The Ravishing of Lady Mary Ware (20 page)

Even as his heart sank at the realisation that his bid to escape capture had failed, help came from an unexpected quarter. Little Mary ran forward, shouting.

‘Desist, fellow! How dare you lay hands on a Englishman!'
Then, lifting her parasol, she jabbed it over Roger's shoulder at the
guarda
's face.

The iron ferrule caught him on the cheek, ripping the skin up toward the side of his left eye. With an oath, he let Roger go and clapped his hand to the wound, from which blood was flowing freely.

Roger lost not an instant and again dashed for the steps. The man he had kneed in the groin was crouching in the gutter, retching, and incapable of making any attempt to stop him. But de Queircoz swiftly stepped into his path. Drawing back his fists, Roger feinted with his right, then with his left hit the Portuguese a terrific blow on the side of the jaw. His head jerked back, his knees gave way, and he collapsed in a heap on the lowest step. Next moment Roger had jumped over him, mounted the rest of the flight and come to a halt, panting, just inside the Legation doorway.

The two girls ran up and joined him. Mary, her green eyes bright with excitement, asked, ‘Is it really true that you killed the Marquis de Pombal?'

‘No,' he panted. ‘No, but it might prove devilish hard for me to prove that I did not, And … bless you … Mary, for your courage. Had you not come so bravely to my rescue I … would shortly have found myself in a Portuguese prison, and heaven only knows if I'd ever have got out of it, except to be marched to a scaffold. If His Excellency is in, I must see him at once and explain to him my situation.'

Five minutes later, the three of them were with the Minister in his study. When he had been told of the scene that had just occurred outside the Legation, Roger said:

‘This is a very different legacy left to me by my late wife. As Your Excellency knows, she was the Marquis de Pombal's daughter. I accompanied her family when the Prince Regent fled to Brazil and, for a short while, shared
a house with them in Rio. For some time past, Lisala had been my mistress. I had asked the Marquis for permission to marry her, but he refused it and desired me to find some other lodging, because he felt that my constantly being in Lisala's company would prejudice his securing for her a husband from among the Portuguese nobility.

‘I moved to an inn. After that it became impossible for Lisala and me to continue our affair. As there seemed no hope of our situation improving, and life in Rio was more uncongenial than I can possibly describe, at length I decided to return to England in a British frigate which had arrived in the harbour. I received, at that juncture, a message from Lisala, saying that she was
enceinte
and that unless I came to her assistance, she would be condemned to spend the remainder of her life in a convent.

‘Since I believed her to be carrying my child, I could not possibly abandon her; so I decided to carry her off and made use of the Marquis' head Negro slave, one Baob, as a go-between, to arrange our elopement. At night I went out to the house where the de Pombals were living. With Baob's help I got a tall ladder up to the window of Lisala's room. Just as I reached the sill the Negro betrayed me and roused the house by shouting, “Thieves! Thieves!”

‘Lisala was ready dressed and waiting for me. The slave's outcry awakened her duenna, the
Senhora
Cristina de Jahlo, who slept in the next room. She came running in to us. Lisala was subject to the most violent fits of temper and was completely unscrupulous in getting her own way. She had long hated the old woman, so sprang upon her and, when she fell to the ground, began to batter in her face. I pulled her off and out into the corridor. The Marquis then appeared upon the scene, sword in hand, with his sister, the
Senhora
de Arahna, behind him. Furiously Lisala shouted at them, revealing that I
had long been her lover and that she was carrying my child.

‘Horrified, the
Senhora
fainted and the Marquis made a savage lunge at me. I parried the thrust, and we fought silently for maybe two minutes. Suddenly my ankle was gripped and pulled from under me. It was the old duenna who had crawled from Lisala's room, and thrust an arm past her feet without her being aware of it. I lost my balance and fell to the ground. Next moment the Marquis was towering over me, his sword pointing downward, about to drive it through my heart. I squirmed aside. The point of the blade buried itself in the floor. He then flung himself down on me and endeavoured to strangle me. For a few moments I struggled desperately with him. Then suddenly he went limp. I thought he had had a seizure of the heart. But, as I staggered to my feet, I saw the hilt of a dagger protruding from his back. With her stiletto,
Lisala
had stabbed her father to death.'

