Page 11 of Set in Stone

Miss Westbrook rolled her eyes, noticed that Thom was watching her, and blushed. Thom agreed with her. Beaumont was a silly nodcock.

“The bell does contain air, Miss Westbrook, which means that the divers can work inside it without the cumbersome helmets they wear when not in the bell. We have pumps on the ship that pump air into the helmets or into the bell, so the divers can continue to breathe while underwater. This means they can stay down for an hour or more. We have to move the bell by lifting it with a crane, so the divers search the sea floor, and we only put the bell down when they find something that merits a closer look.”

“How fascinating,” said Miss and Mrs. Westbrook at the same time, but only the younger lady sounded as if she meant it. Mrs. Westbrook turned firmly to Beaumont and said, “Now about your horse, my dear Mr. Beaumont.”

Thus did the older lady put Thom firmly in his place.

Except that Miss Westbrook smiled at him, and her smile broadened when he winked at her.

Beaumont wound up his horse story, the point of which seemed to be that the horse was a marvel and a bargain. “Mrs. Westbrook, I do not wish to overstay my time, but I find myself reluctant to leave such fascinating company. May I invite you and your daughter for a walk?” he said.

Mrs. Westbrook embarked on a long speech the essence of which was that she was frail, and required her afternoon rest. However, she was certain… But Miss Westbrook interrupted her at this point to say that she had already accepted Mr. Medlock’s invitation to walk, since she had had the pleasure of the company of the other three gentlemen the previous day.

“Thank you, Mr. Beaumont,” she said, “but a lady must keep her word, as you know. Besides, I am eager to hear more about diving bells. And diving helmets! So fascinating.”

Miss Westbrook sounded as if she meant every word. Her mother, on the other hand, looked like a thundercloud. She kept her words dammed up behind her teeth, but her eyes promised retribution.

Thom was both a little alarmed by Miss Westbrook’s forwardness in claiming an invitation that had not occurred, and impressed by her managerial skill. Also flattered, and keen to see what the lady had in mind.

“Brownlee,” said Miss Westbrook, “let us fetch our bonnets and shawls. Mr. Medlock, might I be permitted to see the diving bell?”

“You may. And the helmets, Miss Westbrook,” said Thom, standing when she did. She and the maid hurried away, Mrs. Westbrook lumbered to her feet, announcing her intention of retreating to her room for a small rest, and the four visitors all decamped to the rooming house’s entry hall.

The other gentlemen took their dismissal in good part, although Beaumont’s friendly punch to the shoulder as he passed Thom had the man’s weight behind it. Thom considered the bruise a price well worth paying.

Ariana took Mr. Medlock through the back garden and out a gate onto a path that ran behind the houses. Brownlee trailed behind.

How should she introduce the topic that had been consuming her mind? Before she could speak, he did. “Miss Westbrook, my partner Jim Benniston told me you needed to talk to me.”

Best to be forthright and open, for that was who she was. “Mr. Medlock, you must consider me very forward,” she admitted. “I needed to warn you. There is a gentleman, a Mr. Mills, who means to steal from you. I overheard him in conversation with a man who is, I am certain, a smuggler.”

She paused to give Mr. Medlock time to comment. He did not disappoint her. “I hope they did not know you heard them, Miss Westbrook. Such people are dangerous.”

“They did not see me,” she said. “They had their meeting in the bookshop in the village. They sent the proprietor upstairs to look for something, and they must have thought they were alone, but I was out of sight behind some shelves, and heard everything.”

He nodded. “Good. I would not want you to put yourself at risk. What did they say?”

“Mr. Mills watched you yesterday, and he has concluded you found what you were looking for. He means to burgle your rooms as soon as he can find them empty.” Of course, if what Mr. Medlock said in the parlor was true, there would be nothing to find. But if he had been searching for a particular treasure, he was hardly likely to confess to it in a lady’s parlor with an audience of recent acquaintances.

“Do you wish to go to the inn to check that everything is as it should be?” she added.

“No need,” said Mr. Medlock. “Even if he tried to rob me—even if he found something to steal—I share a room with my business partner, who is currently in that room catching up on some paper work. I have time to show you the diving equipment and to escort you home before I must go back and give Jim a break.”

“Oh good, for I truly do wish to see the bell and the helmet.”

“How did you deduce the other man is a smuggler?” Mr. Medlock asked.

From other people—Mr. Beaumont, for example—such a question might have sounded dismissive, disdainful, or disbelieving. Mr. Medlock seemed to be enquiring out of interest in her evidence.

“He said so, Mr. Medlock. He said ‘If you want passage to the continent and no record, you need a smuggler. And around here, that means me.’ Mr. Mills wanted him to attack your boat, but he refused, because he feared it would draw attention from the excisemen.”

Mr. Medlock raised his eyebrows. “Conclusive,” he commented. They had arrived at a stile. Mr. Medlock helped her over and waited for Brownlee to catch up so he could assist her, too. Arianna wondered how many of the men who had shown her attention would show such courtesy to a maid.

Once Brownlee was safely over the stile, Mr. Medlock offered Arianna his arm again and they continued. On the other side of the field, she could see the rooftops of a few cottages, clustered together on the side of the inlet.

“Mills is off to the continent, is he?” Mr. Medlock commented. “I daresay he has made England too hot for himself. To be honest, I thought he was pursuing you, Miss Westbrook.”

Arianna snorted. “He was pursuing my dowry, and Mama was inclined to let him. It is still his backup plan, but he told the smuggler that he couldn’t stomach the prospective mother-in-law unless he had no other choice.”