Until the Colours Fade by Tim Jeal Page B

steered the conversation back to the troubles in Rigton Bridge, which had received an airing earlier, when he had told them about the riot. Wishing to find out Catherine’s opinion of the Braithwaites indirectly , he thought this could be achieved by speaking of thestrike. As though quite unversed in such things, he asked Charles humbly whether he thought the strikers would give in before the election. The naval officer snorted derisively.
    ‘Not a chance. They’re stubborn as mules.’
    ‘Couldn’t the masters make concessions?’
    Charles filled his glass from a decanter and pushed the coaster towards Magnus.
    ‘Of course not. They can’t afford to lose face.’
    Magnus glanced at Catherine but learned nothing from her impassive expression. They had finished eating and she might choose at any moment to withdraw, so that the cloth could be removed and port set out for the brothers to drink alone.
    ‘Won’t the union also worry about loss of face?’ asked Magnus mildly.
    ‘They’re just out to intimidate sensible men who want to work.’ The slight flush on Charles’s cheeks might have been the claret, but Magnus thought it indicated strong feelings about the troubles. He placed his elbows on the table and leant forward.
    ‘But surely, Charles, not even sensible men can work when Irishmen fill their places?’
    ‘I told you, the union stopped local men selling their labour.’ Charles sipped his claret thoughtfully and smiled. ‘With respect, Magnus, I don’t think a colonial soldier is ideally equipped to make judgments about an English strike.’
    ‘Judgments? I didn’t know that I’d even expressed an opinion,’ he replied, struggling to suppress his mounting irritation. He had never forgotten the way Charles had used his superior years to deride his views in childhood. ‘But I’ll tell you my opinion, in case you misunderstand me. Unless Braithwaite discharges the Irishmen, last night’s violence will be a trivial hors d’oeuvre to the feast we can expect on polling day.’ He turned to Catherine and asked quietly: ‘Does your opinion differ?’ He could tell from the way she refused to meet his eye that she knew that he was asking a question that was partly a challenge and partly an appeal for her loyalty. She looked down at the table and hesitated a moment before saying rapidly:
    ‘My opinion can neither differ or agree. I know nothing of trade.’ She rose and smiled briefly before withdrawing.
    When she had gone and the butler had removed the cloth and set glasses in front of them, Magnus still felt stunned by her reply. Her genteel and prim assertion, that trade was too far beneath her to be considered, had been out of character. She had listened to their conversation patiently enough until he had mentioned Joseph Braithwaite specifically. Only then had she decided to leave. There could now be little doubt that she was seriously considering George’s proposal. Not wanting to have to talk, Magnus asked his brother when he thought he would next have a ship; and soon, as he had expected, Charles was embarked on a lengthy monologue about the inadequacies and vacillations of the Board of Admiralty. The subject would undoubtedly last them until they joined Catherine again and possibly longer. While Charles talked, it occurred to Magnus that his brother would almost certainly favour a marriage to George Braithwaite, since if Catherine were to remain a spinster the ultimate responsibility for her support would fall on him. With her mother dead and her father almost always away from home, Catherine was not well placed to have many London seasons. None of this would have escaped Charles if, as seemed probable, he had assessed the possible alternatives to George.
    Two hours later, when Charles eventually rang for the chamber -candlesticks to be brought to light them to bed, no word had been spoken by anybody about George Braithwaite. But Magnus remained certain that Strickland had told him the truth