by Rebecca King
When the knocking persisted, Harriett sighed and slid the bolt back. Her brows rose when she opened the door and found Simon on the doorstep rather than Hugo. Immediately she stood back to allow him to enter.
“Are you well?” Simon asked, taking note of the expression on her face.
Harriett nodded, and offered him a brave smile that did little to reach her eyes. “I am fine. I wasn’t expecting you today, are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I just thought I would check on you.” He glanced around the seemingly empty cottage with a frown. “Are you on your own?”
“Hugo went out in the night to do his watch, and hasn’t been back since.”
“Do you think he is meeting the others?” Simon’s voice was laced with concern.
Harriett snorted inelegantly. “I am sure he is holed up somewhere with his men,” she replied, somewhat waspishly.
“I really would prefer it if you would come and stay at the Manor,” he sighed, knowing she was likely to refuse – again.
Harriett paused in the process of putting a pot of water onto the fire to boil, and immediately made a decision.
“Do you know something? I think I would prefer to be at the Manor as well.” Not only for the reassurance of additional people being close by in case of a problem, but because it would limit the amount of close contact she would have with Hugo.
She knew that she didn’t have the fortitude to refuse him if Hugo made any attempt at kissing her again. It was galling to realise just how much control he had on her emotions. Especially when he seemed to have no difficulty staying away.
“Then if you want to go and put a few things in a bag, we will head off. No time like the present,” he replied, unable to keep the bright smile off his face. In reality he wanted to shuffle her out of the door before she had second thoughts. He wondered what had happened between her and Hugo to make her suddenly change her mind about staying at the cottage. Whatever had brought her change of heart, he could only be grateful for it.
He was bristling with impatience when Hugo opened the door minutes later, while Harriett was still gathering things to take with her. Simon almost groaned as he watched Hugo enter, and look at him with a dark scowl.
“Where’s Harriett?” Simon was the last person Hugo wanted to see.
Harriett appeared silently in the doorway. Whatever she was about to say was lost as Archie suddenly opened the door behind Hugo. He had no sooner closed the door behind him than Harriett was aware of movement in the hallway behind her. With a squeak she lurched across the room toward Hugo, gasping in surprise when Rupert ambled into the kitchen from the hallway.
Her eyes grew round at the realisation that he had been in the house without her knowing it. She jumped when the door opened again; this time an unfamiliar elderly gent wandered casually into the room.
“It’s perfectly fine,” Hugo murmured soothingly into her ear, pulling her tightly against him. In that moment he knew that he would give the woman clinging to him anything she wanted, whenever she wanted it. He would, and could, deny her nothing.
It wasn’t lost to anyone that, as soon as Harriett had felt threatened, it had been Hugo she had gone toward. Hugo whose reassuring hold she was now sheltered in.
Harriett’s gaze was locked on the elderly man now standing in her kitchen.
“Archie, stop it,” Hugo warned, a hint of humour in his voice.
Harriett’s eyes grew round with surprise when the elderly gentleman removed his cap, and an older-than-normal Archie turned to grin at her.
“Sorry,” he grinned, looking anything but apologetic.
“How do you-” Harriett gasped, jumping when the latch lifted on the back door, and Jamie swept into the kitchen, dressed in workman’s clothing. He looked like he had spent the day in the tin mines, prevalent throughout Cornwall.
“I asked everyone to meet here because there have been developments,” Hugo explained, more than content for Harriett to remain plastered to his side.
A fact that Harriett only just seemed to have realised, as she eased away from him, flushing with embarrassment at their intimate hold.
Rupert deposited Harriett’s bag on the table, glancing quickly at Hugo who turned to frown down at her. He didn’t need to ask her to know exactly where she had been planning on going.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Hugo growled at Harriett, flicking Simon a hard look.
Harriett turned to stare at him, only just noting the tension thrumming through him.
“Joshua and Marion have gone missing,” Hugo announced, leaning against the dresser behind him. “Moreover, they pose a significant threat. I have strong suspicions that they are not who they claim they are, and indeed have links to the smugglers.”
“I thought the smugglers had gone?” The question was out before Harriett could stop it.
“They are French spies themselves, and have disappeared into the woodwork,” Hugo replied. “I think they are the first link in the chain of spy smugglers; the people who are arranging for the spies to come to English shores and helping them to disappear.”
Hugo knew that had captured the attention of his men, who remained alert and watchful, patiently waiting for him to bring them up to date.
“Although at the time I had other things on my mind, there were one or two things that were a little odd about the doctor in Padstow. Yesterday I watched him carrying something when he returned to the rear of the house - only he didn’t take it inside. Instead he wrapped it in a black cloak, and hid it in a haphazardly stacked pile of boxes in the yard.”
“Did you see what it was?” Archie asked, all trace of humour gone.
Hugo shook his head regretfully.
“What did it look like?” The question came from Simon.
Hugo described the small round disc not much bigger than the palm of his hand.
“Sounds like something he would use to signal someone,” Simon announced with a scowl.
“Like ships?”
