'Perhaps, Sir, you would be good enough to give me the name of the best hostel in the city, where we can lodge in reasonable comfort and replenish our sadly depleted wardrobes before proceeding on our journey. I will, of course, wait upon you again at any time that may be convenient, to give you, or one of your officers, such particulars as I can regarding the forces of our enemy.'
'No, no!' the General protested quickly. 'You must be our guests while in Montreal, and it is now too late in the day for you to purchase your requirements. Tomorrow will be time enough. My wife will be happy to lend Lady Mary a change of clothes for this evening, and we will dine informally.'
Roger gladly accepted the offer. A little later, Lady Warren joined them. She was elderly, white-haired and limped in, using a stick, as she was a martyr to arthritis. But her forbidding expression became a kindly one when she was told what Mary had been through and, with motherly concern, she took her upstairs. Sir Wallace then turned Roger over to his valet. An hour later, when they met again, bathed and in borrowed plumage, they felt like different people.
At dinner, besides themselves and the Warrens, there were only the A.D.G. and his wife : a pretty, snub-nosed, vivacious young woman. Over the meal the four residents were fascinated by the account Roger and Mary gave of their stay in an Indian settlement. Afterwards, when the ladies had retired, the General suggested that they should take their port into the library. ,
There, while the A.D.G. took notes, Roger gave particulars of the military situation on the other side of the river. Having spent so many years with armies, he was a highly-trained observer, so was able to provide an expert appreciation of the strength, morale and communications of the United States forces on that front.
During the three days that followed, Roger and Mary re-equipped themselves with clothes, portmanteaux and other necessities, mainly at the Hudson's Bay Company's store. They were surprised to find how large a proportion of the inhabitants of the city were of French descent and still spoke Canadian French; but they had been under British rule for fifty years and, their hereditary enemies having been the Americans, there could be no doubt where their loyalties lay. They had also largely contributed to making Montreal a more pleasant place in which to live than most American cities, for they had retained the culinary art of their ancestors. Roger and Mary discovered this on their second day, when the A.D.C. and his wife took them to dine at a restaurant in the old French quarter. It was the most sophisticated meal they had enjoyed for many a day.
On April 23rd they took leave of the hospitable Warrens, and went aboard a brig in which the General had secured passages for them down the freely navigable stretch of the St. Lawrence to Quebec.
The wind being favourable, the brig covered the one hundred and sixty-odd miles in good time, and they landed in Quebec on the 25th. Sir Wallace had provided Roger with an introduction to the Governor, Vice-Admiral Sir Cyprian Crow, so they were welcomed by him at Admiralty House that evening, on his return from inspecting the Royal Marine Depot. In the meantime they had been entertained by a Mrs. Rusholm, the Admiral's widowed sister who, as he was a bachelor, had come out to run his house for him. She had at once invited them to stay and the Admiral became even more genial when it transpired that he had been a junior Captain under Roger's father, the late Admiral Sir Christopher Brook.
That night there was a dinner party at which most of the other guests were officers, and Roger found that he shared mutual acquaintances with several of them. As Mrs. Rusholm employed a French chef, the meal was excellent, and the glasses were kept well filled throughout, so it proved a merry evening. After the loyal toast, the Admiral proposed, 'To Hell and Davy Jones with the Americans', which was drunk with enthusiasm by all.
Next morning Roger consulted his host about a passage back to England, Gouvemeur Morris's loan enabling him to add that he could afford to pay for the best accommodation available. Upon which the jovial sailor exclaimed :
'Pay be damned! If my old chief’s son is not entitled to a free passage home, who in thunder is? I've a frigate with despatches sailing in the course of a week. You met Captain Saunders at dinner last night. He's the "owner". You and your lady will sail with him. Meantime, we'll do our best to make your stay in this town of friendly frog-eaters as enjoyable as possible.'
So the matter was swiftly settled. During the next six days Roger and Mary were taken to see the Heights of Abraham, scaled in the night by General Wolfe's troops to take by surprise in the morning and defeat those of the Marquis de Montcalm; to the great Chateau named after Cardinal de Richelieu who, long ago, had made eastern Canada New France; to see an inspection of recently-landed British reinforcements for the Army; for drives in the surrounding country and to dine and dance.
On May 2nd, they were welcomed by Captain Saunders aboard the thirty-two gun frigate Albatross and, a few hours later, to the thunder of a Vice-Admiral's salute, waved good-bye to Sir Cyprian and his sister as the ship set sail for England.
During the voyage Roger suffered from his habitual sea-sickness, but neither so frequently nor so badly as he had done on his way to America, as that had been in midwinter, whereas now summer, with mostly blue skies and calmer seas, was the order of the day.
On the evening of Friday, June 11th, they docked at Portsmouth. The Lieutenant-Colonel carrying the despatches landed at once, to take them with all possible speed to the Prince Regent, and the Commander-in-Chief at the Horse Guards. Roger and Mary went ashore the next morning and drove to London in a hired coach.
As was his custom whenever he returned from abroad, Roger went straight to Amesbury House in Arlington Street, where his greatest friend, Lord Edward Fitz-Deverel had an upper floor as his personal suite, and always put him up. As it was the height of the London season, Roger felt certain that 'Droopy Ned'—as Lord
Edward was known to his friends, owing to shortsightedness which caused him to have a permanent stoop—would be in residence; but a footman told him that he was staying the night with friends at Twickenham, to attend a masked ball at the Duke of Northumberland's mansion, Sion House. Neither was his lordship's father there, for the Earl, now being over seventy and in poor health, rarely came to London.
However, the major-domo, who had known Roger since he was a boy, was sent for, greeted him warmly and assured him that Lord Edward would take it most ill if he and his lady slept elsewhere that night. So rooms were swiftly prepared for them, and a welcome supper sent up.
In the morning they rose late and, on going downstairs, learned that Droopy was not expected back until the late afternoon. Roger then took the first step in a policy that he had already decided to adopt. Fond as he was of Mary, he had no intention of being tied to her apron-strings, or ever giving anything but a vague indication of his doings when away from her. So, having settled her comfortably in the small library with the latest periodicals and news sheets, he said:
'My love, I am now going out, and I'll not be back for luncheon, as I have various matters to attend to. Some time, too, I must wait upon Lord Castlereagh to give him the latest news from America; but, while I am absent, I am sure that you will be well looked after.'
As he had expected, Mary, knowing that all his life he had been involved in foreign affairs at the highest level, made no great demur. Having kissed her good-bye, he took his hat and went out into the June sunshine.
But he did not proceed in the direction of Whitehall. Instead, on reaching Piccadilly, he turned left and walked down the hill to Kew House, one of the fine mansions that looked out over St. James's Park, for it was there that his beloved Georgina normally lived during the London season, as she preferred it in the summer to Charles's house in Berkeley Square.