‘I am afraid not, my dear. I have my own family to think of.’
‘So what will you do?’
‘I shall rent a little house where Thomas and Amy and I can live together.’
‘But you could all live with us.’
‘I do not think your new mama would want that, Gwendoline.’
‘Well, I cannot see that she should object,’ the girl replied, shaking out her skirts. ‘Papa says Lady Frances is a great lady, and used to large households. And in all likelihood we shall see little of her—Papa will take her off on a long honeymoon and we shall be left at Blackthorpe, all alone, and when they come back they will have new babies that they will both love, and we shall be forgotten.’
‘That is nonsense, Gwendoline. I am sure that your new mama will love you all very much indeed.’
‘How can she do that when she does not know us?’
‘She will come to know you, my dear, and to love you, just as I—’ Juliana bit her lip and continued after a pause, ‘Come along, let us go back outside and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.’
Juliana ushered her charge before her, suddenly feeling very tired and dispirited. She should be glad that at last Gwendoline had given her approval, for she could now look forward to continuing her contract and earning enough to secure her independence. She told herself she should be happy, that there was no reason for these megrims; she could only think that the journey was proving more tiring than she had anticipated.
As they made their way to the back of the inn, Juliana noticed that the door to their private parlour stood open. She looked in to see her little sister sitting at the table, drawing on her slate.
‘Amy? I thought you were playing with Wilhelmina.’
‘She wanted to play tag again, but I was tired and wanted to sit down,’ said Amy, not looking up. ‘Minna called me a baby.’
‘Well, we are going outside now,’ said Juliana. ‘Bring your slate and we will play some word games—would you like that?’
She waited for Amy to climb down from the chair and the three of them made their way through the narrow corridor and out of the door at the back of the inn. As they passed a window Juliana noticed that the clouds were growing thicker, and she was wondering if she should go back for her shawl when there was a cry from outside.
‘That’s Minna,’ said Gwendoline, pushing open the door. ‘I expect she’s fallen out of a tree or some such thing.’
Juliana followed her outside and looked towards the orchard. The rug was empty and Nurse was sitting up in her chair, rubbing at her eyes as if she had just woken up. A feeling of foreboding crept over Juliana. She ran forward until she was clear of the inn buildings. A black cabriolet was drawn up in the lane, close to the orchard wall.
‘Minna!’ Even as she called, there was a crack of a whip and the carriage moved off. Juliana raced for the wall, and saw with chilling horror that the driver was holding on to a small, struggling figure on the seat beside him.
‘Oh, heavens!’
Juliana scrambled over the wall, and followed the cabriolet towards the crossroads beside the inn, but even as she reached the corner, the vehicle picked up speed and drew away from her, heading up the hill and into the trees. Juliana watched, aghast, but just as she turned to head back to the inn and call for help, another vehicle swept into sight from the Congleton Road. She recognised Major Collingham’s curricle and she ran towards it, waving frantically. The Major had already slowed to turn into the inn yard but now he pulled up beside her on the road.
‘Good God, what is the matter?’ he called.
‘Minna—kidnapped!’ she gasped, gripping the edge of the carriage for support. ‘He—he has driven off with her, up that road. You must go after them, now!’
The Major turned to the two boys sitting beside him.
‘Get down. You must look after the ladies.’
Giles hesitated. ‘Should I not go with you?’
‘No, Fewell can stay on the back. You will be needed here.’
‘I am coming with you.’ Juliana ran round and prepared to climb into the curricle.
‘No. Stay with the others.’
She ignored him and climbed into the curricle. ‘Minna may need me when we catch up with them.’
His mouth tightened. ‘Very well.’
She hardly had time to sit down before he had turned the horses and set off up the hill at a canter.
‘It was the man from the Queen’s Head,’ she said. ‘The one who stole into the girls’ bedroom.’
‘Leeson?’
‘Yes.’
‘Tell me what happened.’
Briefly she told him all she knew.
‘I am sorry,’ she ended. ‘I should not have left her alone.’
