The Wicked and Wonderful Miss Merlin

by Anne Herries

  ‘Perhaps more important is that you are alive,’ Samantha said. ‘You were lucky that Toby followed you, Robert.’

  ‘Yes, I may owe my life to you,’ Robert said and frowned. ‘Did you happen to see the rogue’s face?’

  ‘He had his back to me for he was standing over you. I did not see his face well enough to know him again – but he had flame red hair.’

  ‘Red hair?’ Robert pressed a hand to his temple. The skin had hardly been cut on his cheek but he would have a nasty bruise on his temple when it came out. ‘The blow to my head knocked me right out and I saw nothing. I shall report this to the magistrate for a rogue like that is a danger to the neighbourhood.’

  Gingerly, he sat up, though he did not immediately attempt to rise and Samantha, who had risen from her knees and sat on a chair close by, guessed that he still felt dizzy.

  ‘Do you think he attacked you at random?’ she asked. ‘Or were you his intended victim?’

  ‘I do not see how I could be…’ Robert grimaced. ‘How could anyone know that I would return home after visiting John Masters? I might have gone through the village or…No, I think it must have been a random attack. What makes you think the rogue was lying in wait for me?’

  ‘I wondered…’ She hesitated, then, ‘Last night, after I went to bed, I stood looking out at the garden for a while. My curtains were half drawn and I do not think he could have seen me…besides, he was looking at a window beyond mine.’

  ‘You saw someone watching the house last night?’

  ‘I was not sure if it was a servant or you…and yet there was something not quite right. I felt he was brooding, almost sinister but then I decided that it was my imagination.’

  ‘Do you have an enemy, Robert?’ Eleanor asked and looked frightened.

  ‘If I have I do not know him,’ Robert replied. ‘No, no, I am sure it was a random attack, a rogue looking for anyone who might have valuables or money in his pockets. I shall set more keepers to patrolling the woods. They are partly on my estate but a part of the woods belongs to…Sir Michael Fenton. I shall have to make him aware that there may be a desperate villain in the woods, for he could be at risk from attack himself.’

  ‘You will not ride out again today,’ Samantha said. ‘You should go to bed until the doctor has examined you, Robert. Toby suffered from a blow to the head for some weeks. You do not know what harm it may cause.’

  ‘I shall certainly rest this afternoon,’ Robert agreed. ‘But a letter may be taken to Sir Michael for I should not wish to neglect my duty towards a friend and neighbour.’

  Samantha ordered that tea and brandy be brought into the parlour and they persuaded Robert to take a little of each. The doctor had arrived by then and they left them alone together.

  ‘Do you think Robert has an enemy?’ Eleanor said as the three of them repaired to the dining room and made a selection from the cold dishes.

  ‘I dare say your brother is right,’ she replied. ‘But…I did see someone looking at the house last night…at the room just along from mine.’

  ‘That is Robert’s room,’ Eleanor said and looked anxious again. ‘Do you think the rogue would have killed him, Toby – had you not arrived when you did?’

  ‘I am certain of it,’ Toby said. ‘It may have been a random attack, as Robert says – but I think it may well have been intentional. Whoever did it must know the route Robert prefers when visiting his tenants and possibly lay in wait in the hope he would ride that way.’

  ‘I should not like anything to happen to him,’ Eleanor said. ‘Who could hate him so much? Do you think he has quarrelled with someone?’

  ‘He may have done so,’ Samantha said. ‘Yet why should they attack him now – what has changed? We must keep an open mind, but we must also be vigilant. Toby, could you arrange to go riding with Robert for the next few days…in such a way that he does not know we are watching over him?’

  ‘I shall ask him to show me the estate,’ Toby said, ‘but I fear he may decide to go off alone if the fancy takes him. He is not a fool and will know if we show our concern too openly.’

  ‘Perhaps it will not happen again,’ Eleanor said. ‘Whoever it was has probably taken fright and run off by now.’

  ‘We must hope so,’ Samantha said, but she could not help feeling that Robert had narrowly escaped death and that it had something to do with the man who had been watching the house the previous night. However, she did not wish to distress Eleanor and spoil this happy time for her and the subject was dropped.

