The Pirate and the Pagan (33 page)

T
he King’s weather held and the next day was absolutely glorious. Ruark had organized races using his ten fastest horses. They drew lots among the men to see who the lucky riders would be and the serious business of placing their wagers began. Ruark had decided to combine the races with Summer’s suggestion of cooking lobsters on the beach so the sands could be used for the races.

A large tent pavilion was set up down there and the house servants spent two hours carrying down tables and chairs, cushions and blankets to make the guests comfortable.

A lot of the ladies wore wide-brimmed hats to protect them from the sun, but Summer and a few of the more adventurous went bareheaded and let their hair fly loose in the sea breeze.

Since the King’s great height and weight would be a disadvantage in a horse race, he contented himself with being a spectator. Buckingham was in charge of the betting and held all the money. Jack and Bunny Grenvile had both drawn lots to be jockeys, as had Lord Buckhurst, Sir Charles Berkeley, Henry Jermyn, and Wild Harry Killigrew. Three riders were men of Cornwall: John Arundell, Richard Carew, and Sir John St. Aubyn. The tenth man was George Digby, the Earl of Bristol. Ruark Helford chose not to ride
since he would have an unfair advantage in being able to choose his fastest horse.

Only two horses at a time raced each other as the beach was not wide enough to safely race more at once, which made a total of nine races before a winner could be declared.

The men weighed up the horses very carefully before they made their wagers, but the women bet strictly on the men. In each race they either chose the better-looking man or a particular favorite. When the Earl of Bristol raced, every woman present bet heavily on him. Summer, too, placed a large wager on him, not because he was the best-looking man at Court, but because he was astride Ruark’s beloved Titan and she knew the horse’s capabilities.

By being reckless enough to wager a thousand pounds, Summer had doubled her money and was now in possession of two thousand. Only two horses remained which hadn’t yet raced. One was ridden by Wild Harry Killigrew, who was known to ride hell-for-leather as he did everything else in life. He was definitely the odds-on favorite with the crowd, but Summer put her whole two thousand on Jack Grenvile. She knew he’d been in the cavalry and the story of his mounting his father’s horse after Bevil had been killed by the enemy gave her total confidence in him. The crowd screamed and cheered them on, championing Wild Harry, but Jack Grenvile outrode him in every way. He showed such superb horsemanship, the crowd was swayed to his side and at the finish he was being cheered on even by those who had bet against him.

By the time the final race was ready to be run, Summer knew without a shadow of a doubt who the overall winner would be. It came down to a race between Jack Grenvile and George Digby— the Earl of Bath against the Earl of Bristol, but since the latter was mounted on Titan, she knew the race would be between the two horses, not the men.

Buckingham, of course, was hidden by the throng placing wagers. When it was finally her turn and she bet her whole four thousand on the Earl of Bristol, Buckingham said, “You won’t be flattered by the comparison, but you do things with abandon exactly like Barbara.”

“All or nothing at all,” said her husband’s voice in reply to Buckingham.

“And I don’t really give a damn which!” she threw at him. Her blood was up and she was in a mood to be reckless. She didn’t need to watch the race; its outcome was a foregone conclusion. She’d
show them abandon … she’d give them something to whisper about behind their damned aristocratic hands!

She climbed the cliff to Roseland, put on a pair of old breeches and boots, and rode Ebony down to the beach. By the time she got there, the races were ostensibly over and those who had bet on the Earl of Bristol were counting their winnings.

Ruark came over and took hold of her bridle; he knew she was up to mischief.

“Lord Helford, I challenge you to a race.” Her voice rang out clearly and sparked a great deal of interest from the guests. Those who had whispered about her being pregnant were now not quite so sure of their facts. Those who had whispered about the Helford’s great love match were also not quite sure of their facts.

“Think you that misbegotten bag of bones can beat Ebony?” she challenged.

Most thought Lord Helford would not take his young wife seriously, but the King murmured to Barbara, “Helford’s got a hell of a pair of balls; I think he’ll take her up on it.”

“How much have I won, my lord Buckingham?”

“Eight thousand,” he said, enjoying himself immensely. One of them would be beaten and brought low; it mattered not to him which.

Helford said, “You have the advantage, madame, Titan has already run three races.” She smiled her secret smile. “I know.”

He bowed in acceptance and took Titan’s reins from the Earl of Bristol.

“Double the course … there and back,” Summer’s voice rang out.

Once more he nodded, but his eyes narrowed at her behavior. She was aware of Ruark’s temper, but heeded not the warning signs. They lined up at the starting post and as the flag was dropped Summer shot ahead of Ruark. She had her heart set on winning sixteen thousand pounds and wiping out the mortgage. She had confidence that they could win if they put their hearts into it, for they had made this run almost every day of their lives. Ebony was fresh and he carried only half the weight that Titan labored under.

She knew she was going to make the turn ahead of him. Elated, she glanced back and her eyes fell upon his hands. He held the reins strongly in check—he was actually holding Titan back! Her
blood began to sing in her veins … he was going to let her win! In that moment she realized just how much she still loved him. Then he came up level beside her and shouted, “The loser comes to the winner’s bed tonight.”

She looked at him in disbelief. “Go to hell!” she shouted angrily, and dug her heels into Ebony’s sides.

It was very simple really. All he did was give Titan his head and the powerful Irish Thoroughbred did the rest. He thundered past her just before she crossed the finish line. Summer’s heart plummeted with her disappointment. Not only had she not won the sixteen thousand, but she had lost the eight thousand she had accumulated so easily that day. Ruark’s maddening words echoed in her brain: “All or nothing at all.”

