Alias Thomas Bennet (13 page)

“I am not aware of any relation as you describe. It may be just coincidence.”

“Or twins separated at birth, I say! Mr. Miles, you must give me leave to introduce you to Bennet during the course of this trip. You will then understand the source of my bewilderment, for seeing Bennet will be as if a looking-glass were placed in front of you!”

The captain shook his head and continued jovially, “What confounded mystery drew you to precisely the spot I last saw Bennet? My friend was very ill yesterday and spent the morning relieving himself of his breakfast over the rail where you now stand. He was so weak his wife had to hold him upright. You, sir, are the ghost of his Cambridge past, haunting his sorry seasick side of the ship’s rail!” The captain barked out a laugh and seemed well pleased with his attempt at a poetic jest. “If you would care to join me for dinner this evening in my private dining room, I would be pleased to make the introductions.”

“I would be happy to do so, Captain,” I said, thinking the captain’s company would be enjoyable and make the long journey to Bermuda seem less tedious.

“Very good, Mr. Miles,” he replied. “I do hope you are not also seasick. If so, I can recommend some remedies you might consider.”

“Thank you. I am just a little nauseous below deck: nothing that fresh air cannot cure.”

“Good. Well then, I will likely see you walking the decks frequently during rough seas.”

“During calm weather as well, sir, as I enjoy walking when I cannot ride or fence.”

“Would you care to join me while I make my regular rounds?”

“I would be delighted to.” I followed the captain’s brisk stride.

“If you would not mind my asking, what brings you to Bermuda?”

“I have some investments in the timber business that I am interested in developing further. I have a friend who owns a shipyard in England, and I am hoping to make an agreement with him for my cedar. And if I find it agreeable, I would like to call Bermuda home.”

“Any other business interests?” he asked rather briskly.

“If you are asking me about the selling of people for use as free labour, Captain, I abhor the practice. From observation and experience with a prosperous estate, I believe that the servant who is well paid and well treated, and free to leave service should he so desire, becomes a better man, a harder worker, more knowledgeable and more loyal. My estate depends upon people who care for it as I do, and I take pains to make it an enjoyable place to work. I hope I am as good a master as my dear father was and have loyal servants who wish to stay with the estate for many generations. Indeed, the man who is managing the estate in my stead is the son and grandson of my father’s and grandfather’s stewards.”

“Although I agree with your sentiments, I must caution you to take care of what you speak. The trade of slaves to the Americas feeds many a family in Hamilton, and your opinions would not be welcome in most homes.”

“Thank you for the advice. I will consider my companion before I speak my views, but I will not change them, sir. People should not be bought and sold like livestock.”

Although the captain did not respond, his tone suggested his agreement, so there was no need to continue the unpleasant topic. We walked in silence for a short while as I reflected on the captain’s advice and considered framing possible polite responses regarding something I so abhorred as the slave trade. It was not long before a windlass drew my attention, and I broke the silence by asking about the design, and to my delight, he launched into a proud description of numerous technical details of this particular vessel until I was called to my cabin by my man.

***

That evening at dinner with the captain, I quickly developed a familiarity and ease with Thomas Bennet. He was as jovial as his friend, although he had a hushed and rough voice in contrast to the boom of the captain’s. He did look a great deal like me excepting small differences in our noses; my hair colour was darker, and I was taller. He also had an ugly burn scar on one of his ears and walked with a limp. His young wife was exceptionally beautiful with high cheekbones, fair hair, and pale blue eyes that were nearly always hidden by long lashes. She was exceedingly shy, almost hiding behind her husband and not speaking throughout the entirety of the repast.

Bennet invited me to sit with him the next day. Mrs. Bennet joined us; she assisted her husband to the cabin used as a drawing room as he seemed to have great difficulty breathing and walking. After settling ourselves, my new friend looked at me with a twinkle in his eye.

“I trust you are well? No one lurking about the halls planning to collect a debt from me?”

I laughed at his inference to our similarity in appearance. Bennet was bound to use humour upon any occasion.

“Beware, Bennet; now that I know of your existence, I might be persuaded to get into some mischief in your stead!”

“Please do not show up in Gloucestershire, sir, as I do not wish you to ruin my good name!” He laughed and then asked more seriously, “So what business takes you to Bermuda?”

I explained my holdings and investments and that I might make Bermuda my permanent home.

“Where will you stay in Hamilton?”

“I plan to stay at the house of a friend until I can find something suitable.” I could not look directly at him whilst I told the falsehood. I would take rooms in an inn and then hoped to find a house for let. I had not time before leaving England to acquire a residence in Hamilton.

“What sorts of property holdings have you on your estate?” Bennet asked.

“It is farming mostly, some grazing and a small parish. My father maintained its prosperity, and as of late, it brings near £3,000 a year.” I kept to a simple response. I did not elaborate on my past or my other holdings; perchance some connection might cause secrets to be revealed.

“And have you a family to support?”

“I do. My babies are travelling with me and are below stairs with their nurse. They are all the family I have left in this world. You see, I am in mourning for my dear wife, and I lost my father three years past.” I could feel the tightness in my chest and had to blink back tears.

Bennet was sensible of my discomfort. “I understand your pain, sir, for I lost my own dear parents to a dreadful fire just one year ago. They were also surrogate parents to Mrs. Bennet as she was their ward for more than eight years.”

