The Captain And His Innocent. Lucy Ashford
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separate carriage was required for it. ‘There’s only the one trunk, I’m afraid, Mary,’ she answered quickly. ‘And, yes, I’d be grateful if you would unpack it.’
‘And what about the bag—?’
‘No,’ Ellie cut in. Mary was staring at her in surprise. ‘I mean,’ Ellie hurried on, ‘that there’s very little in the valise. My clothes are all in the trunk. So if you would put them away, I would be most grateful.’
‘Of course, miss!’ Briskly Mary set about unpacking Ellie’s clothes and hanging them in the wardrobe, or folding them into the various chests of drawers that were ready-scented with sprigs of dried lavender. As she did so, she exclaimed over the silk gowns, the velvet pelisses, the exquisite underwear. ‘Oh, miss. Are all these from Paris?’
Ellie shook her head. ‘They’re from London. Lord Franklin was kind enough to arrange for a modiste to make them for me.’
Mary gazed longingly at a rose-pink evening dress. ‘I don’t know when you’re going to wear these things here, miss. It’s a cold house, is Bircham Hall. And Lady Charlotte, she doesn’t have many guests or parties, exactly...’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ Ellie said quickly. ‘I’ve never been interested in parties or clothes.’
‘No, miss? But it’s such a shame that you’re going to be so quiet here. Now, if you’d stayed in London... Mr Huffley told us that in London there are lots and lots of French people like yourself, who had to run for their lives when that monster Napoleon became Emperor of France. Napoleon sent armies marching all over Europe, didn’t he?’
‘Yes.’ Ellie’s voice was very quiet. ‘Yes, he did.’
Mary had paused to admire an embroidered silk chemise before folding it meticulously in a drawer. Then she nodded. ‘But now, Napoleon’s locked up good and proper, on that island in the Mediterranean. Miles from anywhere. And our clever politicians and Lord Wellington will see that he never, ever gets free. Are you quite sure you don’t want me to unpack that valise for you, miss?’
‘Quite sure. And I think that is all, for now.’
But Mary’s eyes were still scanning the room. ‘Your cloak!’ she said suddenly. It was still on the bed, where Ellie had laid it. ‘It will be dusty after your journey. Shall I take it downstairs and brush it out for you?’
‘No!’ Ellie had already taken a step forward, to stop her. ‘No. That will be all, Mary.’ She forced herself into calmness. ‘Thank you so much.’
‘You’re very welcome, miss. You’ve not drunk your tea yet! Never mind, I’ll collect the tray later.’ Reluctantly, Mary took one last look around. ‘It’ll be time for you to go down to dinner soon. You’ll hear the bell ringing downstairs, ten minutes before six. Oh, and her ladyship doesn’t like anyone to be late.’ Her bright voice dimmed, just a little. ‘Most particular, her ladyship is. Most particular.’
Mary let herself out. And as soon as her swift footsteps faded into the distance, Ellie leaned back against the closed door and thought, I should never, ever, have allowed myself to be brought here. She hurried across to her cloak and, reaching deep into the inside pocket, drew out her pistol and the compass in its box.
She clasped them to her.
The man. The man, on the road... She could still remember how she’d felt, standing there with him so close, so powerful and dangerous. She would perhaps never forget the way her pulse had pounded when he smiled at her.
She had to forget him. As she hoped he would forget her. You will never see him again. You must erase him from your mind.
Drawing a deep breath, she laid the pistol and compass on the bed. Then she unfastened the silver chain round her neck, feeling for the small key that hung from it, and with that key she unlocked her valise. In it were several maps and charts, carefully folded, and below them were more objects, each in black velvet wrappings. She opened them one by one.
A surveyor’s prism. A miniature folding telescope. A magnifying lens, with an ebony handle. A tiny geologist’s hammer.
She wrapped them up again and put them back at the bottom of the valise. Put the pistol and compass in there, too, then the documents on top of them all.
She knew she ought to lock the valise again and hide it from sight, but instead she withdrew one of the folded documents and spread it out, carefully.
She translated the title into English, under her breath. A map of the valley of the Loire, showing its geology. Devised and drawn by A. Duchamp, Paris, in the year of Our Lord 1809...
She picked up the map with her father’s signature on it and held it close to her breast as the memories flooded back.
Ellie’s father, André Duchamp, was a geologist, surveyor and map-maker. He had lived with his wife and daughter in Paris, close to the church of St Denis in an apartment off the Rue Tivoli, which had a little balcony from where Ellie could look out on to the main street. She remembered being enthralled as a five-year-old child to one day see ranks of soldiers marching by, their tricolours held aloft, and two years later she’d seen Napoleon himself, the newly crowned Emperor of France, ride past at the head of his cavalry on a prancing white horse, acknowledging the cheers of the crowds who’d gathered to see him.
‘He is a great man,’ her father used to say. ‘He will bring peace and prosperity to France again.’
Their apartment was small, but even so, a whole room was given up to her father’s work, and he used to let Ellie watch him while he drew his maps. She was fascinated, too, by the telescopes and star charts he had in there, for he was a keen astronomer. ‘Why should I only map the ground beneath my feet?’ he would say. ‘When there are also the heavens above us to explore?’
Best of all, she loved to gaze at the array of geological samples he kept in a glass cabinet in that room. To Ellie they were as beautiful as any jewels, and her father would tell her about each one.
‘These pink crystals are feldspar, Ellie. Such a delicate colour, don’t you think?’
‘Oh, yes! And the green one, Papa?’
‘That’s olivine. And here’s a piece of hematite—such a dark, deep red that it’s almost black.’
Ellie nodded eagerly. ‘And that one must be gold!’
‘Fool’s gold, alas.’ Her father smiled at her excitement. ‘It’s called pyrites and it’s tricked many a fortune-
hunter.’
She’d gazed at him earnestly. ‘You know so much, Papa.’
He’d ruffled her hair. ‘Ah, but there’s always more to learn, little one.’
‘Is that why you go travelling?’
‘It’s my job, Ellie. I’m lucky to have a job that I love.’
She was always sad when her father was away. He went travelling for days—sometimes even weeks—at a time and only later in her childhood did she realise why he was so busy. It was because his expertise in both geology and map-making meant that he was invaluable in the planning and the physical creation of new roads that were intended to connect all of the cities and ports of France for travellers and traders.
When he was away, Ellie would gaze down the street from her window for his return, waiting for him and missing him. She was only vaguely aware of the wars the Emperor Napoleon was waging on France’s borders and beyond. But as the years went by, her father was away more and more often, for longer periods of time, and when he returned, his mood was often heavy, sombre, almost—though he always smiled to see his daughter.
When Ellie was seventeen, her mother died. She’d