is.’ As the secretary neared him, Adrian passed him the card he had been holding. ‘What do you make of this?’
‘It is a lecture by Jean Passerat, my lord.’
‘I am aware of that, Hendricks. Because I read it.’
‘My lord. ‘ The exclamation was so surprised that Adrian suspected it was a hushed prayer and not meant for him at all.
‘You can see how the letters are raised up. I can feel them, Hendricks. It is a laborious process, to read these pinpricks, but not impossible. And it occurs to me that there might be a stationer or a printer who could do something similar. They have the raised lead type already in their possession.’
Hendricks thought for a moment. ‘That is backwards, to make the impression on the page.’
‘But if they could make a mould, somehow. Or if special letters were struck that were the right way round.’ Adrian drummed his fingers on his knee, imagining all the ways that such a system could be applied. And suddenly he felt eager to be up and doing something. ‘It would be expensive, I suppose. But I have the money.’
‘You do indeed, my lord.’ Hendricks sounded relieved, now. And happy.
‘And if it can be done for me, then I see no reason why other reading materials cannot be made. Perhaps the Southwark Asylum could take some on. I know they do not think it is their place to educate the residents, but I beg to differ on the subject.’
‘And who would know better than you, my lord? You have a very personal interest in the subject.’
‘Which would put me in an excellent position to become a patron of that institution, I am sure. The combination of money and influence could be instrumental in making a long-lasting change in the place.’
‘Of course, for the residents to feel the full benefits of your assistance, a considerable amount of time might need to be devoted to the subject,’ Hendricks cautioned.
Time. And when had he not had enough of it? Days stretched on before him, and the rush to dull the ennui had been at the base of so many of his diversions. Adrian smiled. ‘It seems to me, Hendricks, that of all the mad endeavours of my family, in three generations, the support of a charity has not been on the list. By the traditional standards of the house of Folbroke, I shall be behaving quite recklessly should I rush in any direction other than my own doom.’
‘Very true, my lord.’ There was definite amusement in the voice of his servant. ‘You could very well be the wildest of your family, if you mean to squander your estate in philanthropy.’
‘It would give me a chance to appreciate your dry wit, Hendricks. It is a quality I have missed in our recent interactions.’
‘Of late you have given me little reason for mirth, Lord Folbroke.’
‘Change is in the air, Hendricks. I am my old self, again, after a very long time.’
‘So it would seem, my lord.’
‘Can you not manage, after all the time in my service, to call me Adrian? Or Folbroke, at least.’
‘No, my lord.’ But the title was given with affection, and so he allowed it to pass. Hendricks cleared his throat. ‘But if I might take the liberty of informing Lady Folbroke of your improved mood, she might be most gratified.’
Adrian felt the return of the old panic at the realisation that Emily would get wind of his plans, should they be carried too far before he had explained himself. ‘That must wait until I have had a chance to speak to her myself. But you think she would approve?’
‘Yes, my lord. She still enquires after you regularly. And she has been concerned by your silence.’
‘But she did not respond to my summons.’
‘If I might be so bold, my lord, as to offer advice?’
‘Of course.’
‘I believe it was the manner, and not the man, she objected to.’
Adrian sighed. ‘I have made so many mistakes with the poor girl I hardly know where to begin to rectify them.’
‘She has not been a poor girl for some time, my lord.’ And there again was that strange sense of admiration that he heard sometimes when Hendricks spoke to him of his wife. And he remembered that the reconciliation he imagined might not be welcomed by his friend.
‘It is my own punishment that I was not there to see Emily blossom into the woman she has become. Too proud to watch her with half my sight. And now I cannot see her at all.’ He sighed. ‘Thank you for taking care of her, Hendricks.’
‘I? I have done nothing, my lord.’
‘I suspect that is not true.’ And what did he expect the man to say? Nothing he wanted to hear. But Adrian could not seem to leave the subject alone.
Hendricks said, after some thought, ‘For the most, she takes care of herself. I do very little but to follow her wishes. But I am sure, if you speak to her for yourself, you will find her eager to listen.’
‘Perhaps I shall.’ And his nerve failed him again. ‘But not today. Today, I think I shall go out for lunch.’
‘Out, my lord?’ He could almost hear Hendricks’s brain, ticking through the possibilities, trying to decide where he would be drawn so early in the day. And whether there would be a way from dissuading him from whatever fresh folly he had discovered. For though the morning had been full of promise, Adrian had given his poor friend no reason to believe that his good intentions would last to the afternoon.
When Hendricks could not come up with the answer on his own, he responded, ‘When I have completed the tasks you set for me, I will accompany you.’
‘Will you, now? And did I ask for a companion, Mr Hendricks?’
‘No, my lord.’
‘Then you needn’t stir yourself. What I do, I must do for myself. You are not a member, after all.’
‘Not a member? What the devil …?’ For a moment, Hendricks was completely lost. And his subservience slipped, revealing the man underneath.
Adrian reached out into the open air, until he could find the secretary’s arm and give it a reassuring pat. ‘Do not concern yourself, man. I am not an infant. I will manage well enough on my own for a few hours in broad daylight. Now, call for the carriage. And tell the cook I will not be home for supper.’
White’s.
It was the very bastion of the sort of gentlemanly society that he had denied himself in the months since his sight had utterly failed. He had forgotten how peaceful it was, compared to the taverns he had been frequenting, and the sense of belonging and entitlement that a membership carried with it. It was a place where eccentricity was ignored. If a man had the blunt and the connections to be invited through the front door, then even aberrant behaviour might be deemed, if not creditable, at least not worthy of comment.
And when comment could no longer be restrained, then someone would most likely get out the betting book. Adrian grinned in anticipation.
