Page 75 of Lady Edith and the Registry Office
They followed the sailor down a corridor to an open door. A gray-haired man was inside the room, standing behind a desk. “Do come in. Refreshment, my lords?”
Both men declined.
“That is all, Jasper.”
The clerk closed the door behind him, Dr. Harness was seated, and Nathaniel and Ashford followed suit.
Their host smiled briefly. “HowisDr. Blake? When we served together I found him an exemplary sailor and an even better physician.”
Nathaniel replied, “He is well. I had the honor of serving with Captain Blake on the Cressy.”
“Did you? I thought your name was familiar, Lord Harbury. I was one of the Royal Navy investigators that dealt with that nasty business involving Lt. Cooper.”
Dr. Harness knew who he was. Coupled with his earlier meeting with Blake, perhaps he had undertaken too much interaction with the navy that day. He felt slightly agitated. Nathaniel took a deep breath and marshaled his thoughts. He was here now, and finding the missing veterans was a priority. Now was not the time to lose focus, to settle into melancholia.
“Lord Harbury? How can I help you?”
He shook himself and replied, “We need information about transport ships. We’re looking for three men who may have been put on a ship by mistake.”
Dr. Harness’s forehead furrowed. “By mistake? Although men may claim their innocence, they are on those hulks for a reason.”
“Are you saying no one who has not been tried and convicted is ever smuggled onto those ships?” he asked with raised brows.
“Lord Harbury, such a thing is unheard of.” Dr. Harness’s face had reddened.
He took a breath. “After my years in the navy, sir, I would not discount the possibility. These ships are, after all, not under the control of the navy but the treasury.”
“You are correct. What are the circumstances of the men you are searching for?” Dr. Harness’s tone had changed from skepticism to conciliatory. Nathaniel now knew how Lady Edith felt when patronized.
He replied, “They are all Navy veterans who have gone missing in London within the last week. They have not been press ganged, nor are they candidates for kidnapping.”
“And you think the men were taken to be transported?” The doctor’s tone was now curious.
“I'm not sure why the men were taken, but I imagine getting them out of England is the primary goal. It would be a challenge to get them into one of the land-based gaols, so I would guess they are on a hulk, waiting to be transported.”
The doctor replied, “If the men were not taken farther afield, the closest hulks are moored on the Thames in Woolwich. Mind you, you can’t just go barging onto one of those ships.”
“Are there any transport ships due to leave soon for New Holland?” Ashford asked.
“My clerk, Seaman Jasper, can give you the schedule of the ships departing for New Holland through the end of the year. Tell him what you need, and he will assist you.”
The doctor led them from his office into the lobby and addressed his clerk, “Jasper, give these gentlemen any information you have regarding transport sailings to New Holland.”
After the doctor had returned to his office, Nathaniel told the young man, “We need to know when the next transport ship will depart from England.”
“Preferably the closest port to London,” Ashford added. “Dr. Harness mentioned Woolwich.”
The young man pulled a ledger from a drawer, placed it on his desk, and began to look through it. “One moment. I do know a ship left last week.”
“We will assume that was too early for our purposes,” Nathaniel replied.
The clerk looked up from the ledger. “Other than the Morley scheduled to sail from Woolwich in December, I have a ship in Portsmouth that was delayed. Those are the only transportation sailings slated until the new year.”
“Does it tell you which hulk would transfer prisoners to the Morley?” he asked.
“There are two: theCeresand theNeely. It is rare for such a large transport ship to leave from London, but the Morley is scheduled to do so.”
“Don’t bother to write the information down. Woolwich will be enough to be getting on with.” He also wanted the clerk to forget about their conversation as soon as possible.