Gallant Jack Grenvile lifted her down from the saddle and a small knot of the men who had been championing her gathered about her protectively. She gave them a gay smile and said, laughing, “In the end I couldn’t shame my husband before such grand company.”

They knew her horse had been defeated fairly, but there wasn’t a man there who wouldn’t have thrown the race to win her favor. She gave a rueful little shrug to Buckingham. “Since I called the tune, I’ll have to pay the piper. See that Lord Helford gets whatever I owe him.”

As he watched her walk away Buckingham thought she would most likely give Helford one hell of a lot more than she owed him before she was finished.

Barbara Castlemaine lounged in the tent pavilion, sipping champagne and eating oysters with Bess Maitland. As Summer came to get a drink Barbara called, “I’m surprised a rustic farm girl like you came such a cropper. Perhaps you bit off more than you could chew when you took on Helford for husband.” She whispered something amusing to her coarse companion and they went off in peals of laughter.

“Unlike yours, my husband is somewhat old-fashioned. My husband would kill me if I cuckolded him. I hear your friend Anna Maria was dragged home in disgrace; her husband must be old-fashioned, too.”

Barbara’s eyes narrowed and Bess Maitland was all agog to find out the gossip on the Countess of Shrewsbury.

*   *   *

The King was a very strong swimmer who had to content himself with a dip in the Thames when he was in London, but today he took advantage of a calm ocean where the water was warmed by the gulf stream. Charles, Ruark, and a half-dozen of their friends swam out quite a distance and some of the more daring and adventurous ladies removed their shoes and stockings so they could wade.

Seabirds and kittywakes joined the party hoping for handouts, and daring seals and otters swam in close out of curiosity. Summer’s heart ached. She wanted to swim out to sea and never return. She was a good swimmer but she’d raised enough eyebrows for one afternoon without disrobing and plunging into the briny.

The King came out of the sea and toweled himself vigorously. All the men except Ruark were coming out now and she shaded her eyes against the late-afternoon sun as she watched his head bob up and down behind the waves. Charles saw her pensive look and joined her. “He’s very like you, you know; reckless to a fault.” She smiled at the King, but it was a decidedly sad smile. “I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a few days away from my responsibilities so much. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, Summer, please come to me. Oh, I know you don’t need me when you have Helford. He’ll guard you with his life and you’ll never want for anything, of course. Still, life sometimes has unexpected twists. Some of the missions I send him on are fraught with danger….” The King’s voice trailed off as if he had said too much. She looked up at the swarthy face with its black eyes and narrow mustache. He had a glowing charm which warmed her heart. Was he just reminding her that dealing with smugglers was hazardous for a magistrate or had he been trying to warn her that Helford was involved in a more dangerous game, like spying perhaps? Where had he been last week? she wondered. Where would he go next week? Before the trouble between them, he had hinted he would have to spend a great deal of time away from her. He hadn’t confided in her, even when they had been so close and lovingly intimate. Why should she care? She had enough things to worry about, thanks to his high-and-mightiness. He could go to hell for all she cared!

She saw that the grooms had finished feeding the horses and were taking them back up to Helford Hall, so she took Ebony from the groom leading him and once again tethered him in one of the
isolated yew walks. Her conscience told her that she should not play the role of the Black Cat again tonight, but she told herself fiercely that Helford had made it her only way out. Not a copper penny of his money would she ever have again, he’d told her, and this afternoon he’d proven his words. God rot his eyes!

The beach picnic was a huge success. They dined on lobster dipped in drawn butter, baked clams, and the salmon the men had caught yesterday, wrapped in herbs and leaves and baked on great stones in the bonfires. For those who did not care for fish, whole young boars were roasted in pits dug out of the sand.

As darkness descended they gathered round the fires and sang sea chanties, bawdy drinking songs, and the latest songs from the London theaters.

Only about half of the guests found a need for cards this evening. Gambling was a compulsion with them and of course the card tables were set up for their pleasure. But most of the company stayed late upon the beach, hating to leave the idyll and the informality of dining and singing out in the open.

Summer was very restless. Now that she had decided to play highwayman again she wished they would all start to say their goodbyes. There were a couple of things she could do, however, to make use of her time. She bade a footman take a hogshead of ale to the waiting coachmen and she looked about her to decide who her victims would be.

She decided she could stop only two coaches, more would be hazardous. Lauderdale and Buckingham were the King’s traveling companions and stopping His Majesty’s coach was naturally out of the question. She didn’t want to stop a coach that had too many passengers; she couldn’t watch them and control them all at once. Jack and Bunny Grenvile and their wives were traveling together and the ladies had brought their maids, so their coach was eliminated. What she needed was a woman traveling alone and preferably not Barbara Castlemaine.

She stepped into the salon to watch the gambling and her eyes immediately fell on the Duchess of Buckingham with her pudgy turned-up nose. What a damned hypocrite the woman is, thought Summer. She must have been brought up to be a pious Parliamentarian if her father was one of Cromwell’s generals, and yet there she sat, addicted to cards and married to one of the most profligate men at Court. Summer watched her rake in about five hundred crowns with her greedy hands and marked her down for a rendezvous
with the Black Cat. Of course with Buckingham and Lauderdale escorting the King, the duchess and countess would again be sharing a carriage.

“Sweetheart, come an’ bring me luck.” Harry Killigrew beckoned to Summer.

She strolled over to the table of men and gave him one of her prettiest smiles. Gad, how could he win so consistently when he was rolling drunk? No wonder they called him Wild Harry! She picked up a decanter of port from the wine table and refilled his glass. Suddenly she felt a hand caress her bottom. For a moment she couldn’t credit it. While Harry was feeling her bottom with one hand, he was laying out a winning hand of cards with the other, and all the while so disguised, he sat at a forty-five-degree tilt.