How Dark the Night (6 page)

“This must be so terribly hard on Emma,” she said. “I could never approve of their affair, of course, even though I understood why a beautiful young woman would leave a husband twice her age for a living legend who adored her. It crushed Fanny Nelson. She'll never recover from the humiliation and loss.” Indeed, the passionate affair had been the subject of extensive coverage by the scandalized British press, although the British people were willing to forgive their hero anything—even open adultery, especially after it became known that the cuckolded Lord Hamilton also regarded Nelson as a hero and even set up house with Nelson and Emma, the three of them living together in luxury for a spell.

“His death is hard on the entire British nation,” Richard said. “I heard that when word of Nelson's death reached England, men and women wept openly in the streets. As my Uncle William used to say, England loves its naval heroes. And England has never had a naval hero quite like Horatio Nelson. It likely never will again.”

“No,” Katherine agreed. For several moments she sat quietly staring at the flames crackling in the hearth, her mind drifting back fondly to an earlier age in Burnham Thorpe, in East Anglia, when she had been the light in Nelson's eyes. As his fame mounted, she had sometimes idly wondered how different her life would have been had she chosen him over Richard. Her conclusion was always the same: no man could have been a better husband than the one she married. “Have you heard what the funeral arrangements are to be?” she asked, taking Richard's hand. “I saw nothing about them in the newspaper.”

“I do know, but only because of the dispatch I received today. Apparently, our Navy Department is as saddened by Horatio's death as the British Admiralty. The tradition is to bury the body of a dead sailor at sea, of course, whatever his rank. But both Admiral Collingwood and Captain Hardy understood that England would wish to honor his remains, so they preserved his body in a barrel of brandy and brought it back to England.

She smiled ruefully. “Horatio would have approved of that decision. He ever did enjoy his brandy.”

Richard went on, “The funeral is set for early January. As you can imagine, it will be quite the affair of state. Horatio's remains are to be interred at the crypt in St. Paul's Cathedral.”

“How appropriate,” Katherine said, then sat silently for several minutes. She continued to stare at the flames in the hearth, remembering the fine young man she had known so long ago. Then, in a half-whisper, “I do
so
wish I could be there.”

“Jeremy will be there,” Richard consoled her. Katherine's older brother had been a close friend of Horatio Nelson since the early days of their naval careers. “Hugh will be there too,” he added, referring to Katherine's other brother, also a Royal Navy post captain and personal friend of Horatio Nelson. “And don't forget that Hugh and Phoebe will be visiting us this summer. They can tell us all about the service then.”

The reminder that her brother and his wife would soon be emigrating from England to Boston lifted Katherine's mood considerably. On an impulse, Richard sought to reinforce that mood.

“No doubt we'll be home from our voyage long before Hugh and Phoebe get here,” he said offhandedly.

She gave him a puzzled look. “Voyage? What voyage?”

“The voyage we are taking together.”

“Where are we going?”

“Barbados.”

“Barbados? Richard, what are you talking about? Have you taken leave of your senses?”

“To the contrary. I have been in contact with John and Robin. There are serious business matters we need to discuss, and we all agree that we need to discuss them in person. Caleb suggested I be the one to go, and I had thought you might care to join me.”

“Care to join you? Of
course
I would care to join you. But . . . but . . . I don't see how it will be possible.”

“Why not?”

“Well, Diana for one thing.”

“Diana will stay with Caleb and Joan while we're gone. Joan is delighted to have her help with young Thomas.”

“They are in on this?”

“Of course.”

“What about your commission?”

“I'm on the beach at half pay for God only knows how long. I have notified the Navy Department of my intentions, and there is no problem from their perspective. What's more, Agee writes that because
Portsmouth
is well settled, he'll be sailing home in a fortnight or so, and he'll be here to look after things too. I'm sure Lizzy is beside herself over
that
welcome piece of news.”

She shook her head slightly. “My health, Richard. It's long past time that I be concerned about it . . .”

“As are we all. So of course I have consulted Dr. Prescott.”

“Does he approve?”

“Not only does he approve, he strongly encourages it. He thinks the sea air and tropical sun will work wonders on you.”

She gave him a look that was a blend of bewilderment and amusement. “And Robin and John? What do they have to say about all this?”

“John assures me that he and Cynthia will have the West Room done up good and proper for our visit, and Robin writes that Julia already has the horses saddled. So, what further concerns might you have?”

“That everyone has been in on this secret except me,” she said dryly.

“Well, it has taken some doing to keep it from you. Your ability to sniff things out is legendary.”

“How long has this secret been going on?”

“For several months. I had planned to tell you next week, as a gift on Christmas Day. But somehow it seemed appropriate to tell you tonight.”

“When do you propose we depart?”

“In the early spring, if you're willing. . . . So what do you think, my lady?
Are
you willing?”

She raised his hand and brushed her lips against it. As he lowered it, she lifted her gaze to his. “What do
you
think, my lord?” she asked quietly.

He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “Methinks this ship's master has found himself a mate.”

“I believe he has,” she agreed. “I believe he has.”

Three

Hingham, Massachusetts, and Barbados

Winter 1806

K
ATHERINE
C
UTLER
ladled out a healthy portion of hot porridge into a bowl, sprinkled a dash of Ceylon cinnamon on it, and brought the steaming gruel over to the oval wooden table. After she put a plate of toasted bread next to it, she sat down across from her daughter, near the fire that warmed the kitchen. Outside, the sun was inching up above the trees, spreading tentacles of feeble blue light across a frozen landscape carpeted with freshly fallen snow that seemed studded with diamonds.