Simon nodded. “Especially in daylight, you can use the sunshine to signal to ships out in the estuary. There were enough ships out there yesterday, and it was quite pleasant sitting outside eating pasties.” His eyes met and held Hugo’s for several moments, both men remembering their conversation clearly.
“But who is Marion then?” Harriett asked her father with a frown, as though he knew all the answers.
“I don’t know. An accomplice, another spy?” Archie frowned as he stared out of the window, clearly contemplating the possibilities.
“A woman?” Harriett gasped, shooting a look at Hugo.
“Most definitely. Everyone can be involved in smuggling and spying; women and children have been known to carry messages. It seems that people realise children are less likely to be stopped and searched, as most people don’t think about children running up and down the streets.”
“Women go in and out of houses all the time, and rarely draw attention. Most people never bother noticing a woman who is carrying a basket and going about her business, seemingly innocently.”
“But would Marion be needed to carry messages, if Joshua has the disc to signal someone?” Harriett asked.
“There are people inland who need to know what Joshua had learned,” Rupert replied, his deep voice harsh with unintended menace.
“Do you think it was Joshua who shot you?” She turned to glance at Hugo’s arm.
“I think it could have been. Nobody would think anything about a doctor leaving the village at any time, day or night,” Hugo sighed, turning to Jamie. “We need to find out what we can about the Doctor who was here, and his family. See what you can learn about where this doctor’s relatives live, and then go there and find out about the nephew. Get a description.” He briefly described Joshua’s appearance. He broke off when Harriett lifted her hand.
“Why didn’t he take the opportunity to kill me when I was ill?” Harriett asked with a frown. She knew from what Hugo and Simon had told her that she had been
unconscious for several hours. There had been enough time for anyone to sneak in and suffocate her. Why wait until she was almost recovered to finish her off? It didn’t make sense.
“Maybe he had other things to do, and decided to come back to kill you when he had done them,” Rupert replied, frowning at the number of questions that were mounting up for which nobody seemed to have answers.
“He could be she,” Jamie warned. “There is Marion to consider after all. She could be the assassin, and Joshua her protector.”
“Do you think that is possible?” Harriett gasped. Surely the fiftyish woman who had mothered her couldn’t possibly be a cold-blooded killer.
“I know the doctor isn’t who he says he is,” Hugo warned, his voice grave. “Although I didn’t stop to consider it at the time, he was too eager to use your herbal treatments rather than his own medicines. The only thing he used that you didn’t was milk. Otherwise, the doctor, who was supposedly highly trained at treating people, happily stepped back and actually sent someone to collect your herbs. I don’t know of many doctors who would do that.” He didn’t want to denigrate her abilities, especially in front of the others, but most doctors didn’t hold by herbal remedies for serious illnesses, and would have eschewed them in preference to the medicines they had been trained to use.
“So the doctor wasn’t a doctor?”
“Again, I was busy thinking of other things at the time, but there was a highly polished barrel of brandy on the dresser in the study,” Hugo reported gravely.
“Is that so unusual?” Harriett asked, her thoughts immediately turning toward the smugglers.
“It was French brandy.”
Silence dropped into the room.
“It all points to Joshua not being who he says he is, aided and abetted by Marion. If they are the spy smugglers, we need to find out who they really are, and where they are now.”
Harriett gasped, and not for the first time wondered just what she had gotten herself into.
“So what do we do now?” She glanced at each man in turn, before looking at Hugo.
“We don’t do anything. You need to remain here, but we have to change things a little.” He nodded at the others. “We will sort out what we need to do now to find Joshua, and Marion while trying to keep up with Romilla.”
“She is up to something,” Simon warned them. “I don’t know what, but she is being almost too nice, as if she knows something I don’t, and she keeps going out at odd hours. Whenever I ask, she gets snappy and slams out of the room, but I know that she is involved in something.”
“Remain on guard,” Jamie warned. Although he had only been at the Manor for a few hours, he had yet to set eyes on the woman. He was beginning to feel that she was deliberately avoiding him. A thorough search of her room hadn’t revealed anything untoward, except confirm that she was thoroughly spoilt. “Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Go to bed with your gun, and make sure you keep your bedroom locked. I agree with you, there are a lot of nocturnal wanderings at the Manor, but I haven’t managed to catch up with her,” he added, glancing at Simon, then Hugo.
Hugo knew Archie was an expert tracker and had to use him to the best of his abilities. If anyone could track someone, day or night, it was Archie. It therefore made sense that Archie was more help being outside the Manor on a more permanent basis, keeping watch.
“Jamie, you and I will swap. Simon, unless you have any objections, I need to move to the Manor to find out what Romilla is up to.”
Harriett listened as Archie was stationed outside the Manor, keeping watch from his habitual hiding place. She had no idea where that was, but it made Rupert grin at his colleague and shake his head ruefully. Rupert really was rather handsome when he smiled – which wasn’t often. While not on watch, he would go to the doctor’s house and try to find out what he could about the doctor’s activities, and ask the villagers if they knew anything else. Jamie had already sent word to the rest of the Star Elite asking for someone to find out about the old doctor’s relations, and in particular if the old doctor had a nephew, and report back to them as a matter of urgency.
