“That fat fool put both our lives in danger,” Thomas muttered, striding to his horse, tied patiently to the rail outside the inn.
Mounting up, he cantered out of the village toward the Bizarre Arcana and reined in at the edge of the narrow strip of forest than ran between the Earl of Rochester’s fields. No people lined up to pay their fees and enter the tents, and a chain with a white sign blocked the way in. Thomas smiled grimly. “Your foolishness is costing you, fat man,” he said. “I like it.”
Movement on the fields caught his attention. Two men strode across the fallow dirt toward the north where Thomas knew Rochester’s big manor house was. He thought that one of them men was the gorilla Hill paid to guard his tent flap, but he couldn’t be sure. “So you think Rochester has her, do you, fat man?”
This was an interesting turn of events. Reining his horse northwards, he paralleled the men as they turned down a dirt lane, still walking the few miles to the manor, with Thomas’s hopes brightening slightly. While he doubted Rochester would take the girl in, he could envision her hiding within his barns and outbuildings. His master informed him she could not tolerate sunlight, thus she would remain in hiding while Rochester’s servants performed their duties, and come out while everyone was asleep to find food.
“You think the Earl will let them search his premises?” Thomas chuckled to himself. “You’re a bigger fool than I thought you were.”
Not truly caring if the goons witnessed him trailing them, he did worry what Rochester might do if he was seen. He doubted Rochester would recognize him, as the one time they had met was a very long time ago. Still, a lone rider watching his estates would no doubt raise suspicions.
Dismounting, Thomas tied his gelding in a small grove of trees just northwest of the manor house. The Earl’s tilled fields had ended, and now he crossed, on foot, the pastures where Rochester’s sheep and cattle grazed. Stone walls concealed him as he made his way toward the center of the estate, still keeping a watchful eye on the pair of men approaching the many structures that comprised the house: the stables, the barns, the coach house, as well as numerous sheds and outbuildings.
Crouching behind a wall, Thomas peered over it, observing the activity a short distance away. Grooms halted the horses they exercised in the stable yard, watching the two men enter their domain. Three men emerged from one of the stable blocks, and Thomas immediately knew one of them was Rochester. He wore, like Thomas himself, a jacket, cravat and waistcoat, his hair was pulled back behind his neck. “You won’t let them enter, will you, Rochester?” Thomas murmured. “You won’t let them search your place for the wench. But that doesn’t mean I cannot.”
Chapter 9
Watching the pair of thugs approach, Archie knew immediately why they were there. Standing outside the stallions’ stable with Norris at his side and William behind him, he was not overly concerned for his safety. However, if they suspected Cornelia to be on the premises, he knew they would not be easily dissuaded. “What means this?” he asked the pair as they approached and offered him perfunctory bows. He deliberately kept his voice even and slightly curious as he studied them. “Who might you be?”
“My Lord,” said the big man on the right, his eyes as cold as any Archie had ever seen before. “My name is Felix and this is my partner, Maurice.”
“What might I do for you gentlemen?”
“We are in the employ of Baron Barrett Hill,” Felix continued, his face turning this way and that as he took in his surroundings. “One of his wards is missing, and he sent us to inquire if you had seen her.”
Archie’s brow rose. “His ward?”
“Indeed, My Lord,” Felix continued, still disrespectfully glancing around, and raising Archie’s irritation level.
“You will look at me as you speak, sir,” Archie snapped. “What do you want?”
Felix lazily returned his icy gaze to Archie while Maurice stared at Archie’s face as though waiting for a cue to attack him. Try it, boyo, and you’ll have every groom in the vicinity piled on top of you. “Our master is respectfully asking for your permission for us to search your buildings and grounds for his beloved ward.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Do you have something to hide, My Lord?” Felix asked, his tone soft, dangerous.
Archie tensed, his irritation rising into full blown anger. “Leave now,” he growled. “Get off my lands, this instant, or you will be chained and handed over to the local constables. And tell your master, Mr. Hill, that he is to remove his circus from my property by tomorrow morning or else face the consequences of trespassing.”
“Are you revoking your permission for him to be here?”
Archie stepped forward until he was nose to nose with the arrogant, insufferable boor. “I am. If I catch him anywhere on my lands after tomorrow, he and everyone in his little circus will be arrested. And that includes you. Now get out of here before I have you both thrown out.”
Felix dipped his chin once in a nod, not even close to a bow. “You are making a mistake, My Lord, by spurning Baron Hill’s friendship.”
“You, dear boy, are making a greater one by remaining in my face. I would not be above the law by shooting you where you stand for making threats against my person. Go before you really make me angry.”
Neither of them bowed before turning on their heels to stalk away. Archie watched them go until they vanished from sight down the lane between his fields and pastures toward Hill’s circus. “They will be back,” he said, diffusing his rage with a deep breath.