“Aren't you having any, Mother?” Diana asked as she poured cream into the bowl from a chinaware server. “You mustn't just have coffee for breakfast.”

“I ate earlier. I've been up awhile.”

“Are you feeling all right?”

“I'm feeling fine,” her mother assured her, adding with a note of sternness, “and please stop treating me like I'm some sort of wounded bird. Please God, there's a dance in this old girl yet.”

Diana looked chastened. “Yes, of course there is. I'm sorry, Mother.”

Katherine smiled. “Right, now; out with it. You've been near to bursting at the seams ever since you came home last evening. I heard you prancing about your room during the wee hours of the morning, and I have a strong suspicion that Peter is somehow responsible.”

“He is!” Diana burst out in an explosion of joy. “I couldn't tell you last evening, Mother,” she explained rapidly. “Oh, how I wanted to, but I
couldn't, not with your friend Mrs. Preston here so late. Peter has asked for my hand. He has asked me to marry him!”

“Aha. So my suspicions were correct. And you said what?”

“I said, ‘Oh dear lord yes, of course I'll marry you, Peter! I love you! There is nothing on this earth I wouldn't do for you!'”

“How very ladylike. You didn't pounce on him like a cat, did you?”

Diana laughed delightedly. “No, Mother. I wanted to, but I restrained myself.”

“Well, good. I am relieved to learn that your parents and your Derby education instilled
some
sense of modesty in you. Did you say anything else to him?”

Diana came abruptly down to earth. “I told him that he will have to speak to Father.”

“That was wise of you.”

“He
will
speak to him, Mother,” she said earnestly, “either tomorrow or the next day, as soon as Father comes home. Peter is very traditional. He insists on receiving Father's permission. And yours, of course.”

“He already has mine, which can come as no surprise to you. Peter is a fine young man from a good Hingham family. And he has excellent prospects, both at Harvard and in the practice of law afterward. More to the point, his feelings for you clearly match yours for him. What mother would stand in the way of such happiness and security for her daughter?”

“So, you think Father will acquiesce as well?” Diana asked eagerly.

“Yes, but not right away, all else being equal. He'll want to ask you and Peter to wait awhile. He'll say you're too young to get married.”

“For heaven's sake, Mother, I'm eighteen . . . almost.”

Katherine laughed softly. “No matter
what
your age, your father would still think you too young. You will always be his little girl, even after you have your own little girls. He's perfectly aware of your feelings for Peter. And I assure you he holds Peter in as high regard as I do. But he'll want to defer the inevitable for as long as possible because he doesn't want you ever to leave us, even though he knows you must.”

Diana nodded ruefully. “I had feared as much.”

“Now, now, not to worry,” her mother soothed. “You just heard me say, ‘all else being equal.' But all else is
not
equal. You and I are allies in this matter, and we have two secret weapons in our arsenal that cannot fail to persuade him.”

“We do?”

“Yes, we do. The first weapon,” she announced, “is me.”

Diana gave her mother a quizzical look. “You? I'm afraid I don't understand.”

“It's quite simple, really. Ever since I met your father I have been, by his own admission, both his greatest source of strength and his greatest weakness. If there is something I truly want, he loves me too much, and respects my judgment too much, to say no to me. Of course, to ensure that I don't ever overplay my hand, I never ask for anything that is unreasonable. Being entirely committed to your happiness, I am now prepared to draw this weapon on your behalf.” She did not add that given the uncertainty of her medical condition, the last thing Richard would ever deny her was the joy and satisfaction of seeing her only daughter properly wed.

“Thank you, Mother,” Diana said sincerely. “I would expect nothing less of you, but still, it makes me happy to know. What is the other weapon?”

“The other weapon is your father's past. When he and I met, he was about the same age as Peter was when you two met. And when we were married, he was about Peter's age, and I yours. So it would be rather hypocritical of him to claim that you and Peter are too young to get married when he and I were not. And I daresay that regardless of our ages when we wed, our marriage has turned out rather well.”

“Oh, it has, Mother,” Diana readily agreed. “Everyone says so. And Peter recognizes it as well. He speaks of you and Father with the highest affection and praise. Last evening, when he asked for my hand, he said that your marriage is one that he and I should try to replicate throughout our life together. I obviously agree with him.”

“That was kind of Peter, but as you two will discover for yourselves, no marriage is perfect. All have their ups and downs. But here's what I want you never to forget: through all the years I have been with your father, there has not been a single moment—not one—when I questioned why I married him. Nor was there a single moment—not one single moment—when I wished I hadn't. If you can say the same thing at my age, then you will have had a successful and loving marriage. I hope you will be able to say the same thing to your own children, as I pray Will and Jamie can to theirs someday.” Katherine paused, stabbed by the realization that she might not live long enough to see her grandchildren. She fought back a surge of regret. “So,” she said with forced gaiety, “have you and Peter settled on a date for the ceremony?”

“Not the actual date,” Diana said, the flower of her joy returning to full bloom, “but we are thinking of September. Jamie writes that he will
be relieved of duty in
Constitution
in early summer, so he should be home long before then. Uncle Agreen will be here, and Uncle Hugh and Aunt Phoebe are planning to arrive in Boston sometime in June or July. You and Father will be home from Barbados in May, so that gives us the entire summer to plan the wedding. Peter says that he sees no reason why his family can't all be here in September. It seems the ideal time.”