He must have drifted off to sleep as he was awoken by running footsteps and then there was someone hammering on the door. He flung it open to find the butler outside the door.
‘Your grace, a message from Lord Stanfield. He wishes you to go to Portman Square immediately.’
‘Have my horse saddled. I’ll be five minutes.’
He’d heard her grace come in a while ago and hoped this racket wouldn’t bring her down again to investigate. He headed for the gunroom and not waiting for the key, prised open the doors and rammed a pistol into each pocket. These were followed by the necessary powder and shot. For some reason he thought they might be needed.
There were still carriages in the streets, no ladies, but several groups of inebriated gentlemen. He galloped past dreading what the news might be that had caused his lordship to send for him so late.
The house looked no different than the others in the square but there was a groom waiting to take his mount, the front door was opened to him as he took the steps two at a time.
Stanfield, looking grey and drawn, was pacing the hall. ‘Thank God you’ve come quickly, your grace. My wife is prostrate with anxiety. The poor girl, the poor girl…’
‘What’s happened? Tell me at once. I can do nothing to help until I have the details.’ The man seemed incapable of sensible speech. He grabbed his arm and all but dragged him into the privacy of the drawing room.
‘The carriage wasn’t there to collect us when we decided to leave an hour after you departed. We were concerned but not unduly worried. Her grace was kind enough to allow your carriage to take us home after it had dropped her off in Grosvenor Square.’ He mopped his eyes with a limp handkerchief. ‘We never stay long at these events as my wife easily becomes fatigued.’
‘Too late to repine, get on with your story.’ His tone was deliberately brusque and it served the purpose as his future father-in-law managed to pull himself together. Edwin’s heart thumped uncomfortably.
‘We suspected nothing was amiss until my wife went in to check on Lucy. Her bed was empty. There was no sign of her or her maid. I then discovered that the carriage was also missing. I sent footmen out to look and they discovered the body of her maid lying on the side of the road like so much rubbish.
‘Someone has abducted my daughter and they’ve already committed one murder. They are ruthless men. I’m expecting a ransom demand to arrive at any moment.’ The man wrung his hands and tears tickled unheeded down his cheeks.
‘Have you informed Bow Street?’ Stanfield shook his head. ‘I’ll get that done. I want to speak to the soldier who joined your staff the other day.’
The footman who’d let him in vanished without being asked. This Jed Smith fellow seemed exactly the sort of person he needed to set things in motion. He wasn’t surprised that Stanfield had the backbone of a blancmange – if he had any spine then he’d never have allowed Lucy to run wild or to take over the education of his other progeny.
‘Stanfield, go to your wife. I’ll fetch Lucy back unharmed. Do I have your permission to act in your stead?’
‘You do, your grace, you do. I thank the good Lord that my daughter has you in her corner. I can think of no other gentlemen as competent. I bid you good night. I hope there’s better news in the morning.’
When he’d suggested that Stanfield went to his wife, he hadn’t expected the man to retire, but to come back and help in whatever way he could. He was at a loss to know how Lucy’s father showed such acumen in commerce and was useless in a crisis.
He was unsurprised to see the ex-soldier fully clothed and wide awake. ‘Good man. Has anyone searched the entire route the carriage would have taken?’
‘Every available man is scouring the neighbourhood, banging on doors, asking residents if they heard or saw anything untoward. Forgive me for asking, your grace, but what time did Miss Armitage set out from Hanover Square?’
‘Not much after seven o’clock. That means four hours have passed since she was taken. I want you to go to Bow Street, bring two Runners here. The death of that poor girl must be investigated. Where is the cadaver?’
‘The housekeeper here has laid her out proper, she’s in her own room all right and tidy waiting for the undertakers. She were a good lass, not much more than twenty years of age. When I get my hands on the bastards what did this…’
‘We shall take care of them between us. I need you armed – I take it you can handle a firearm?’
‘I can that, your grace. Do I have permission to raid the gun cupboard?’
Edwin nodded. ‘Do that when you return. You can ride Hamlet, I’ll take Othello. We’ll go hunting as soon as the Runners are here. Have the grooms come in to me immediately.’
Others might think it outlandish to have outside men in their dirt and their boots in the drawing room but tonight was different. Someone from Evesham’s event was responsible for this – he was certain of it.
What he didn’t understand was why the maid had been killed? It didn’t make any sense. If whoever took Lucy wished to ask for ransom then they would want the girl there to take care of her mistress in the meantime.
The butler was approaching with a tray of coffee and what looked like roast beef sandwiches. If it wasn’t for the circumstances Edwin would have been amused to see him carrying a tray when he had minions for this sort of task.
‘Your grace, I thought you might like something to eat. This is a most dreadful situation.’
‘Take me to the dead girl’s chamber first. I wish to see her for myself.’
The man didn’t quibble or even look surprised at the request. The girl, Daisy, he must remember her name in future, didn’t sleep in the attics along with the other maids, but had her own room alongside that of the other senior servants.
The wall sconces were lit up here, voices could be heard in the rooms, the glimmer of candlelight clearly visible from behind the doors. There was no one sleeping in this house apart from the two people who should be wide awake. Lord and Lady Stanfield no longer had his approval – they were delinquent parents and didn’t deserve to have a daughter like his beloved Lucy.
