The Isle of Devils (50 page)

“Ah,” he waved his hand airily, “perhaps,
Dottore
, perhaps, though an artist creates because there is something inside of him that needs to be set free. Whether the world appreciates it or not is beside the point. Art exists solely to ease the yearning of the artist. I will give you an example from the realm of literature, by the greatest poet of my homeland. Since you gleaned so much knowledge from one little line of Dante’s
Inferno
, let me leave you with
the last line that he ever wrote: ‘
Ma
già
volgeva
il
mio
disio
e ‘l
velle
,
sì
com
e
rota
ch’igualmente
è
mossa
,
l‘
amor
che
move
il
sole e
l’altre
stelle.
’
”

“I recognize the word ‘stars’ again, Signore, but I
freely
admit ignorance of the rest.”

“It is from the
Paradiso
,
Dottore
.
At
the very end, Dante was instructing us how to live, weaving a pattern from the lessons of his own life. I hope that someday you will understand what he meant. If I were to translate the words into your harsh English tongue, it might go something like this:
‘But now was turning my desire and will, even as a wheel that equally is moved, f
or we have shared the love that moves the sun and the other stars.’”

I stared at him intently, wondering what he knew of my feeling
s
for Lucy. But there were no answers in the dark depths of his eyes. “Thank you, Signore, I will consider what you have said.”

The next man was none other than Lucy’s
mythical
husband, now revealed as the Belgian Monsieur Dubois, who grinned and nodded at me. He took my hand and held onto it tightly, looking me in the eyes. “You know, Doctor, when a good man dies, those that care deeply for him will sometimes take up his cares and responsibilities?”

I nodded slowly, unsure of what he meant. “I have heard of such things.”

“Then rest assured that Iain’s daughter is well cared for by eight fathers and two mothers. And yet, all we really desire is that she finally finds happiness after so many years of misery. If she were to meet a man who could accomplish that, a man with a great nobility of spirit, however humble his situation, he would have our blessing.”

I nodded, unable to answer him through the tightness in my throat. He pulled me into a half-embrace. Finally, I stepped back and he let go of my hand.

I moved on to what appeared to be the last guest, Mr. Sims. The gigantic man smiled and nodded down at me. He
stretched
out his hand for me to shake. “It has been a pleasure knowing you, Doctor. Mayhaps we will meet in a scrum someday, once our respective injuries have fully healed?”

I
absently
rubbed my
left
shoulder
and shook my head dejectedly. “I am not certain that will ever happen, Mr. Sims.”

“I am sorry to hear that, Doctor, for I am certain that you would have been a worthy opponent. And furthermore, if that is truly the case, the English Army has lost a fine soldier. I would have been honored to serve under you.”

I shook my head again. “I was only a regimental medical officer, Mr. Sims. I never commanded men in the line of fire.”

“Their loss, Doctor. As you have certainly learned by now, not all officers are worthy of the command entrusted to them. And some, despite their apparent lack of command, are born to be true leaders of men.” He stiffened and saluted me.

I silently returned his salute, and then turned to the door. I found that I had indeed reached the end of the guests. I looked about
for
a final time, but the one person that I
had
devoutly wished to see was not present in the room, and it became increasingly clear to me that she was not going to make an appearance. This realization
caused my heart to sink
to the point where I almost lost control in front of this indomitable group of former soldiers, and it took all of my strength to walk out the door with my head high and my face dry.

§

When I stepped foot out of the hotel into the blazing sunlight I found Henry awaiting me in Mr. Robinson’s one-horse trap. He leapt down to silently shake my hand and help me load my valise. We then both alighted and Robinson lightly flicked the horses to spur them into action.

“That was a strange business you found yourself mixed up in, brother,”
said
Henry finally.

“Indeed,” was all that I could muster.

Henry glanced over at me, as if to determine the etiology of my clipped comments. “You seem down, brother, which I can certainly appreciate. Others have reported similar emotions when they have finally been required to depart the salubrious climate of Bermuda. And it is never easy to leave loved ones, even those as poor as me!”

