The Irish Witch

'Roger, whatever ails you? I've never known you like this. Are you in some trouble ?'

Beginning to peel a peach, he replied, 'I am not, but someone very dear to me is and, alas, it entails great unhappiness for both of us.'

'For us? But why, and in what way?'

'Because, my dearest, I'll have to leave you for a while.'

Mary's mouth dropped open and she exclaimed, 'Leave me! Oh, no! You cannot mean it.'

‘I do. I hope not to be absent for more than a few weeks, but I have to go abroad again.'

'Abroad!' Mary gulped, then her eyes became angry. 'Roger! When we sailed from Sweden, you swore to me that you would never accept another mission. Yet you must have. And we've been living for scarce a month the life I've dreamed of. Oh, how could you? How could you?'

' 'Tis not a mission. I mean, this is no matter of going to the Continent again as a secret agent. It is a personal affair. Young Charles St. Ermins has been taken prisoner.'

Mary lowered her eyes. 'I am indeed sorry to hear that. But I do not see what you can do about it.'

'Joseph Bonaparte, as King of Spain, is the titular commander of the army there so it was his troops that captured Charles. I have known the King well for many years. I have no doubt whatever that I can obtain from him an order for Charles's release.'

Again Mary's glance was angry. 'As an officer he will be well treated, and in due course an exchange will be arranged for him. At best you could only spare him the inconvenience of a few additional weeks in captivity. And anyway, why should you go there on his account?'

'Because, Mary, he is my son.'

'Your son! You mean that he has no real right to the Earldom? That you fathered him upon Georgina?'

For a moment Roger was tempted to accept the conclusion to which she had jumped, as it would have strengthened his case for going to Charles's assistance. But swiftly he realised the danger of acknowledging this tie with Georgina.

'No, no,' he shook his head. 'I mean only that Charles is the nearest thing to a son I've ever had. As you know, he and Susan were brought up together by Georgina, so I have always looked on both of them as my children.'

The nearest thing to a sneer that Roger had ever seen on Mary's face crossed it for a moment, then she snapped, 'So you think of yourself as his father! A fine father I must say! Why, it will be near three years since you even saw the boy. And when you were last in England for any length of time, he was for most of it at Eton. Did you come face to face with him in a street tomorrow, I doubt me if you'd know him.'

" Roger sighed. 'Mary my love, what you say is true enough. Yet I feel this to be a duty I cannot shirk.'

'You mean you learned this from Georgina and have given way to her pleading that you should desert me to go in search of the son she so dotes upon?'

'Georgina does not enter into this.'

'Oh, but she does! Your story to me that she has been your lifelong friend is true enough. But there is more to it than that. Do you suppose there are no malicious tongues among the society women with whom I have become acquainted during this past month? Several of them have been at pains to inform me that Georgina was your mistress for many years, and sweetly congratulated me on having supplanted her in your affections.'

'That we were lovers when young I'll not deny,' Roger replied smoothly. 'But that is a long time ago. Not one of those scandalmongering jades could provide a tittle of evidence that I've been aught to Georgina between her marriages but a frequent escort when in London.'

'Yet you must have been with her at some time during the past twenty-four hours. How else could you have learnt that Charles is a prisoner ?'

Roger had agreed with Georgina that, to make certain the news about Charles did not get to Susan's ears and cause her great distress, she should tell no-one of her dream or vision in the crystal. So he was able to reply:

‘I learnt it last night from the Minister of War, who made one of our party. Charles's capture was mentioned in a despatch he had received that morning from His Grace of Wellington. Knowing my connection with the boy, he told me of it, but he'll not make it public, in order to spare Georgina the anxiety she would feel.'

The plausible lie temporarily stilled Mary's suspicions, but she continued to argue that she had a bigger claim on him than Charles, and to plead with him to forgo his intention of going to Spain.

He had assumed she would be tearful but submissive, so her persistence, added to her unexpected suspicions about Georgina, annoyed him. Sorry as he was for her, and the more so from knowing that he was making her unhappy to undertake a journey that might very well prove futile', he was not the man to change his mind once he had made it up, let alone go back on his word to Georgina. At length, pushing back his chair, he said:

'M'dear. When we first met in Lisbon I told you that, being near twice your age, I was too set in my habits to change them. I have never yet allowed a woman to interfere with any project I have set my mind upon. I can only say that since I love you very dearly, I will return to you as soon as possible.'

Thereupon Mary burst into tears. But he ignored her, left the table and walked from the room.

She did not join him in the library, and he spent the next few hours putting his affairs in order. By the time he had finished, he had decided that the only way to ensure against Mary making further trouble in future, when she disapproved of his arrangements, was to teach her a sharp lesson. So, when he went upstairs, instead of going to their bedroom he went to his dressing room and slept the night there.

He had hoped she would come to him and seek a reconciliation; but as she had not he was in no mind, when he went downstairs in the morning, to take the first step himself. She did not join him for breakfast, so when he had finished he sent for her maid, and said :

'As Her Ladyship is still up in her room, I assume she is feeling indisposed. Be good enough to tell her that I shall shortly be leaving for London, but expect to return in time for dinner.'

To his surprise the girl faltered, 'But Her Ladyship is not there, Sir. She got up early, ordered the coach and left an hour since. I... I thought you knew.'

With difficulty concealing the anger he felt at having to show ignorance of his wife's plans, he asked, 'Did she say where she was going, and what time she is likely to be back?'

'No, Sir. But she had me pack a small night bag to take with her.'

Dismissing the girl with a nod, Roger poured himself another cup of coffee, then sat back to consider this unexpected development. Mary had clearly taken the bit between her teeth, but where the devil was she on her way to? She had no relatives with whom she could stay while endeavouring to bring him to heel, and no money of her own. He had started to make her a generous monthly allowance, but she could not have put aside out of the first instalment sufficient to keep herself for any length of time.

During the past few weeks she had made a number of acquaintances, but was not yet intimate enough with any of them to ask them to put her up—except Droopy Ned. Yes, that was probably the answer. She had gone off to pour out her trouble to him.

Roger had meant to look in on Droopy that day and, as he had no secrets from this best of friends, tell him that he was going to Spain, and why. Now he decided against doing so, for he had no intention of letting Mary think he had come hot-foot after her.

Half an hour later he was on his way to London, and by mid-morning at the Admiralty, where he sent up his card to the First Sea Lord, an acquaintance of long standing, who was one of the comparatively few people who knew of his past activities as a secret agent.