‘Merciful God, how awful!' Mary exclaimed.

Sir Charles nodded.' ‘'Twas parricide, the most terrible of all crimes. Do you give us your word, Mr. Brook, that this is the absolute truth about how de Pombal died?'

‘I do, Your Excellency. 'Tis the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. To that I swear. Lisala's face was a living lie. A beautiful mask behind which lay the most evil mind I have ever encountered. I am convinced now that her act was inspired only by her determination not to allow herself to be incarcerated in a nunnery. But, at the time, I was very conscious that by her deed she had saved my life. So, having got her safely aboard the frigate, next morning, though with reluctance, rather than cast aside a woman carrying, as I thought, my child, I had the captain of the frigate marry us. As I feel sure I told you early in our acquaintance, she died some sixteen months ago.'

‘In view of her nature as you describe it, I cannot feel
that is a matter for condolence,' the Minister remarked gravely. ‘But this other business troubles me, and we must discuss it with our lawyer. I will send for Mr. Lessor and also send a lackey to collect your belongings from the inn where you have been lying. Meanwhile you will, of course, dine with us and I will order a bedroom to be prepared for you.'

Roger stood up and bowed. ‘I am indeed grateful to Your Excellency for your kindness, and deeply regret that I should have become a cause of trouble to you.'

Dinner, to which fewer than a dozen people sat down an hour later, proved a far from gay meal, as everyone present had heard some version of the attempt to arrest Roger for murder.

Soon after they had finished, Mr. Lessor arrived and went into conference with Roger and the Minister. When Roger had again given an account of the Marquis' death, the lawyer said, ‘Mr. Brook, you have my sympathy for it seems that a case very difficult to disprove could be made against you. And, should you be indicted on a capital charge, I should have to advise His Excellency that, under international law, he would not be within his rights to continue to give you sanctuary here. However, as de Queircoz played no part in the affair, you could be convicted only on the evidence of the
Senhora
de Arahna and the duenna. I am already in touch with the de Pombal family's lawyers with regard to the inheritance. They are a firm of high repute and fortunately well known to me. Tomorrow morning I will see them and find out if they have received instructions from the
Senhora
to take proceedings against you.'

Roger spent an uneasy night, then waited with impatience until Mr. Lessor arrived the following midday, to report to him and the Minister the result of his interview with the de Pombais' lawyers.

The
Senhora
de Arahna had sent for the head of the
firm three days before. De Queircoz had just arrived from London with the news that Roger had left there for Lisbon, and was with her. Holding Roger responsible for her brother's death, the
Senhora
naturally wished to be avenged. She had admitted, however, that she had not actually seen him deliver the fatal stroke, but said that the duenna, Dona Christina, had done so and would give evidence to that effect.

At that point Roger broke in to say, ‘Then the old woman will be committing perjury. And the reason she has agreed to do so is not far to seek. I gathered that she had dissipated any fortune she ever had, and is entirely dependent on the de Pombais. 'Tis clear that she is being bribed to bear false witness.'

‘You may well be right,' Mr. Lessor agreed. ‘But, in view of the extremely strong circumstantial evidence against you, Mr. Brook, should that be supported by her testimony I greatly fear we can have little hope of securing a verdict of “not guilty”.'

‘Think you it would be possible to get hold of the duenna,' Roger suggested, ‘and offer her a much larger bribe to tell the truth?'

‘I could not undertake to do so personally, but I might arrange for her to be approached by a third party. I doubt not, too, that money lies at the root of this affair. The
Senhora
de Arahna stands to gain much more than revenge by your death. Her application made on her return from Brazil for her son, the present Marquis, to inherit, was disallowed by the courts; but with yourself out of the way he would come into the whole of the de Pombal patrimony.'

