Nell Gwynne's On Land and At Sea Read Online Free PDF Page B

into permanent half-open fists; despite which, a fine gold ring gleamed on the right one. His voice was a pleasant tenor with a much better-bred accent that the unfortunate Mr. Pickett; however, his half-smile and bold gaze quite gave the lie to his obsequious tone. Also, he leered at Lady Beatrice.
    Introducing himself as Mr. Felan, “Mr. Pickett’s man,” he was well-spoken enough as he proffered Mr. Pickett’s compliments and a lovely Chinoiserie vase full of scarlet roses.
    “Mr. Pickett said to tell you, ma’am,” Felan said in mock-serious tones to Mrs. Corvey, “that he sent the flower of his gardens to the flower of yours.”
    Lady Beatrice took the vase. “What lovely roses! They are very fine, Mamma.”
    “How thoughtful,” Mrs. Corvey replied icily. “Please convey our thanks to Mr. Pickett. Beatrice, do help me back upstairs now.”
    Being apparently blind did mean she never had to pay much attention to other people’s reactions, and she was pleased to turn her shoulder on Pickett’s man and return back up the stairs. His face fell and his smile twisted rather nastily as she and Beatrice departed—of course, as Mrs. Corvey was most emphatically not really blind, she was also able to see and note this alteration in his demeanor.
    “An impudent servant; and a nasty piece of work, I shouldn’t wonder,” she said to Lady Beatrice as they passed the first landing. “And a boxer once, I think—did you note the fellow’s hands?”
    “I did. They have seen hard usage,” said Lady Beatrice.
    “And dealt it out, I’ve no doubt. That sort often goes for a bully-boy, once they get too slow for the ring,” said Mrs. Corvey. “Reminds me of one of Lord Brougham’s followers, was a bit of an enforcer in that to-do back in ’45 about changing the Coroner’s Laws; you may recall, there was quite a bit of resurrectionist scandal then.”
    “I believe I heard of it,” said Lady Beatrice. She followed Mrs. Corvey into their suite.
    “We entertained the fellow on his master’s business a few times,” continued Mrs. Corvey, “when it was a matter of some concern to the Gentlemen that there might be a resurrectionist ring attached to Lord Brougham’s household.”
    “And was there? Was he indeed a resurrectionist?” Lady Beatrice asked with interest, setting the vase on a table where the roses caught the light.
    “O, yes, some little business deal between the Lord’s wine steward, this bully cove and the College of Surgeons; all manner of mischief in their respective cellars…but Mr. Pickett’s man brought him to mind because he had just that same manner of speaking you soft and yet being snarky. And he was very rough with the girls, especially Erato. I finally had to remove him.”
    Mrs. Corvey, having shed her gloves and shawl, settled down in the armchair by the table. Lady Beatrice, arranging the roses to best show in the sunlight, gazed at her a little moment.
    “How did you have him removed, if I may ask?” she inquired finally.
    “Shot the bugger in the head and had him dumped in the Thames,” said Mrs. Corvey with a reminiscent smile. She looked sharply at Beatrice, her lenses whirring to a close focus. “You watch yourself around that one, Beatrice. His master may be a Southern gentleman, but our Mr. Felan is a wolf.”
    Lady Beatrice nodded. “I shall do so.”
    “Wear your garter knife, then,” Mrs. Corvey said with an air of maternal authority; and leaned back in her chair with a worried frown.
     

     
    At precisely half-past one the following afternoon, a boy from the front desk knocked on the door of their suite, and informed the ladies that Mr. Pickett had arrived for their outing.
    “Mind you get him talking as much as ever you can,” Mrs. Corvey said to Lady Beatrice, to whom she had explained her suspicions.
    “I don’t believe that will prove difficult,” said Lady Beatrice as they entered the boarding house’s parlor.
    It was certainly not difficult to spot Mr.