Simon Scarrow - Fire and Sword

‘Ah well,’ Captain Acock mused; then a swinging motion aloft caught his eye and he turned away from the rail. ‘Beg your pardon, sir, I must attend to my ship. Hope you have a fine wedding then, sir.’

He made his way across the deck to the foredeck gangway and bellowed an order to one of his sailors to go aloft and secure a loose block. Arthur had no desire to watch a man clamber up the rigging in such rough seas, and kept his gaze resolutely on the horizon as he fixed his thoughts on Kitty once again. Kitty would be the same Kitty he had delighted in and loved all those years before. She would be as opinionated and mischievous as ever, and there would be the same bright twinkle in her eye and the same becoming bloom in the rounded cheeks he had so loved to kiss on the few occasions it had been permitted. And he would love her just as before. They would be married, and live happily, he resolved.

The gale had moderated by the time the ship approached the dockside on the Liffey, but even as the wind dropped the rain continued to fall in an icy downpour that exploded off the surface of the river like newly minted coins. The passengers had all come up on deck to view the approach to the city and huddled in their coats and hats as they stared out at the slick walls and roofs of Dublin under a leaden sky. Using staysails and reefed topsails the captain eased his ship in towards the wharf, and then gave the order to loose sheets before letting the forward motion of the vessel carry it the remaining distance. Ropes were cast ashore to the dockers who looped them round the mooring posts and drew the ship in until it rested gently against the tarred hessian fenders.

Shortly afterwards the passengers wearily descended the gangplank, desperately grateful to be back on firm land. Arthur hired a porter to carry his travelling chest and set off for Gerald’s house. Dublin did not seem to have changed much since Arthur had last seen it. He recognised many of the same shops, taverns and clubs that he had frequented in the days when he had served as an aide to the Viceroy at Dublin Castle. There were some new names on the shopfronts and there was the same mix of poverty and affluence amongst those he passed by, but there was something lacking in the ambience.The streets were less crowded than he remembered, and somehow less spirited.

By the time he reached the house, Arthur was soaked through. He stood dripping in the hall as he paid off the porter and handed his coat to a servant.The sound of footsteps on the stairs caused him to turn and he saw his younger brother, Gerald, descending to greet him with a broad smile.

‘My goodness, did you swim all the way here?’

‘Very funny,’ Arthur grumbled. ‘I imagine your sermons must be the very model of wit.’

‘Now, now, don’t take on so. I’m delighted to see you again.’ Gerald grasped his hand and shook it warmly. ‘Especially to celebrate such a happy event. It’s about time you took a wife, Arthur.’

‘Is it?’ Arthur mopped the rain from his brow. ‘That’s what everyone seems to say to a man of my age. Still, maybe they have a point. A man must have heirs and someone to care for him. And someone to care for.’

‘Of course.’ Gerald stepped back and looked his brother up and down. Arthur’s skin still had a faint brown hue from so many years exposed to the burning Indian sun, and his hair was cut closely enough to subdue any hint of the wavy curls that he had worn before he went overseas. He was thin, but in a sinewy, fit way that few men of his years managed to retain as they surrendered to the temptations of good living and complacency. Gerald smiled to himself and gestured towards the door leading to the front room. A coal fire glowed in the grate and Arthur stood in front of it and held his hands out towards the flickering flames, relishing the warmth.

‘I’ll have some dry clothes found for you.Would you like something to eat and drink?’

Arthur nodded. ‘I’d be very grateful, thank you.’

Gerald turned towards the door and was on his way out of the room when Arthur said quickly, ‘Gerald, I forgot to say, it is good to see you again too. And I am so very grateful that you are going to perform the service.’

What are brothers for?’ Gerald laughed lightly and left Arthur alone by the fire.

Half an hour later, as the two sat on either side of the hearth, Arthur finished the platter of cold meats, cheese and bread that had been brought to him. He drained the last of the Madeira from his glass and sat back in his dry clothes, contented.The shutters had been closed and muffled the sound of the rain pattering against the window panes.

‘I imagine you are delighted to return to civilisation after so many years amongst the natives of India,’ said Gerald.

‘It is said that travel broadens the mind.’

‘But does it though, Arthur? Can you truly say that you are a better man because you have seen the world?’

‘Not better, perhaps. But wiser. I feel that I know the minds of other men more fully than I did, and I know my own mind more clearly. So I suppose I am glad I have experienced something of the world.’

‘And yet here you are, back in Britain, and now about to take a wife from amid the self-same stock that you were raised amongst.That seems to be a refutation of the wider world if ever I heard it.’

‘That is unfair, brother. How can a man truly value what he has until he has seen the depths and the heights of human activity? Gerald, how can you know for certain that the immediate world around you is all that is good? Surely you could only know that if you had the chance to compare it to something else?’

‘If you love your country, and you have faith, then what need is there to strive to make such a comparison?’

‘Sometimes I wish I could see things as you do, Gerald. I wish that I could have faith in the goodness of men. I wish that I could understand God’s will in all the suffering that I have witnessed.’ Arthur paused a moment. ‘What I crave is some certainty in my life. The certainty of feeling. The security of a home and the chance to raise a family. Once that is gained then a man has something he can believe in. Something that is truly worth fighting for.’

‘And you think Kitty will provide you with that, when you marry her tomorrow?’

‘I hope so,’ Arthur replied thoughtfully. ‘If not her, then who?’

The following morning Arthur hurriedly bought himself a fine set of clothes and arranged to hire a carriage for the week-long honeymoon he had decided on. They would be driven round the places he had known as a child, where he and Kitty had been together before Arthur left for India. It would help to rekindle memories of the times that had meant so much to them both, or so Arthur reasoned.

At noon, Arthur and Gerald set out from the house for the short walk to the rather more imposing Pakenham residence on Russell Square. Arthur felt more tense than ever, but said nothing of it as he responded to his brother’s light-hearted small talk. For the first time in days the skies had cleared and a bright sun bathed the world in its warm glow. Arthur wondered if this might be a good omen.The people they passed on the streets were in good spirits and exchanged greetings with complete strangers in a cheerful manner. On arriving at the square the brothers paused to quickly examine each other’s appearance. Gerald was wearing a simple black frock coat and his clerical collar was just visible. He carried his Bible, prayer book and other religious accoutrements in a large leather bag.

‘Well?’ said Arthur. ‘How do I look?’

Gerald cocked an eyebrow. ‘To be sure, I am not certain whether I will be officiating at a wedding or a funeral.You might try smiling a little.’

Arthur took a calming breath and tried to compose his expression into that of a happy and contented man. ‘Any better?’