The Poisoned Island Read Online Free Page B

Briton who reads a newspaper knows what Banks has long claimed for Kew: that by owning and adapting the natural world to its own ends, Britain will shape the future of the world. For Banks, the transport of plants from one place to another is an Imperial undertaking, the whole globe merely a market garden for the English, with Banks as head gardener and Kew as the hothouse, the place in which English horticulture is fused with British ambition.
    It is a weighty narrative to rest upon an ordinary Whitby collier, but it was magnificently told by Cook and Banks forty years ago. And now Cook’s successor, Captain Hopkins, is on his way.
    Twenty minutes after Harriott’s first sighting of the captain in the wherry there is a knock at his door, and one of the servants lets Hopkins into his office. The man certainly looks Welsh—short, barrel-chested, his face round and red with that familiar sheen of sweat to which a sea captain carrying a comfortable load around his stomach is prone. He wears a naval uniform of white breeches and blue coat, and looks rather annoyed to be here.
    “Captain Hopkins,” says Harriott. “Welcome to the River Police Office. Please be seated.”
    Hopkins takes a seat opposite Harriott, his hat in his lap, and looks around the trim office and out to the riverside window.
    “Your office reminds me of a captain’s cabin, Harriott,” he says. “Though on a far bigger ship than mine.”
    Harriott frowns slightly at the familiarity in Hopkins’s tone, being used to deference even from captains. But this man is a senior officer and, Harriott thinks, has earned theright to some familiarity with a magistrate, particularly after a circumnavigation.
    “All is well with the Solander ?” he asks, which, after all, is the only question required.
    “Very well, Harriott, thank you. Although I am confused as to why the Police Office is interested.”
    The man is fierce and impertinent but also charming. His irritation is manifest, but so is his bonhomie. He sits in the chair with enormous relish, as if sitting in this particular chair is the most important thing in the world. A man with an appetite for life, Harriott decides.
    “I take an interest in all shipping arriving here, Captain.”
    “But I’ll wager you don’t call in the captain of every lugger and whaler which comes to London, Harriott. There’d be a queue of salty individuals down the stairs if you did.”
    Harriott smiles at that.
    “No, indeed. But you are obviously aware of the special status of the Solander . Sir Joseph has asked me personally to welcome you and to ensure you have everything you need, and are secure on the river.”
    “Are you a friend of Sir Joseph’s, Harriott?”
    This with a smile, drawing the old magistrate in. “More of an acquaintance, Captain.”
    “Well, Sir Joseph’s acquaintances are said to run Britain, Harriott, so I will take you as a man of importance and standing, and will thank you for your kind attention. My ship’s in good heart, I would say. She is tired and in need of some loving care, but has performed admirably, as has her crew. I’ve discharged about half of the fellows, and many of them have already left. Those who remain are either preparing her for the dockyard, where she’s going to need some repairs, or else they’re looking after the cargo.”
    “Ah yes. The cargo. The plants survived the passage?”
    “A great many did, Harriott, a great many. I am taking the first consignment—two barges of it—down to Kew tomorrow morning, where I understand a small welcoming committee is to be assembled. How they’ve done that when we only arrived today is a mystery only Sir Joseph can answer.”
    “We received news of your arrival some days ago. You put in at Portsmouth, did you not?”
    “We did indeed. I do hope Sir Joseph hasn’t had a crew of lords and ladies huddled by the riverside since then.”
    Harriott smiles broadly at that. He does not doubt that Banks has almost certainly