  Robert was feeling well enough to dine with them that evening and the next morning insisted on going riding. Toby begged to be shown the estate and so the two men went out together, leaving Eleanor and Samantha together. It was about eleven o’clock when they had a visitor. Sir Michael Fenton asked for Robert but when told he was from home asked to speak to the ladies. After they were consulted he was shown into their parlour. A handsome man of some forty-odd years, he smiled at them and begged their pardon for calling at such an early hour.

  ‘I had hoped to speak with Lord Brough,’ he said. ‘This business of the poacher is distressing. Something must be done to bring him to justice.’

  ‘You think it is a poacher, sir?’ Samantha said. ‘Has he caused trouble here before?’

  ‘I was told the perpetrator had red hair?’ She nodded and he looked grim. ‘I think the man is Sam Harding – the veriest rogue I ever had dealings with, Miss Merlin. I had him arrested for poaching a year ago and he has only recently been released from prison. Poaching was always his game in the past but if he has turned to robbing and bodily harm he must be hung. Prison did not deter him and we shall not be so lenient next time.’

  ‘He has red hair?’ Samantha asked and looked thoughtful as he agreed. The man she’d seen in a patch of moonlight had had dark hair, though she had not seen his features clearly. However, she would keep that to herself.

  ‘If he is the culprit he should be punished,’ she agreed and shivered, for if Toby had not been so quick upon the scene Robert might have died. Yet there was something too neat in all this…as though it had been rehearsed and planned…but now she was letting her imagination run riot again.

  ‘You may tell Lord Brough that I shall put a reward up for his capture and hopefully that will end it,’ Sir Michael said. ‘While I am here, may I extend an invitation to dine with me at the end of next week?’

  ‘We should have been delighted,’ Eleanor said, ‘but we shall be in Bath by then. We are all going down at the beginning of the week.’

  ‘And how long will you stay?’

  ‘Oh, three or four weeks,’ Eleanor replied and blushed prettily. ‘My engagement will be announced while we are there – and then I may go to stay with Toby’s parents for a week or two. We hope to be wed at Christmas.’

  ‘May I be the first to congratulate you both,’ he said. ‘The young man is the gentleman who came to Lord Brough’s assistance I believe?’

  ‘Yes – Mr Toby Brockleton,’ Eleanor said happily. ‘Do you know him?’

  ‘No, but I had heard he was staying here. It was not certain but there were whispers that you might be engaged.’

  ‘Oh…’ Eleanor shook her head. ‘It has been a secret until now but I suppose these things get out…’

  Sir Michael said everything that was pleasant and then took his leave. He would be busy for a few days so could not call on Robert again but would do so after he returned from Bath and hoped to have news of Sam Harding’s arrest.

  After he had gone, Eleanor was silent for a while, then, ‘I’ve never liked him,’ she said, surprising Samantha. Papa had him to dine sometimes and he always made me feel creepy. It’s the way he looks at you…’ She shivered. ‘I know you shouldn’t make judgements but…something was wrong.’

  ‘Yes, it was,’ Samantha agreed. ‘I do not see how he could have heard of your engagement before you told him. We had not announced it and no one was certain until the other night…unless Robert spoke of it
to his tenants.’

  ‘He may have done so,’ Eleanor said. ‘How can he be so sure that this Sam Harding is to blame? Just because he has red hair?’

  ‘I thought the same.’ Samantha frowned, but they were interrupted by the arrival of the gentlemen.

  ‘I saw Sir Michael leaving,’ Robert said as he went to stand by the fireplace. Toby had sat on the sofa next to Eleanor and was smiling at her. ‘Did he get my letter?’

  ‘It was the reason he called,’ Samantha said. ‘Apparently, there is a notorious poacher with red hair who may have been responsible for setting that trap for you.'

  ‘Sam Harding? Never,’ Robert said and shook his head. ‘I knew his family. I helped him when their father died, gave his sister a cottage when she married and let Sam off when I caught him poaching. He would never try to kill me in a million years.’

