Lady Winterbourne's Entanglement: A Romantic Regency Adventure

by Miriam Rochester

  Jem looked up at all four men staring down at him. Andy took a large garden fork that he found lying on the ground and assisted Lord Lyndhurst to replace the soil. Jem stood there with fear in his eyes as the soil quickly mounted pinning his legs. He desperately clawed at it with his bare hands, but to no avail and he was buried to his waist before he capitulated. ‘Alright, alright, I will tell you where Captain Blackmore is staying, just stop shovelling,’ he begged desperately.

  Lord Lyndhurst paused. ‘Well?’

  ‘He is staying at the Black Bull in Boldon,’ Jem replied quickly, still digging furiously to free himself.

  Lord Lyndhurst did not trust him. ‘If I find that you are telling me lies, I shall return and put you back in that grave. It is not very often a man can say that he has dug his own grave, but rest assured, it will have your name on the headstone if I find out you have sent me on a wild goose chase. To be certain, we will escort you home and Andy will stay with you to ensure that you do not bolt. I will give you another chance. Are you sure he is staying at the Black Bull or would you like to change your mind?’

  Lord Lyndhurst looked like a man possessed, and Jem knew that to send him on a false errand would be fatal. He would just be delaying the inevitable if he tried to cross him. He conceded. ‘He is staying at the Ham in South Shields,’ he admitted wearily.

  The Earl looked at Nat and Daniel. ‘Free him,’ he instructed, ‘and we will escort him home.' He turned to Andy. ‘Will you be able to guard Jem until we return? I don’t want him out of your sight until I find Captain Blackmore.’

  Andy gave him a withering look. ‘Just because I have a bad leg does not mean that my wits have gone begging. Do not worry, Jem is going nowhere,’ he replied solemnly.

  South Shields was about six miles away and it had grown dark when Lord Lyndhurst, Nat and Daniel arrived at the Ham. The Inn stood on the banks of the Tyne. It had a secret tunnel that led straight up from the river into the cellars, and it was a popular haunt for free traders. Lord Lyndhurst did not have to enquire after Captain Blackmore for the gentleman in question was sitting in the tap, downing ale and chatting to the Landlord.

  Feeling a looming presence at his shoulder, Captain Blackmore turned around to find Lord Lyndhurst and two large men bearing down on him. He dared not move as he felt the barrel of a pistol digging into his side. Lord Lyndhurst growled. ‘Take me to Lady Winterbourne, if you know what is good for you,’ he demanded.

  Captain Blackmore was taken completely by surprise. He did not think that anyone would find him here. ‘What makes you think Lady Winterbourne is with me,’ he sneered viciously.

  The Landlord looked on in dismay. The last thing he wanted was trouble in his taproom. He looked across at Lord Lyndhurst. ‘Now look here, sir.’ he asserted. ‘There is no Lady Winterbourne here; the only lady here is the Captain’s wife.’

  ‘Rather interesting,’ the Earl replied perceptively, ‘considering the Captain here, does not have a wife. I can assure you, sir, that the lady is here under duress.’

  The Landlord frowned. Judging by this man’s clothing and bearing, he looked like a member of the aristocracy, but he was not sure about the gentlemen with him. ‘And who, may I ask are you?’ he inquired politely.

  Lord Lyndhurst took out his card and handed it across to the Landlord. ‘Lord Xavier Lyndhurst, Earl of Croxdale, and the gentlemen with me are Lady Winterbourne’s friends. Tell me, which is Captain Blackmore’s room?’

  Captain Blackmore jumped off his stool, only to back into the solid forms of Daniel and Nat, each with a pistol trained on him. ‘This is the outside of enough,’ he cursed. He turned to the Landlord. ‘I tell you that the woman upstairs is my wife. You are not going to just stand there and let these men browbeat me, are you?’

  Nat, ignoring the Captain’s outburst, dug the pistol into the Captain’s side. ‘Put your hands on the bar where I can see them.’ he demanded, as he examined his pockets for weapons.

  ‘There is only one way to sort this out,’ the Landlord said acerbically. ‘We shall ask the lady.’

  He handed Lord Lyndhurst a key. ‘Room number three,’ he said. ‘Up the stairs and second on the right. Bring her down.’