His efforts managed to elicit from me a half-smile. “Yes, I think that must be it.”

Henry appeared to contemplate things for a minute before he continued. “You know, brother, there is another being as forlorn as yourself at your departure. Not I, of course, for we will see each other again! But Gladstone, our bull-pup
,
now whines that you are not around. What did you do to
prompt
such loyalty?” He shook his head in wonderment. “Once you establish yourself in London, presuming your situation allows it, I think I will have to send him to you.”

“I would
very much
like that, brother,” I replied simply.

We lapsed into silence and the trap clipped along, passing on
our
right the garden where I first spoke with Lucy. As we travelled back along the same route over the hill and down to Fort St. Catherine that I had taken upon my initial arrival to St. George’s, I felt as if the clock was winding backwards. Every yard that we covered seemed to erase another moment of the last few days, and it seemed
as if
by the time I reached Dockyard, the remarkable happenstances of the Globe Hotel would be nothing more than passing will-o-the-wisps of my imagination. It was not a pleasant sensation.

When we arrived at the pier below the Fort’s mighty ramparts we found the same small sloop, the
Caliber
, awaiting us. Henry helped me with my valise and we tumbled into the boat.

“We are travelling straight to Dockyard, correct, Captain Smith? No detours to Hamilton this time, I trust?” Henry called to the skipper.

“Right you are
,
sir, and Bob’s your uncle,”
replied
the man through teeth clenching his brier-root pipe.

Henry turned to
me.
“I have secured you a berth on another troopship, brother, very similar to the
Malabar
. It is called the
Orontes
, after the river near Antioch.”

“Thank you, Henry, I am certain that it will be more than adequate.”

The conversation again
flagged
and I was free to look out at the passing shores of the island, the wind whipping through my hair. As we progressed along the northern shore back to the far west
ern tip
of the isle, my eyes were continually drawn back to the east, where I knew that St. George’s lay beyond my gaze over the hill. A poet once claimed that when he left a certain joyful place, his heart remained behind. I had never
understood
the truth of those
profound
words until now.

Several times Henry leaned over as if he were about to
hazard a remark
, but each time he drew back and left me to my silent musings. Eventually, as I knew it must, the journey came to its end on the same rough pier from which we had first innocently cast off towards St. George’s
six
days prior.

I clambered out of the boat as well as my leg would allow, and I stood by while Henry instructed Captain Smith to await his return.

Once the man cast off, Henry turned to me with a
considering
look in his eyes. “You’ve changed, Ham,” he said.

“What do you mean?” said I, frowning.

“The boy I once knew is gone, I think, only to be replaced by the man that I see before me.”

“War will do that.”

He shook his head. “No, it is more than that. Even in this short time I’ve watched you become more thoughtful and introspective.”

I frowned. “Are you saying that I’ve become aloof?”

“Not at all. Call it a gift, a grand gift. I think that you have gained experience, the knowledge of which will ensure your reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”

I nodded ruefully. “I suppose that the circumstances of my stay on Bermuda have made a deep impression upon me.”

With that said, w
e then proceeded up the ramp and through the gate into Dockyard proper. Heading back along the quay, my eyes were involuntarily drawn to the massive floating dock. Its impressive bulk effectively distracted me from my other thoughts. Finally, we were almost past it and I looked forward to try to find my new ship. The task was simple,
as
it lay in the same place from where I had disembarked from the
Malabar
. But I had no eyes for the ship. For there was a tall, slender figure standing a stone’s throw off from the gangplank, and when she turned her freckled cheeks lit up in rosy
elation
at my approach.
My brain was confused by her presence, but some warm glow of hope began to return to my heart.

Henry would have had to be a blind man to not notice Lucy, for her fiery hair and
emerald green
dress was enough to draw attention
away
from the sun itself. He followed the track of her gaze back to me, and then nodded in understanding. “Ah, Ham, I will just go make certain that everything is arranged. You will be alright here for a few minutes, will you not?”