Hope - Lesley Pearse [210]
‘We do,’ he chuckled. ‘And Mead will fill it for you. Bring Bennett with you, for I know he’s worked as many hours as you.’
‘But…’ she started to protest.
‘No buts,’ he said firmly. ‘Nell would want me to bully you into seeing sense. And I’ve had a letter from her. If you don’t come, I won’t let you see it.’
‘What does she say?’ Hope was suddenly like a young girl again, excitement bubbling up inside her, for this letter had to be in reply to the Captain’s news that he’d met her in Varna.
‘You’ll find out after you’ve had a meal and a bath. Not a word till then.’
Bennett smiled as Angus nudged him and pointed at Hope. She had been sitting on the bed, running her fingers through her hair to dry it, but now she’d slumped back on the pillow and was sound asleep.
‘I’d better get her back to the tent,’ Bennett said, rising to his feet.
‘You’ll do nothing of the sort, she can stay there,’ Angus said firmly. ‘And you can get in there with her, you look close to collapse too.’
Bennett took the quilt from the bottom of the bed and covered Hope, standing by her and looking down at her for a moment. She had been so happy to have a bath, even though it had only been six inches of hot water in a tub barely big enough for a child. Now, sound asleep with her damp hair loose around her face, she looked no older than she had the first time Bennett saw her.
‘She is a very beautiful woman,’ Angus said softly.
‘Isn’t she?’ Bennett agreed. ‘But there is so much more to her than a lovely face. I met her, you know, when she was nursing her two friends with cholera. Just seventeen, yet so strong, capable and compassionate.’
‘Today has been a good one for her,’ Angus said thoughtfully. ‘Those few words from Nell meant so much, didn’t they?’
Bennett nodded and returned to his chair. They had come to Pettigrew’s house at noon, and his servant had made them a wonderful robust stew with herb dumplings. Then they’d had their baths, and put on clean clothes. It was only then that Pettigrew, or Angus as he insisted they should call him, had got out Nell’s letter.
Bennett had been rather surprised that Nell wasn’t as literate as Hope. She had written only a few lines, and clearly she’d laboured long and hard over them. But not even the greatest writer in England, neither Thomas Hardy nor Charles Dickens, could have got so much feeling and delight into such a few words.
‘You have given me the Crown jewels,’ was how it started.
I haven’t stopped crying for joy yet. Imagine my Hope married to a
doctor! And there where you can keep an eye on her for me. This is
the happiest day of my life. But how much more I will cry and laugh
when she comes home. Kiss her for me. Tell her to keep out of
danger. And make her write soon.
‘Fate moves in mysterious ways,’ Bennett chuckled. ‘Fancy us having to come right across Europe for this.’
‘You could have just gone to the village back home and had a short cut to it,’ Angus said with a wry smile. ‘Tell me, Bennett, why didn’t you?’
‘When was I supposed to? You aren’t the only one in the army! I got home in January, got married, had a short honeymoon and then we came out here.’
‘Yes, I can see you had little time. But when you first wanted to marry Hope, knowing what you had learned of her circumstances, I would have thought that might have been an appropriate time to do some investigation on her behalf. You could have gone into the local ale house and asked a couple of questions and you’d have discovered for yourself that Nell was with me.’
‘That’s easy for you to say now, after the event. But Hope wouldn’t hear of me going there to ask questions.’
‘I don’t think you ever suggested it,’ Angus retorted. ‘You wanted to keep her all to yourself, didn’t you?’
‘Now, look here!’ Bennett exclaimed.
‘No, you look here,’ Angus interrupted him. ‘I saw your face when Hope read out that letter. You were touched, but a little afraid too, afraid that Nell and the rest of the family would steal her from you.’
‘Of course I’m not afraid.’ Bennett snorted with