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‘Yes, so he told me, but I think his parents help him. They are a very close family, I believe.’
‘Not close enough if they can banish a good man like Sir John and never want anything more to do with him.’
‘They are no worse than Mama’s kin, are they?’
‘It was her ladyship’s choice and she did have your father and you children to console her. Sir John had no one.’
‘True, but now the shoe is on the other foot. Sir John is going home and we are the ones to be exiled.’
‘What are we going to do?’
‘I do not know. Once Papa is well, we shall have to find somewhere to live and I think I must earn a living.’
‘Earn a living!’ the old lady gasped. ‘What is the world coming to when ladies have to soil their hands with work?’
Lisette smiled. ‘If I have to, I have to. Now I am going to join the Commodore, Sir John and Lieutenant Sandford for supper. I will wear the blue taffeta with the quilted stomacher and matching shawl.’
She stripped and washed and donned the blue taffeta, then Hortense combed the knots out of her hair and tied it back with blue ribbon.
‘There,’ she said, fastening a string of pearls about her neck. ‘That will do. I feel civilised again. Will you make sure Papa has some supper?’
‘Of course. I will have mine with him and stay until he goes to sleep. You go and enjoy yourself. After what you have been through in the last two days, you deserve it.’
Lisette found her way to the mess, smiling to herself at the thought of enjoying herself. She was not going to some grand ball, but a simple supper with a man whose presence unsettled her.
He was already in the mess when she arrived, talking to Lieutenant Sandford and his grandfather. Sir John was dressed in a suit of amber-coloured silk and the lieutenant in dark blue, but although Jay had changed his shirt and breeches, he still wore no coat. They all turned to bow to her and Jay hurried forwards to show her to a seat at the refectory table. ‘I regret I cannot yet get into a coat, Miss Giradet,’ he said. ‘I pray you to excuse me.’
‘Of course.’
The mess steward came in, carrying tureens of food which looked and smelled delicious. Lisette suddenly realised how hungry she was and set to with a hearty appetite. But they could not eat in silence; it behoved her to begin a conversation.
‘It is a lovely night,’ she said. ‘The stars are so clear. I had no trouble picking out some of the constellations.’
‘You know something of the stars, ma’am?’ the lieutenant asked.
‘A little. My father used to point them out to me when we went voyaging. I learned to recognise the Great Bear and Orion and the Pleiades. And of course the North Star.’ She paused, watching Jay struggling to cut up his food. ‘Let me help you,’ she said, taking his knife and fork from him. She cut up the meat and potatoes and handed the implements back to him.
‘Thank you,’ he said.
She laughed. ‘It makes a change for you to say that to me. Until now the gratitude has all been on one side. I hope you will call on me again if you need help.’
‘His greatest need is to get into a coat,’ Sir John said, chuckling. ‘No one seems able to help him with that.’
‘I shall be able to do so tomorrow,’ Jay said stiffly. ‘If Sam had not bound me up so tight, I might have been able to dress properly this evening.’
‘I expect it was necessary,’ Lisette said.
‘Of course it was,’ Sir John agreed. ‘He was bleeding like a stuck pig.’
‘Grandfather,’ Jay admonished him. ‘I do not think that is something the lady wants to hear. Shall we change the subject?’
‘Tell me about Highbeck,’ Lisette said quickly. She did not want to be the cause of dissension between the two men.
‘Highbeck is a small village on the borders of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk,’ Jay said. ‘It is only a few miles from Downham Market and not far from the city of Ely, which has a fine cathedral. In the other direction is the port of Lynn, which is where we shall dock in two days’ time, given fair weather.’
‘And Blackfen Manor?’
‘That is where my mother grew up and where she and my father have lived ever since their marriage. It is a substantial Tudor house with a moat and a drawbridge. The surrounding countryside is arable farmland and fen, hence its name. It is very lovely. I and my siblings grew up there and since we have had our own homes, visit often. I am sure you will like it.’
‘It sounds idyllic. How far from there do you live?’
‘Only five miles. I have a small estate and a house at Falsham. Until my wife died I was often at sea and it was managed by a steward, but since then I have stayed at home and looked after it myself. I felt the children needed me.’