  ‘Toby did see someone with red hair…’

  ‘Yes, that is what puzzled me. I cannot believe that Sam would take to robbery and murder. He is a poacher and I’ve reasoned with him a few times. I promised him a job as a keeper if he would give up the life and he told me he would try to go straight – and that’s no more than six weeks ago. Why would he want to murder me when I’ve just had his cottage repaired for him?’

  ‘He would not,’ Samantha agreed. ‘You should tell Sir Michael. He is planning to have Harding arrested and says he will hang this time.’

  ‘That he will not,’ Robert frowned. ‘I quarrelled with Sir Michael and a couple of other landowners over this when I came home from the army. Persistent poaching must be punished, of course, but prison is enough. Most of them are only men struggling to get a living for their family. We need to provide them with regular work and then it will stop. I have been considering setting up a sawmill and some workshops – perhaps a fund for helping men to learn new trades. I am sure that is the way forward.’

  ‘Do you think you may have upset some of the other landowners?’

  Robert frowned and ran long fingers through his hair. ‘I have considered it, but we parted on amicable terms. Most of them thought it was worth giving my ideas a trial…though a couple were doubtful it would work.’

  ‘Was Sir Michael one of the doubters?’

  ‘Yes…but…’ Robert’s gaze narrowed. ‘No, he would not play such a trick, Samantha. Besides, he has dark hair…’

  ‘He might have put someone up to it – and there are such things as wigs. Red hair is very distinctive, especially as Toby did not see the rogue’s face.’

  ‘Murder me because of a disagreement over the way to treat poachers?’ he shook his head. ‘I cannot think it – either it was a random attack by some rogue I do not know…or there must be a better reason. If someone hates me enough to attempt my murder he must have good cause…’ He frowned and looked thoughtful.

  ‘You have thought of something?’

  ‘I am not sure…’ Robert shook his head. ‘There is something at the back of my mind…something to do with Marianne, but I cannot recall it. No, I do not think it. I am sure it was just a chance attack, because I happened to ride home that way.’

  ‘Is there another way from the farm you visited?’

  ‘Yes, but John told me the bridge was down and waiting for repair…No, at that time it was the only way.’

  ‘So it is possible that someone might have seen you at the farm and known that the only way you could go was through the wood?’

  ‘It is possible,’ Robert admitted. He glanced at Toby and Eleanor. ‘But no more of this to them. I would not spoil things for them.’

  ‘No, of course not,’ she agreed. ‘Whoever it is will wait for a while before making another attempt – and next week we shall be in Bath.’

  ‘Yes. Besides, I am sure it is all nonsense…’

  Samantha said no more. She suspected that Sir Michael had come here today for reasons other than he’d given, but she could not say why she had taken an instant dislike to him. If Robert did not know why anyone should hate him enough to kill him, how could she? And yet she was certain that he did have an enemy – and perhaps one that he knew well.

  Chapter Nine

  The next two days passed without incident. In the mornings Eleanor and Samantha got out decorative lanterns and other ornaments that had been stored in the attics and with a footman’s help strung them in the courtyard to give it a festive air. After luncheon, which they shared with Robert and Toby, they walked in the gardens or read poetry in the summerhouse. One or two of their neighbours called and were invited to tea, giving invitations of their own. They were told of the intention to visit Bath and spoke of their disappointment that they could not continue the acquaintance with Samantha until Eleanor said that she would be there for her wedding at Christmas. They departed, leaving invitations for her to dine when next she visited.

  Samantha was surprised at the warmth of the welcome she was given and rather sad that she might not visit the house often in future, though she would be at Eleanor’s wedding, of course.

  The tenants’ supper was an instant success. Several tables had been set up in the courtyard under huge awnings that would keep away a sudden shower, though the weather seemed to be set fair and the evening was warm. The servants had been cooking all day and the food served was of the finest available. Besides, large roasts of beef, pork and ham, there were capons and an array of pastries, savoury pies, a baked carp in pastry and a whole fresh salmon, sweet tartlets, jellies, bread, butter, pickles, cold peas and vegetables set in aspic. To accompany this Robert had provided two barrels of ale, lemonade and fruit drinks for the ladies and wine.

