are on a hulk, waiting to be transported.”
The doctor replied, “If the men were not taken farther afield, the closest hulks are moored on the Thames in Woolwich. Mind you, you can’t just go barging onto one of those ships.”
“Are there any transport ships due to leave soon for New Holland?” Ashford asked.
“My clerk, Seaman Jasper, can give you the schedule of the ships departing for New Holland through the end of the year. Tell him what you need, and he will assist you.”
The doctor led them from his office into the lobby and addressed his clerk, “Jasper, give these gentlemen any information you have regarding transport sailings to New Holland.”
After the doctor had returned to his office, Nathaniel told the young man, “We need to know when the next transport ship will depart from England.”
“Preferably the closest port to London,” Ashford added. “Dr. Harness mentioned Woolwich.”
The young man pulled a ledger from a drawer, placed it on his desk, and began to look through it. “One moment. I do know a ship left last week.”
“We will assume that was too early for our purposes,” Nathaniel replied.
The clerk looked up from the ledger. “Other than the Morley scheduled to sail from Woolwich in December, I have a ship in Portsmouth that was delayed. Those are the only transportation sailings slated until the new year.”
“Does it tell you which hulk would transfer prisoners to the Morley?” he asked.
“There are two: the Ceres and the Neely . It is rare for such a large transport ship to leave from London, but the Morley is scheduled to do so.”
“Don’t bother to write the information down. Woolwich will be enough to be getting on with.” He also wanted the clerk to forget about their conversation as soon as possible.
Once back outside, he directed his driver to Ashford’s home in Grosvenor Square. When Nathaniel was settled in the carriage, he relaxed against the squabs and closed his eyes.
“How are you?” Ashford asked.
He replied tightly, “I need a few moments.”
They remained silent on the journey to Grosvenor Square. Very often, time to himself was all he needed, and he was grateful Ashford had let him have it rather than pester him.
As the coach came to a halt in front of Ashford’s townhouse, Nathaniel opened his eyes. “I don’t imagine we can or should force our way onto the hulks in Woolwich.”
“That would be unwise, even for Cecil.”
“We accomplished a lot today. Now we have to think how to proceed.” Feeling more himself, he smiled at his friend. “Do give my best to Diana and Charlotte.”