Read Online Abigail's Cousin by Ron Pearse - Free Book Online Page B

seat which encircled an oak tree and thankfully she sat
down. He replaced his cap and as he did so noticed a movement fifty
yards away. An officer was pacing up and down and because he and
his sister were partially camouflaged by the tree, he wondered if
his s ister had seen him,
for it was Captain Samuel Masham himself.
    Without a
doubt he was one smart soldier. His redcoat was close fitting to
the waist ending with the customary flare each slashed with a smart
side-pocket which on the right side displayed a discrete kerchief.
Purple breeches showed each time he made a stride; they ended just
below the knee tied with red ribbon garters. Without pointing him
out, Jack stuck out his own feet observing to his sister:
    "Look at those
cotton stockings. Even from here a man can tell he's wearing silk,
and if I had my razor with me, I might shave in the mirror of his
shoes. And look at that hat! I would not dare to wipe the seat with
it." Jack's remark about the shoes was pure hyperbole as Masham was
too far away, but he did notice his sister preen in anticipation of
meeting him upon their return though she was in no hurry. He would
wait. He always had. She said to her brother:
    "Cousin Sarah
has invited me to the theatre. Mayhaps I will broach the subject
then." Abigail would notify cousin Sarah of Masham's elevation in
the full knowledge of Sarah's dislike of Masham, but she said
nothing to her brother about this thought. She went on to say:
    "They say that
her majesty will confer new honours upon Lady Churchill and then
she may be in a generous mood. Cheer up brother! Things are never
as bad as they seem."
    Her brother
did cheer up on hearing that and said to his sister:
    "The barrack
room gossip says that while Marlborough runs the war, his friends
will run the country and his wife will run the queen. So keep in
with cousin Sarah, sis. She may do you a lot of good, too."
    Abigail sought
to trump her brother's barrack talk with Palace rumours: "The
gossip in the palace is that our lady bountiful will soon be chief
lady of the bedchamber, Groom of the Stole, Mistress of the
Wardrobe and Keeper of the Privy Purse, and her majesty might even
make her Warden of Windsor Forest."
    "Phew!" said
Jack, "So a little promotion for cousin Jack will be a mere
bagatelle." The indicating the waiting officer, he added: "Tell you
what, sis. Your Masham over there is sporting another emblem now
his right side is turned towards us."
    Abigail
focuses on him and Jack thinks any minute Masham will spot them but
his eyes are for the road. She answered: "Do you mean that bushy
thing round his neck. What do you call it?"
    "A gorget,"
responds her brother. See mine's black with gilt studs."
    "Mister Masham
has them is gleaming silver. They almost dazzle when he turns into
the sun. Mind you, Jack, yours would shine too if you took care to
polish them. Still it must have cost a pretty penny."
    "Pretty
penny," objected Jack, "pretty guinea or I'm a Dutchman. And that
hat of his! I'm looking forward when he cleans the sidewalk making
his bow." But his words were lost on his sister as she had stepped
forward and waved to Masham who promptly came towards her.
    Jack said:
"I'm off to the Crown and Anchor, sis," and would have had not
Abigail ostentatiously removed her purse through a slit just below
her bodice. She removed a coin, telling him:
    "Here's
something brother. Until next time!" Disappointingly for her,
Masham stopped in his tracks not wishing to meet Jack, who hugs her
in gratitude and farewell, his mind racing ahead as to how many
drinks, a shilling will buy. Then he is gone and she resumes her
progress towards the smiling Masham and Jack is denied seeing him
sweep his hat to the ground in greeting her.
     
     

Chapter 4
    As the last waves of Ottoman expansion
broke upon the walls of Vienna, towards the close of the sixteenth
century, it was said that the Viennese, venturing from the city
after the departure of the Turks and wandering among