  His tenants were a broad mixture of men and women, some of the lesser gentry and others of a more common stock, but all good-natured, happy folk and pleased to be invited to such a celebration supper. They spoke of it being a good day for the estate when Robert returned from the army, and news of Eleanor’s impending engagement having got round, they all lifted their glasses to toast her and wish her and Toby well.

  After they had eaten their fill, two of the older men got out their fiddles and began to play a merry jig. Immediately, the children and young people jumped up and began to dance, one of the popular country-dances that had been a part of these suppers for centuries and could be danced by anyone.

  Samantha sat and watched, entranced by the scene of happy, laughing people. She felt a part of something that felt good and familiar and recalled something similar when she had been very young and staying with her grandparents. These suppers were not now held on every estate, for many landowners seldom visited their country houses, but it was a wonderful tradition and she felt privileged to have been a part of it this night.

  ‘Will you dance with me, Samantha?’

  She had not been aware of him and jumped a little, turning to look up at Robert as he held out his hand to her. Taking it, her heart skipped a beat as she went into his arms. Then he was whirling her into the midst of the merry group of dancers, round and round to the music that seemed to go faster and faster, as if to test the mettle of the dancers. Robert held her and they went on and on until they were the last dancing and then everyone started to clap their hands and nod their heads in approval.

  Laughing, Robert took her hand and drew her back to where the wine and drinks were being served, taking two glasses of cool lemonade and giving one to her.

  ‘I have not enjoyed myself so much since I was a child,’ he said. ‘I had forgot that the fiddlers would play faster and faster once I joined the dance. It is an old joke they play on the master.’

  ‘It was wonderful,’ Samantha said, her eyes glowing. ‘I have never danced like that.’ Nor felt so alive as she’d felt in his arms. ‘Excuse me, I must go in and tidy myself.’

  ‘I shall come with you,’ he said. ‘We need more ale. I must arrange it.’

  They walked into the house together. Samantha went up to her room. She splashed her face with cold water and patted it dry, then brushed her hair.

  Leaving her room t
o go back to the party, she saw Robert coming out of a door just along the hall. She had not realised his room was quite so close to hers and felt a little shy as he came up to her.

  ‘Ready for more?’ he asked and held out his hand to her. Nodding wordlessly, she caught her breath as he drew her close and began to waltz her along the landing. ‘Samantha…’ he breathed as he stopped abruptly and then lowered his head to kiss her on the lips. ‘You are so beautiful. Forgive me. I have wanted to do this for so long…’

  His kiss deepened, his tongue entering her parted lips to touch and taste her. Instead of pulling away, as perhaps she ought, she leaned into him, feeling herself melt into him, become one with him, as his kiss took her on a flight of sweet desire and she heard the haunting music she had sometimes heard when visiting the wishing well. When at last he let her go, she felt her head spinning with happiness.

  ‘I should not have done that,’ he said, ‘but you must have felt…you must know that I have felt attracted to you for some time?’

  ‘I was not sure,’ she breathed, her heart slamming against the walls of her chest. ‘I thought perhaps you might like me quite well?’

  ‘I believe it is more than mere liking,’ he replied and smiled down at her. ‘I believe it may be love – and I hope that you may feel some warmth towards me?’ She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. ‘I am thinking that when Eleanor is engaged we might consider some similar arrangement for ourselves. You do not yet know me well enough…but may I hope that you might consider being my wife one day?’

  ‘I shall happily consider it,’ Samantha said, finding her voice at last. ‘But this is Eleanor’s time. We must allow her to shine and wait a little while.’

  ‘You think as I do,’ he said and smiled. ‘We shall go on with our plans as we agreed, but I shall hope that soon we may have an announcement of our own.’

  ‘It would make me happy to think that might happen,’ she said. ‘If you are sure…I am not sure that you quite approve of me, Robert. I do have a wishing well and I do visit it sometimes. Perhaps I am a little wicked…’