“What about me?” Harriett asked, feeling somewhat useless.
Hugo paused, and reluctantly turned to her. “You stay here, keep the door locked and remain on guard. Don’t do anything unusual. Go about your usual business. Although you will not be aware of us, someone will be watching over you.” He didn’t add that all the men, including Simon, had been given instructions to shoot anyone who posed any threat to Harriett. He hated having to leave her, but with the scent of their quarry nearby he was driven to push the investigation along a bit and rid Harriett of the looming threat to her life.
“I can’t just go about as though nothing has happened.” Although she didn’t want to get involved in creeping around in the darkness, especially while there was not one, but possibly two killers on the loose, she couldn’t countenance just sitting in the cottage every day without going mad.
“Couldn’t she come to the Manor?” Simon asked, wondering why she had to remain confined at the cottage.
Hugo shook his head. “Sorry, but the apples she ate were probably poisoned at the Manor. You are not to bring any more food for her to eat; no more pies or anything. Harriett, you need to purchase your food, store it yourself and cook it yourself. Don’t eat anything not purchased by yourself, and don’t eat any gifts. Moreover, don’t go out at night. Not only are there unnamed persons on the loose who are incredibly dangerous, but it will make our job easier if you don’t go wandering around in the dark.” He didn’t add that he didn’t need the added stress of knowing she was at risk in such a way. The only way he was going to get through the next few days with his wits intact was to ensure she was as safe as possible.
“Can I visit any patients?”
“Not at the moment. They will have to wait until this is over.”
“When will that be?” Simon asked.
Although Harriett had previously lived an isolated life, that was before her acquaintance with Hugo had begun. He couldn’t stand the thought of being effectively isolated in the cottage while everything was going on and could sympathise with Harriett’s reluctance to simply accept the isolation.
“We will bring this matter to a conclusion as soon as we can. I don’t know how long it will take but, in a day or so, if it doesn’t look as if we are getting anywhere I will send for more reinforcements.”
“You cannot expect me to just sit around and do nothing,” Harriett protested, her voice rising with her frustration. She wasn’t a shrinking violet and wasn’t averse to rolling up her sleeves when needed. She simply couldn’t consider sitting, locked indoors, waiting for the assassin to come knocking.
“She is quite right,” Simon added, glancing sympathetically at his daughter. “Although I don’t countenance her being put in danger, you cannot expect her to remain locked in here, a veritable prisoner in her own home.”
Hugo sighed. If it was down to him, she would never leave the bedroom. He wanted to pack her off to Jemima or Eliza’s, and complete the investigation secure in the knowledge that she was as protected as possible under the watchful eyes of Peter and/or Edward. But she had just returned from Oxfordshire, and he knew instinctively she would protest at the thought of going back.
“I don’t expect her to sit here and do nothing. She can visit her patients, I suppose, and shop for more food, and even do her garden, as long as it is all done while it is light. No wandering around outside unnecessarily, though, and don’t do anything rash. Someone will be nearby, watching you so you don’t need to make their job any harder.” The last was put to Harriett, and accompanied with a stern look that made Harriett instinctively balk at the arrogance she saw written on his face. He hated having to agree to her being outside at all, but from the look on her face, knew instinctively that she wouldn’t follow his orders. At least this way, the person on watch would be expecting her to leave her cottage and wouldn’t think anything was a
miss if she went out.
“Right, I’m off then,” Rupert growled, shoving away from the wall and moving toward the hallway. Harriett frowned at him and watched him go. “Don’t forget to lock up after me,” he warned, disappearing into her bedroom. Harriett stared after him, and after a moment’s hesitation followed him. The small hairs on the back of her neck rose when she found the bedroom empty, the only sign of his having been there at all was the window, which was unlatched. Scurrying across the room, she stared out of the window as far as she could see in either direction but could see nobody. Rupert had simply vanished into thin air. Although impressed, the speed and dexterity of his movements unnerved her and with a shiver she latched the window, closing the shutters with a resounding thump.
Harriett returned to the kitchen, shocked to find that Jamie and Archie had vanished as well. She hadn’t even heard the door open or close. She turned to Hugo, to find he was the only one in the room.
“Where’s Simon?” she asked, looking into the small bedroom beside her.
“He has gone back to the Manor.” Hugo motioned to the table. “Sit down, Harriett, we need to talk.”
Harriett glanced warily at him and sat at the opposite end of the table.
“I am going to push this investigation along a bit over the next few days. I need to get matters resolved quickly.” He didn’t add that the more quickly the investigation was completed, not only would they get the spy smugglers behind bars awaiting trial, but he would also be free to approach Harriett about their future together. Having spent most of the night contemplating their growing closeness, and the fear he had experienced when she had been ill, had gone a long way toward confirming that he couldn’t walk away from her. They had to have a future together, and that threw him into more confusion because it went against everything he thought he had wanted in life.
“As a result, I won’t be around much.”
Harriett wasn’t surprised to hear this. Something inside her warned that he had already taken a huge step backward. In essence she really couldn’t blame him. He clearly didn’t want to be stuck in a tiny fisherman’s cottage with a wanton witch who had no grace or decorum.
