Edward Kane, Advocate in The Supernal Sisters. Chapter 19: ‘Fathers and Sons’

Back in their cramped quarters in the Old Town, manservant Mr Horse appeared – on the face of it – to be rebuking his master: ‘You say you felt sorry for the geezer – but that boy is swimming in money, sir. Swimming in it.’

‘Money cannot buy happiness, Mr Horse.’

‘No, sir – but you can rent some good times with it.’

Edward Kane. Illustration: Lesley-Anne Barnes Macfarlane

Horse sat on his stool and puffed on his long clay pipe.

The young Advocate sat in his wing chair by the fire: ‘And what of your own predicament, Mr Horse? Did you ever resolve the mystery of the dead French soldier?’

Horse – who had finally admitted the cause of his vexation to his master – nodded: ‘It was all the maid, Mildred Morrison, Mr K.’

‘But how would she know…’

The manservant gave a l cheeky grin: ‘You know how it is, sir. You get friendly with a girl, then a few jars too many, then back to her house and you get friendly again…’

‘I do not know ‘how it is’, Mr Horse, but I think I understand you…’

‘We’ll, me and the bold Mildred was wery friendly for a time sir – if you catch my meaning – and after we done the business…’

Kane put his head in his hands: ‘Oh, Mr Horse, do we really….’

‘…things come out, sir. They just come out. You can’t help it. You might not mean it or it might be a secret, but when you’re all snuggled up afterwards. Blimey – the things I could tell you about her, sir…’

Kane attempted to divert the subject: ‘And what of her employers, the two sisters, the medium and such?’

‘It was Mildred the maid, what told Sarah Spooner all about me and the French bloke that night. In fact, all the maids and such, they all get a bit of extra money if they can get little bits of gossip and such about the folks what are visiting.’ He chuckled: ‘Mildred said that my thing about the French bloke got her an extra two bob.’

‘And are you going back, Horse?’

The manservant shook his head: ‘They’ve shut up shop, sir. Miss Spooner, the medium, she’s…what’s the word…”indy…indy…”.’

‘Indisposed?’

Horse laughed: ‘That’s the one. Of course, sir, it might have something in to do with me hitting young Albert McGinty in the face with a Bible, sir. I knew it was him as soon as I saw that ugly little mug of his. He said later that them sisters would give him ninepence for putting that white stuff on his face and jumping about in the dark.’

Kane laughed. Horse continued: ‘Speaking of ninepence, sir. I was wondering – with that young Humbie fella – does he not owe you a bit of the old….’ He rubbed his thumb and index finger together to indicate that money was owed.

‘Tomorrow morning, Mr Horse. Apparently an envelope of ready cash will be available to be uplifted from the offices of Abernathy and Hawkes. I have left instructions that it be given to you.’

Horse nodded. ‘There’s a relief, sir. That means I can show my face again at the butchers, the dairy, the bakers and settle up what’s owed…’

Kane gave a little groan: ‘I hardly require to be minded of our continued impecuniosity, Mr Horse…’

‘Then, of course, I’ll be able to clear the back rent with the landlady, the Widow Thompson…’

‘Do as you must, Mr Horse, to keep our leaky boat afloat!’

Horse laughed: ‘Or set the whole thing on fire – like the young Humbie bloke.’ He puffed on his pipe: ‘Still can’t believe you felt sorry for that little foozler…’

Kane sat forward in his chair: ‘The thing is, Mr Horse, that Harry Humbie could buy anything that he wanted – whether it was a fine carriage or a gold pocket watch. But he could not buy the thing that he craved – the approval of his father. That was always out of his reach.’

Horse nodded, but said nothing.

Kane continued: ‘Fathers and sons, Mr Horse. Forever complicated.’

Silence. Kane sat in his wing chair, sipping his rum and milk. Horse sat on his little stool by the fire, puffing on his long clay pipe.

The young Advocate broke the silence: ‘You don’t speak much about your own people, Mr Horse. Your own father – what sort of fellow was he?’

Horse rubbed his stubbly chin: ‘He weren’t like me, Mr Kane. He was proper rough…’

‘And what was his occupation?’

‘A bit of this. A bit of that. And when we ran out of money, he would do some bare-knuckle fighting in the back courts of Bethnal Green. Oh, he would never see his family go hungry, sir.’

Kane raised his eyebrows: ‘Sounds like an impressive character, Mr Horse.’

The manservant laughed: ‘He was impressive alright. Would do anything for his family, he would. There was that time I was attacked by the Johnson brothers – and there was five of them and my dad – not a young man – went to visit them after.’

‘To deliver a stern rebuke, I assume.’

‘No sir. To deliver a hammer.’ Horse puffed on his pipe. ‘Two of them never walked again, sir.’

Horse was lost in happy reverie for a moment, then got up from his stool: ‘Time to hit the hay, Mr K. I’ll get the kettle on and we’ll get you some hot water for your evening wash, sir…’

*****

Washed and ready to retire, Edward Kane d- ressed now in nightshirt and nightcap – knelt beside the bed for his evening prayers. His thoughts turned to his own father, now passed.

On the day of Kane’s graduation from university, the proud father had given Kane a number of gifts including a family heirloom – a gold pocket watch – and a new, leather-bound Bible. The King James Version since – in the words of Kane’s father – ‘The translation may not be entirely accurate, but the language itself is of surpassing beauty…’

Kane got up from his knees and went over to the little bookcase beside his bed. He took out the Bible and looked at his father’s inscription:

‘To my son, Edward on the day of your graduation. Matthew 3:17…’

Kane knew the passage well, but opened the book and turned to the relevant Chapter. He ran his finger over the words:

‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’

Kane shook his head and smiled to himself.

Oh, father. My own precious father.

And resumed his prayers.

Look out for more Edward Kane and Mr Horse in The Scotsman in 2024! If you enjoy the exploits of Kane and Horse, then don’t miss

‘Edward Kane and Mr Horse: Collected Short Stories – Volume I’ on sale now on Amazon, Kindle and available from all good bookshops.