‘Oh.’ Charlie grinned. ‘I’ll remember that. Cat, thanks for broadening my education.’
I gave a grim smile. ‘Stick around me, Charlie, and it’ll be so broad you won’t be able to see the edges.’
If Richmond was meditating his revenge, he was taking his time about it. I begged Frank to continue my fencing training in case of further challenges but nothing happened to call on my new skills. The following weeks passed without incident, not even a near escape. The other boys had accepted me as part of Frank and Charlie’s circle of friends and ceased to pay particular attention to me. I even avoided having to act for the older boys as a skivvy – or ‘fag’ in schoolboy parlance – for Frank had made it clear that I was his and Charlie’s personal dogsbody. Not that Frank would have got away with giving me orders had the mood taken him. Wisely, he didn’t dare.
Settling into my role, I was amused to find out more about Frank’s life at school. Being the son of a duke placed him at the top of the social ladder, so he did not have to try hard to earn respect like the rest of us. He had, however, gained himself a notoriety all of his own which was nothing to do with his blue blood. Known as ‘The Wizard’ to the other boys, I was amazed to find that Frank had introduced into Westminster some of the skills he had picked up from his acquaintances in Covent Garden. He augmented his income by forging letters from parents for needy pupils, and had been known to rewrite reports home from the teachers. His mastery of Dr Vincent’s hand was particularly commended. He had a little business going with Nick, Syd’s second-in-command and apprentice to a shoemaker, who supplied him with the supple leather required for the manufacture of the Avon Rear Protector. Nick’s sister, a seamstress, sewed the false lining in the seat of the breeches belonging to the young gentlemen, taking the sting out of the flogging administered by that lover of the rod, Dr Vincent. Frank’s rooms were a hive of activity with pupils coming and going with requests for Frank’s aid in the various trials of their life at school. All I had to do was sit in the shadows and watch.
By the end of the second week, my academic career was developing in leaps and bounds. Mr Castleton had ranked me tenth in the form for my knowledge of Latin. Not the grammar, he explained to his listeners, of which I showed a very shaky grasp, but the true poetry of it.
‘This boy is the only one who really understands. Watch him and learn!’ he declared as he got me to read out a verse aloud. That was easy. My training at Drury Lane made this child’s play. ‘See, he’s reading it as if he means it – not murdering it as the rest of you do. Now, Southey, you translate.’
But this proved to be a temporary lull. Life got much more complicated as November turned into December. It was a glorious winter’s day with cold, blue skies, and we had been given some free time as lessons finished early. Frank and Charlie decided to go snipe hunting in Tothill Fields. I’d begged off, saying I wanted to spend more time with my Latin books.
‘No need to work so hard, Cat. You’re doing fine from what I hear,’ said Frank. ‘Rookie’s very impressed by you. Why not take a holiday and come and watch?’
‘No thanks. I really want to read.’
‘Proof, if ever you need it,’ he said, shaking his head in disbelief, ‘that you’re not the real thing, Cat. No self-respecting boy would sit in on a day like this.’
‘Get lost, my lord,’ I said, throwing a cushion at him.
Frank didn’t understand what a luxury it was to have time to study uninterrupted. At the theatre I had had to squeeze my education into my spare time. It had been somewhat neglected since Mr Salter, no friend of mine, had replaced Johnny as prompt. His idea of educating me was to set me the grate in his office to shine with blacklead while he delivered lectures on female virtue from Fordyce’s sermons. He had made it clear to Mr Sheridan and Mr Kemble that he thought it very dangerous to teach a girl of my class because it would raise me above my allotted station in life. However, they had insisted he continue the work begun by his predecessors. They probably thought they were doing me a favour, but if I hear another word written by the insufferable Fordyce, I’ll scream.
So I liked the change I had unexpectedly made to a life devoted to study. Hidden in Westminster School with my books, I could pass the time with the gods, fight on the battlefields of Troy, or wander the world with Aeneas. This was all the holiday I needed.
Much sooner than I had expected, I heard footsteps returning back up the stairs. Someone coughed loudly outside the door.
‘Wait a moment, I’ll just check that our room mate is prepared to receive visitors,’ said Charlie loudly.
‘Oh Milly, you must see the view from the window over here.’ I heard Lizzie say.
‘I can’t see anything special. It looks out on a brick wall.’ This last voice belonged to a stranger.
Charlie slipped through the door. ‘My sister’s here, Cat. Lizzie brought her in the carriage when she called in to leave a parcel for Frank with the porter. I’ve been trying to keep her happy with a tour of the whole damn school, but she insists on seeing my rooms. Just follow my lead, all right?’
‘But she’ll know I’m not your brother, Charlie!’ I looked about me, wondering if it were feasible to take to my bed with a sudden fever.