  Nat and Daniel stood on guard as Lord Lyndhurst went to investigate. The tension in the taproom was palpable as by this time, they had gained the attention of curious onlookers, and it seemed to all concerned, that Lord Lyndhurst was away for an age.

  Room number three was locked so Lord Lyndhurst used the key the landlord had given him. The first thing he saw as he entered was Penelope, who sat on a dining chair bound and gagged. He ran across to her and bent down to untie her legs. ‘What has he done to you? Good Lord, Penelope, are you alright?’

  Penelope nodded and he leaned forward to remove the gag. Tears of relief were streaming down her cheeks. ‘Yes, I think so,’ she answered, gasping for air. ‘Oh, Xavier, you came for me!’

  ‘Of course I came for you,’ he replied gently as he untied her hands and pulled her to him.

  ‘Are you sure you are not hurt? There was blood on the path,’ he said anxiously.

  She held on to him. ‘I am not hurt. The blood is his. Oh, Xavier, I fought him off with my sword and I was the victor, but the man is no gentleman. He pulled out a pistol.’

  Lord Lyndhurst smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. ‘Desperate men rarely are, my darling. They do not fight by the rules.’ He held her close and stroked her hair as she rested her head on his shoulder, drinking in the comfort and the strength of him. They stayed thus a few moments until Xavier released his hold. He kissed her gently on the lips and then took her hand. ‘We will talk later. Come, Nat and Daniel are downstairs guarding Captain Blackmore and we need to get you home.’

  The pair arrived back in the taproom. Penelope hesitated as she saw the black expression on Captain Blackmore’s face, but Lord Lyndhurst kept her firmly at his side. Nat gave a look of relief as he glanced over. ‘Are you alright, My Lady,’ he asked with concern. Penelope gave him a warm smile. ‘Thank you Nat, I shall be okay now that you are here.’

  The Landlord glanced across at Captain Blackmore. He did not need any more verification. ‘It would appear that you are a villain, Captain,’ he said brusquely. ‘I do not want the likes of you staying at this Inn.’

  Lord Lyndhurst looked across to the Landlord. You need not tolerate his company any longer. I am going to personally escort him to Newcastle and hand him over to the magistrate. The last time he was arrested he escaped, but he will not do so again. The scoundrel is wanted for marrying under false pretences, theft, arson, grievous bodily harm and now he can add kidnapping to the list. This man is ripe for the gallows and I am personally going to see that he gets there.’

  Lord Lyndhurst looked across to Daniel. ‘Daniel, can you please escort Lady Winterbourne home and instruct Andy to release Jem. Nat, you can come with me, I may need your assistance.’

  Finally, he turned back to Penny. ‘I will be away for a few days, but I promise you I will return for I need to talk to you.’ He kissed her on the cheek and handed her over to Daniel while he and Nat escorted Captain Blackmore off the premises.

  Chapter 18

  Two days had passed since Penelope’s encounter with Captain Blackmore and still Lord Lyndhurst had not returned with Nat. Penelope was not worried, she realised that she had learned to trust him, and she knew that he would keep his promise. She was sitting in Rosie’s kitchen and had recovered well from her ordeal, happy to know that Captain Blackmore had finally been arrested.

  To add to her joy, she had received a letter from her solicitor, Mr. Brereton, that very morning, to say that he had found a buyer for Charlotte Square, and asking her to come to Newcastle to sign over the deed of transfer and arrange for the proceeds to be paid into her bank account. She would need to arrange to go within the next couple of days, but at the moment, she was preoccupied.

  The whole gang was present in Rosie’s kitchen that morning and they
were making plans. Mattie and Bart were expected back from the whisky and salt run and they were overdue. The Sloop had been expected back the night before and all procedures had been put in place, but they had not arrived. They were sure to arrive tonight and the gang needed to be ready to receive them.

  Everything was in place. Daniel had established that Captain Monaghan and Lieutenant Bartoft were plaguing Pat with their annoying presence, and if they were at the Swan Inn they were not under Rosie’s feet. Andy was to look out and return the signal from the new stone mill at Whitburn, and Sam, Ashe and Daniel were to wait by the rowing cobbles at the Wherry to be joined by Andy later after he had set the signal.