‘In here, your grace. Sarah and Mary were her friends and they’re sitting vigil with her.’
The girl lying dead in the bed had been cleaned up, dressed in fresh garments but nothing could disguise the injuries to her face. He nodded to the watchers and they moved to the wall but didn’t go out and he respected them for their actions.
He checked the body and was satisfied his initial suspicions were correct. ‘Daisy fell from the carriage when it was travelling at speed, I’m certain of it. It was most likely an accident rather than a deliberate act.’
He was downstairs when the first of the grooms arrived and waited impatiently to hear what they had discovered, if anything.
Chapter Fifteen
Lucy settled back on the squabs and closed her eyes to mull over the evening’s events. Did Edwin wish to make the arrangement genuine? Did she? He might be aggravating, arrogant and with a fearful temper but she finally recognised that no other man would do.
When they met next she would tell him she wished to make their engagement genuine. A ripple of excitement ran through her at the thought of becoming his wife. The carriage suddenly lurched to a halt. There were raised voices outside. The carriage lurched as someone climbed onto the box.
Before she could open the window to investigate two rough individuals jumped into the carriage. Both were armed. Then they were moving forward once more but this time at a speed that was hardly safe in crowded streets.
‘Sit quiet and we ain’t going to hurt you. Make a racket and you’ll die.’ The malodorous speaker pulled down the blinds on the side closest to him and the other abductor did the same on the far side making it impossible to see where they were going.
She prayed that her coachmen were safe and would do as they were bid. She wished no one to be hurt because of this. Edwin would rescue her – she had no doubts whatsoever on that score.
Her maid was crying and pressing herself into the corner against the door. Lucy sat straight so that no part of her was in contact with the repellent creature sitting next to her. She didn’t deign to answer.
The vehicle turned sharply and Daisy was flung against the door through which the men had entered. To her horror it flew open and her maid vanished with a despairing cry. The carriage continued on its journey.
The other man reached out and pulled the door shut with no expression of regret and this time made sure it was safely latched. Travelling at the speed they had been the likelihood of dearest Daisy surviving the fall was slim. She sent up a fervent prayer that by some miracle her maid had endured the dreadful accident.
She was being abducted and would be held to ransom. They had likely been waiting for the first rich young lady to leave. They were opportunists – but frighteningly well organised when they could only have had minutes to make the decision. The money would be paid immediately and she would be released none the worse. Daisy’s falling from the carriage had not been intentional.
All she had to do was stay resolute, be brave, and within a few hours Edwin would be there to collect her and take her home and she could put all thought of this unpleasant incident aside and concentrate on happier things.
Then she recalled what Daisy had said about the obnoxious Lord Percival. Her hands flew to her mouth to hold back a gasp of pure terror. Had she been taken by him in order to force her into wedlock and give him access to her fortune?
She would never willingly agree, but if she was obliged to spend the night in the same room as him – she would be exactly what Edwin had accused her of being – damaged goods. He would be lost to her. No – she was certain that he loved her and would marry her regardless of the loss of her good name. Hadn’t he said he cared not for the opinion of Society? For a few moments she was less distraught.
Then she thought of an outcome far worse than the loss of her reputation. If this monster forced himself upon her then she might find herself with child. Whatever Edwin and she might wish to do they could, in those circumstances, never marry.
She would fight to her last breath to remain pure – but if she failed – then her life would be over. Would she have the courage to end it? One thing she was very sure of was she would never marry anyone but Edwin whatever happened. Whoever was behind this abduction would get their comeuppance and not benefit from this act in any way. That gave her some small comfort. Gave her the courage to sit straight, to be dry-eyed.
Despite her determination unwanted tears seeped out at the thought of what had happened to Daisy. They’d been together for three years and she’d become very fond of her dresser. She had trusted Daisy with confidences and had hoped to have her by her side for many more years.
They travelled for a considerable time, the carriage turned and twisted but thankfully slowed its reckless pace. Presumably they were now out of the centre of the city and on the outskirts somewhere. Even if she’d been able to see landmarks like churches these would be of no use to her as she was unfamiliar with London having only visited occasionally.
Did anyone know she’d been abducted? Her parents would be aware the carriage was missing when it failed to arrive when they wished to go home. As they always left early they could very well already have realised she was missing and sent for Edwin.
Until she arrived at wherever she was going and met the perpetrator of this scheme she wouldn’t know if it was a straightforward ransom or something more sinister. She clenched her fists to stop them shaking.
Eventually the carriage turned for the last time, continued straight for a while and then rocked to a standstill. They had been travelling for considerably longer than an hour, she thought. She stayed where she was. She would do nothing of her own volition but wait for instructions. No point in antagonising her captors unnecessarily. All she had to do was stay safe until Edwin came to fetch her back.
The coach rocked alarmingly as someone scrambled down from the box. The evil-smelling man sitting next to her opened the door, kicked down the steps, and then waited for her to come out.
‘My coachmen, please don’t harm them.’
