Read A Flower for the Queen: A Historical Novel for Free Online Page B

him. At least I won’t be leaving her with nothing, he thought as he fastened the lock and then slid the chest under the bed.
    He left the room without looking back and descended the stairs, his feet falling heavily on the oak treads, stopping to check his appearance in the looking glass that hung on the wall in the hallway. Of everything that had happened in the last few weeks, what waited for him behind the parlour door was perhaps the most unexpected and least welcome. But it was also inevitable, and he had already given himself over to accepting the outcome along with everything else.
    As he entered, he saw that his mother was seated on a hard-backed chair and that opposite her, waving a fan to cool herself, was Mrs Everidge, the wife of a paper merchant from the nearby town of Maidenhead. Seated next to her, but barely looking up, was her twenty-year-old daughter. Constance was a pleasant-looking girl with chestnut hair and ruddy cheeks. Although a little timid, she had a ready smile and did not have even a trace of guile about her.
    “Good afternoon, Mrs Everidge. I am so glad that you could come down to Hollingbourne to see us,” Francis said warmly to the older woman before turning to her daughter and bowing awkwardly. “Hello, Constance.”
    Constance raised her eyes to his and smiled before blushing deeply and returning her gaze to the joints between the floorboards.
    “Hello, Francis.”
    Having exhausted his opening gambit, Masson started to feel flustered as he rummaged around in his brain for something to say. Luckily, he was rescued by Mrs Everidge. “Your mother has just been telling us about your upcoming voyage,” she said, continuing to fan herself. “It sounds extraordinary! Did they say how long you would be away?”
    “It is three months by ship to the Cape, but Francis tells me that he should need no more than a few weeks to complete his work and with a bit of luck and a fair wind, he may even be back by Christmas,” said Mrs Masson, answering for her son and putting on her most convincing smile. “Isn’t that so, Francis?”
    Francis knew that her estimate was wildly optimistic and regretted having told her so much, but the truth was that he was happy to let his mother commit on his behalf — if nothing else, it would be yet one more reason to return as swiftly as possible.
    “It does seem such a long way to go for such a short time,” replied Mrs Everidge, not waiting for Francis’s reply. “But I suppose it’s not as if you were going to war or anything dangerous, is it, Mr Masson?”
    Masson turned to answer but instead felt a tug at his sleeve. “Mr Masson, do you know what Captain Cook and Mr Banks ate when they got stranded after their ship struck a reef and almost sank?” Masson looked down at his inquisitor to find Trudy, Constance’s younger sister. At ten years old, she was the opposite of her sister and did not seem to possess a timid bone in her body.
    “Oh, Francis,” said his mother, trying to ignore Trudy, “why don’t you show Mrs Everidge the letter you got from Sir Joseph. Oh! How silly of me, I have it right here.” Mrs Masson got up and retrieved the family Bible from the mantelpiece. Opening its cover with a little too much ceremony, she pulled out the letter. “Signed and sealed by Sir Joseph Banks himself!” said Mrs Masson in a hushed, reverential tone as she handed the document to Mrs Everidge.
    “Raw vulture!” whispered Trudy, loudly enough for everyone to hear. “It had been dead for a whole day! Don’t you think that’s ghastly?”
    “Such penmanship, don’t you agree, Mrs Everidge?” said Mrs Masson, trying to pull the other woman’s attention away from the little girl, afraid that she would ruin everything.
    “Trudy, that’s quite enough,” said Mrs Everidge as she turned her attention back to the document. “Now, let me see. Three-hundred pounds and five acres of land on your return . My goodness, who would have thought that there