‘Then I pray you, Sir, engage a go-between to approach Dona Cristina. When the killing took place I was lying on the ground with the Marquis on top of me; so she could not possibly have failed to see my late wife drive the stiletto into her father's back, Promise the old
woman anything in reason to withdraw the statement they say she is prepared to make.'

‘Ahem !' the lawyer coughed. ‘I—er—hesitate to raise the question, Mr. Brook, but I count it improbable that she could be induced to earn the opprobrium of the de Pombal family unless she was assured of receiving a very substantial sum, and the odds are that she would require to be paid in cash. Have you large funds readily available here in Lisbon?'

‘No,' Roger replied, ‘but I am possessed of a moderate fortune, and could have the money required transferred from London.'

Looking decidedly uncomfortable, Mr. Lessor said, ‘For any ordinary transaction that would serve. But in this we are circumscribed by time, and I doubt if I could get your draft discounted before the end of the week. Then the negotiations with the duenna might take another week or more. Meanwhile, if the authorities request His Excellency to surrender your person, he can hardly refuse to do so.'

‘They have already made that request,' Sir Charles put in. ‘I received it at eight o'clock this morning. To gain a few hours for Mr. Brook, I replied that I could not comply until I had consulted our lawyers. But the Portuguese are our allies. They have the law on their side, and it is my duty to maintain good relations with them. I feel, therefore, that unless the matter can be settled within the next twenty-four hours, I shall have no alternative but to hand Mr. Brook over.'

‘I am grateful to Your Excellency for having secured me that much grace,' Roger said, ‘but in so short a time I see little hope of our buying over the duenna. Once I have been arrested, the case will go forward and our chance of persuading her to retract become very much more slender. It seems the only course open to me is to
leave the Legation tonight and endeavour to get aboard a ship that will carry me to England.'

The Minister shook his head. ‘I fear you will not find that possible. The Legation is under observation by
guardas
. And, as your enemies are people of influence, they will no doubt have pressed the authorities to have others watching for you on the docks.'

Roger remained silent for a moment, then he said, ‘May I impose on Your Excellency's good nature by asking you to send a note to General Lord Wellington informing him of my situation? As it is impossible for me to go to him, I pray you request him to come here sometime this evening; so that, before I am arrested, I may confide to him a matter of considerable importance.'

Sir Charles having readily agreed to oblige Roger, the conference broke up.

Somehow Roger got through the rest of the day, spending most of it in the company of the two girls. Both showed great concern for him. Deborah, who was deeply religious, said she would pray for him several times each day while he was in prison. Mary, who was of a more practical turn of mind, urged him to attempt to escape arrest, and proposed that they should smuggle him out of the back of the Legation in a large hamper. But, even had the Minister consented to risk becoming compromised by lending himself to such a plan, to take the hamper down to a ship would be certain to arouse the suspicions of the
guarda
, who would insist on having it opened.

Neither of the girls could suggest anywhere else to which it could profitably be taken. Roger, however, had his own ideas about that, although he was not prepared to disclose them for the moment.

Lord Wellington did not arrive until after dinner. In the Minister's study, over a decanter of port, he was in
formed more fully of Roger's situation, then Sir Charles tactfully left them alone together.

When the door had closed, the tall General ran a finger down his big, high-bridged nose, smiled and said, ‘So, Mr, Brook, you are, after all, going to make an expedition into enemy-held territory.'

Roger smiled back. ‘I might have known, my lord, that you would have guessed why I should have taken the liberty of requesting you to come here. Although I am innocent of the deed of which I am accused, I see no hope of proving that. Since to save my life I must leave Lisbon and tonight, the only sure method of doing so that presents itself is for me to ask your aid to cross the lines, and there resume my French identity.'

‘And then?'

‘I could make my way to any of a dozen places on the French-held coast and thence have a smuggler run me across to England. But if I do that, I'll still have this charge hanging over my head should I ever return to Portugal, and a time may come when I'll wish to do so. Moreover I am loath to leave the field to these people who have sought to entrap me. There is a possibility that, given a month or so, Mr. Lessor may be able to secure me a clean bill. If so, I could return to Lisbon and claim my inheritance.'