Page 82 of The Pirate and the Pagan
“You must be mad,” concluded Lil. “Women do take mad fits when they’re breeding, you know. Tell me what all this silly fuss is about and we’ll straighten it out, I promise you.”
Summer sighed. “I might as well start at the beginning. I didn’t have any difficulty getting him to believe I was a sheltered, wealthy, well-bred young lady. He made no secret of how he felt about me and I expected him to offer me carte blanche, but then he surprised me by asking me to marry him. My brother had just been arrested for smuggling and I was so afraid for him—the offer of marriage seemed to be the answer to my prayers about my brother and about the twenty thousand owed on Roseland. The whole trouble was I fell in love with him. Even before we were married, I knew I was falling in love, but afterward I didn’t stand a chance. He held me in the palm of his hand. I was hopelessly infatuated … over the moon … I held nothing back, I gave him my heart and soul. He seemed to be in like case. Damn men, anyway, I should have known better. I waited until after the honeymoon to confess about Spencer’s trouble and the mortgage. He went mad. Called me every name under the sun. Told me I was so clever at getting money, I could pay my own mortgage, for not one copper penny of Helford money would I get.”
Summer hesitated over whether to tell her all of it, then shrugged and said, “He told me he would get the marriage annulled.”
“Oh, darling, that’s just Ruark’s temper. When he finds out about the baby, of course he will forget all about a silly annulment.”
“Lil, no! You mustn’t tell him,” cried Summer. “I’m not pregnant.”
“No, no, darling, you must have the pleasure of doing that yourself,” soothed Lil.
“Lord Helford was the one who bought the mortgage from Solomon Storm,” Summer said bitterly.
“Ruark probably meant it as a gift for you,” said Lil. “I know he must have been delighted with the way you entertained the King and court. Summer darling, I’ve heard nothing this past week but what unique diversions Lady Helford provided. Everyone is going to copy you. Lady Castlemaine is at this moment redoing a room in the Persian style. My sweet, when they learn you are in London, you’ll be the toast of the town, and here you lie as if you had the woes of the world on your pretty shoulders.” It was inexplicable to Lil Richwood why Summer suddenly burst into tears. “Oh, you musn’t spoil your face, darling. You have an entré to the court and I’m absolutely dying to see this Frances Stewart the King’s sister has brought over from France.”
“Lil, my brother’s in prison again. This time he’s been sent to Newgate.”
“Why, he was just here a few days ago. Whatever has the young rogue done? I knew someone with his looks couldn’t stay out of trouble long.”
“He’s done absolutely nothing. One of Lord Helford’s sergeants has a vendetta against my brother and me. He searched him and found my ten thousand pounds on him and arrested him for robbery. It’s all very complicated. I must beg the King’s help. How can I get a private audience with him?”
“Well, Edward Progers keeps in discreet communication with me. I’ll get him to arrange a private audience for you.”
“Edward Progers?” asked Summer.
“His Majesty’s page of the backstairs. He handles private money transactions, secret correspondence, and the like.” She waved her hand airily, skipping over the bald fact that he was the King’s pimp and procurer.
“I must get dressed. I’m going to Newgate to try to see my brother. I must try to get some money to him until I can gain his release.”
“Speaking of money, darling, I owe you some you can have for Spencer. I sold the Brussels lace for a fortune. You don’t know where you can get your hands on more?”
“Life is such an ironic bitch, Lil. The last time I was here lack of money made my life pure hell. Now I have money to burn and it doesn’t solve one problem for me.”
“That’s not quite true, sweet. It will certainly help ease life for your brother. We’ll have to be very careful how we dress for Newgate. The place is crawling with thieves and debtors.”
“You mean you’ll come with me?” asked Summer, quite surprised.
“Why, of course, darling. It’s very fashionable to visit the place. It’s called Lord Shaftsbury’s pride and joy. The place runs the gamut from sumptuous to cesspool. When a nobleman is clapped up for some crime, he lives in luxury, paying to have everything brought in from meals to mistresses. Highwaymen who are unfortunate enough to get caught hold court in their rooms, where visitors pay to go in and visit them, like Gentleman Jackson. There was even a rumor going around that a certain king’s mistress paid to sleep with him simply for the thrill of it. The place absolutely stank when they beheaded the thirteen regicides who condemned the King’s father to death. Their heads were put on spikes to decorate London Bridge, but first they were sent to Newgate to be pickled and cured and then their bodies were thrown into a pit outside—oh, sorry, darling, I forgot your nausea.” Lil took a breath and plunged on. “It’s behind St. Paul’s, we can take the carriage and leave it in Paternoster Row. Wear no jewelry but our clothes must show we have money. If he’s on the common felons’ side, it’s not fit for a baboon. They have their wrists and ankles shackled and drag about in chains. Still, he won’t have it as hard as a female would. Do you know it’s barbaric the way they treat poor women in these places. The poor unfortunate girls who get with child without benefit of wedlock are whipped through the streets at the cart’s tail. They are naked from the waist up. Lords and ladies of the court sometimes make up parties and go and watch the poor girls for sport. Oh, darling, there I go again running off at the mouth so tactlessly when you are breeding.”
Summer sighed. There was hardly any point in continuing to deny she was pregnant, for Lil believed what she wanted to believe.
“Now, let’s see, we’ll need vizard masks so we won’t be recognized. We’ll need snood nets on our hair so we don’t pick up lice, and spiced pomander balls to ward off the stench, and—oh yes, I’ll find you a pair of the lastest fashion: pattens. Little wooden platforms that fit onto your shoes to keep your skirts from trailing in the mire. They make you feel taller than high-heeled shoes!”
* * *
Summer looked at Lil Richwood in amazement as they stepped up into the carriage. Though she had advised Summer to dress conservatively, she wore pale blue brocade with an elaborate underskirt embroidered with golden thread. Her snood covering her blond curls was gold mesh and her vizard matched exactly.
Summer wore a gray walking dress with a black snood and velvet mask. Lil had given her the pattens, which she would definitely have to get used to, and she’d also handed her an orange studded with cloves and threaded onto a black satin ribbon. Summer carried a small clutch purse with her money inside, since a reticule on a string would have been too tempting to prison inmates.
The carriage let them off on the doorstep of Newgate so they didn’t have far to walk, but Summer saw with horror that the gutters running from the prison were dankly clogged and black with flies. The moment they knocked, they were admitted by a turnkey and taken to the common room. This was a very large, open place like a yard where prisoners who were not dangerous could gather and socialize. A high catwalk ran around the perimeter, where guards idly watched the gathering below. Summer scanned the faces in the crowd, hoping to encounter her brother. She felt anything but hopeful.
“Ho there—you down below!” Summer looked up at an exquisitely dressed man on the catwalk who had been standing talking with a guard. Apparently they had been trying to get her attention for quite a few minutes. He held up two ten-pound notes and raised his eyebrows. In shock, she looked at Lil for confirmation of what she thought he meant. “How dare you, sir, go away!” she called.
The man held up two more ten-pound notes, and the guard with him called down, “This is Lord Peregrine Howard.”
“Tell him no—go away!” shouted Summer.
Lil explained, “Prostitutes ply their trade here day and night.”