“I am sorry to hear of your loss, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet.” I paused, and his wife looked at me directly for the first time. I was affected by her gaze, but I soon recovered myself. Turning to her husband, I asked, “So you are also leaving an estate behind?”

“I did inherit a large estate when my dear father died. When I was younger, he had attempted to pass on his knowledge of how to run the property; however, I am not one for taking an active role in managing the lands and holdings. As you see, my health is declining, but in any case, I must admit that I have been a somewhat indolent landlord.”

I did not want to comment on his very frank admission of being a disinterested master, but since he had mentioned his poor health, I asked him about it.

“Thus far, I am fortunate to have stayed on this earth for so long,” he said. “I was injured in a bad fire, you see, and my lungs have become very watery—that is also why I am lame—and I am not able to exert myself. I am embarrassed to confide that I require help to move about, not due to my lameness but from the lungs. My wife is burdened as a result, thus I often keep to my bed.

“I am told I will not survive another winter. My father purchased a house in Hamilton when they were first available, and that is where we shall live.” He smiled at his wife, and she smiled back. “I am hopeful that the warm climate and sea air will bring about some improvement, though I am told it is not likely as the damage has already been done.” Bennet’s voice became weaker during his speech, and he succumbed to a coughing fit at the end. Mrs. Bennet assisted him with a concerned look on her face.

“I wish you well on your recovery. I hope you are able to be active once again.”

“Thank you for your concern, Miles. I must say that over the last year after the burns were healed, I have learned to entertain myself at leisure by extensive reading. I enjoy literature and poetry, and I have recently discovered the pleasures of pamphlets on new inventions. I immerse myself in books, mostly histories and treatises on science and discovery.” He wheezed again but seemed to breathe easier.

“We have that in common, as I too am fascinated by new techniques in farming and inventions with chemicals and machines. I have started a correspondence with several inventors. In fact, one is the Scot who seems to have improved upon the steam engine.”

“Ah, yes, replacing labour with fire! Fanny, can you believe that? Fire used not for warmth, but to replace a man or a horse at labour?” Bennet turned to her with a mirthful smile.

“No, sir, it seems a fool’s dream,” Mrs. Bennet whispered, lifting her lashes to him for only a second. It seemed to me that she was afraid of almost everyone other than her husband. Again I was struck by her beauty.

“Ha!” Bennet cried at his wife’s response.

“I have convinced a gentleman of my acquaintance that he should try using the new steam engines for removing water from one of his mines,” I said.

“Well, done, Miles,” he replied. “You are far more industrious than I. My reading is solely for my own amusement. Where is this mine?”

“In Derbyshire near a place called Pemberley.”

***

We met in the drawing room nearly every afternoon unless Bennet’s health was poorly. Mrs. Bennet seemed to become less circumspect in my presence; however, she mostly sat apart from us, attending to her work while her husband and I talked.

Bennet and I had been friends for more than a month, enjoying discussions on all manner of topics until he became ill more often and we met less frequently. When he was well enough for company, the Bennets would arrive early and await me in the drawing room. But one day I arrived ahead of them.

Bennet said they were late due to Mrs. Bennet’s illness, and I inferred from their comments that she might be with child. I thought to offer to visit them in their chambers to save a trip to the drawing room each afternoon, but decided against it as their smaller quarters included only a bedchamber. I resolved to find another solution to relieve Mrs. Bennet from feeling obligated to attend our daily meetings. At our next visit, I made a suggestion.

“Mrs. Bennet, it occurred to me that perhaps you would like a reprieve from the dreary conversation of gentlemen farmers. If it pleases you, madam, on the morrow, I would collect my friend from his quarters and accompany him to the drawing room, as I enjoy his company. It would leave you free to other entertainment or society of your choosing. Or, if you would like a unique diversion, may I offer you a visit to a very sweet little girl and her baby sister?”

Her eyes widened, and I could see her pleasure in the thought. She turned to her husband, and they exchanged a look. He replied, “That would be splendid.”

“There we have it. Tomorrow, I shall meet you at your cabin and assist you both to the parlour and then ensure Mrs. Bennet arrives safely to the diversion she has chosen before continuing our delightful debates.”

The next day went as planned, and Mrs. Bennet was feeling well enough to spend time with my daughters: a toddler of nearly two years and a baby of six months. I accompanied my friend to the parlour and was surprised at how he started the conversation.

“Miles, you have probably been sensible to the rapid deterioration of my lungs. On many days, I am not strong enough to walk, and there are frequent occurrences when I am unable to breathe. I am afraid that I will leave Fanny sooner than I had expected. I would like your patience whilst I tell you a story. I feel that our friendship is such that I can trust you with this confidence.”

“You have my word as a gentleman that I will not reveal any more than you give me leave to disclose,” I assured him.

He proceeded to tell me how Mrs. Bennet had lost her mother as a child and became the ward of the elder Bennets, cousins of her father, Mr. Gardiner. Gardiner remarried and had two children by his second wife, who had no wish to mother the girl. Bennet was an only child—his birth had rendered his mother barren—and his parents were overjoyed to welcome the little girl into their home and treated her as their own. Young Bennet, 11 years her senior, was at Cambridge when she joined his family. After university and his grand tour, he returned to help his father manage the estate. As he had admitted, he was fonder of books and would have been better suited to stay at school. However, he enjoyed the company of the young Miss Gardiner, and they became as close as brother and sister.