“Yes, they will,” Norris replied. “Under the cover of darkness. What do you want done?”
“Organize the grooms into six-man teams,” Archie replied, still gazing over his fields. “They patrol the stable grounds and coach house in pairs. No one should be out alone. You arm yourself, Norris, a pistol and a blunderbuss both.”
“Are you really expecting that much trouble?” Norris asked.
“Right now, I don’t know what to expect,” Archie answered. “But those lunks are familiar with violence and won’t hesitate to harm or kill someone. They suspect Miss Hill is here, and they will tear the place apart to find her.”
Norris frowned. “Why are they so interested in one woman with her coloring? Surely Hill isn’t making that much money off her presence in his circus.”
“He sold her,” Archie replied, his tone dry. “For two thousand quid.”
“Oh. And if she is gone, he won’t get his money.”
“Or if he’s been paid already, and can’t deliver Miss Hill, then he may be in serious trouble with whomever he sold her to.”
Rubbing his chin, Norris went on thoughtfully. “Then if he’s that desperate to locate her that he sent violent goons here, he’s more frightened of the buyer than he is you.”
“It would seem so.”
“M’lord, Miss Hill is in serious danger from not just Hill but from whoever bought her.”
“Yes, indeed. Thus, I plan to arm Latham as well as myself, and organize the footmen into patrolling the house and its grounds as well as the stables. Neither of them will get his hands on her.”
“You like her.” Norris lips quirked. “You like her a lot.”
“Aren’t you the perceptive one?”
“I’m with you, m’lord,” Norris said with a quick salute. “Miss Hill will be protected, you have my word on it.”
Archie grinned. “I knew I’d have your support. But I need to get to Latham and Miss Hill. I gave her permission to visit the stables and now I must revoke it. She must remain within the confines of the house.”
“I heard about the little fracas surrounding her this morning.” Norris’s lips widened. “How she took down a footman more than twice her size.”
“That got around fast,” Archie observed. “Yes, she handled herself well, but she is no match for a pair like that.”
“You might be interested to know that among the grooms, at least, she is admired for her spunk.”
“
I am glad to hear it.” Archie gave his old friend a light punch on his arm. “Get the grooms organized, then come fetch your weapons.”
“I will, m’lord.”
As he strode quickly back to the house across the neatly trimmed lawn, Archie hoped Cornelia would obey his request to remain indoors. He didn’t know her truly well, but he did recognize that she had an independent and stubborn streak that ran straight up her back. If she felt the need to go outside, she would, even if meant sneaking out.
Once inside, he sent a footman to fetch Mrs. Cates to the library, then walked down the hallway, past its door to Latham’s office. Fortunately, his steward was inside, working on reports, as he opened the door. Latham glanced up in surprise, then rose and bowed.
“I need you,” Archie said tersely. “Come with me to see Miss Hill.”
“Is there a problem?”
“A big one.” Archie led the way back down the polished corridor, then stood outside as they waited for Mrs. Cates to arrive. “Miss Hill’s former master is searching high and low for her. He sent a pair of thugs to ask about her, and I know they’ll be back.”
“We need to form a guard on the house and grounds,” Latham responded immediately, his light green eyes narrowed.
“Already begun. Norris will soon be here for a blunderbuss as well as a pistol, and is organizing the grooms into patrols. You will also arm yourself, Latham, and set the footmen to patrolling the house and grounds, inside it as well as out.”
“They should patrol in groups of two or three,” Latham commented. “In case there is trouble.”
“I agree. And already put into place at the stables. I am going to ask Miss Hill to remain indoors until things are safer for her.”
“All the more reason I should teach her those nasty tricks we spoke about.”
Mrs. Cates hustled down the hallway toward them, and curtsied. “My apologies, My Lord. I was all the way upstairs when I got your summons.”
“Quite all right,” Archie replied, feeling grateful that she cared for Cornelia enough to keep quiet about the things she would hear as her chaperone. “I need your attendance once again.”
“Of course, of course.”
Mrs. Cates opened the door to the library, and spoke. “His Lordship wishes to see you, Miss Hill.”
Cornelia rose from her desk to curtsy, her pale lavender eyes changing from welcome to worry when Latham entered behind Archie. “My Lord?”
Archie stood across from her, his hands behind his back. “What do you know of two men from the Arcana? Felix and Maurice.”
“Oh, no.” Cornelia covered her lips with her fingers, her eyes wide with dismay. “They were here, were they not? Looking for me?”
“Yes, they were. Your reaction is telling me that these men are no strangers to violence and you fear them.”
“They are to be feared. Felix, it has been rumored, is a murderer. It’s no secret amid the circus staff that Barrett has little compunction about ordering him to kill. Maurice has an even more dangerous reputation.”