  Although Penelope was adamant that she was fine and fully recovered from her ordeal, Rosie insisted that she stay at home and Penelope reluctantly relented. Rosie told her that if she wished to be of assistance, she could help store the goods in the cavity wall when they arrived. If Captain Monaghan and his Lieutenant were skulking around the Swan, Pat would not be receiving her delivery tonight so there would be extra contraband arriving at the farmstead.

  Everything was underway and it was past ten o’clock when the ladies heard an imperative knock on the farmhouse door. Jorgie barked furiously at the urgency of it and jumped up running to the door. They opened it to find Lisette standing there, out of breath and agitated. She could hardly get her words out as she bent over gasping.

  ‘Quick Rosie. Pat has sent me. The Captain and the Lieutenant were at the Swan when Jem walked in. They spoke for a few minutes and the riding officers rode off in a hurry.’ She stopped for breath and absently reached for the wolfhound that was fretfully prancing around her. ‘Rosie,’ she panicked, ‘they are making their way to the coastline. There is talk that they are to check out Marsden Beach, Frenchman’s Bay and the Wherry. We must warn the men.’

  Rosie sucked in a breath and pulled Jorgie back by the scruff. ‘They will check Marsden Beach first since it is closer. We will have to be quick.’

  Penelope stood up. ‘I will go!’ she said assertively. ‘Forgive me Rosie, but I am much younger than you are and I will make faster progress.’

  There was no time to argue and Rosie conceded. ‘All right Miss Penny, but please put on your breeches so that you will not be recognised, and do be careful. Do you know the emergency signals?’ she asked urgently.

  ‘Yes.’ Penelope replied, ‘I know them all. Andy taught me well.’

  ‘Then direct them into the Wear. If the excise men are on the beaches it should be safe for them to quickly unload in the port.’

  Five minutes later, Penelope was out of the door, her shirt barely tucked into her breeches and her hair quickly tucked under the tricorn hat. Not stopping to saddle Cisco, she jumped onto his bare back and galloped down to the Wherry. The men had been joined by Andy and were just about to jump into the cobbles when Penelope arrived and quickly dismounted. ‘You must get out of here,’ she instructed. ‘The riding officers are on their way. There is a change of plan; Rosie wants you to meet the Sloop in the Wear.’

  ‘Why? What?’ Sam started to say. ‘We have just signalled the Sloop into the Wherry!’

  ‘It is Jem. There is no time to explain. Rosie will tell you later. Here, leave the lantern with me. I will send out new signals to the Sloop and you must head off and meet it at the port. Quick there is very little time.’

  With the men clearly on their way, Penelope made her way to Whitburn Mill. A new stone mill had been built to replace the wooden one that had blown down four years earlier and it was raised on a small hillock overlooking the sea. It was an ideal place from which to set a signal.

  On reaching the mill, Penelope climbed to the upper level and lit the oil lamp. She walked across to the window aperture and set off a series of ten short, sharp flashes, denoting the emergency signal. The Sloop answered back with a short acknowledgement of its own. Penelope then sent the signal directing them to the comparative safety of the Wear and snuffed out the lantern. She needed to retreat fast if she was not to be discovered.

  Captain Monaghan and Lieutenant Bartoft arrived at the Cliff top above the Wherry and saw the quick response out to sea. ‘Did you see that?’ the Captain remarked sharply. ‘Jeremiah was right, it looks like there is going to be a run tonight and this time we will be waiting to catch them.’ He rubbed his hands gleefully. ‘It looks like we will have you tonight, Rosie old girl,’ he grinned gleefully.

  It was Lieutenant Bartoft that turned around quickly and saw the second signal emanating from the Mill in the far distance. ‘It looks like one of the beggars is signalling from Whitburn Mill,’ he gasped. Captain Monaghan glanced back. ‘Got the swine! You stay here and keep watch,’ he instructed jubilantly. ‘I will go after him and cut him off.’

  Penelope was just leaving the mill when she heard the sound of horse’s hooves approaching fast. Mounting Cisco, she turned in the direction of Rosie’s, but not before Captain Monaghan caught the sight of what he thought to be a young man lurking in the shadows. His quarry was still some distance away and had a good head start, but Captain Monaghan was determined to catch the rogue.

