Until nearly seven o'clock he waited there in considerable apprehension for, however loyal the footman on the door might prove, if Bow Street Runners arrived and produced a warrant, he could not prevent them from searching the house.
At last Droopy appeared. He was slightly drunk after spending four hours dining at the Beefsteak Club and afterwards consuming the best part of a decanter of Port. But he exclaimed, 'Roger! Makes me old heart beat better at the sight of you. But, dam'me! I didn't expect to see you before tomorrow at the earliest.'
'Tomorrow!' Roger repeated, much surprised. 'And why, pray, should you have expected to see me then?'
Then, or within the next few days,' Droopy lowered himself with some care into an elbow chair. 'But meseems they've been prodigious swift to act upon their orders.'
'I don't understand!' Roger frowned. 'To what orders do you refer?'
'Why to those for your pardon, of course.'
'Pardon! Dear God, you cannot mean it.'
'I….I do indeed. After your father's failure and His Grace of Portland's refusal to approach His Majesty I was loath to raise your hopes again, lest they be once more disappointed. But I... I went down to see Billy Pitt. He's no power now... more's the pity. But he agreed that something must be done for you, and ... and the King could not refuse him an audience. He told our poor addle-brained monarch that even had you blown up the Houses of Parliament which, as things are would be no bad thing,' Droopy broke off and tittered, 'you ... you still deserved a pardon for the immense services you have in these past ten years rendered to the State. Whatever may be said against "Farmer George," he... he has ever put what he believes to be the interests of our country before all else. Billy Pitt is no fool. He'd had the forethought to bring a parchment with him in his pocket. Before the old dunderhead could have second thoughts, he ' had him sign it.'
Roger took a deep breath, 'So I'm free! Oh, Ned, dear Ned, bless you for that. I'll go pay my respects to Mr. Pitt tomorrow and thank him for his share in this. But 'tis to you I owe it.'
'Think naught of that. You look, though, in a sadly bedraggled state. Order yourself a bath brought up and a change of raiment. Meanwhile I... I'll stretch myself for two hours on my bed. Then we'll sally forth together and go to old Kate's place behind the Haymarket. Sup there, have her pretty wenches disport themselves for us, eh? And... and make a night of it.'
Hardly able to believe in his good fortune, Roger rested and refreshed himself. Later old Kate received them with many curtsies. Droopy threw handsful of golden guineas on the floor and laughed uproariously as the girls scrambled for them, then fought to sit on his and Roger's knees and show their appreciation of this generous patronage.
In the small hours the two friends returned to Amcsbury House, decidedly the worse for wear and, arm in arm, supported one another up the stairs. It was eleven o'clock next
morning when Roger woke, but over a late breakfast they knocked back a couple of bottles of Florence wine and felt the better for it.
Roger then rode down to Beckenham; but his thoughts were the saddest he had had for many a day, as he could not get over Georgina's betrayal of him. At Holwell House Mr. Pitt received him kindly and said:
'Mr. Brook, we have had many differences of opinion, but that does not alter the fact that you have served England far better than many more eminent men of your generation. Owing to the secret nature of your work, I was unable to recommend you for a knighthood; thus there was all the more reason for coming to your assistance when you fell into grievous trouble. Naturally I deprecate the crime of violence for which you were condemned, but the life you have led must have forced upon you many dangerous and desperate situations; so, to some extent, the habit you have acquired of resorting on the instant to weapons must be accounted a mitigation of your act. Let us now forget it.'
Mr. Pitt was alone that day and invited Roger to stay to dinner. Roger accepted as both a command and a pleasure. Over the meal Pitt talked freely of the situation.
He had been such a close friend of Addington's that when ill the previous year he had stayed in his house and been treated as one of the family, so most men would have taken it hard that such an intimate friend, when sent for behind his back by the king, should have consented to supplant him. But Pitt bore Addington no malice and as a private Member was giving him his support.
About the King's attitude to Catholic Emancipation he was caustic, declaring that His Majesty's ostrich-like policy was both dangerous and unjust toward many thousands of his loyal subjects; that the days when 'Popery' was a danger to the realm were long since gone, and that it was now entirely unreasonable that many patriotic and intelligent men should remain debarred from holding office because they were either Dissenters or Romans.
Since Roger's return from Russia he had not seen his host, so he gave him an eye-witness account of Paul I's murder. When he had done Pitt commented ' 'Twas a terrible business and shocked all Europe. Why they could not simply have put him under restraint, as we have our King in the past, I cannot think. But his removal proved invaluable to us at that time. The pity of it is that the present government is rapidly losing the advantage gained thereby. Young Alexander greatly favoured an alliance with us, and with his help we might have crushed Bonaparte. Instead they signed the Peace, although eighteen days after my retirement Admiral Nelson had smashed the nucleus of the Northern Fleet at Copenhagen. Since then Russia and France have been drawing together on the Eastern question, as both have designs on Turkey. And now we are again at loggerheads with the Czar over Malta.'
'As I have been incarcerated for above four months, sir,' Roger remarked, 'I know little of what has been going on.'
'Indeed yes; that I had momentarily forgotten. By this disastrous Peace it was agreed that we should return all our maritime conquests made during the war, with the exception of Ceylon and Trinidad, to France and her allies Holland and Spain. Those, of course, included the Cape and Malta. Should we give up the Cape our route to India could be cut at any time and our mercantile interests in the sub-continent become gravely imperilled. This has raised such an outcry that, I gather, the Government is considering going back upon its word lest it be kicked out of office.
'As regards Malta, under the treaty it should be returned to its former owners, the Knights. But the Order has become so effete that it is now quite incapable of protecting shipping in the Mediterranean from the Barbary pirates. Within six months the Corsairs would have the island and soon be using it as a base to raid the coast towns of southern Italy. It was, therefore, decided that it should be governed by a Protecting Power, to be neither France nor Britain. The obvious choice is Russia and the Czar insists that he should take it over. But again our government is having second thoughts and is resisting his claim, whereas the French are backing it. Hence the Czar's annoyance with us, and his new inclination to enter into a pact with the French.'
When they had talked of numerous other subjects, Pitt asked 'What now do you plan to do; settle in England or return to France?'
'Recently, sir,' Roger replied, 'apart from my spell in prison, I have met with a private misfortune which makes me disinclined to remain here, where I am likely to be reminded of it.'
Mr. Pitt made a slight grimace. 'If 'tis your own countrymen that you wish to avoid you'll be hard put to it in Paris. I'm told the capital now swarms with them, and many of them are touring the provinces. Charles Fox spent September there, and his speeches praising the Revolution having been reprinted in the French journals, he was given a royal welcome in every city through which he passed. Bonaparte received him with special honours, and he was shown his own bust at St. Cloud, among a collection including Brutus, Cicero, Hampden, Washington and other champions of Liberty.'