Archie studied her, liking that she remained composed even when faced with the news she was being hunted by Hill’s dark hounds. “What would that be?”
“Maurice never talks, at least not that anyone I know has heard,” Cornelia went on, “so his accent is difficult to verify. It is said that he is a former soldier of Napoleon who was used to torture prisoners taken in the war in France. It is spoken that he went too far, and began tormenting and murdering Napoleon’s own troops as well as the enemy. Barrett once boasted he employed Napoleon’s chief interrogator as his bodyguard, and that he fled France one step ahead of the executioners.”
Archie felt his gut drop to his knees. “A professional inquisitor and torturer? The man is mad to employ such a creature.”
Cornelia shrugged, her violet eyes on his. “Barrett claims that Maurice owes him his life and would never turn on him. Yet, we all know what happens if anyone crosses Barrett.”
“And now that monster is hunting you.”
“Barrett must be desperate to find me.” Cornelia clasped her hands in front of her. “I am putting you and everyone on your estate at risk, My Lord. Permit me to leave here. I do not want someone here harmed because of me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You have nowhere to go, and I swore I would protect you.”
“But you also did not know about Barrett’s creatures. I should have warned you to expect them. They will kill anyone Barrett tells them to, even you.”
Archie chuckled. “You think we are helpless, Miss Hill? Mr. North is equally dangerous, and fought in the same war as Maurice. He is a crack shot, and has won various medals for heroism and courage under fire. He will still teach you skills for close combat, and now I want him teaching you more than ever.”
“I suppose I will need them.” Cornelia still gazed at him. “But all that would not be necessary if I left your home. Let it be known I am no longer here, and no one need be placed in danger.”
“Except you.” Archie shook his head. “No. And do not even think to run off as you did from Barrett in a vain attempt to save everyone here, Miss Hill.”
She smiled. “You know me.”
“I’m getting better at knowing you. Now I would also, regretfully, ask that you not venture to the stables as I had said you could. I am under the impression from those thugs that they believe you are hiding in my stables or barns.”
“I will remain indoors, My Lord.”
“Hopefully, none of this is necessary, and Hill will pack up his circus and count his blessings he isn’t charged with trespassing.”
“You told him to leave?”
“I did.”
“That will certainly make things more difficult for him to find me,” she replied, reflective. “But know that he will not give up. He has far too much to lose.”
“I am beginning to see that. I would have you begin lessons under Mr. North this evening in the solar upstairs, with Mrs. Cates as a chaperone. Mrs. Cates, I trust none of this information passes your lips.”
She stared at him, affronted. “Certainly not, My Lord.”
Archie grinned. “Take your meals in your private quarters, Miss Hill, if you wish, away from the staff for the time being.”
Cornelia nodded. “I will, if that is your wish.”
“Mrs. Cates will make sure a maid feeds you. Now Mr. North and I must see to our defenses. Until later, Miss Hill.”
“Yes, My Lord. Until then.”
* * *
Sitting back down at her desk, alone once more, Cornelia let her dismay and fears wash over and through her. Surely Barrett isn’t mad enough to dare to kill a peer of the realm. She then realized how foolish that thought was. Barrett, while not having a drop of noble blood in him, thought himself equal to any man in England save the King and the Prince Regent. His greed, his terrifying need for recognition, would fuel him into exactly that – daring him to send Felix and Maurice here to kill Archie.
“Why will you not let me leave, Archie?” she murmured, her fears for him rising. “I cannot sit here while Barrett sends those two to force you to tell them where I am.”
Finding some comfort in Mr. North’s loyalty to the Earl, Cornelia tried once again to focus on her learning, but the vision of Maurice torturing Archie constantly interfered. Closing the book, she rose from the desk to pace to the window, staring out over the rolling purple and green moors. She was sorely tempted to inform Archie that she would surrender herself to Barrett, and thus the man who paid such a high sum for her. But Cornelia knew that doing that meant she was sentencing herself to a short life of torment.
“He will kill me,” she murmured, suppressing a shiver. “Should I enter that situation anyhow, knowing that Archie’s life as well as others are saved? Or trust in the men here who will protect him from Barrett, or this buyer?”
“Trust in His Lordship, dear.”
Cornelia spun around. Mrs. Cates had entered the library without her hearing the door
open. “Mrs. Cates.”
The head housekeeper frowned. “Do not lose faith in our master, Miss Hill. He has many good men here, Mr. North is but one of them. You surrender yourself, and you will sentence yourself to great harm, but what will that do to His Lordship? He will be devastated.”
Cornelia looked away. “I cannot be the cause of harm coming to him.”
“I am not blind, Miss Hill,” Mrs. Cates went on, closing the door behind her and stepping further into the room. “I see the way you two look at one another. It is none of my business, of course, what goes on between the both of you. But know this, young lady, I have not seen him this happy in a very long while.”
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