  With her heart pounding and mind racing, Penelope galloped over the hillock toward the bridle path. She may have to find some hiding place if she were to lose the Captain since she could not lead him directly to Rosie’s.

  She heard an imperative voice shout out above the noise of pounding hooves. ‘Stop in the name of the King or I shall shoot!’

  Penelope had no intention of stopping for anyone and the sound of a gunshot whistled past her head. The sound of another gunshot rang out, but this time she felt a dull thud in her arm as the bullet made an impact. Had she been hit? She did not feel as if she had for she felt no pain, but as she raised her arm, she felt the warm trickle of blood seep through her fingers. She cursed and urged Cisco on trying to put some distance between them.

  Captain Monaghan’s mare was no match for Cisco, a fine stallion of good breeding, and Penelope increased the distance between them. Perhaps she could reach Rosie’s after all. Gunshots occasionally filled the air, but they were now too distant to reach her. By the time she had reached Rosie’s farmyard, she had put quite some distance between them, but she could not afford to linger. She quickly installed Cisco in the barn and ran into the kitchen breathing heavily. Rosie looked up as Penelope stumbled and ran across to support her, and Jorgie, sensing that something was afoot, padded over and licked her hand.

  ‘Captain Monaghan,’ she gasped. ‘He is only five minutes behind me!’

  Rosie thought quickly and barked out her instructions. ‘Hannah, run upstairs and bring Miss Penny a dress, and make sure it has long sleeves.’ Rosie helped Penelope out of her shirt and breeches, removed her hat and threw them all into the fire. Hannah, having returned with the dress, helped Penelope to put it on, taking care as she slipped the dress over her wounded arm, for by now the pain had set in. Rosie had quickly bandaged it up to stem the flow of blood and finally as a precaution, they threw a shawl around her shoulders in case the blood oozed through. Penelope sat at the table while Hannah let down her hair and brushed it out, and then finally Rosie pushed a book into her hands. Penelope looked very pale, but if she did not faint and the blood did not seep through the makeshift bandage they would possibly get away with it. ‘Do you think you can see this through,’ Rosie asked calmly, watching her for signs of weakness. Penelope gave her a plucky smile. ‘I will do my best Rosie; I will try very hard not to pass out.’

  Hannah had just finished mopping up the drips of blood from the kitchen floor and thrown the rag into the roaring fire when Captain Monaghan pounded on the door. ‘Open up in the name of the King!’ he shouted. ‘I demand that you let me in!’

  Jorgie gave a low rumbling growl and Rosie slowly walked over to the door and opened it. Captain Monaghan stood there ominous in his red excise uniform and breathing heavily. He looked like a man determined and not likely to stand for any nonsense. Rosie was not intimidated. ‘Really,
Captain Monaghan, is there any need for all of this commotion? What are you doing here at this time of night?’

  Captain Monaghan glanced at the ladies and gave a polite nod, but all the while keeping a wary eye on the wolfhound, who was standing with raised hackles, bearing his teeth and growling at him.

  He pointed his pistol at the dog. ‘I suggest you control that mutt, Rosie. You do not know how much I have been longing to put a bullet in his brain. I just need an excuse.’

  Rosie grabbed the dog by the scruff and tied him to the table leg beside Penelope, commanding him to be quiet and then turned her own venom on the Captain. ‘I resent your threat to my dog. What are you doing here, Captain Monaghan?’ she demanded angrily.

  ‘You know perfectly well what I am doing here, Rosie,’ he retorted. ‘A young man entered this house not ten minutes ago, and I demand that you turn him over.’

  ‘I am sure you are mistaken, Captain Monaghan,’ she replied. ‘There is no young man here, besides, Jorgie would have barked.’ She made a gesture. ‘Come in, you are welcome to look around and see for yourself.’

  ‘Do not deceive me, Rosie,’ the Captain snapped. ‘His horse is in the barn, a large black stallion. I have seen it.’

  ‘Indeed.’ Rosie replied. ‘There are two black stallions in the barn, which one were you referring to?’

  ‘Do not bandy words with me Rosie, I know he is here!’ he snapped back.

  Rosie was annoyed and gestured. ‘Black horses are common enough, but if you insist on this stupidity, you are welcome to do a search. I have nothing to hide.’