‘You behave yourself and they’ll get out of it alive.’ The villain who’d so callously closed the carriage door without even looking outside grabbed her arm so painfully she bit back a yelp of protest.
It was now dusk, she just had time to see that the building she was being rushed into was ancient, dilapidated, and looked unoccupied. A surreptitious glance around showed it was standing in unkempt grounds and there were no other houses to be seen anywhere.
As she was bundled through the front door she heard the carriage moving off and prayed the two coachmen would be considered valuable. The men who’d taken her had made no effort to disguise their appearance. This one thing alone made her tremble. If they weren’t afraid of being recognised and taken into custody then it could only be because they intended that all three of them would perish.
She was half-dragged up the stairs, along a narrow passageway, and then pushed none too gently into a bedchamber. The door slammed behind her. She waited to hear a bolt being rammed across, or a key being turned, but heard neither.
Slowly she turned to examine the door. It had a bolt on this side but no key. Her hands were on the bolt and pushing it across before she realised what she was doing. If she could barricade herself in, she would be safe from whoever had taken her.
The room was gloomy, the shutters on the outside closed and there was barely sufficient light for her to take stock of her surroundings. There was a bed, no covers or pillow, a wardrobe and a nightstand. On checking the cupboard underneath the nightstand she was relieved to see a chamber pot, as her need was urgent.
She pushed the half-full receptacle under the bed and dreaded having to move it again. There was nothing else in the room – nothing to drink or eat and no jug and basin in which to wash. She was wearing a flimsy evening gown which was hardly right for being incarcerated in so dismal a place.
The bedstead was iron, too heavy for her to move, and the nightstand too flimsy to be of any use. The bolt on the door was her only protection and she feared that wouldn’t hold a determined onslaught. There was no candlestick so if she was going to try and see more of the grounds then she must do it before it got quite dark.
The shutters were fastened from the outside and no amount of rattling released the catch. She wasn’t sure if these had been deliberately locked to keep her in or if it was an unfortunate coincidence. The windowpanes were small, so even if she broke the glass it would be impossible to climb out through so small an aperture.
When putting her eye to a gap she could just discern that the room faced the stable block and coach house. The buildings were brick built and had orange peg tile roofs, but these had holes in them and the walls sagged.
As she watched the coach appeared. The two on the box clambered down and immediately unharnessed the team. She could hear the gruff voice of one of the men, perhaps the one who had travelled on the box with them, giving them instructions but couldn’t quite catch what was being said. Then she noticed there was a meadow, lush grass growing knee-high, and the team were turned out in that. This could be fatal for the horses as they would overeat and get colic. As they wouldn’t be there long she hoped this disaster wouldn’t occur.
The carriage was obviously left where it was. The two men were herded into what looked like a fodder store and then the door was barricaded behind them. She released her breath. They were all safe for the moment.
*
Edwin pointed to the food and the grooms didn’t need asking twice to help themselves. He’d had a second tray and glasses of porter laid out on the sideboard. He’d already eaten two sandwiches and drunk an entire jug of coffee whilst he waited.
‘Jed told us like, to go to Hanover Square and talk to them what works there,’ the younger of the two said between mouthfuls. ‘They weren’t best pleased, I can tell you, to be int
errupted in their work. Had to knock a few heads together, your grace, before we got the information what we needed.’
‘Go on, man, you’ve done well.’
‘Two of them bastards were in on it, told to let that Lord Percival know if the young lady sent for her carriage and was to travel alone.’
Edwin felt a curl of fear settle in his stomach. He’d already guessed why Lucy had been taken but he wanted to hear it from one of these men. ‘Did you discover where she was to be taken?’
‘They weren’t privy to that information, your grace. A right good kicking didn’t produce no more information than what we’ve given you.’
‘Thank you, get to your beds. I’m grateful for your help and you’ll be well-rewarded.’
‘Forgive me, your grace, but me and Teddy here ain’t going nowhere until we get our Miss Lucy back. There’s a half dozen of us what can ride, we’re coming with you.’
‘I appreciate your loyalty and accept your offer. I’m just awaiting the arrival of the Runners and then we’ll be off. Are there enough mounts?’
‘If we take the carriage horses, there’s enough. Bit short of saddles mind – but we’ll manage without.’
The butler appeared at the door. ‘I’ve taken the liberty of having all the guns fetched from the cupboard, your grace, in case they might be needed.’
Jed Smith arrived closely followed by two strangers, plainly dressed, but no one would mistake them for anything but ruthless thief-takers. As he’d been talking to the two grooms Edwin had decided on his next move.
He shook hands with the Runners – no time to stand on ceremony or dignity tonight. ‘Excellent. We know who’s behind this abduction. It’s Evesham’s degenerate son, Percival. He’s a disgrace to his uniform. We’ll get the address we need from someone there.’
The streets were quieter but there were still people abroad. It wasn’t late for London, not yet midnight. He and the Runners led their small army to Hanover Square. As expected, the house was still ablaze with light, the party still in full swing. There were several carriages awaiting the arrival of the owners and Edwin understood that everyone would be aware of what had happened before the night was over.
A Solitary Duke Page 14
