Janet Aylmer - Julia and the Master of Morancourt

They travelled together in Aunt Lucy’s chaise—much more comfortable than the last time I took this journey, thought Julia—and on the way her aunt inquired what Julia thought the purpose of the visit might be.

“Did Mr. Douglas give any indication to you?”

“No, he didn’t. There may be some news about the smugglers, although Mr. Hatton could have sent a letter to you about that.”

“Will I like Norton Place, Julia?”

“Yes, I think so. I had expected it to be rather—how can I say—brash? But that was because I was prejudging the house through Mama’s eyes, for she was determined to look down on Mr. Douglas as someone who ‘bought his own furniture’—a self-made man.”

Her aunt chuckled. “I doubt whether you will be having that problem with your mother in the future, after what happened yesterday!”

Julia laughed and agreed. With a pleasant and sympathetic companion beside her, the journey passed very quickly and the chaise was soon coming to a halt in front of Norton Place. Julia had forgotten to ask Mr. Douglas whether Jack would be at home, but there was no sign of him in the house as Mr. Douglas led the way to the drawing room.

Much to Julia’s amusement, for the first half hour she was quite sidelined, as their host and her aunt soon proved to have many views in common, and conducted a wide-ranging conversation over various topics. It was only when the butler came in to ask if tea should be served that Harry Douglas turned to Julia and apologised for his lack of attention.

“Now, Miss Maitland, first of all I have a note to give to you from Kit. He asks that you should read it through first, and he told me that there were some parts that you could then pass on to us.”

There was a real twinkle in his eye as he said this, and Julia suddenly wondered how much Kit had told his father about their relationship.

However, the letter was already in her hand, and she skimmed it quickly. The first half was very intriguing, and the last page so intimately heart-warming that her aunt and Mr. Douglas must be able to see her blushing.

“What is the news?” said Aunt Lucy, coming to her rescue.

“Well, Kit—Mr. Hatton—has spoken to Mr. Whitaker, his farm manager, about whether he had had any suspicions about the estate land or buildings being used for smuggling. Mr. Whitaker told him that he had come to think that might be the case, and that he had wondered if Mr. Jones, the husband of the housekeeper, knew more about it.”

“Did you meet Mr. Whitaker or Mr. Jones?” Aunt Lucy asked Mr. Douglas.

“Yes, both of them, and they did not seem to me to be dishonest men. But perhaps I’m wrong?”

Julia continued, “Mr. Hatton goes on to say that when he asked Mr. Jones about ‘free traders’ operating on the estate, he confessed that when he came back many years ago from being a soldier in France, he had become involved in smuggling with Isaac Gulliver. But he said that he had finished with that when he was given charge of the farm at Morancourt by Mr. Henry Hatton.”

“So he knows nothing of what is happening now?”

“No, he does. Indeed, he had already heard from Mr. Gulliver that we had been to visit the earthwork at Eggardon!”

Mr. Douglas looked puzzled, so Julia explained about her visit with Mr. Hatton to the hill fort, and the man whom they had met there claiming to be a priest.

“Apparently, Mr. Hatton says that Isaac Gulliver is a very unusual smuggler. His men are kept constantly at work smuggling wine and other goods, mostly through the village of Burton Bradstock. Some wear Dorset smocks, as used by farm workers, and with their hair powdered like wigs, as a kind of livery to identify them. They are forbidden to offer any physical harm to the revenue men. It is his dislike of violence that led to his opposing another gang, which started operating in the area around Bridport about eighteen months ago.”

Julia then remembered that Aunt Lucy knew nothing about Frank Jepson, and so explained briefly, without mentioning any connection with the Brandons, what was known about him.

Then she went on, “Aunt Lucy, there was something that I did not tell you when we were at Morancourt. A young man called Jem, who proved to be the brother of Martha, your personal maid, was brought into the kitchen there with an injury to his leg. Mrs. Jones, the housekeeper, did not know who he was, and he refused to acknowledge his sister. Martha asked me not to mention him or his injury to you.”

“Why not? Did she suspect that he was up to no good?”

“Probably.”

“Was that the same brother that she had told us about on the journey down to Dorset, who had been a miner near Radstock?”

“Yes, it was. Kit has since traced him after another conversation with Mr. Jones. Jem had been lodging in the village, and working with several other men for Frank Jepson with good pay, smuggling goods into Dorset on the coast near Bridport. When he injured his leg carrying a heavy load, Jepson threatened to break his arm, or worse, if he told anyone how the injury had happened.”

“That Frank Jepson sounds to be a nasty piece of work,” said Mr. Douglas.

“Yes, and he stopped paying Jem as soon as he hurt himself, because he was of no more use to the smuggling gang. Kit thought that it would be safest for Jem to go back to stay with his mother at Radstock as soon as possible, so that he was outside Frank Jepson’s reach. Kit gave Jem some money to keep him going until his leg heals and he can get a job as a miner again near Radstock.”

“So what is Kit doing now about the smuggling gang?” said his father.

“He has had a long discussion with his friend James Lindsay, who is close to being able to prove that the smuggling gang using the buildings at Morancourt is under the control of Frank Jepson. The revenue men have already found several other places on the estate where contraband goods are being hidden.”

“What are those?” said Mr. Douglas.

“Apparently they found that someone had dug along the slope of the hill above one of the lynchets that we saw on our walk on the way to the old castle. Contraband had been hidden underground there, not long ago, before it was concealed by being covered with earth.”

“And is Kit involved personally in the hunt for Frank Jepson?” said Aunt Lucy.

“No, Sir James has told him that would be unwise. Kit says only,” she blushed, “that I should not worry about him.”

Aunt Lucy smiled at her niece. “Mr. Douglas, I believe that you have another son living with you here?”

“Yes, ma’am, that is my elder son, Jack. But I have sent him to work at my mill in Leeds, to learn more about managing the business.”

Julia was very surprised at this news, and her host, foreseeing her question, said, “It will be good for Jack to be busy elsewhere for a while. I have appointed a new manager for our farm here, with more up-to-date ideas. You will know about that, Miss Maitland, as you spoke to me before about the practices introduced at Holkham.”

“Yes, sir,” said Julia dutifully, but with a twinkle in her eye to match the smile from Harry Douglas.

“You are lucky, Mrs. Harrison, to have such a lively niece!”

“I know that, Mr. Douglas, but I have formed the opinion that your younger son is a very worthwhile young man as well.”

Mr. Douglas looked very pleased at this remark, and again Julia wondered what Mr. Hatton had told him about her stay at Morancourt.

“That reminds me, Miss Maitland. Kit asked to give you something—I have tried to wrap it carefully for you, but I am not very neat-fingered at such things!”

Harry Douglas turned to a side table, picked up a small package, and gave it to her. Julia unwrapped it slowly and found herself looking at a book. It was La Passerelle .