‘She was not alone, Nurse was with her. You cannot blame yourself.’
‘But why? What can he want with her?’
‘That we shall find out when we catch up with him,’ muttered the Major, whipping up his team.
Juliana clung to the side of the curricle as they bounced over the uneven surface.
‘If my memory serves me, this is the old road back to Leek,’ said the Major. ‘They built the new section about ten years ago, to avoid the hill. I know this area quite well; we shall catch him, never fear.’
Charles Leeson set his horse to a gallop along the straight road that stretched ahead of him and glanced down at the sobbing child beside him. What a fix he was in now! He would not blame Lady Ormiston for this. How could he? He had sworn to help her, vowed that he would give his life for her if necessary. Veronique had explained it to him so carefully. It had all sounded so simple, but Charles had younger sisters of his own, and in his experience they were the very devil to deal with. He had nearly succeeded at the Queen’s Head, when the children were asleep, but just as he had been about to lay his hands on the prize, the old biddy had set up such a screech! He flicked his whip across the horse’s rump. He had carried it off rather well, he thought, convincing them all that he was in his cups. Since then he had kept his distance, waiting for another opportunity, and it was a stroke of luck that he had come upon them here and seen the girl playing with her doll, with no one near her save the old dame sleeping in her chair. The brat had remembered him from the Queen’s Head, and she did not run away when he climbed over the wall to talk to her. But then she would do nothing more than sit on the rug, hugging her doll so there was nothing for it but to clap a hand over her mouth and bundle her into the carriage. He thought of Veronique. How grateful she would be; she would smile upon him again; he would be in favour once more. Not only that, she had promised to pay him handsomely if he succeeded, more than enough to settle his gambling debts. He did not know how he had managed to lose so much, but it would have to be paid: it was a matter of honour.
The road levelled out and he allowed the horse to slacken its pace and glanced idly over his shoulder.
‘Damnation!’
Just coming into view behind him was a curricle, thundering along at breakneck speed.
Chapter Thirteen
‘There they are!’
Juliana’s cry was unnecessary; she knew Major Collingham had seen the cabriolet as soon as they crested the rise on to a long straight. It was about half a mile ahead of them.
‘He’s stopping.’
‘No,’ said the Major, his eyes fixed on his quarry, ‘he’s picking up speed again. He has seen us.’
Juliana looked at her companion. His face was impassive, the hands on the reins were quite steady, his eyes fixed on the carriage ahead of them. It soothed her frayed nerves to see him so calm.
‘How far will he go?’ she asked.
‘I have no idea, but he won’t escape me now. I’ve a pair to his one horse, we shall soon catch him.’
The harsh note in his voice made her shiver.
The cabriolet turned off the road and was lost to sight. Juliana said nothing, but she held her breath as the Major raced to the turning, barely checking his horses
as he swung into the lane. She saw the cabriolet briefly before it was hidden by a bend in the road. They were racing along through an avenue of trees, with hedges and fields on both sides, permitting them only occasional glimpses of their quarry. The distance was closing, but slowly. Juliana glanced at the Major.
‘You have just driven back from Congleton,’ she murmured. ‘Your team must be tired.’
‘They’ll do,’ he said shortly.
‘Don’t you worry, miss,’ said Fewell from his perch on the back of the curricle, ‘This team would run all day if you’d let ’em.’
The clouds that had been gathering during the afternoon had blotted out the sun, and beneath the canopy of the trees the lane was damp and rutted. The Major held his team together, setting a cracking pace. Juliana kept her eyes fixed on the vehicle in front, wanting only to reach Wilhelmina and find her safe. Occasionally she saw the child’s head appear over the back of the chaise. Juliana closed her eyes and prayed that she would not panic and jump out.
‘Now we’ve got him!’
Juliana opened her eyes. Ahead of them, a herd of milch cows were making their leisurely way in the same direction, and effectively blocking the lane. The carriage slowed and she saw the driver standing up, gesticulating towards the farmer’s boy who was following the cows. She almost laughed to see the boy staring up at Leeson, and even from a distance his stance showed that he was not intimidated by the raging figure demanding that he move his animals to one side.
