Gibbous House 47

It had amused me to pretend to Maccabi and Rothschild that I knew nothing of their customs. Or indeed that I was unaware that, in fact, Passover had not yet begun or that no matzoh had been served. For that reason I had not remarked on their own kepot and tallitim katanim. Of course, the strange attire of my liberator all those years before had aroused a little curiosity for the briefest of moments. But only much later did I enquire about the customs of devout jews or hasidim; how could I not, having married one in Arabella Coble?

Άδηζ Άδηζ Άδηζ Άδηζ Άδηζ

As the newly cured Alasdair Moffat it had seemed to me expedient to depart Edinburgh, and indeed, Scotland. In consequence, I expended a portion of my paltry moneys on coach travel to London. In the manner of many foolish young men, I expended my assets rapidly without considering how I might replace them. I left a hotel of good quality one March morning by a first floor window, a modus egressi I have not infrequently been reduced to since.

Penniless, I found in myself a natural talent for the nefarious: I picked pockets, being careful to practise on the inebriate; I took to carrying a blade, short and vicious, although on most occasions a sight of it produced the purse –and if it did not? Well, I became proficient in the use of it. There was a good living to be made, but it was obvious to me that a footpad could not hope to evade capture forever. Besides, in the lower taverns I frequented, I overheard whispers concerning a desperate criminal some had taken to calling the Scotchman. Limehouse became too hot for me, and moonlight illuminated my decamping to the East India Docks. I spent several weeks watching the clippers of the Honorable Company sailing into berth.

It surprised me that these ships, narrow of beam and patently incapable of carrying cargo of any great bulk, formed the major part of the Empire's merchant marine, at least on the routes to the orient. Their tall-masted elegance was pleasing to the eye, however, and on occasion I would be engaged in conversation by some grizzled mariner on matters of little consequence. I learned the difference between a clipper and a cutter, and to appreciate the sleek lines of the former with its sharply raked stem, counter stern and square rig. I could not help but notice their cargoes: expensive, low volume commodities; spices, tea and passengers.

Many passengers were women, travelling with paid ladies companion or offspring destined for education in the home country. Occasionally, there were ladies travelling quite alone, recent widows of East India Company officers, English flowers too delicate for the tropics or, sometimes, women driven home by some or other scandal. I made it my business to welcome such ladies home, avoiding only those with progeny likely to prove obstacle to my ends. For the most part, it was a matter of offering these ladies escort to their destination, the requisition of a hansom, or guiding them out of the dangerous docklands to more salubrious accommodations. Often I would perform these services, and take whatever benificence they offered. Sometimes I made more lucrative arrangements, the more vulnerable and gullible found their way to a certain house I knew well, as did some of the more promising children. Arabella Coble did not.

Άδηζ Άδηζ Άδηζ Άδηζ Άδηζ