‘He’ll never get by!’ she muttered, her voice breaking.
‘No, he’s going to try to cross the field,’ muttered the Major. ‘The fool, he’s likely to be overturned, if he doesn’t break the axle first.’
Juliana watched in horror as the carriage lurched on across the field, coming to a halt by the wall on the far side. Leeson jumped down, pulled Wilhelmina from the chaise and set off across the fields.
‘Now what is he doing?’ she said, her throat tight with fear. ‘Why is he taking Minna?’
The Major pulled a deadly-looking pistol from its holster.
‘Because he knows I cannot shoot him while he has her so close. He must be heading for the moors. I’ll follow him on foot, it will be as quick as trying to drive.’
The curricle came to a stand by the gap in the hedge. Juliana climbed down even as the horses were plunging in their harness.
‘I’m coming with you. Fewell can stay with the horses.’
‘Then you must keep up with me. I will not wait for you.’
Leeson was running up the hill towards the ridge, dragging Wilhelmina with him. Juliana followed Major Collingham into the field. The ground was wet and the mud clung to Juliana’s soft kid boots. The crop, whatever it should have been, was stunted and sodden and she lifted her skirts to prevent them from getting too wet as she struggled to keep pace with the Major. He was striding across the ground, his eyes fixed upon his quarry. Juliana was out of breath by the time they reached the stile into the next field. Major Collingham helped her across and took her hand.
‘Come on, we must hurry.’
He moved off and Juliana was forced to run to keep up with him, but she did not complain, her whole attention fixed on the fleeing man in front of them. Grey clouds moved across the sky, and a breeze had sprung up, cooling Juliana’s hot cheeks. When Major Collingham slowed, she looked at him anxiously.
‘I have no idea what’s on the far side of the ridge,’ he said, pulling the pistol from his pocket. ‘I will not lose him.’
Juliana shivered.
‘But what of Minna?’
His lips drew into a thin line.
‘I will not hit her.’
He took careful aim. The shot rang out across the fields, sending the rooks flying from the trees behind them.
‘He’s hit!’ cried Juliana. ‘He stumbled. You have winged him.’
‘Aye—if Minna had not been so close, I would have aimed to kill him.’
The Major dropped the pistol back into his pocket and began to run, leaving Juliana to follow. She caught up with him again on top of the ridge. A low wall separated the field from rough land that stretched away for miles in every direction.
‘He’s heading across the moors,’ said Damon. ‘There’s no cover for him amongst the bracken—he will not get away. Come on.’
He helped her over the wall and they set off again. Leeson was following a sheep track through the bracken. He had thrown Wilhelmina over his shoulder and was running and stumbling along in the distance.
‘I should have gone back for a horse,’ muttered the Major. ‘I could run him down.’
‘But we are gaining on him,’ panted Juliana.
They continued at a steady pace across the bleak landscape. The sun made an occasional appearance between the heavy clouds, each time a little lower in the western sky. The moors stretched out around them, not a sign of a building and only the mournful cry of birds to be heard on the wind. Juliana’s world had become one vast, desolate expanse of heather and bracken, her only goal the figure of Charles Leeson trudging tirelessly onwards before them.
‘There’s a small copse down there,’ said Damon at last. ‘He is heading for cover, but we can catch him before he reaches it.’
He quickened his pace, dragging Juliana with him and gaining on Leeson with every step. They were heading towards the trees, which filled a small, sheltered hollow in the land. They were only yards from the edge of the woodland when the Major shouted out. ‘You will not reach the trees, Leeson. Stop now, and let the child go.’
Leeson turned, lowering Wilhelmina from his shoulder and pinning her in front of him. He drew out a small silver-mounted pistol and held it to her head.
‘If you come any closer, I’ll shoot her!’ he cried, his voice quivering with a mixture of fear, exhaustion and panic.
The Major stopped. ‘Put that down, lad. You know you do not want to harm the child.’
‘I—I will if you come nearer.’
Juliana put her fist to her mouth to prevent herself from crying out. She marvelled at the Major’s control and his calm, reasonable tone.
‘Then I will stay here,’ he said. ‘Will you tell me what this is about, Charles?’
‘I c-can’t.’ Leeson’s voice quivered.
‘Let the child go, lad, and we can talk this out. Your arm is bleeding. Let me bind it up for you.’
‘Too late!’ Leeson shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, the pistol shaking dangerously. ‘It’s all up with me now.’
‘If that’s true, then what good would it do to harm Minna?’ Damon took another step forward, holding out his hand. ‘Give me the pistol. Let me help you.’
Leeson shook his head, looking down at Wilhelmina.
‘No one can help me now. I’m ruined. I’m…Damn you all to hell!’
With an anguished cry he pushed Wilhelmina away from him, turned on his heel and dashed for the trees. Juliana rushed forward to Minna, who was shaking uncontrollably. She saw the Major running past her and reached out for him.
‘Where are you going?’
He stopped. ‘To kill him.’
‘No! Damon—no, please. He is armed, he might kill you.’
‘Let him try.’
Her fingers clawed at his sleeve. ‘No, you must not—we need you here, Damon, please.’ Her voice sank to a desperate whisper. ‘Please don’t leave us.’
She saw the tightening of his jaw. His eyes narrowed as he watched Leeson disappear into the woods.
‘You are right, of course,’ he muttered, ‘But he won’t get far, I promise you I’ll find him one day.’ He looked at Wilhelmina, who was clinging tightly to Juliana. ‘How is she?’
‘Very frightened, but unhurt, I think. As is Lady Arabella,’ added Juliana, glancing at the doll that Minna was hugging to her. She knelt down and said quietly, ‘Can you tell us what happened, dear?’
Wilhelmina laid her head on Juliana’s shoulder.
‘Lady Arabella and I were playing on
the rug when the man stopped and said hello.’
‘And Nurse was asleep?’ put in the Major.
‘Yes.’ She hiccupped. ‘He—he climbed over the wall and picked me up and threw me into his carriage.’ She looked up. ‘I banged my head.’
‘Did you, my dear? Let me see.’ Juliana gently kissed her forehead. ‘You will have a bruise there, I think. Poor Minna.’
‘What happened then?’ asked Damon.
‘He drove off and held me so that I couldn’t get out. Lady Arabella was very frightened.’
‘It was fortunate she had you to comfort her,’ responded Juliana. Wilhelmina’s head dropped back on her shoulder. Juliana looked up. ‘We must get back, Major. She is very tired.’
‘We will have the doctor look at her as soon as we get back to the inn.’ He reached out. ‘Here, let me take her, she is too heavy for you.’
She looked anxiously over her shoulder.
‘And Leeson? What—what if he should come back?’
‘I don’t think he will. Leeson is no killer, he panicked. But you must walk ahead of me, just in case. My body will shield you both.’
The walk away from the woods was an ordeal. Juliana looked repeatedly over her shoulder and wanted to run, afraid at any minute that a figure would break from the cover of the trees and take aim at them. The thought that any bullet was most likely to hit the Major did not comfort her at all.
‘We are safe now, Ju,’ Damon said at last. ‘He could not hit us from this distance even if he wished to do so.’
She gave a long, ragged sigh.
‘I hope you are not going to faint on me,’ he remarked, striding on.
‘Of course not,’ she flashed.
‘I’m glad to hear it. I should be obliged to leave you here if you did.’
She managed a shaky laugh and looked up to find him smiling at her.
‘I’m glad you are here, Ju.’
She felt herself blushing, inordinately pleased.
‘Yes, well,’ she said gruffly, ‘I shall be glad to get back to the inn and out of these muddy clothes.’
Major Collingham stopped. ‘Unfortunately I am not sure when that will be.’
More Than a Governess Page 11
